Psalm 9 (Pt 1) - Prime, Tuesday, No 3

Ms. Codex 1058 Glossed psalter, folio 5v,
circa 1100, Laon, France
University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Psalm 9 part 1: Confitebor tibi Domine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro occultis filii. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for the hidden things of the Son. A psalm for David.
1 Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * narrábo ómnia mirabília tua.	I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will relate all thy wonders.
2  Lætábor et exsultábo in te: * psallam nómini tuo, Altíssime.	I will be glad, and rejoice in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high.
3  In converténdo inimícum meum retrórsum: * infirmabúntur, et períbunt a fácie tua.	When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened, and perish before thy face.
4  Quóniam fecísti judícium meum et causam meam: * sedísti super thronum, qui júdicas justítiam.	For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice.
5  Increpásti Gentes, et périit ímpius: * nomen eórum delésti in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi.	Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished; thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6  Inimíci defecérunt frámeæ in finem: * et civitátes eórum destruxísti.	The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities thou hast destroyed
7  Périit memória eórum cum sónitu: * et Dóminus in ætérnum pérmanet.	Their memory hath perished with a noise: But the Lord remaineth for ever.
8  Parávit in judício thronum suum: * et ipse judicábit orbem terræ in æquitáte, judicábit pópulos in justítia.	He hath prepared his throne in judgment: And he shall judge the world in equity he shall judge the people in justice.
9  Et factus est Dóminus refúgium páuperi: * adjútor in opportunitátibus, in tribulatióne.	And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time in tribulation.
10  Et sperent in te qui novérunt nomen tuum: * quóniam non dereliquísti quæréntes te, Dómine.	And let them trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.
11  Psállite Dómino, qui hábitat in Sion: * annuntiáte inter Gentes stúdia ejus:	Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among the Gentiles:
12  Quóniam requírens sánguinem eórum recordátus est: * non est oblítus clamórem páuperum.	For requiring their blood, he hath remembered them: he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.
13  Miserére mei, Dómine: * vide humilitátem meam de inimícis meis.	Have mercy on me, O Lord: see my humiliation which I suffer from my enemies.
14  Qui exáltas me de portis mortis, * ut annúntiem omnes laudatiónes tuas in portis fíliæ Sion.	You that lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.
15  Exsultábo in salutári tuo: * infíxæ sunt Gentes in intéritu, quem fecérunt.	I will rejoice in your salvation: the Gentiles have stuck fast in the destruction which they prepared.
16  In láqueo isto, quem abscondérunt, * comprehénsus est pes eórum.	Their foot has been taken in the very snare which they hid.
17  Cognoscétur Dóminus judícia fáciens: * in opéribus mánuum suárum comprehénsus est peccátor.	The Lord shall be known when he executes judgments: the sinner has been caught in the works of his own hands.
18  Convertántur peccatóres in inférnum, * omnes Gentes quæ obliviscúntur Deum.	The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God.
19  Quóniam non in finem oblívio erit páuperis: * patiéntia páuperum non períbit in finem	For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience of the poor shall not perish for ever.

St Augustine:

...This Psalm is then sung for the hidden things of the only-begotten Son of God. For the Lord Himself too, when, without addition, He uses the word Son, would have Himself, the Only-begotten to be understood; as where He says, If the Son shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed...we must first understand that there are some things of the Son manifest, from which those are distinguished which are called hidden. 

Wherefore since we believe two advents of the Lord, one past, which the Jews understood not: the other future, which we both hope for; and since the one which the Jews understood not, profited the Gentiles...The hidden one is passing now, of which the Apostle Peter says, The time has come that judgment should begin from the house of the Lord. The hidden judgment accordingly is the pain, by which now each man is either exercised to purification, or warned to conversion, or if he despise the calling and discipline of God, is blinded unto damnation. But the manifest judgment is that in which the Lord, at His coming, will judge the quick and the dead, all men confessing that it is He by whom both rewards shall be assigned to the good, and punishments to the evil. 

