Psalm 131: Verses 1-2

King David in Prayer, by Pieter de Grebber (c. 1640)

The opening verses of Psalm 131 set the scene of David's commitment to building the Temple.

Verse notes

1	V/NV	Meménto, Dómine, David, * et omnis mansuetúdinis ejus :
	JH	Memento, Domine, Dauid  et omnis adflictionis eius;
		μνήσθητι κύριε τοῦ Δαυιδ καὶ πάσης τῆς πραΰτητος αὐτοῦ

Memento (Remember/Be mindful ie future imperative of memini) Domine (O Lord) David et (and) omnis (all) mansuetudinis (meekness) ejus (his)

The speaker here could be David himself, in the third person, or perhaps his son King Solomon who actually built the Temple. The Masoretic Text Hebrew reading of his verse (attesting to David’s devotedness/labours/piety rather than his meekness) verse may reflect a desire to avoid giving any credit to the Christian reading of the psalm: meekness is of course one of the virtues claimed for Christ, and advocated by him in the beatitudes, so unsurprising that the early Jews would seek to avoid  its use in a psalm accepted as Messianic by both religions.  That said, the underlying Hebrew is ambiguous, so the two competing interpretations of the second phrase, meekness (Septuagint) or labour (Masoretic Text) respectively, are both theoretically possible readings. 

memini, nisse  to remember, be mindful of;

omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything.

mansuetudo, inis, f  meekness, mildness, clemency; weakness, inactivity, 

DR	O Lord remember David, and all his meekness.
NETS	O Lord remember David and all his meekness
Brenton	Lord, remember David, and all his meekness
MD	O Lord remember David, and all his devotedness
RSV	Remember, O LORD, in David's favor, all the hardships he endured;
Cover	Lord, remember David, and all his trouble

Verse 1 lauds David’s meekness, foreshadowing that of Our Lord.  But what does meekness really mean?  Certainly not a reluctance to speak up strongly and act when necessary, as St Robert Bellarmine points out:

“Nor is it inconsistent with the meekness of David or Moses to have taken the lives of so many, nor with that of Christ to have turned the buyers and sellers out of the temple, and to upset their tables; for meekness is not inconsis­tent with justice, it is rather sister to zeal for the honor of God; and they who readily put up with a personal offence, which is the office of meekness, are the more fit to punish one offered to God or to the neighbor, because it is evident to all that they are not influenced by any private pique or selfish motive, but by a pure love of justice; as, also, because they seem to forget them­selves altogether, and to be entirely absorbed in seeking and extending God's honor and glory.”

You can read St John Chrysostom's exposition of this verse presenting meekness as being about 'tough love' here.

2	V/JH	Sicut jurávit Dómino, * votum vovit Deo Jacob :
	NV	quia iuravit Domino, votum vovit Potenti Iacob:
		ὡς ὤμοσεν τῷ κυρίῳ ηὔξατο τῷ θεῷ Ιακωβ

Sicut (as)  jurávit (he swore an oath) Dómino (to the Lord) votum (a vow) vovit (he vowed)  

Deo (to the God) Jacob (of Jacob).

There are no other Scriptural allusions to David’s oath on this subject, but 2 Samuel 6&7 record his decision to build a dwelling for God.  The Neo-Vulgate follows the MT here in making the vow to ‘the Strong One’ or ‘Hero’ of Jacob, rather than just the God of Jacob.  The Navarre commentary points out that the name "Mighty One of Jacob" (vv. 2, 5) is the same as "Protector of Israel".

sicut, adv., as, just as, like, how

juro, avi, atum, are, to swear, take an oath

votum, i, n. a vow votum vovere, to vow a vow, make a vow, to vow.

voveo, vovi, votum, ere 2, to vow, to promise solemnly or sacredly.

DR	How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:
Brenton	how he sware to the Lord, and vowed to the God of Jacob
Cover	how he swore unto the Lord, and vowed a vow unto the Almighty God of Jacob

It is often claimed that Churches are not much needed any more, that any ‘worship space’ will do.  Increasingly, the great cathedrals of the world are being dwarfed by skyscrapers, or replaced by architectural monstrosities.  Yet this psalm testifies to just how important churches really are. 

The Old Testament records that just as God is especially present in reserved Eucharist in the tabernacle of the Church, so God was especially present to his people first in the Arc of the Covenant, and subsequently in the Temple itself.  

David vowed to replace the tents and tabernacle set up by Moses with a proper Temple – but God refused to allow him to do so because of his many sins, and instead gave the task to his son Solomon to complete. Nonetheless, the importance of David’s intention, and the blessings that flowed from it, are attested to in this psalm. 

