Psalms of Tenebrae/2 - Psalm 68: On holy zeal

Today in this Lenten series on the psalms of the Tenebrae of Holy Week, I want to start on the first Nocturn for Maundy Thursday, which focuses on the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and provides us with three psalms depicting the suffering servant.

The first of these psalms, Psalm 68 (69), Salvum me fac Deus, is not a short one!

But it is an important psalm, for it provides a summary of Our Lord's prayers as he faced his coming Passion.  As such, it is is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament.

The prayer in the Garden

Psalm 68 is truly the prayer of the Garden, opening with a plea for salvation from the waters of his coming baptism of blood, and lamenting the numbers of those who hate him without cause.  It describes his coming fate on the Cross, with its references to drinking vinegar and gall; and deals also with the fate of Judas and those who persecuted him.

But above all, it points to Our Lord's alienation from those around him, reflected in the failure of the apostles with him to stay awake, and their coming flight and disowning of him:

"And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none".

Zeal for your house has consumed me..

The antiphon for the psalm at Tenebrae, though, is Verse 10 of the psalm (when it is arranged liturgically), and Coverdale translates it thus:

"For the zeal of thine house hath even eaten me; and the rebukes of them that rebuked thee are fallen upon me."

This is a supremely important verse, for, as the Gospels remind us, it reminds us of the cleansing of the Temple, that act that Pope Benedict XVI argues in Volume 2 of Jesus of Nazareth is about opening the Temple truly to the whole world: 'it announces the coming of the new Temple, the Temple that Jesus came on earth to build', and reveals Christ's self-giving love, 'the zeal of the Cross' (pp22-23).

It should serve as a reminder to us, perhaps, that we, too, must always exhibit that good zeal for the faith that Our Lord models, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.

