aka the Psalms Blog. A blog on Scripture in line with the "new exegetical movement" proposed by Pope Benedict XVI, with a particular focus on the psalms.
Psalm 25 is said on Sundays at Matins in the Benedictine Office., but its most familiar verse comes from the use of verses 6-12 in the Ordinary of the Mass, at the lavabo.
St Alphonsus Liguori summarised it as follows:
This psalm teaches all those that are unjustly persecuted what virtues they should practise during their trial. Moreover, it makes and explains in detail what are the dispositions with which we should approach the altar, whether to communicate or to offer the holy Sacrifice.
Psalm 25
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.
Unto the end, a psalm for David
Júdica
me, Dómine, quóniam ego in innocéntia mea ingréssus sum: * et in Dómino
sperans non infirmábor
Judge
me, O Lord, for I
have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be
weakened.
Proba me, Dómine, et tenta me: * ure renes meos et cor
meum.
Prove
me, O Lord, and try
me; burn my reins and my heart.
Quóniam misericórdia tua ante óculos meos est: * et
complácui in veritáte tua.
For
your mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with your truth.
Non sedi cum concílio vanitátis: * et cum iníqua
geréntibus non introíbo.
I
have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers
of unjust things.
Odívi
ecclésiam malignántium: * et cum ímpiis non sedébo.
I
have hated the
assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit.
Lavábo inter innocéntes manus meas: * et circúmdabo
altáre tuum, Dómine.
I
will wash my hands
among the innocent; and will compass your altar, O Lord:
Ut
áudiam vocem laudis: * et enárrem univérsa mirabília tua.
That
I may hear the voice of your praise: and tell of all your wondrous works.
Dómine,
diléxi decórem domus tuæ: * et locum habitatiónis glóriæ tuæ.
I
have loved, O Lord, the beauty of
your house; and the place where your glory dwells.
Ne
perdas cum ímpiis, Deus, ánimam meam, * et cum viris sánguinum vitam meam.
Take
not away my soul, O God, with the wicked:
nor my life with bloody men:
In
quorum mánibus iniquitátes sunt: * déxtera eórum repléta est munéribus.
In
whose hands are iniquities:
their right hand is filled with gifts.
Ego
autem in innocéntia mea ingréssus sum: * rédime me, et miserére mei.
But
as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have
mercy on me.
Pes
meus stetit in dirécto: * in ecclésiis benedícam te, Dómine
My
foot has stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless you, O Lord.
Just to continue my process of putting at least marker post for each psalm, including information on its liturgical uses, some brief notes on Psalm 27, which is said at Sunday Matins in the Benedictine office, presumably because of its references to the Resurrection, also the reason for its use in Matins of Easter Day.
St Augustine, in his commentary on it, suggested that this is the prayer of Christ himself in the Passion, predicting his Resurrection.
But as St Alphonsus Liguori commented, it is readily applicable to each of us:
David, in the midst of persecutions, implores the help of God, and foretells his triumph. There is not one among the faithful who cannot apply this psalm to himself in view of the temptations and perils of which his life here upon earth is so full.
The text of the psalm
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Psalmus ipsi David.
A psalm for David himself.
Ad te, Dómine, clamábo, Deus meus, ne síleas a me: * nequándo táceas a me, et assimilábor descendéntibus
in lacum.
Unto you will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not
silent to me: lest if you be silent to me, I become like them that go down
into the pit.
Exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ dum oro
ad te: * dum extóllo manus meas ad templum sanctum tuum.
Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when
I pray to you; when I lift up my hands to your holy temple.
Ne simul trahas me cum peccatóribus: * et cum
operántibus iniquitátem ne perdas me.
Draw me not away together with the wicked; and
with the workers of iniquity destroy me not:
Qui loquúntur pacem cum próximo suo, * mala autem
in córdibus eórum.
Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are
in their hearts.
Da illis secúndum ópera eórum, * et secúndum
nequítiam adinventiónum ipsórum.
Give them according to their works, and according
to the wickedness of their inventions.
The first group of five Gradual psalms is offered devotionally for the souls in purgatory.
It invites us to remember that the dwellers in this world - and also those in purgatory - are still living in exile from our true home, and to cultivate a longing for our heavenly home. It teaches us that a key step for our spiritual progress is to detach ourselves from earthly things and remember that our true hope is not the extension of this life, but to dwell in heaven.
The Gradual psalms are often conceptualised as representing each of the steps of the temple, steps on the staircase to the heavenly temple. Cassiodorus summarises this first step as teaching us the "loathing of the world, after which there is haste to attain zeal for all the virtues". A more positive way of putting it lies in the Gospel injunction to be in the world but not of it, to cultivate the realisation that our true home is heaven, and we must actively set out on the journey towards it (verse 5).
