The Penitential Psalms - Introduction to Psalm 50

Today, I want to pick up my Lent series on the penitential psalms with a look at the most famous one of them all, Psalm 50 (51), the Miserere.

Psalm 50 has been described as the penitential psalm par excellence, and I think that’s a fair description: it is a powerful expression of deep humility and contrition, and every verse has great spiritual and theological riches waiting to be uncovered.  Accordingly, I plan to linger over it for a while.

The title of the psalm suggests that it is, like Psalm 6, a response to King David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12).  St Thomas Aquinas’ commentary on the psalm suggests that there is something of a schema at work here, mimicking that of the sacrament of penance: the first penitential psalm, Psalm 6, is about contrition; the second, Psalm 31 is about confession of sins; the third, Psalm 37 deals with satisfaction. Psalm 50, he suggests, is about absolution: in the first half of the psalm he asks for mercy; in the second, he promises correction and seeks the restoration of holiness and grace.

The best known of the psalms?

The Miserere is surely the best known of the penitential psalms, perhaps almost of all the psalms.

It is often used for quasi-liturgical purposes, such as part of grace before and after meals, and each week at Mass in the Asperges (and in monasteries again after Compline).

St Benedict set verse 16 to open Matins each day, a practice subsequently adopted in the Roman Office as well, as well as setting the full psalm for Lauds every day.

And there are a number of famous stories centred around it, including when the child Mozart stole the fabulous setting of the psalm by Gregorio Allegri (composed in the 1630s and used at Tenebrae during Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel) by transcribing it from memory, thus making what had been restricted to the Vatican available to the world. He escaped excommunication for his act partly perhaps because of his youth, but mostly because the Pope of the day was so impressed at the musical feat.

The text

Keep in mind that saying the Miserere has a partial indulgence attached to it if you recite it 'in a spirit of penitence'.

Psalm 50: Miserere me Deus 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David cum venit ad eum Nathan propheta, quando intravit ad Bethsabee.	Unto the end, a psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had sinned with Bethsabee.
1 Miserére mei Deus, * secúndum magnam misericórdiam tuam.	Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
2  Et secúndum multitúdinem miseratiónum tuárum, * dele iniquitátem meam.	And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
3  Amplius lava me ab iniquitáte mea: * et a peccáto meo munda me.	Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
4  Quóniam iniquitátem meam ego cognósco: * et peccátum meum contra me est semper.	For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
5  Tibi soli peccávi, et malum coram te feci: * ut justificéris in sermónibus tuis, et vincas cum judicáris.	To you only have I sinned, and have done evil before you: that you may be justified in your words, and may overcome when you are judged.
6  Ecce enim in iniquitátibus concéptus sum: * et in peccátis concépit me mater mea.	For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
7  Ecce enim veritátem dilexísti: * incérta et occúlta sapiéntiæ tuæ manifestásti mihi.	For behold you have loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
8  Aspérges me hyssópo, et mundábor: * lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.	You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
9  Audítui meo dabis gáudium et lætítiam: * et exsultábunt ossa humiliáta.	To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
10  Avérte fáciem tuam a peccátis meis: * et omnes iniquitátes meas dele.	Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
11  Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: * et spíritum rectum ínnova in viscéribus meis.	Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
12  Ne projícias me a fácie tua: * et spíritum sanctum tuum ne áuferas a me.	Cast me not away from your face; and take not your holy spirit from me.
13  Redde mihi lætítiam salutáris tui: * et spíritu principáli confírma me.	Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
14  Docébo iníquos vias tuas: * et ímpii ad te converténtur.	I will teach the unjust your ways: and the wicked shall be converted to you.
15  Líbera me de sanguínibus, Deus, Deus salútis meæ: * et exsultábit lingua mea justítiam tuam.	Deliver me from blood, O God, you God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol your justice.
16  Dómine, lábia mea apéries: * et os meum annuntiábit laudem tuam.	O Lord, you will open my lips: and my mouth shall declare your praise.
17  Quóniam si voluísses sacrifícium dedíssem útique: * holocáustis non delectáberis.	For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
18  Sacrifícium Deo spíritus contribulátus: * cor contrítum, et humiliátum, Deus non despícies.	A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
19  Benígne fac, Dómine, in bona voluntáte tua Sion: * ut ædificéntur muri Jerúsalem.	Deal favourably, O Lord, in your good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
20  Tunc acceptábis sacrifícium justítiæ, oblatiónes, et holocáusta: * tunc impónent super altáre tuum vítulos.	Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon your altar.

