Introduction to Psalm 142 as a penitential psalm

David fleeing from Absalom, folio 72r
Belles Heures of Jean de France*
www.metmuseum.org

Today, I want to start the last stretch of this Lent series with an introduction to the last of the seven penitential psalms, Psalm 142 (143).

Psalm 142, like Psalm 129, the De Profundis, that proceeds it in this grouping, starts with the psalmist calling out from the last of his strength. Psalm 129 ended by looking forward to redemption through Our Lord; this psalm takes us a step further, to the coming of the Holy Spirit to guide us in God’s ways, and the eventual defeat of evil.

The text

Psalm 142: Domine, exaudi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

Context

Like Psalm 129, many modern commentators see Psalm 142 as reflecting the people of Israel at the time of the Exile, suggesting that it be thought of as Davidic in the sense of reflecting his ideas and style rather than strictly being of his authorship. The Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint, however, both clearly ascribe this psalm to David. And the Septuagint/Vulgate goes a step further, and adds a descriptor suggesting that it is set at the time described in 2 Kings 17, when King David took to the hills, pursued by his son Absalom and his rebellious army, as depicted in the picture above.

The possible specific context aside, the psalm can be seen as presenting David once more as a type of Our Lord. St Augustine, for example, sees the psalm primarily as a prophesy of Our Lord’s coming. The psalm is said at Lauds presumably because of its plea for mercy in the morning (verse 9) – but the morning reference is symbolic as well: the person dwelling in darkness, in the shadow of death (vs 4), looks to the light of Christ’s rising. Indeed, the psalm is used at the Ordinary Form Easter Vigil presumably for this very reason.

Key themes

Psalm 142, fittingly for the final psalm in the set, picks up a number of the themes that run through some or all of the penitential psalms: the dire nature of the psalmist’s personal situation; the sense of restlessness of a soul separated from God; and above all the sense that God has abandoned him on account of his sin.

The psalmist also develops further the idea set out in previous psalms that no one could truly withstand God’s judgment were it to be exercized strictly. As Pope John Paul II pointed out in his catechesis on this psalm:

“The text that we want to examine today was particularly dear to St Paul, who detected in it a radical sinfulness of every human creature: "for no man living is righteous before you, (O Lord)" (v. 2). This thought is used by the Apostle as the foundation of his teaching on sin and grace (cf. Gal 2: 16; Rm 3: 20).”

The last few verses, which pray for the defeat of the psalmist's enemies, can at first seem a little jarring to modern ears.  In fact the version of the Douay-Rheims I've quoted above makes them future tense rather than reflecting the subjunctive ('may he') of the Vulgate, and they are omitted altogether from the Liturgy of the Hours.  The key I think, is to interpret them in this context at least, primarily at least as a prayer for God's help in defeating our own personal demons, and overcoming sin, temptations and weaknesses with the help of God's grace.

The true core of the psalm, though, it seems to me, at least in the context of the penitential psalms, is the psalmist’s fervent desire to be with God, vividly expressed in verse 6, where he compares his soul to land parched dry by drought.

You can find verse by verse notes on this psalm starting here.

Tenebrae/24 - Psalm 142: I stretch out my hands

Today's psalm, Psalm 142, the second of Lauds (after Psalm 50) for Good Friday, is the last of the Penitential Psalms.

Desolation on the Cross

Its inclusion in Good Friday Tenebrae (and Friday in the older version of the Roman Office) presumably depends above all on the verse 'I stretched forth my hands to you'.  But the whole dark tone of the psalm, a plea for help, is particularly apt for that dark time when Christ struggled on the Cross:

"For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten
my life down to the ground; he hath laid me in the darkness,
as the men that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit
vexed within me, and my heart within me is desolate." (Coverdale)

Yet it is also a psalm that speaks of a deep longing to be with God, and foreshadows for us, the gift of the Holy Spirit, possibly why St Benedict places it at Saturday Lauds instead:

"Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies; for I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee; for thou art my God. Let thy loving Spirit lead me forth into the land of righteousness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy Name’s sake; and for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble."

The psalm closes with a reminder that we at at war, not just with earthly forces and our own sinful inclinations, but also but with diabolic powers.  This is not one we can win for ourselves alone, but need God's aid to triumph:

"And of thy goodness slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am thy servant."

Psalm 142

Psalm 142: Domine, exausi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

Tenebrae of Good Friday

Nocturn I: Psalms 2, 21, 26

Nocturn II: Psalms 37, 39, 53*

Nocturn III: Psalms 58, 87*, 93

Lauds: 50*, 142, 84, [Hab], 147

And you can find the next part in this series here.

Holy Saturday and the puzzle of Psalm 142

Harrowing of Hell, c1400

St Benedict sets only one Psalm at Lauds on Saturday, presumably in view of the length of the canticle of the day (which has been drastically truncated in the 1962 breviary).

A prayer of the crucifixion or Christ's coming?

Contemporary scholar Paul Bradshaw puzzles, however, in his book Daily Prayer in the Early Church, over just why the saint chose Psalm 142 for this position, given that the old Roman office had it on Friday, presumably for its references to the Crucifixion.

The answer to this puzzle, I think lies in the Patristic commentaries on this last of the seven penitential psalms, for they generally place it our lips, not Christ's: this is a prayer of the desperate longing of the penitent, who pleads with Christ to come in the Resurrection and heal him, rather than as the words of Christ himself on the Cross. Indeed, the psalm is used at the Ordinary Form Easter Vigil presumably for this very reason.

St Benedict presumably saw the reference to stretching out our arms as in imitation of his Crucifixion as set in context by the longing for his coming expressed in the second half of the verse: 'Expándi manus meas ad te: ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi, or, I spread forth my hands to thee; my soul thirsts for thee, as a dry land'.

Certainly St Benedict's contemporary Cassiodorus puts the verse in that light:

"Though he has prophesied the Lord Saviour's coming in countless passages, here too by stretching out his hands he formed the shape of the holy cross. The person who prays with hands extended imitates the cross of the Redeemer which was inflicted as punishment by the faithless Jews, but was none the less bestowed on believers as salvation…The comparison follows in which he says that his soul longs for God as the parched earth often absorbs abundant rain. The beginning of Psalm 41 is similar: As the hart pants after fountains of water, so my soul pants for thee, 0 God."

Today's liturgy invites us to ponder our own sins and repent of them, to remember the many times that God's people turned away from him and were punished for this. Yet each time a remnant was preserved, waiting in hope for their liberation, just as we wait in hope for the Second Coming, and more immediately perhaps, to celebrate the Eighth Day.

You can find verse by notes on the psalm in the context of the penitential psalms starting here.


Psalm 142 (143)

Psalm 142: Domine, exausi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.