Psalms of Compline (Short summaries)/1 - Psalm 4

 Psalm 4 - Cum invocarem

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: *  in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.	When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.	Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? *  ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?	O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.	Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?	Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: *  dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.	The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.	By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest
9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

Pronouncing the words

You can heard the psalm read aloud slowly in Latin over at the Boston Catholic Journal.

Once you are confident of the pronunciation, try singing it with the monks - the videos below are one option, alternatively, listen to one of the archived audio files of Compline sung by the monks of Le Barroux..

(and for those who can't access this video, see below)

The sense of the psalm

Pick the summary of your choice and learn it, or copy it to create a cheat sheet to have handy for when you say the Office:

St Alphonsus Liguori:

According to interpreters this psalm was composed by David, happy to see himself delivered from the hands of Saul, or of Absalom. In a mystical sense it is applied to Jesus Christ inasmuch as he is the end of the law and of the prophets. Jesus Christ, of whom David was a figure, is properly the Saint of God, the Saint by eminence, he whom God has glorified above everyone else in a wonderful manner, v. 4; our Master and our Model, he reminds us at first of the efficacy of prayer: then he exhorts us to detach ourselves from the goods of this world, to flee from sin, to practise virtue, and to seek only justice, sanctity, by putting our whole confidence in God.

Fr Pius Pasch:

Trustful evening prayer. To oppose the allurements of the world, this psalm makes us aware of the good fortune of union with God.  It was a favorite with St. Augustine.  We ought to pray it, he observes, "trembling with fear, and yet all aglow with hope and exultation at God's mercy."

 Cassiodorus:

End does not mean here the decline of some object but the perfection of rungs of the spirit; as Paul says: The end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone that believeth? Christ is the glorious perfection of all good things. So the words, Unto the end, remind us that they are to be related to the Lord Christ, or as some prefer, we are to believe that they refer to us...Throughout the psalm the words are spoken by holy mother Church...  In the first section she asks that her prayer be heard, and rebukes the faithless for worshipping false gods and ne­glecting worship of the true God. In the second part she warns the world at large that it must abandon deceitful superstition, and offer the sacrifice of justice. Then in her attempt to win over the minds of pagans by the promise she has made, she relates that the Lord has bestowed great gifts on Christians…

My summary (in the context of the Benedictine Office): 

Psalm 4 recapitulates some of the key themes of the Benedictine Office (and Rule): the Benedictine day starts with an allusion to the call to praise God, to offer up the sacrifice of justice in verse 16 of Psalm 50 at Matins; here again in this psalm the Office recalls this sacrificial dimension of our prayer (v6).   In Psalm 94 at Matins we are called not to harden our hearts lest we be lost; so here again, God asks how long we will fail to heed his call to conversion (v3).  Just as Lauds we celebrate the rising sun, and the light of Christ, so here we are reminded that his is the light that shines in the darkness (v7), the grace that enlarges our hearts through grace (v1, 4) so that we can run 'with the unspeakable sweetness of love' (RB Prologue).  Above all the psalms calls on us to repent and asks God to grant us forgiveness and the grace to do better in future; and asks for God’s blessing on our sleep (v5), so that we can rise up again with him on the morrow (Ps 3).  

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)