  Psalm 50 and the sacrament of penance

Pope John Paul II devoted four separate General Audiences to this psalm. For this introduction to it, I'm largely going to draw on them:

• the first Audience, on 21 October 2001 provided a general overview of the psalm;
• on 8 May 2002 the Pope looked at the first half of the psalm;
• the Audience of 4 December 2002 looked at the verses on forgiveness; and
• the final Audience of July 2003 looked at the concluding verses.

Two horizons: sin and grace

The Pope suggested, following the tradition, that the psalm basically falls into two parts, or ‘horizons’:

“Psalm 50 (51) outlines two horizons. First, there is the dark region of sin (cf. vv. 3-11) in which man is placed from the beginning of his existence: "Behold in guilt I was born, a sinner was I conceived" (v. 7)...The first part of the Psalm appears to be an analysis of sin, taking place before God…the second spiritual part of the psalm, the luminous realm of grace (cf. vv. 12-19). By the confession of sins, for the person who prays there opens an horizon of light where God is at work. The Lord does not just act negatively, eliminating sin, but recreates sinful humanity by means of his life-giving Spirit: he places in the human person a new and pure "heart", namely, a renewed conscience, and opens to him the possibility of a limpid faith and worship pleasing to God…”

Within these two horizons, there are several key themes and theological concepts that the psalm points to that deserve to be highlighted.

Sin and its nature

The first the psalm points to the importance of recovering a sense of sin, something so much lacking in our time:

“There is above all a lively sense of sin, seen as a free choice, with a negative connotation on the moral and theological level: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, I have done what is evil in your sight" (v. 6).

King David alludes to our inheritance of original sin: “For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me”. But he also explores the dimensions of personal sin, using three different terms to capture its dimensions:

“Three Hebrew terms are used to define this sad reality, which comes from the evil use of human freedom. The first term, hattá, literally means "falling short of the target": sin is an aberration which leads us far from God, the fundamental goal of our relations, and, consequently, also from our neighbour. The second Hebrew term is "awôn, which takes us back to the image of "twisting" or of "curving". Sin is a tortuous deviation from the straight path; it is an inversion, a distortion, deformation of good and of evil; in the sense declared by Isaiah: "Woe to those who call good evil and evil good, who change darkness into light and light into darkness" (Is 5,20). Certainly, for this reason in the Bible conversion is indicated as a "return" (in Hebrew shûb) to the right way, correcting one's course. The third term the psalmist uses to speak of sin is peshá. It expresses the rebellion of the subject toward his sovereign and therefore an open challenge addressed to God and to his plan for human history.”

He also draws out the broader implications of sin:

“In the confession of the Miserere there is a noteworthy emphasis: the sin is described not only in its personal and "psychological" dimension but above all what is described is the theological reality. "Against you, against you alone have I sinned" (Ps 50[51],6) exclaims the sinner…Sin is not just a psychological and social matter, but an event that corrodes the relationship with God, violating his law, refusing his plan in history and overturning his set of values, "putting darkness for light and light for darkness", in other words, "calling evil good and good evil" (cf. Is 5,20). Before finally injuring man, sin is first and foremost a betrayal of God.”

Conversion and renewal

But the real force of this psalm surely comes from its testimony to the contrasting possibility of conversion and renewal from even the gravest of sins: “You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.”

I have to admit that my personal favourite verse is that strident demand for joy: Redde mihi lætítiam salutáris tui: et spíritu principáli confírma me, or ‘Give me back the joy of your salvation and strengthen me with a noble spirit’.

Grace through the Holy Spirit

Pope John Paul II points to the allusions to the Holy Spirit in the psalm read in the light of the New Testament:

“The movements of grace through the Holy Spirit: in the original Hebrew the word "spirit" is repeated three times, invoked of God as a gift and received by the human creature who has repented of his sin: "Renew in me a steadfast spirit.... Do not deprive me of your holy spirit.... Sustain in me a generous spirit" (vv. 12.13.14). One could say, taking recourse to a liturgical term, that it is an "epiclesis", that is, a triple invocation of the Spirit who, as in creation hovered over the waters (cf. Gn 1,2), now penetrates the soul of the faithful, infusing it with new life and raising it from the kingdom of sin to the heaven of grace.”