The final destruction of the Temple in 70 AD effectively ended the Jewish religion as it was then understood, with its animal sacrifices and annual pilgrimages.  But this psalm should remind us that the destruction of the Temple, far from abolishing the need to honour God through buildings devoted to him, rather made at least theoretically possible the spread of God’s Real Presence to every village, town and city throughout the whole world.  Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI has commented in relation to this psalm that:

“…it shows that at the heart of the social life of a city, of a community, of a people there must be a presence that calls to mind the mystery of the transcendent God, a proper space for God, a dwelling for God. Man cannot walk well without God; he must walk together with God through history, and the task of the temple, of the dwelling of God, is to point out in a visible way this communion, this allowing God to guide.”

Psalm 131 (132) – Memento Domine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Meménto, Dómine, David, * et omnis mansuetúdinis ejus :	O Lord remember David, and all his meekness.
2  Sicut jurávit Dómino, * votum vovit Deo Jacob	2 How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:
3  Si introíero in tabernáculum domus meæ, * si ascéndero in lectum strati mei :	3 If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house: if I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie:
4  Si dédero somnum óculis meis, * et pálpebris meis dormitatiónem :	4 If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,
5  Et réquiem tempóribus meis : donec invéniam locum Dómino, * tabernáculum Deo Jacob.	5 or rest to my temples: until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
6. Ecce audívimus eam in Ephrata: * invénimus eam in campis silvæ.	6 Behold we have heard of it in Ephrata: we have found it in the fields of the wood.
7  Introíbimus in tabernáculum ejus: * adorábimus in loco, ubi stetérunt pedes ejus.	7 We will go into his tabernacle: we will adore in the place where his feet stood. .
8  Surge, Dómine, in réquiem tuam, * tu et arca sanctificatiónis tuæ.	8 Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark, which you have sanctified
9  Sacerdótes tui induántur justítiam: * et sancti tui exsúltent.	9 Let your priests be clothed with justice: and let   your saints rejoice.
10  Propter David, servum tuum: * non avértas fáciem Christi tui.	10 For your servant David's sake, turn not away the face of your anointed.
11  Jurávit Dóminus David veritátem, et non frustrábitur eam: * de fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam.	11 The Lord has sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne
12  Si custodíerint fílii tui testaméntum meum: * et testimónia mea hæc, quæ docébo eos.	12 If your children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them:
13  Et fílii eórum usque in sæculum: * sedébunt super sedem tuam.	Their children also for evermore shall sit upon your throne.
14  Quóniam elégit Dóminus Sion: * elégit eam in habitatiónem sibi.	13 For the Lord has chosen Sion: he has chosen it for his dwelling.
15  Hæc réquies mea in sæculum sæculi: * hic habitábo, quóniam elégi eam.	14 This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
16  Víduam ejus benedícens benedícam: * páuperes ejus saturábo pánibus.	15 Blessing I will bless her widow: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
17  Sacerdótes ejus índuam salutári: * et sancti ejus exsultatióne exsultábunt.	16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.
18  Illuc prodúcam cornu David: * parávi lucérnam Christo meo.	17 There will I bring forth a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for my anointed
19  Inimícos ejus índuam confusióne: * super ipsum autem efflorébit sanctificátio mea.	18 His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him shall my sanctification flourish.

For the next part in this series of notes on Psalm 131, continue on here.

Introduction to Psalm 131

Duccio: Presentation in the Temple

Psalm 131 (132), the third psalm of Tuesday Vespers, is longest of the gradual psalms, and the climax of the group.  It has its historical origins in the dedication of the First Temple. The first half of the psalm is from the people/King’s perspective; the second half is God’s response.

Psalm 131 (132) – Memento Domine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Meménto, Dómine, David, * et omnis mansuetúdinis ejus :	O Lord remember David, and all his meekness.
2  Sicut jurávit Dómino, * votum vovit Deo Jacob	2 How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:
3  Si introíero in tabernáculum domus meæ, * si ascéndero in lectum strati mei :	3 If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house: if I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie:
4  Si dédero somnum óculis meis, * et pálpebris meis dormitatiónem :	4 If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,
5  Et réquiem tempóribus meis : donec invéniam locum Dómino, * tabernáculum Deo Jacob.	5 or rest to my temples: until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
6. Ecce audívimus eam in Ephrata: * invénimus eam in campis silvæ.	6 Behold we have heard of it in Ephrata: we have found it in the fields of the wood.
7  Introíbimus in tabernáculum ejus: * adorábimus in loco, ubi stetérunt pedes ejus.	7 We will go into his tabernacle: we will adore in the place where his feet stood. .
8  Surge, Dómine, in réquiem tuam, * tu et arca sanctificatiónis tuæ.	8 Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark, which you have sanctified
9  Sacerdótes tui induántur justítiam: * et sancti tui exsúltent.	9 Let your priests be clothed with justice: and let your saints rejoice.
10  Propter David, servum tuum: * non avértas fáciem Christi tui.	10 For your servant David's sake, turn not away the face of your anointed.
11  Jurávit Dóminus David veritátem, et non frustrábitur eam: * de fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam.	11 The Lord has sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne
12  Si custodíerint fílii tui testaméntum meum: * et testimónia mea hæc, quæ docébo eos.	12 If your children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them:
13  Et fílii eórum usque in sæculum: * sedébunt super sedem tuam.	Their children also for evermore shall sit upon your throne.
14  Quóniam elégit Dóminus Sion: * elégit eam in habitatiónem sibi.	13 For the Lord has chosen Sion: he has chosen it for his dwelling.
15  Hæc réquies mea in sæculum sæculi: * hic habitábo, quóniam elégi eam.	14 This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
16  Víduam ejus benedícens benedícam: * páuperes ejus saturábo pánibus.	15 Blessing I will bless her widow: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
17  Sacerdótes ejus índuam salutári: * et sancti ejus exsultatióne exsultábunt.	16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.
18  Illuc prodúcam cornu David: * parávi lucérnam Christo meo.	17 There will I bring forth a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for my anointed
19  Inimícos ejus índuam confusióne: * super ipsum autem efflorébit sanctificátio mea.	18 His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him shall my sanctification flourish.