You can hear the antiphon sung as it is set for Tenebrae, along with a couple of verses to give you the feel of the psalm tone, in the video below.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro iis qui commutabuntur. David.	Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David.
1 Salvum me fac, Deus: * quóniam intravérunt aquæ usque ad ánimam meam.	2 Save me, O God: for the waters have come in even unto my soul.
2  Infíxus sum in limo profúndi: * et non est substántia.	3 I stick fast in the mire of the deep and there is no sure standing.
3  Veni in altitúdinem maris: * et tempéstas demérsit me.	I have come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest has overwhelmed me.
4  Laborávi clamans, raucæ factæ sunt fauces meæ: * defecérunt óculi mei, dum spero in Deum meum.	4 I have laboured with crying; my jaws have become hoarse, my eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God.
5  Multiplicáti sunt super capíllos cápitis mei, * qui odérunt me gratis.	5 They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without cause.
6  Confortáti sunt qui persecúti sunt me inimíci mei injúste: * quæ non rápui, tunc exsolvébam	My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully persecuted me: then did I pay that which I took not away.
7  Deus, tu scis insipiéntiam meam: * et delícta mea a te non sunt abscóndita.	6 O God, you know my foolishness; and my offences are not hidden from you:
8  Non erubéscant in me qui exspéctant te, Dómine, * Dómine virtútum	7 Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for you, O Lord, the Lord of hosts.
9  Non confundántur super me * qui quærunt te, Deus Israël.	Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek you, O God of Israel.
10  Quóniam propter te sustínui oppróbrium: * opéruit confúsio fáciem meam.	8 Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face.
11  Extráneus factus sum frátribus meis, * et peregrínus fíliis matris meæ.	9 I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother.
12  Quóniam zelus domus tuæ comédit me: * et oppróbria exprobrántium tibi cecidérunt super me.	10 For the zeal of your house has eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached you are fallen upon me.
13  Et opérui in jejúnio ánimam meam: * et factum est in oppróbrium mihi.	11 And I covered my soul in fasting: and it was made a reproach to me.
14  Et pósui vestiméntum meum cilícium: * et factus sum illis in parábolam.	12 And I made haircloth my garment: and I became a byword to them.
15  Advérsum me loquebántur, qui sedébant in porta: * et in me psallébant qui bibébant vinum.	13 They that sat in the gate spoke against me: and they that drank wine made me their song.
16  Ego vero oratiónem meam ad te, Dómine: * tempus benepláciti, Deus.	14 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord; for the time of your good pleasure, O God.
17 In multitúdine misericórdiæ tuæ exáudi me, * in veritáte salútis tuæ:	In the multitude of your mercy hear me, in the truth of your salvation.
18  Eripe me de luto, ut non infígar: * líbera me ab iis, qui odérunt me, et de profúndis aquárum.	15 Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
19  Non me demérgat tempéstas aquæ, neque absórbeat me profúndum: * neque úrgeat super me púteus os suum.	16 Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep water swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
20  Exáudi me, Dómine, quóniam benígna est misericórdia tua: * secúndum multitúdinem miseratiónum tuárum réspice in me.	17 Hear me, O Lord, for your mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of your tender mercies.
21  Et ne avértas fáciem tuam a púero tuo: * quóniam tríbulor, velóciter exáudi me.	18 And turn not away your face from your servant: for I am in trouble, hear me speedily.
22  Inténde ánimæ meæ, et líbera eam: * propter inimícos meos éripe me.	19 Attend to my soul, and deliver it: save me because of my enemies.
23  Tu scis impropérium meum, et confusiónem meam, * et reveréntiam meam.	20 You know my reproach, and my confusion, and my shame.
24  In conspéctu tuo sunt omnes qui tríbulant me: * impropérium exspectávit cor meum, et misériam.	21 In your sight are all they that afflict me; my heart has expected reproach and misery.
25  Et sustínui qui simul contristarétur, et non fuit: * et qui consolarétur, et non invéni.	And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none.
26  Et dedérunt in escam meam fel: * et in siti mea potavérunt me acéto.	22 And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
27  Fiat mensa eórum coram ipsis in láqueum, * et in retributiónes, et in scándalum.	23 Let their table become as a snare before them, and a recompense, and a stumbling block.
28  Obscuréntur óculi eórum ne vídeant: * et dorsum eórum semper incúrva.	24 Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and their back bend down always.
29  Effúnde super eos iram tuam: * et furor iræ tuæ comprehéndat eos.	25 Pour out your indignation upon them: and let your wrathful anger take hold of them.
30  Fiat habitátio eórum desérta: * et in tabernáculis eórum non sit qui inhábitet.	26 Let their habitation be made desolate: and let there be none to dwell in their tabernacles.
31  Quóniam quem tu percussísti, persecúti sunt: * et super dolórem vúlnerum meórum addidérunt.	27 Because they have persecuted him whom you have smitten; and they have added to the grief of my wounds.
32  Appóne iniquitátem super iniquitátem eórum: * et non intrent in justítiam tuam.	28 Add iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come into your justice.
33  Deleántur de libro vivéntium: * et cum justis non scribántur.	29 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the just let them not be written.
34  Ego sum pauper et dolens: * salus tua, Deus, suscépit me.	30 But I am poor and sorrowful: your salvation, O God, has set me up.
35  Laudábo nomen Dei cum cántico: * magnificábo eum in laude:	31 I will praise the name of God with a canticle: and I will magnify him with praise.
36  Et placébit Deo super vítulum novéllum: * córnua producéntem et úngulas.	32 And it shall please God better than a young calf, that brings forth horns and hoofs.
37  Vídeant páuperes et læténtur: * quærite Deum, et vivet ánima vestra.	33 Let the poor see and rejoice: seek God, and your soul shall live.
38  Quóniam exaudívit páuperes Dóminus: * et vinctos suos non despéxit.	34 For the Lord has heard the poor: and has not despised his prisoners.
39  Laudent illum cæli et terra, * mare et ómnia reptília in eis.	35 Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and everything that creeps therein.
40  Quóniam Deus salvam fáciet Sion: * et ædificabúntur civitátes Juda.	36 For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built up.
41  Et inhabitábunt ibi, * et hereditáte acquírent eam.	And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by inheritance.
42  Et semen servórum ejus possidébit eam: * et qui díligunt nomen ejus, habitábunt in ea.	37 And the seed of his servants shall possess it; and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

And here is the whole psalm sung in Latin:

Tenebrae of Holy Thursday

Nocturn I: Psalms 68, 69, 70
Nocturn II: Psalms 71, 72, 73
Nocturn III: Psalms 74, 75, 76
Lauds: 50, 89, 35, [Ex 15], 146