St Thomas Aquinas:

In Psalm 8 the psalmist rendered thanks to God for granting divine blessings to the entire human race. Here in Psalm 9, thanks is especially rendered to God for blessings to the psalmist… 

Mystically the title for Psalm 9 can refer to Christ (Son of God). For, Christ is called a "Son," as of God, the Father...So, hidden things of a son are as mysteries concerning Christ. For such hidden things of Christ are twofold, Christ's first coming on earth is hidden in reference to his divinity and glory,…Christ's second coming upon this earth will be evident… 

Christ's judgment is also twofold. One is hidden within the very condition of this present world. Another judgment is from God, the Father, allowing good persons to suffer from evil persons…So, in Psalm 9 there is exposed a hidden judgment that good persons suffer from evil persons...Thus, the entire Psalm 9 is exposed along the above consideration of thanks, and freedom from enemies…considers actions from divine blessings. 

Divine blessings are threefold: from the mouth, the heart, and the deed. The blessings from the mouth are twofold: from praising and preaching. By praising when it says: "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart" (Verse 1). And by preaching, from three ideas: faith, sinners, and praise. Regards faith is said: "For man believes with his heart, and is so justified. He professes with his lips and so is saved." …Regards sinners: "Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed". Regards praise: "Then the angel called the two of them private, and said to them: "Praise God and give thanks to him in the presence for what he has done for us". 

St Alphonsus Liguori:

Among the interpreters there are some that see in this psalm, when taken in the literal sense, David thanking God for having given him the victory over his enemy; and when taken in the spiritual sense, Jesus Christ accomplishing the work of the Redemption, and thus subduing the devil, the great enemy of the human race. Others, whose opinion does not lack probability, regard this psalm as the portrait of the unhappy end of the wicked, who have lived in prosperity, and of the glorious end of the just, who have been living in tribulation.

Fr Pasch:

Thanksgiving for victory - Christ is victorious in his Resurrection and in the Church. By his dying, Christ has overcome the devil and given us a pledge of the victory.  He will win in the Church and in our soul.  The enemies spoken of are not the forces of earth, but those of hell.  Nor must we think of an earthly victory.  Rather, our victory as Christians will be like that of Christ, who seemed to be defeated in the eyes of men. 

The opening phrase of today's psalm, Confitebor tibi Domine, recurs in several other places on Tuesdays (indeed it can be found in all of the variable psalms/canticles at Lauds), and can perhaps be applied firstly to Christ during his time on earth, and his preaching of the Gospel to the world in the face of intense opposition.

It seems to refer to the preaching of the kingdom: the references to Sion in this psalm are echoed in numerous other references to heaven (especially the holy mountain and tabernacle of Psalm 42 at Lauds; the dedication of the temple, a microcosm of the heaven at Vespers in Psalm 131; and the several songs of Sion sung at Matins).

This last psalm of Prime is also, of course, a call for us to imitate Christ in his preaching and ascent: it reminds us of the joy of heaven; of the grace God provides to aid us in our struggles; and of the reason we must do it, in the form of Christ's second coming to judge.

Psalm 13 (Prime No 2, Thursday) - Overview** updated

BL Harley 1892, British Library

Psalm 13 is almost identical to Psalm 52, so by learning this one, you get two for the price of one.

The text of the psalm

Psalm 13 (14) - Dixit insípiens in corde suo  

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm for David.
Dixit insípiens in corde suo: * Non est Deus.	The fool has said in his heart: There is no God.
2  Corrúpti sunt, et abominábiles facti sunt in stúdiis suis: * non est qui fáciat bonum, non est usque ad unum.	They are corrupt, and have become abominable in their ways: there is none that does good, no not one.
3  Dóminus de cælo prospéxit super fílios hóminum, * ut vídeat si est intélligens, aut requírens Deum.	The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.
4  Omnes declinavérunt, simul inútiles facti sunt: * non est qui fáciat bonum, non est usque ad unum.	They are all gone aside, they have become unprofitable together: there is none that does good: no not one.
a  Sepúlcrum patens est guttur eórum: linguis suis dolóse agébant * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.(Ps 5:10)	Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they acted deceitfully: the poison of asps is under their lips.
b Quorum os maledictióne et amaritúdine plenum est: * velóces pedes eórum ad effundéndum sánguinem (Ps 10:7)	Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood.
c  Contrítio et infelícitas in viis eórum, et viam pacis non cognovérunt: * non est timor Dei ante óculos eórum.](Is 59:7-8; Prov 1:16)	Destruction and unhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
5  Nonne cognóscent omnes qui operántur iniquitátem, * qui dévorant plebem meam sicut escam panis?	Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread?
6  Dóminum non invocavérunt, * illic trepidavérunt timóre, ubi non erat timor.	They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear
7  Quóniam Dóminus in generatióne justa est, consílium ínopis confudístis: * quóniam Dóminus spes ejus est.	For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man; but the Lord is his hope.
8  Quis dabit ex Sion salutáre Israël? * cum averterit Dóminus captivitátem plebis suæ, exsultábit Jacob, et lætábitur Israël.	Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? When the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