Historical context

Psalm 131 was probably originally composed for the occasion of King David’s bringing the Arc of the Covenant to Mount Sion.

The psalm is put in the mouths of two different speakers: Solomon, recalling the oath his father swore, and then commenting on the ceremony of the dedication of the Temple (vs 5-10); and finally God himself.

Two separate sections of Scripture provide some context for the psalm.

First, 2 Chronicles chapters 6 to 7, quotes at length from it, and provides an extended description of the ceremonies that accompanied the dedication of the Temple.  Its text provides something of a commentary on the psalm, so do go and read it in full.

In particular, it recounts a speech of Solomon on the occasion, which starts with how God chose the people of Israel as his own, brought them out of slavery, and promised to dwell with them in a cloud; how he chose the city of Jerusalem, David as its King, and recounts David’s plans to build the Temple.  It also notes that while David wanted to build the Temple himself, God instructed him to leave the task to his son, Solomon.  The chapter also contains an extended discussion of the covenant, and behaviour required of the Israelites, as well as of the rationale for having a Temple with God’s Real Presence.

Secondly, chapter 7 of 2 Samuel also records the story of David’s commitment to building God a Temple, and God’s promises in return, this time in the form of a vision to the prophet Nathan.  Here is an extract from that chapter:

“Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent." And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you."  But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, "Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?  I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.  In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth… Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son….And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'" 

The final part of Psalm 131 records God’s promises to David.  And the promises are these: that his descendants will rule forever, a promise realized in the kingship of Christ (vs 11-12); that God will dwell with them, as he does in the Church and in heaven (vs 13-14); that the people will be blessed abundantly with spiritual food through the sacraments, Sacred Scripture and grace (vs 15-16); that he will send the Messiah, after first preparing the way for him through St John the Baptist (vs 18); his enemies will be defeated and brought to shame at the end (vs 19).

Septuagint vs the Hebrew Masoretic Text

Some of the early Church Fathers such as Tertullian claimed that the Jews were changing Scripture in reaction to Christian interpretations of it.  It was a claim discounted by many, including, most vociferously, St Jerome, but recent evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls provides some support for the claim.  And this psalm provides some possible examples, with competing interpretations of the underlying Hebrew, and clearly differing text traditions contained in the Septuagint Greek compared to the much later Jewish Masoretic Text tradition.

In verse one for example, in the Septuagint/Vulgate the speaker lauds King David’s meekness.  The Masoretic Text reads the same text as ‘labours’ or ‘devotedness’.  Both interpretations of the text are theoretically possible (due to early Hebrew’s lack of vowel indications) - but it may also be that those early Jews reacting to Christian claims preferred not to highlight Christ-like meekness!  In later verses the MT omits some text found in the Septuagint, and is differs significantly in others.



For the first set of notes on the individual verses of this psalm, continue here.

Gentle Jesus meek and mild? St John Chrysostom on tough love

I gave a little background yesterday on the great doctor of the Church St John Chrysostom and his commentaries on the psalms. 

Today I want to give a little taster of his commentary, using as an example his discussion of an issue that is important for us today, namely the nature of meekness, drawing from his introduction to Psalm 131 (132), 'O Lord remember David, and all his meekness'.

The sanatisation of Our Lord

One of the biggest problems in modern Catholicism is the highly selective, highly sanitised picture often presented of Our Lord and his teaching: the faux-version that emphasizes that Jesus associated with sinners but omits to mention his insistence that they sin no more; a version that emphasizes turning the other cheek and praying for enemies, but forgets about his driving the money-lenders from the Temple and taking the pharisees and others to task for hypocrisy; the version that altogether omits some of the 'hard sayings' on doctrine Our Lord taught, such as the nature of the Eucharist, the prohibition on divorce, and much more. 