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

Other Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Jn 15:19-25 (5); Jn 2: 13-17; Rom 15:3; Heb 11:26 (12); Mk 3:21(11); Jn 16:32; Heb 12:2 (23); Mt 26:40 (25); Mt 27:34; Mk 15:23, 26; Lk 23: 36 Jn 19:28 (26); Rom 11: 9-10; (27); Acts 1:20; Rev 16:1 (29); Lk 13:35(30);
RB cursus	Wednesday Matins II, 1-2
Monastic feasts etc	Maundy Thurs Ten I, 1
Roman pre 1911	Thursday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62:  Thursday Matins. 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Holy Tuesday CO (15-16); Holy Wednesday GR [21] (1-2) Palm Sunday OF (23-26); Holy Wednesday GR (21) [1-2]; Sacred Heart (24)

The psalms of Tenebrae

This year by way of a daily Lenten meditation offering, I plan to focus on the psalms of the Office of Tenebrae, which is traditionally sung on the evenings of Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Tenebrae, where it is still sung, is a particularly beautiful part of the Holy Week liturgy.  It is most famous perhaps for its beautiful ceremonial, including the hearse of candles, one of which is extinguished as each psalm is said, and for the reading or singing of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and the various responsories of Tenebrae that go with the Matins readings (including the many famous polyphonic settings thereof).

Why the psalms?

I want, however, to concentrate on the psalms of the Tenebrae, which I think provide a really splendid teasing out of the events and theology that underlies the Sacred Triduum, those three intense days that encapsulate the wait for the salvation of the Resurrection that is the theme of the whole of Lent.

St Robert Bellarmine in his commentary on the first psalm of Tenebrae, Psalm 68, points out that the Gospels are often quite sparse on the details of the events of these days.  The Gospels do, however, repeatedly point us to the texts which draw out the events in more detail. 

Psalm 68, for example, is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament.  Here is St Robert's explanation of why:

The history of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Gospel, takes very little notice of the intensity of his sufferings, because the evangelists wished to show that it was quite voluntary, and borne with the greatest fortitude. But, as it was right that the world should know that the sufferings of Christ were intense beyond measure, and learn from thence the extent of their debt to the Redeemer, the Holy Ghost was pleased to reveal the intensity of his sufferings, long before, to the prophets, and, through them, as trustworthy witnesses and above suspicion, to be narrated to us. Isaias, therefore, wrote much about them, so did Jeremias, but none more than David."

And because this Office is so ancient, the particular psalms selected can teach us a lot about the understanding the early Church had of these events.

Accordingly, praying and meditating on one of them a day might make a suitable Lenten penance or at least form part of our Lenten program.

The Office of Tenebrae

Tenebrae, a word which literally means darkness, is the very ancient form of the Divine Office said during the Sacred Triduum.  The monastic and Roman forms of the (pre-1955 reform) Office of Tenebrae are identical, reflecting the ancient origins of the hour.

It has, unfortunately, been abolished altogether in the novus ordo. 

And even the 1962 Office rubrics prohibit anticipating Lauds, though this is universally ignored!  

In any case, the Office of Tenebrae on each of the three days consists of the 'hours' of Matins (originally said after midnight) and Lauds (normally said at first light).  During the Triduum, however, both hours are joined together and said in darkness.

Matins on each day consists of three nocturns, each with three psalms with antiphons, and three readings, each of which has a responsory (and the chant settings of these are some of the richest and most challenging in the chant repertory). 

Lauds on each day largely follows the normal psalm cursus (with a few tweaks to the variable psalms), reflecting the mini-Triduum already built into the Office for this hour. 

At Matins, the psalms of Maundy Thursday are those of the normal (pre-1910) psalm cursus for that day, again, I would suggest, reflecting the appropriateness of these for the day of the week; on Friday and Saturday however, the psalms are selected particularly for these two days of the year.

The psalms

As a few of the psalms are repeated, there are exactly enough for us to look at one a day in the period up to Holy Wednesday.

The psalms set for the Office of Maundy Thursday in the 1962 version are: (psalm numbering according to the Vulgate; an asterix indicates a psalm that is repeated): 68, 69, 70; 71, 72, 73; 74, 75*, 76; 50*, 89, 35, [Ex 15]; 146.

For Good Friday: 2, 21, 26*; 37, 39, 53*; 58, 87*, 93; 50*, 142, 84, [Hab]; 147.

For Holy Saturday: 4, 14, 15; 23, 26*, 29; 53*, 75*, 87*; 50*, 91, 63, [Is 38], 150.


I do hope you will join me in meditating on one of these psalms each day...and you can find the next part in the series here.