You can hear it read aloud here but I'm afraid I haven't been able to locate any useful recordings of it being sung.

Traditional interpretations of the psalm

In Romans 3, St Paul cites this psalm (including a number of verses expunged from 1962 and onwards editions of the psalter, see below) as part of his explanation of the idea that no one can be saved by the (old) law alone, but only through Christ.

The title of this psalm in the Septuagint helps make the link: it is ‘to the end’, which the earliest commentators saw as pointing to its Christological application, for as St Paul says (Romans 10:4) ‘Christ is the end of the law’.  St Augustine, for example, commented:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes; Romans 10:4 as the Apostle says. We believe in Him, when we begin to enter on the good road: we shall see Him, when we shall get to the end. And therefore is He the end. For not even have certain sacrilegious and abominable philosophers, who entertain perverse and false notions of God, dared to say, There is no God.

The overall theme of the psalm is the corrupted state of man that flows from Original Sin, and is manifested in the malice and deceitfulness of those who oppose God – to the point of plotting to kill Our Lord.  St Athanasius, for example, suggested that:

When you hear people blaspheming against the providence of God, intercede with God with this psalm

Similarly St Alphonsus Liguori commented that:

The prophet deplores the blindness and the corruption of the wicked, and especially of infidels....

 Psalm 13 and 'interpolated' verses

I noted above that some verses of the psalm have been omitted in the 1962 and subsequent editions of the Monastic Diurnal  (and breviary).  I’ve included them in the table above, labeled a, b and c in italics.  They are all verses used elsewhere in Scripture, as I have noted), with a note of the original source of the citation).

The verses in question can be found in Romans 3:13-18 (as well as the approved Vulgate and Douay-Rheims translations), but were removed from monastic office in 1962, and subsequently from the neo-Vulgate text on the basis, as far as I can gather, that they aren't in the Hebrew 'original' and were just Christian interpolations of other texts.

Doubt about these verses is not new: St Jerome, for example, long ago advocated that they be removed from the psalter, but was overruled.

So why were they removed in 1962?

It may be it was just a matter of the fashion of the times, which tended to argue for the superiority of the the Hebrew Masoretic Text over the Septuagint-Vulgate tradition, and seek to expunge all the 'hard sayings' of Scripture.

There is however, perhaps one other explanation.

One of the other changes in the 1962 psalter was to move the opening verses of Wednesday Prime (the verses of Psalm 9 starting Exsurge Domine) to the end of Tuesday.  It is a change that doesn't make a lot of sense, first since the antiphon of the hour still reflects the old starting point, and secondly because the divisio point was clearly intended to resonate with several of the psalms of Matins on Wednesday (take a look at Psalms 67 and 68 in particular).

But the words 'Exsurge Domine' (albeit quoting Psalm 73) are the opening words of Pope Leo X's condemnation of the theses of Luther.  Moreover, it went on to cite those now expunged verses of Psalm 13. 

Could it be that these verses were deliberately de-emphasized and/or expunged from the Benedictine psalter because they were seen as offending ecumenical sensibilities?

Here are the opening paragraph's of Pope Leo X's Bull for your consideration:

Arise, O Lord, and judge your own cause. Remember your reproaches to those who are filled with foolishness all through the day. Listen to our prayers, for foxes have arisen seeking to destroy the vineyard whose winepress you alone have trod. When you were about to ascend to your Father, you committed the care, rule, and administration of the vineyard, an image of the triumphant church, to Peter, as the head and your vicar and his successors. The wild boar from the forest seeks to destroy it and every wild beast feeds upon it.