The mediation of Christ and his Church

The last two verses, praying for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and the restoration of animal sacrifices, and may be later additions (for those who worry about such things, the old Pontifical Biblical Commission ruled this an acceptable opinion). Pope John Paul II commented:

“The person who completed the Psalm had a valid intuition: he grasped the needy state of sinners, their need for sacrificial mediation. Sinners cannot purify themselves on their own; good intentions are not enough. An effective external mediation is required. The New Testament was to reveal the full significance of this insight, showing that Christ, in giving his life, achieved a perfect sacrificial mediation.”

He pointed to St Gregory the Great’s interpretation of the verse about the offering of a contrite heart as the proper sacrifice to God as speaking of the earthly life of the Church. The verse on burnt offerings, as of the Church in heaven. He ended his Audiences with the relevant section from St Gregory, and it is indeed a fitting place to conclude this brief overview:

"Holy Church has two lives: one that she lives in time, the other that she receives eternally; one with which she struggles on earth, the other that is rewarded in heaven; one with which she accumulates merits, the other that henceforth enjoys the merits earned. And in both these lives she offers a sacrifice: here below, the sacrifice of compunction, and in heaven above, the sacrifice of praise. Of the former sacrifice it is said: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit' (Ps 51[50]: 19); of the latter it is written: "Then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings' (Ps 51[50]: 21).... In both, flesh is offered, since the sacrifice of the flesh is the mortification of the body, up above; the sacrifice of the flesh is the glory of the resurrection in praise to God. In heaven, flesh will be offered as a burnt holocaust when it is transformed into eternal incorruptibility, and there will be no more conflict for us and nothing that is mortal, for our flesh will endure in everlasting praise, all on fire with love for him" (Omelie su Ezechiele/2, Rome 1993, p. 271).”

You can find the next set of notes on this psalm here.

Psalm 137 in the context of Wednesday Vespers

Mercy and truth

The final psalm of Wednesday Vespers is Psalm 137, and as I've previously provided a series of notes on Psalm 137 in the context of the Office of the Dead, I'm just going to devote one post to it here, to point to some possible links to the themes of Wednesday in the Office.

This hymn of thanksgiving alternates between the personal concerns of the speaker, and a call for the praise of God to be spread amongst all nations.  God is to be worshipped, it argues, for his truth and mercy, for his help in times of tribulation and aid against enemies, and for his aid to the poor and marginalized.

So how does it fit into the Wednesday schema?

First, Wednesday's Vespers psalms have all focused on the issue of worshipping God in spirit and truth, and rejecting the allure of false substitutes such as power, wealth or pleasure.  Psalm 137's sentiments on praising God in the presence of the angels (verse 2) continues this theme, and reflects a point that St Benedict emphasizes in his Rule:

"We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place" (Prov. 15:3). But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God.  To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear" and again "Sing praises wisely" and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to You". Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in sight of the Godhead and of His Angels,  and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice." 

Secondly, the days psalms have been instructing us on resisting temptation, stopping us from becoming Judas' who will be cast out from the path of salvation.  Verses 4&8 in particular point to the aid that God will give us in difficult times to this end.

Finally, the psalms of Wednesday have been recalling for us key events in salvation history.  We now come to the most important of these, looking forward to the mini-Triduum of the Office, with the Passion.  The psalm points out in verse 9 that when we do fall, Christ is ready to pull us out again if we only repent, just as he rescued the Hebrews enslaved by Babylon whose lament we heard in the previous psalm.   We can never merit salvation through our own efforts, but as St Athanasius points out in his famous letter on the interpretation of the psalms, through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we can yet be saved:

"Having thus shown that Christ should come in human form, the Psalter goes on to show that He can suffer in the flesh He has assumed... For He did not die as being Himself liable to death: He suffered for us, and bore in Himself the wrath that was the penalty of our transgression, even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses. [Mt 8:17] So in Psalm 137 we say, The Lord will make requital for me..."

