Psalm 90 v16 pt 2: St Benedict's take - Extend our lives O Lord?

Hezekiah's sundial

Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: et osténdam illi salutáre meum.

I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

In the last post I discussed the interpretations of the last verse of Psalm 90 offered by the Fathers and Theologians that centre around the Christological interpretation of the verse, as well as its promise of eternal life to us.  

In this post I want to continue with some speculation on St Benedict's particular take on the verse.

A long temporal life?

Not all interpreters of this verse see it as referring only to eternal life; instead, some see if as a  promise of a long life here and now.  

St Alphonsus Liguori, for example, argued that of the eight promises set out in these last three verses of the psalm, four of them relate to this work, and four to the next:

I will give him a long life, and will make him enjoy the health and salvation that I shall bestow upon him in this life, and eternal salvation which I reserve for him in the next… that is: I will draw him from this world of tribulation, and I will raise him to the abode of glory; there his life will have no longer an end, and he will enjoy a happiness that I enjoy myself.

How long though, is long enough in this world?

Extend our lives so that we can amend our evil ways

St Benedict's commentary in the Prologue to the Rule suggests that we must hope and pray that God 

'lengthens the days of our life' to give us enough time ‘to amend our evil ways’ and ‘to make our life correspond with God’s holy admonitions’.

There is an interesting possible connection to this theme in the psalm made by Theodore of Cyrus.

King Hezekiah, who, when told he was dying, begged for his life to be extended, and was granted an additional fifteen years of life.

Theodore's commentary on the psalm notes that:

Blessed Hezekiah also enjoyed these benefits, asking for an extended life, he received a span of fifteen years…

The Gradual psalms and the canticle of Hezekiah

Fifteen is of course, a significant number, associated with both the number of steps between the inner and outer courtyards of the Temple, symbolizing the ascent to heaven, and with the Gradual Psalms that were recited as the pilgrims ascended them on great feasts.  

In order to remind us of the need to make our own ascent through humility, St Benedict assigned the first nine of the Gradual psalms to be said at Terce to None most days.  

But it is particularly symbolic that St Benedict assigns all of the Gradual Psalms (bar one) to Tuesdays, the day on which the Canticle of Hezekiah (in which Hezekiah begs for God to save him from death) is traditionally said at Lauds.

We too, it seems to me, are being invited, as the canticle pleads, to ask God to correct us, and thus enable us to live (corrípies me et vivificábis me).

In the Rule, St Benedict makes repeated references to the need for us to continually strive to do good works, to grow in humility and virtue, so that our hearts are enlarged with charity and we can deserve to be partakers in his kingdom.

And our entry into that kingdom is foreshadowed in the fifteenth and last Gradual Psalm (Ps 133) which is recited immediately after this final verse of Psalm 90 each day at Compline in the Benedictine Office.

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
Hezekiah's sundial 9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

And that brings to an end this series on Psalm 90 - please do pass on any reactions, comments or suggestions in the comm box or by emailing me.

Next week, I plan to take a look at one of the repeated psalms of the (pre-1911) Roman Office, Psalm 53, which also features heavily in Tenebrae of Holy Week.

Psalm 90 vs 16 Pt 1 - Christ and the devil

Book of Kells

Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: et osténdam illi salutáre meum.

I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

The final verse of Psalm 90 provides the two final promises of God to those who trust in them.

As I find I have quite a lot to say about this verse, I will split my comments between between two posts.

Understanding the Latin

The key vocabulary is:

longitudo,inis, f lit.,length,

dies,ei, m. and fem. a day, the natural day

repleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2, to fill, sate, satisfy

ostendo, tendi, terttum, ere 3 to show, display; to expose, lay open; to show

salutaris, e a Savior, Helper, used of God; help, saving help,rescue, salvation,

Word by word:

Longitúdine (with length) diérum (of days) replébo (I will fill/satisfy/satiate) eum (him): et (and) osténdam (I will show) illi (to him) salutáre (with salvation) meum (my).

The Douay Rheims translates it as ‘I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation’.  The Coverdale and the RSV translations change length of days to ‘long life’, but this rather pre-empts a key question of interpretation: is he promising a long temporal life, or rather eternal life in heaven?

Douay Rheims	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.
Monastic Diurnal	With length of days I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.
Brenton	I will satisfy him with length of days, and shew him my salvation.
RSV	With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Coverdale	With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Knox	Length of days he shall have to content him,  and find in me deliverance.
Grail	With length of days I will content him; I shall let you see my saving power.

Length of days – the Christological interpretation

St Jerome argued that the verse should be interpreted as relating to Christ, and it can be read as literally meaning he will live for all eternity, and the reference to salvation refers to his eternal kingship.

His interpretation is supported by the use of the phrase (or variants of it) in a number of other key psalms with clear Christological meanings, most notably Psalm 20:4, the first (variable) psalm each week in the Benedictine Office, said at Sunday Matins, which reads:

Vitam pétiit a te: et tribuísti ei longitúdinem diérum in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi. He asked life of you: and you have given him length of days for ever and ever.

St Irenaeus, for example, commented on that verse that:

In this way, the Psalmist proclaims his Resurrection from the dead and his immortality after rising from the dead. In fact, he entered life in order to rise again, and through the space of time in eternity, so as to be incorruptible.

The phrase also closes Psalm 92, said in the festal versions of Lauds and Matins on Fridays, with a similar connotation:

Testimónia tua credibília facta sunt nimis: domum tuam decet sanctitúdo, Dómine, in longitúdinem diérum. Your testimonies have become exceedingly credible: holiness becomes your house, O Lord, unto length of days.