Rise, Peter, and fulfill this pastoral office divinely entrusted to you as mentioned above. Give heed to the cause of the holy Roman Church, mother of all churches and teacher of the faith, whom you by the order of God, have consecrated by your blood. Against the Roman Church, you warned, lying teachers are rising, introducing ruinous sects, and drawing upon themselves speedy doom. Their tongues are fire, a restless evil, full of deadly poison. They have bitter zeal, contention in their hearts, and boast and lie against the truth.

We beseech you also, Paul, to arise. It was you that enlightened and illuminated the Church by your doctrine and by a martyrdom like Peter's. For now a new Porphyry rises who, as the old once wrongfully assailed the holy apostles, now assails the holy pontiffs, our predecessors....

Rebuking them, in violation of your teaching, instead of imploring them, he is not ashamed to assail them, to tear at them, and when he despairs of his cause, to stoop to insults. He is like the heretics "whose last defense," as Jerome says, "is to start spewing out a serpent's venom with their tongue when they see that their causes are about to be condemned, and spring to insults when they see they are vanquished." For although you have said that there must be heresies to test the faithful, still they must be destroyed at their very birth by your intercession and help, so they do not grow or wax strong like your wolves. Finally, let the whole church of the saints and the rest of the universal church arise. Some, putting aside her true interpretation of Sacred Scripture, are blinded in mind by the father of lies. Wise in their own eyes, according to the ancient practice of heretics, they interpret these same Scriptures otherwise than the Holy Spirit demands, inspired only by their own sense of ambition, and for the sake of popular acclaim, as the Apostle declares. In fact, they twist and adulterate the Scriptures. As a result, according to Jerome, "It is no longer the Gospel of Christ, but a man's, or what is worse, the devil's."

Let all this holy Church of God, I say, arise, and with the blessed apostles intercede with almighty God to purge the errors of His sheep, to banish all heresies from the lands of the faithful, and be pleased to maintain the peace and unity of His holy Church.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm 

NT references	Tit 1:16 (v2); Rom 3:11-18; Rom 11:26 (v8)
RB cursus	Thursday Prime
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Sunday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Matins . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 3, Monday, CO (8)