The text of the psalm

Psalm 137 (138)– Confitebor tibi

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Ipsi David.	For David himself.
Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.	I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart: for you have heard the words of my mouth.
2  In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.	I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels: 2 I will worship towards your holy temple, and I will give glory to your name.
3  Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.	For your mercy, and for your truth: for you have magnified your holy name above all.
4  In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.	3 In what day soever I shall call upon you, hear me: you shall multiply strength in my soul.
5  Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.	4 May all the kings of the earth give glory to you: for they have heard all the words of your mouth.
6  Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.	5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
7  Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.	6 For the Lord is high, and looks on the low: and the high he knows afar off.
8  Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.	7 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you will quicken me: and you have stretched forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies: and your right hand has saved me.
9  Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.	8 The Lord will repay for me: your mercy, O Lord endures for ever: O despise not the works of your hands.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Lk 1:51-52, Jas 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5 (v7); Phil 1:6 (v9)
RB cursus	Wednesday Vespers
Monastic feasts etc	2 Vespers of St Michael the Archangel; Vespers of Dead AN 1812, 4159
Roman pre 1911	Friday Vespers
Responsories	St Michael, All Saints v 1-2 (6893, 6894, 7707 )
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Thurs Vespers 1970: Evening Prayer - Tuesday of the Fourth Week
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 3 Thurs OF (8); PP19, OF (3,7). St Raphael/Votive Mass of the Holy Angels AL (1-2) St Michael OF V (1-2) Dedication of a church AL (2)

And that is the last post in this series of posts on the psalms of Wednesday Vespers.

Introduction to Psalm 41 (As the deer longs for cool water)

To complete, for the moment, my series on Office of the Dead, today a brief look at the last psalm of Matins, Psalm 41, a beautiful poem whose tone is set by the repeated phrase  'Why are you sad, my soul, why do you disquiet me' (verses 6&15).  The psalm is also said on Monday at Matins in the Benedictine Office.

The psalm is one of those few (such as the Matins Invitatory, Psalm 94) that is probably better known in the Old Roman Latin version, which starts 'Sicut cervus', rather than the Vulgate, courtesy of Palestrina's beautiful evocation of the psalmist's melancholy borne of homesickness, which you can listen to below.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Intellectus filiis Core.	Unto the end, understanding for the sons of Core.
1 Quemádmodum desíderat cervus ad fontes aquárum: * ita desíderat ánima mea ad te, Deus.	As the hart pants after the fountains of water; so my soul pants after you, O God.
2  Sitívit ánima mea ad Deum fortem vivum: * quando véniam, et apparébo ante fáciem Dei?	3 My soul has thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?
3  Fuérunt mihi lácrimæ meæ panes die ac nocte: * dum dícitur mihi quotídie: Ubi est Deus tuus?	4 My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is your God?
4  Hæc recordátus sum, et effúdi in me ánimam meam: * quóniam transíbo in locum tabernáculi admirábilis, usque ad domum Dei.	5 These things I remembered, and poured out my soul in me: for I shall go over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God:
5  In voce exsultatiónis, et confessiónis: * sonus epulántis.	With the voice of joy and praise; the noise of one feasting.
6  Quare tristis es, ánima mea? * et quare contúrbas me?	6 Why are you sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me?
7  Spera in Deo, quóniam adhuc confitébor illi: * salutáre vultus mei, et Deus meus.	Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, 7 and my God.
8  Ad meípsum ánima mea conturbáta est : * proptérea memor ero tui de terra Jordánis, et Hermóniim a monte módico.	My soul is troubled within my self: therefore will I remember you from the land of Jordan and Hermoniim, from the little hill.
9  Abyssus abyssum ínvocat, * in voce cataractárum tuárum.	8 Deep calls on deep, at the noise of your flood-gates.
10  Omnia excélsa tua, et fluctus tui * super me transiérunt.	All your heights and your billows have passed over me.
11  In die mandávit Dóminus misericórdiam suam : * et nocte cánticum ejus.	9 In the daytime the Lord has commanded his mercy; and a canticle to him in the night.
12  Apud me orátio Deo vitæ meæ, * dicam Deo : Suscéptor meus es.	With me is prayer to the God of my life. 10 I will say to God: You are my support.
13  Quare oblítus es mei? * et quare contristátus incédo, dum afflígit me inimícus?	Why have you forgotten me? And why go I mourning, whilst my enemy afflicts me?
14  Dum confringúntur ossa mea, * exprobravérunt mihi qui tríbulant me inimíci mei.	11 Whilst my bones are broken, my enemies who trouble me have reproached me;
15  Dum dicunt mihi per síngulos dies : Ubi est Deus tuus? * quare tristis es, ánima mea? et quare contúrbas me?	Whilst they say to me day be day: Where is your God? 12 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you disquiet me?
16  Spera in Deo, quóniam adhuc confitébor illi : * salutáre vultus mei, et Deus meus.	Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

As the deer longs for fountains of water...