Applied to us – the promise of eternal life

But the verse can also be applied to us, offering the promise of eternal life and happiness in heaven, since as St Augustine asserted in his commentary in the verse, how can anything less than eternal life be said to satisfy us:

That length is one that has no end, eternal life, that is promised us in long days. And truly, since this suffices, with reason he says, will I satisfy him. What is long in time, if it has an end, satisfies us not: for that reason it should not be even called long. And if we are covetous, we ought to be covetous of eternal life: long for such a life, as has no end.

There is, however, another possible interpretation of this verse, namely that it relates to our current, temporal life, and I will discuss that view in the next post.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino: Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4 Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5 Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6 A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7 Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8 Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9 Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10 Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11 Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12 In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14 Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15 Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16 Longitúdine diérum replébo eum:   * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

And you can find the final part of this series on Psalm 90 here.

Psalm 90 v15 - Rising glorified with Christ

Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 27v -
David Imagines Christ Elevated Above All Other Beings
the Musée Condé, Chantilly

Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum: cum ipso sum in tribulatióne: erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.

He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.

Understanding the Latin

The key vocabulary is:

clamo, avi, atum, are  to call, cry out; to call to or upon for aid.

exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.

tribulatio, onis, f. , trouble, distress, anguish, affliction, tribulation

eripio, ripui, reptum, ere 3  to snatch away, to rescue, deliver.

glorifico, avi, atum, are  to praise, glorify, exalt

This verse continues the list of promises God makes to the person who trusts in him.  Word by word:

 Clamábit (he will call) ad (to) me (me), et (and) ego (I) exáudiam (I will hear) eum (him): cum (when/with) ipso (he himself) sum (I am) in (in) tribulatióne (trouble/distress): erípiam (I will rescue) eum (him) et (and) glorificábo (I will glorify) eum (him).

The key translation issue is how to render ‘glorificabo’.  Applied to Christ, the Douay-Rheims’ version, ‘I will glorify’ makes perfect sense; but other translations perhaps strive to give it a more general application by rendering it ‘I will honour him’ or ‘bring him to honour’.

Douay-Rheims	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
Monastic Diurnal	He will call upon Me and I will hear him, I will be with him in need, I will rescue him and bring him to honour.
Brenton	He shall call upon me, and I will hearken to him: I am with him in affliction; and I will deliver him, and glorify him.
RSV	When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him.
Coverdale	He shall call upon me, and I will hear him. Yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.
Knox	when he calls upon me, I will listen, in affliction I am at his side, to bring him safety and honour.
Grail	When he calls I shall answer: "I am with you," I will save him in distress and give him glory.

The sacred Triduum

This verse sets out four promises or prophesies, which can be read as specific references to the events of the Sacred Triduum: he will call on me; I will hear him; I will save him; and I will glorify him.

St Robert Bellarmine saw these as fulfilled in the days of the Sacred Triduum and Easter Sunday:

“…the Friday on which the Lord, hanging on his cross, was in his greatest tribulation; the Saturday on which he rested in peace from all his troubles; and the Sunday on which, by rising from the dead, he had a most glorious triumph.”

He then points to the importance of this motif in our lives on this earth and in heaven, a message arguably reflected in the little Triduum effected in the Benedictine Office each week:

All the just and the elect have three such days before them; for, with Christ, we must all go through our own tribulations on Friday, that is, in this life, which is the shortest, and is counted but as one day; we must rest in the sepulchre on the Saturday; and, finally, rise on Sunday, and be glorified with Christ.

God’s enduring protection of his Church

Yet the Passion of Christ goes beyond those three days: rather it reopens the way to heaven for his people, and has several practical effects. 

The first commitment is that God will hear our prayer, a promise echoed in many other places in Scripture.

though certain conditions are necessary to have our prayer heard, the principal one is that which is expressed here, when he says, "he shall cry to me;" which implies a vehement desire, springing from confidence and love.

St Cassidorus linked the commitment to deliver us to the promise Christ made on the protection of his Church:

He says: I am with him in tribulation, with reference to this world where devoted hearts are afflicted with more searing hardships; so Christ Himself says in the gospel: Behold, I am with you even to the consummation of the world.

He also saw the verse as pointing to our ultimate end:

The just man is accordingly to be delivered from this world and glorified when he is set in blessedness where affliction will no longer have a place.

The sleeping Christ and sleeping in Christ

The reminder of our ultimate end is of course, particularly apt for Compline in the traditional Benedictine form, certainly seeks to remind us that sleep is a little death, and thus before we sleep we should remind ourselves and entrust ourselves to God in the hope of heaven.

But St Augustine put this verse in a context particularly apt to its use at Compline for those dealing with problems in the here and now, reminding us of the Gospel story of Christ sleeping in the boat while it was tossed about by a storm.  If we are in trouble, he instructs, awake Christ and ask for his help:

Fear not when you are in trouble, as if the Lord were not with you. Let faith be with you, and God is with you in your trouble. There are waves on the sea, and you are tossed in your bark, because Christ sleeps. Christ slept in the ship, while the men were perishing. If your faith sleep in your heart, Christ is as it were sleeping in your ship: because Christ dwells in you through faith, when you begin to be tossed, awake Christ sleeping: rouse up your faith, and you shall be assured that He deserts you not. But you think you are forsaken, because He rescues you not when you yourself dost wish. He delivered the Three Children from the fire? Did He, who did this, desert the Maccabees? God forbid! He delivered both of these: the first bodily, that the faithless might be confounded; the last spiritually, that the faithful might imitate them. I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

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