Psalm 9 (Pt 2) - Prime on Wednesday

Beinecke Collection, Yale

Wednesday - Exsúrge, Dómine, non confortétur homo 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Exsúrge, Dómine, non confortétur homo: * judicéntur Gentes in conspéctu tuo.	Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in your sight.
2 Constítue, Dómine, legislatórem super eos: * ut sciant Gentes quóniam hómines sunt.	Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men.
3 Ut quid, Dómine, recessísti longe, * déspicis in opportunitátibus, in tribulatióne?	Why, O Lord, have you retired afar off? Why do you slight us in our wants, in the time of trouble?
4 Dum supérbit ímpius, incénditur pauper: * comprehendúntur in consíliis quibus cógitant.	Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: they are caught in the counsels which they devise.
5 Quóniam laudátur peccátor in desidériis ánimæ suæ: * et iníquus benedícitur.	For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: and the unjust man is blessed.
6 Exacerbávit Dóminum peccátor, * secúndum multitúdinem iræ suæ non quæret.	The sinner has provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of his wrath, he will not seek him:
7 Non est Deus in conspéctu ejus: * inquinátæ sunt viæ illíus in omni témpore.	God is not before his eyes: his ways are filthy at all times.
8 Auferúntur judícia tua a fácie ejus: * ómnium inimicórum suórum dominábitur.	Your judgments are removed form his sight: he shall rule over all his enemies.
9 Dixit enim in corde suo: * Non movébor a generatióne in generatiónem sine malo.	For he has said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil.
10 Cujus maledictióne os plenum est, et amaritúdine, et dolo: * sub lingua ejus labor et dolor.	His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit: under his tongue are labour and sorrow.
11 Sedet in insídiis cum divítibus in occúltis: * ut interfíciat innocéntem.	He sits in ambush with the rich, in private places, that he may kill the innocent.
12 Oculi ejus in páuperem respíciunt: * insidiátur in abscóndito, quasi leo in spelúnca sua.	His eyes are upon the poor man: he lies in wait, in secret, like a lion in his den.
13 Insidiátur ut rápiat páuperem: * rápere páuperem, dum áttrahit eum.	He lies in ambush, that he may catch the poor man: so catch the poor, whilst he draws him to him.
14 In láqueo suo humiliábit eum: * inclinábit se, et cadet, cum dominátus fúerit páuperum.	In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the poor.
15 Dixit enim in corde suo: Oblítus est Deus, * avértit fáciem suam ne vídeat in finem.	For he has said in his heart: God has forgotten, he has turned away his face, not to see to the end.
16 Exsúrge, Dómine Deus, exaltétur manus tua: * ne obliviscáris páuperum.	Arise, O Lord God, let your hand be exalted: forget not the poor.
17 Propter quid irritávit ímpius Deum? * dixit enim in corde suo: Non requíret.	Wherefore has the wicked provoked God? For he has said in his heart: He will not require it.
18 Vides quóniam tu labórem et dolórem consíderas: * ut tradas eos in manus tuas.	You see it, for you consider labour and sorrow: that you may deliver them into your hands.
19 Tibi derelíctus est pauper: * órphano tu eris adjútor.	To you is the poor man left: you will be a helper to the orphan.
20 Cóntere bráchium peccatóris et malígni: * quærétur peccátum illíus, et non inveniétur.	Break the arm of the sinner and of the malignant: his sin shall be sought, and shall not be found.
21 Dóminus regnábit in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi: * períbitis, Gentes, de terra illíus.	The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: you Gentiles shall perish from his land.
22 Desidérium páuperum exaudívit Dóminus: * præparatiónem cordis eórum audívit auris tua.	The Lord has heard the desire of the poor: your ear has heard the preparation of their heart.
23 Judicáre pupíllo et húmili, * ut non appónat ultra magnificáre se homo super terram.	To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no more presume to magnify himself upon earth.

St Benedict's organisation of the Office splits Psalm 9 into two parts, and there is surely a reason for this!  Certainly this second part of the psalms seems to fit well with the overall theme of the day on the evil that men do, above represented by Judas' betrayal.

The writer’s main plaint is that God seems to withdraw from the world, allowing the wicked to oppress the poor. The psalm points to a contest between God and man that is only too apposite to our times: man strives for the illusion of control, convinced that even if God exists (which he doubts), he won’t actually act to punish the evildoer, but instead leaves him free to pursue his desires for riches and pleasure, and to oppress the poor. In reality of course, as the psalmist makes clear, this is not a contest that man truly win, even though he might seem to be getting away with it for a time.

This half of the psalm itself falls neatly into two halves, each section starting with the call for God to arise (‘Exsurge’).  In the opening line, the psalm asks for God to judge things 'in your sight', that is, secretly, where God alone sees.  Evil men, the psalm notes seem to thrive; God seems to allow this to happen.  Yet, the psalmist points out, God does in fact see and intervene in the workings of history, even though much of what he is doing and the reasons for it are not clear to us, at least in this life.

At the second ‘exsurge’ (verse 16) the psalmist asks for God to make manifest his judgments in response to the trust the poor put in him.  The focus shifts to the behaviour of the poor and weak, and their hope in God.

Father Pius Pasch commented:

The first part of Psalm 9 has been full of joyous confidence, but this second part is sunk in sadness and lamentation.  We have to realize that there is more than victory to the kingdom.  We must see its other side: the defeats, the Gethsemane, the tears.  The mystical Christ, and with him the child of God, goes through the world with a cross upon his shoulder.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of Psalm 9/2

NT references	Rom 3:14 (v10); 2 Tim 1:12, James 1:27, 1 Pet 4:19 (v18-19)
RB cursus	Prime Wednesday
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Sunday matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Sunday matins  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 3 GR (1)

Introduction to Psalm 9 (pt 2)

The three psalms of Wednesday at Prime are all, in essence a plea God to intervene to set things right: to arise and act.

Today's installment is largely a complaint: as verse 3 plaintively puts it, why is God standing so afar off, and hiding himself in our hour of need?   Why does God allow evil men to thrive while oppressing the poor and persecuting good men (verses 4, 12-13)?