The psalm opens with a poignant image that has been taken up in iconography (see for example the picture above). The idea of Our Lord as the font, or fountain is clear cut in meaning.  But why a deer (hart/stag)?  St Robert Bellarmine (following St Augustine) summarises the traditional take on this as follows:

"The stag is noted for four peculiarities. It is a deadly enemy to serpents, and constantly at war with them. When it is pursued by the hunters, it betakes itself to the highest mountains as quickly as possible. By some natural instinct, they singularly carry out the advice of the apostle, "Bear ye each other's burdens;" for, according to St. Augustine, when they move in a body, or swim across a lake, the weaker ones rest their heads on the stronger, and are thus helped along. Finally, when they are tired after a combat with serpents, or a flight to the mountain, or from helping each other along, they seek to refresh themselves by copious droughts of water, from which they cannot be tempted or deterred."

Bellarmine goes on to apply the imagery to our own spiritual life:

"Such is a most perfect idea of the true lover of God. He has to wage a continued war against the serpents of his evil desires. When he is nigh overcome by temptation, or by persecutions, he flies away to the mount of contemplation, bears his neighbor's infirmities with the greatest patience, and, above all, thirsts ardently for God, from whom he will not be held back by any earthly happiness or trouble. Such was David, though a soldier; so was Paul, Peter, and the other apostles and martyrs; such were all who felt they were, while here below, in exile, and, through good and evil days, never lost sight of that country, the supreme object of their wishes."

Longing for our true home

The original context for the psalm is disputed: it could be about one of King David's many exiles, or a later poem of the Exiles longing for their homeland and the Temple.  In the context of the here and now, it expresses a deep longing for the joy of beautiful liturgy of a feast day, as verses 5-6 suggest:

"Memories come back to me yet, melting the heart; how once I would join with the throng, leading the way to God’s house, amid cries of joy and thanksgiving, and all the bustle of holiday." (Knox translation)

The imagery of the fountains of water, and the deep calling to the deep also calls to mind the font of baptism, linking it clearly to one of the key themes of Monday in the Benedictine Office, as to does the invocation of God as our sustainer or support (susceptor) in Verse  12 (cf Psalm 118 and the Suscipe verse at Terce on Monday).

The image of the exile also makes the psalm a prayer particularly suitable for those times when we have gone backwards in our spiritual life, or suffer from the withdrawal of the sense of God's presence, and can only look back with longing to the consolations we previously enjoyed.

Above all, though, this beautiful poem expresses the longing we should all have for heaven, as Fr Pius Pasch makes clear:

"Since the fall, earth has become a land of exile for us, and we look and long for our heavenly home.  The sinner also suffers this nostalgia for true joy, his home and union with God."

As such, we can think of it, in the Office of the Dead, either as the prayer of the person on their deathbed, looking forward to their earthly release.  But perhaps it is even more powerful thought of as the prayer of the person in purgatory that we are praying for, afflicted by punishment and unable anymore to help themselves, yet knowing that they will eventually enter heaven, when their purgation is complete.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Jn4:1 (1); Rev 22:4 (2); Mt 26:38, Mk 14:34 (6&15);
RB cursus	Monday Matins
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Corpus Christi; All Souls/Office of Dead AN 3335 (5)
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Tuesday matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Tuesday Sext   . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Easter Vigil, blessing of the font Easter Vigil TR (2-4) St Francis Caracciolo GR (2-3)

Introduction to Psalm 40

Psalm 40 is the second psalm of the third Nocturn in Matins of the Office of the Dead.  In the daily Benedictine Office it is the third psalm of the first Nocturn of Matins on Monday.