It leads to a version of Christianity where true catholics are berated for the crime of promoting orthodoxy; where those who campaign against liturgical abuses are denounced as 'temple police'; and where most bishops and priests prefer to stay silent rather than cause 'discomfort' by teaching the truth. 

In his commentary on Psalm 131, St John Chrysostom looks precisely at this issue.

Psalm 131, verse 1

The first line of Psalm 131 in the Vulgate is Meménto, Dómine, David, et omnis mansuetúdinis ejus', or Remember Lord, David and all his meekness.

There is an obvious connection here between the claimed meekness for David, the third beatitude (Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth), and God's promise to David that his descendants would rule Israel forever.

It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the Hebrew Masoretic Text version of this verse (not followed by the neo-Vulgate in this particular case), in what may be a classic piece of anti-Christian text manipulation by the early post-Temple Jewish community, substitutes a word meaning 'hardships' for meekness in this verse

But what does meekness actually mean in this context?

King David, after all, is hardly the popular image of a meek and mild, pacifistic personality: he learnt his slingshot skills as a shepherd defending his flock against lions and other wild beasts, and from his famous encounter with Goliath and throughout his turbulent reign, he was above all, a warrior.

Paris Psalter

Meekness does not mean inaction, quite the contrary!

In order to tackle the question, St John points us to another 'type' of Christ, namely Moses, in order to understand that meekness, or gentleness, does not imply weakness, failure to speak up, or pacifism:

"While in other places they ask to be saved only on the basis of remembrance of the ancestors, here by contrast they cite the reason for the good things - moderation, humility, gentleness, for which Moses too was particularly remarkable. "He was the gen­tlest of all the men on the earth," Scripture says, remember.   But some of the heretics criticize his way of life and what is said of him, asking, "What do you mean? Was that the gentlest of men who struck down the Egyptian and slew him? Who filled the Jews with internecine blood and wars? Who ordered kith and kin to commit murder? Who sundered the earth with a prayer, and drew down thunderbolts from on high, drowning some and incinerat­ing others?"

 

St John's key point is that failure to speak up or take corrective act in the face of sin is not a sign of meekness and humility, but is in fact a vice:

"Ignoring the wronged, not grieving on behalf of the wronged or fuming over the abused is a mark not of virtue but of vice - not of gentleness, to be sure, but of torpor.  And so this very thing demonstrates his gentleness, and the fact that he was so ardent as to spring into action in cases where he saw others being wronged, unable to contain his irritation in de­fence of the righteous..."

In fact, St John argues, the mark of meekness is that Moses - and thus David, foreshadowing Our Lord - was more concerned about the spiritual welfare of the many than about his own fate; and did not consider sparing the rod in the case of the guilty the right course when it could cost the souls of others:

"Should he have ignored the trampling un­derfoot of the priesthood, the overturning of God's laws and the dissolution of all their content - I mean the dignity of the priest­hood, the opening of the sanctuary to all and, out of indifference for the priests, exposing the sacred precincts to the invasion of anyone inclined and letting everything go to the dogs? These things most of all, however, would not have been marks of gentleness but of inhumanity and cruelty, to ignore such an increase in evil and by sparing two hundred to destroy so many tens of thousands. I mean, tell me, when he bade kith and kin to be slain, what should he have done, with God enraged, impiety on the increase, and no one available who could save them from this rage? Should he have let a blow fall from heaven on all the tribes, the race be abandoned to utter ruin, and with that punishment ignore as well the incur­able sin committed? Or with retribution and death of a few mem­bers expunge the sin, avert the rage and render God propitious to those who had committed such awful sins? If you examine the righteous man's behavior in this way, you will acknowledge from this in particular his being most gentle."

Moses and Korah, c15th

Accepting personal suffering with patience

What actually constitutes meekness, St John concludes, is acting for the good, and accepting attacks on ourselves with grace and forbearance:

"If first we distinguish and define what on earth is gentleness and what harshness. I mean, striking is not a mark of harshness pure and simple, nor sparing a mark of gentleness; rather, that person is gentle who is able to bear faults against himself...And so this very thing demonstrates his gentleness, and the fact that he was so ardent as to spring into action in cases where he saw others being wronged, unable to contain his irritation in de­fence of the righteous. At any rate, when he personally was abused, he neither took vengeance nor demanded retribution, but without fail continued faithful to his sound values. Had he been harsh or irascible, on the contrary, he who showed such feeling and ardor for the sake of others would not have been strong enough to ac­cept his own fate, but in that situation would have been much more enraged."

Note: All extracts quoted above are from St John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Translated with an Introduction by Robert Charles Hill, Volume Two, Holy Cross Orthodox Press: Brookline, MA; 1998, pp 202-4.