Psalm 9/2 (10) - Exsúrge, Dómine, non confortétur homo

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Exsúrge, Dómine, non confortétur homo: * judicéntur Gentes in conspéctu tuo.	Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in your sight.
2 Constítue, Dómine, legislatórem super eos: * ut sciant Gentes quóniam hómines sunt.	Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men.
3 Ut quid, Dómine, recessísti longe, * déspicis in opportunitátibus, in tribulatióne?	Why, O Lord, have you retired afar off? Why do you slight us in our wants, in the time of trouble?
4 Dum supérbit ímpius, incénditur pauper: * comprehendúntur in consíliis quibus cógitant.	Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: they are caught in the counsels which they devise.
5 Quóniam laudátur peccátor in desidériis ánimæ suæ: * et iníquus benedícitur.	For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: and the unjust man is blessed.
6 Exacerbávit Dóminum peccátor, * secúndum multitúdinem iræ suæ non quæret.	The sinner has provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of his wrath, he will not seek him:
7 Non est Deus in conspéctu ejus: * inquinátæ sunt viæ illíus in omni témpore.	God is not before his eyes: his ways are filthy at all times.
8 Auferúntur judícia tua a fácie ejus: * ómnium inimicórum suórum dominábitur.	Your judgments are removed form his sight: he shall rule over all his enemies.
9 Dixit enim in corde suo: * Non movébor a generatióne in generatiónem sine malo.	For he has said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil.
10 Cujus maledictióne os plenum est, et amaritúdine, et dolo: * sub lingua ejus labor et dolor.	His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit: under his tongue are labour and sorrow.
11 Sedet in insídiis cum divítibus in occúltis: * ut interfíciat innocéntem.	He sits in ambush with the rich, in private places, that he may kill the innocent.
12 Oculi ejus in páuperem respíciunt: * insidiátur in abscóndito, quasi leo in spelúnca sua.	His eyes are upon the poor man: he lies in wait, in secret, like a lion in his den.
13 Insidiátur ut rápiat páuperem: * rápere páuperem, dum áttrahit eum.	He lies in ambush, that he may catch the poor man: so catch the poor, whilst he draws him to him.
14 In láqueo suo humiliábit eum: * inclinábit se, et cadet, cum dominátus fúerit páuperum.	In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the poor.
15 Dixit enim in corde suo: Oblítus est Deus, * avértit fáciem suam ne vídeat in finem.	For he has said in his heart: God has forgotten, he has turned away his face, not to see to the end.
16 Exsúrge, Dómine Deus, exaltétur manus tua: * ne obliviscáris páuperum.	Arise, O Lord God, let your hand be exalted: forget not the poor.
17 Propter quid irritávit ímpius Deum? * dixit enim in corde suo: Non requíret.	Wherefore has the wicked provoked God? For he has said in his heart: He will not require it.
18 Vides quóniam tu labórem et dolórem consíderas: * ut tradas eos in manus tuas.	You see it, for you consider labour and sorrow: that you may deliver them into your hands.
19 Tibi derelíctus est pauper: * órphano tu eris adjútor.	To you is the poor man left: you will be a helper to the orphan.
20 Cóntere bráchium peccatóris et malígni: * quærétur peccátum illíus, et non inveniétur.	Break the arm of the sinner and of the malignant: his sin shall be sought, and shall not be found.
21 Dóminus regnábit in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi: * períbitis, Gentes, de terra illíus.	The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: you Gentiles shall perish from his land.
22 Desidérium páuperum exaudívit Dóminus: * præparatiónem cordis eórum audívit auris tua.	The Lord has heard the desire of the poor: your ear has heard the preparation of their heart.
23 Judicáre pupíllo et húmili, * ut non appónat ultra magnificáre se homo super terram.	To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no more presume to magnify himself upon earth.

The sinner acts as if there were no God...

The evil men of the psalm, who act as if God does not exist, and lurks in ambush to kill (v13), are types, I would suggest, of Judas, consistent with the association of the day with his betrayal.  God gives us free will: we can choose to follow him, or to betray him.   Either way, God uses our choices to advance his providential plan for the world, bringing good even out of evil.  But, the psalm reminds us, there are consequences of our choices both for ourselves and others.