Psalm 40: Beatus qui intelligit

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus ipsi David.	Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.
Beátus qui intélligit super egénum, et páuperem: * in die mala liberábit eum Dóminus.	Blessed is he that understands concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.
2  Dóminus consérvet eum, et vivíficet eum, et beátum fáciat eum in terra: * et non tradat eum in ánimam inimicórum ejus.	The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.
3  Dóminus opem ferat illi super lectum dolóris ejus: * univérsum stratum ejus versásti in infirmitáte ejus.	The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: you have turned all his couch in his sickness.
4  Ego dixi : Dómine, miserére mei: * sana ánimam meam, quia peccávi tibi.	I said: O Lord, be merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
5  Inimíci mei dixérunt mala mihi: * Quando moriétur, et períbit nomen ejus?	My enemies have spoken evils against me: when shall he die and his name perish?
6  Et si ingrediebátur ut vidéret, vana loquebátur: * cor ejus congregávit iniquitátem sibi.	And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things: his heart gathered together iniquity to itself.
7  Egrediebátur foras, * et loquebátur in idípsum.	He went out and spoke to the same purpose.
8  Advérsum me susurrábant omnes inimíci mei: * advérsum me cogitábant mala mihi.	All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me.
9  Verbum iníquum constituérunt advérsum me: * Numquid qui dormit non adjíciet ut resúrgat?	They determined against me an unjust word: shall he that sleeps rise again no more?
10  Etenim homo pacis meæ, in quo sperávi: * qui edébat panes meos, magnificávit super me supplantatiónem.	For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has greatly supplanted me.
11  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére mei, et resúscita me: * et retríbuam eis.	But you, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise my up again: and I will requite them.
12  In hoc cognóvi quóniam voluísti me: * quóniam non gaudébit inimícus meus super me.	By this I know, that you have had a good will for me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me.
13  Me autem propter innocéntiam suscepísti: * et confirmásti me in conspéctu tuo in ætérnum.	But you have upheld me by reason of my innocence: and have established me in your sight for ever.
14  Benedíctus Dóminus, Deus Israël, a sæculo et usque in sæculum: * fiat, fiat.	Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity. So be it. So be it

Psalm 40 interpreted from its liturgical context

Like many of the psalms, Psalm 40 can be read a number of different ways, and the Church uses it in a number of different contexts that suggest several possible layers of interpretation. Indeed, Patrick Reardon's commentary on this psalm, in his book Christ in the Psalms, suggests that we shouldn't be too rigid in separating out the earthly life and ministry of Christ from his suffering and death, for they are two aspects of the same mission of redemptive mercy, and many of the psalms, including this one, make the link between the Incarnation and the Crucifixion.

Nonetheless, the second verse will be familiar to many as part of the traditional prayer for the Pope.

As a Christological psalm, it is most often thought of as a psalm of dealing with Our Lord's Passion and death, not least because Our Lord explicitly cited verse 10 as a prophecy of Judas' betrayal (John 13:18).

In the context of St Benedict's Office of Monday at Matins, the references to concern for the poor and needy link it more clearly to the theme of that day, namely to the promises of the Incarnation, summarised for us in the Benedictus and Magnificat canticles.

But it is the references to the Lord's help in times of illness, which follow on closely from the previous psalm, Psalm 39, that surely explains its place in the Office of the Dead.  The psalm opens with what can surely be interpreted as a plea for mercy and deliverance from hell based on the works of mercy the person concerned has himself performed, and for mercy even though he has sinned.

God's help on our deathbed

On his deathbed (the day of trouble of verse 2, or bed of sorrow of verse 3), he finds himself surrounded by false friends who seek his death not his recovery (verse 6), and want only more material for malicious gossip and slander.  But he places his trust firmly in God.

The psalmist accepts that his illness is a punishment for his sins, an aid to growth in holiness: as St Augustine comments in relation to verse 6:

"What Christ suffered, that suffers also the Church; what the Head suffered, that suffer also the Members. For the disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord." (Matthew 10:24)

And the end of the psalm is a triumphant assertion of the destiny of the soul as heaven.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

 

NT references	Mk 14:18, Jn 13:18, Acts 1:16 (10); Lk 1:68, Rom 9:5 (14)
RB cursus	Monday Matins+4696 (5) in Sept/Lent
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Sacred Heart; All Souls/Office of the Dead AN 5194(11-12)
Responsories	7567 (5); Good Friday no 6 v(5, 6) – 6101 (8,9): Psalm Sunday no 5 alt verse– 6306 HW Tues – 6335 alt verse Maundy Thurs no 7 V-6660 Passion Sunday no 12 alt verse – 7346 Passion Sunday no 8 – 7475 Psalm Sunday no 3 alt v (10) – 6137 Immaculate Conception, short resp (AM762) - 12
Roman pre 1911	Tuesday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Tuesday Sext . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	PP1, GR (1, 4)