In fact, as several of the commentators, including St Augustine and St Robert Bellarmine have treated the psalm as a little political economy lesson on the tendency of the rich to become greedy and oppress the poor, picking up a theme that runs through many of the books of the prophets as well and providing the basis for the social teaching of the Church.  Some of the commentators also note that spiritual oppression as one of the issues alluded to in this psalm, viewing heresy as a form of oppression: murdering someone spiritually by seducing them from the truth, after all, is far worse a crime than murdering them corporally.

One psalm or two?

In the Septuagint, today's Prime psalm is combined into one with the section of Psalm 9 that is said on Tuesday at Prime in the Benedictine Office.  In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, they become Psalms 9 and 10 respectively, albeit not split at quite the same verses as the Benedictine Psalter has traditionally done.

There are good reasons for believing that they were originally one composition.  In particular, Psalm 9 (and 10) is an acrostic psalm, starting the verses with a letter of the alphabet in order (though with a few missing, perhaps due to text corruption) as an aid to memory.

The two halves of the psalm are, though, quite different in tone and content, so St Benedict's decision to split them is readily understandable.

All the same, as I noted in relation to Tuesday Prime, the Monastic Breviary of 1962 actually places the first two verses of this part of the psalm on Tuesday rather than Wednesday, in order to line it up with Psalm 10 in the Hebrew Masoretic Text.  This seems problematic on several counts.

Firstly, the inclusion of the Exsurge verse gives the psalm a nice structure, with its who halves each framed by an exhortation for God to arise (ie v1&11), that I think helps make clear the psalm's key messasges.

Secondly, it breaks the link to the verse that is used as the antiphon on Wednesday at Prime throughout the year, since this is consigned to Tuesday Prime instead of Wednesday.

Thirdly, it breaks the link with Matins. Psalm 9's original division point echoes the fifth psalm of the first Nocturn, Psalm 67 'Exsurgat Deus, et dissipentur inimici eius.  And just to add weight to the view that this echoing is not in the least bit accidental, note that the opening verse of the psalm two on from this at Matins (Psalm 68) shares the identical incipit to that of the third psalm of Prime today, Salvum me fac Domine.

Finally, it undermines the symmetry of the whole hour, for while all three of the psalms of Wednesday Prime ponder the problem of God's seeming indifference to the persecution of the just, the first (in its traditional version) opens by asking God to arise and act; the third includes a response from God that he will now do so (nunc exsúrgam, dicit Dóminus), and a statement of just what he proposes to do.

Arise Lord, let man not prevail

This is also one of those psalms where the Septuagint differs substantially from the received Hebrew version, which appears to be corrupt in many places.  Accordingly, those who normally work from translations such as the Neo-Vulgate, Coverdale or the RSV, all of which follow the Hebrew here, will benefit from a look at the Vulgate and an English version which follows it, such as the Douay-Rheims.

The most dramatic of these differences leads to a diametrically opposite interpretations of the psalm.  In particular, in verse 2, instead of  asking for a 'law-giver' to be appointed over them (Constituite Domine, legislatorem super eos...), a plea for the coming of Christ the king, the Hebrew says 'incite terror over them' (or 'put them in fear'), and has thus been interpreted by some as a prophecy of the anti-Christ.

Both interpretations have some support in the Fathers and so are open.  But the Benedictine Office, it seems to me, not least through the use of the preceding verse as an antiphon, to have adopted the obvious meaning of the Septuagint/Vulgate version.  And the verse could also be seen it as referring back to Psalm 2's 'Ego autem constitutus sum Rex...' ('By him I am established as King...'), said at Monday Prime.

This is just pure speculation, but there is another possible reason for changing the divisio point, for the words that open the old start of Wednesday Prime's psalm, Exsurge Domine, are also the title of a bull of Pope Leo X condemning Luther, and so, 'de-emphasising' them may perhaps have been motivated by ecumenical concerns.  The removal of some of the verses of Psalm 13 may also have been linked to this, as I've discussed in relation to that psalm.

That said, many modern Benedictine monasteries, including Solesmes, have adopted the neo-Vulgate psalter, and so de facto take a different view on this, a curious case of modern translators overturning centuries of (liturgically inspired) tradition...