Psalm 119: Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
1 Ad Dóminum cum tribulárer clamávi: * et exaudívit me.
In my trouble I cried to theLord: and he heard me.
2 Dómine, líbera ánimam meam a lábiis iníquis, * et a lingua dolósa.
2 OLord, deliver mysoulfromwickedlips, and a deceitful tongue.
3 Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponátur tibi * ad linguam dolósam?
3 What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, to a deceitful tongue?
4 Sagíttæ poténtis acútæ, * cum carbónibus desolatóriis
4 The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.
5 Heu mihi, quia incolátus meus prolongátus est: habitávi cum habitántibus Cedar: * multum íncola fuit ánima mea.
5 Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants ofCedar: 6 Mysoulhas been long a sojourner.
6 Cum his, qui odérunt pacem, eram pacíficus: * cum loquébar illis, impugnábant me gratis.
7 With them thathatedpeace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.
Liturgical context
The first of the Gradual psalms, Psalm 119 features in many different liturgical contexts. In the older forms of the Roman Office it is said on Monday at Vespers. It is used in the Vespers of the Office of the Dead. And it is said at Vespers during the Sacred Triduum.
NT references
-
RB cursus
Terce during the week+AN 1824 (v1)
Monastic feasts etc
Gradual Psalms;
Vespers of Triduum
Vespers of the Office of the Dead;
Vespers of female saints
LOOL Terce
AN 2356 92); 2008 (7)
Responsories
-
Roman pre 1911
Monday Vespers
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Monday Vespers .
1970:
Mass propers (EF)
Lent 2
Friday, GR (1-2);
Post-Pentecost
2, GR (1-2)
In the Benedictine Office it is the first psalm of Terce from Tuesday to Saturday. Why that hour? In St John's Gospel, Terce, the third hour, is associated with Christ's appearances before Herod and Pilate; he ascends the cross at around the sixth hour: St Augustine tells us that at the third hour, the crowd crucified Jesus with their tongues, as they called out their condemnations.
There are several Patristic references to these events as the reason for prayer at the third hour, and I think a strong case can be made that St Benedict's psalm selection is intended to give the hour a programmatic focus.
On Sunday after all, the sections of Psalm 118 set for Terce also provide extensive references to 'the snares of sinners' and the 'malice of evil men', and to the humbling of the speaker; in the first stanza of the hour, the speaker says he 'stands unafraid to observe your commandments'. And the final stanza set for Sunday Terce refers to 'the place of my pilgrimage', making a nice link to this psalm's decision to set out on the journey.
Monday Terce similarly echoes these sentiments: the speaker states that 'the wicked are laying snares for me'; it refers again to those lying tongues, saying, 'All the sinners of the world I regard as liars'. Above all, it includes the 'Suscipe' verse used in the monastic profession ceremony, where the monk agrees to 'share by patience in the sufferings of Christ' (Prologue to the Rule of St Benedict).
In the world but not of it
In this light, the psalm has an ongoing relevance to us: each time we say it, we are invited to start afresh on our pilgrimage towards our true home. It also reminds us to keep Christ in front of us as our model of humility in conducting ourselves in the face of our enemies and those who surround us in a world increasingly hostile to the faith.
Patrick Reardon, in Christ in the Psalms (Consiliar Press, 2011), suggests that 1 Peter is essentially a commentary on this psalm. Addressed to the dispersed 'exile' Christians, St Peter calls the members of the Church 'sojourners' - strangers and pilgrims - in this world (1:1; 1:6; 2:11) who must endure the reproaches of outsiders, silencing them with our good deeds (2:15).
St Peter urges us to return peace for enmity (verse 6), following the model of Christ:
"For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly." (2:21-23)
But my current favourite take on the psalm is that of Josh Moody in his book Journey to Joy The psalms of Ascent (Crossway, 2013). He is a protestant writer, and his take on it doesn't make much allusion to the tradition.
But I think he captures the sense of the psalm very nicely when he discusses the profound effects on us of that lying tongue: when people say things that are unkind, nasty and untrue about us our wounds can be just as real as a physical wound, particularly when we encounter that funny change in atmosphere when you walk into a room, that subtle change in attitude that results from slander being spread about us. He sees in the psalm the sense of helplessness we feel when we don't know exactly what has been said, or how to counter it.
Moody's solution to that feeling of being trapped, of not knowing how to get out of the box is to suggest that we pray; tell our pain to God using this psalm and place ourselves in his hands. He points to the need for us to embark on 'the journey of forgiveness'.
That is all helpful advice, but I think we should add to this that instead of trying to conform to the world's standards and expect justice and truth to prevail in this life, we have to accept the way of the Cross. In the end, this life is but a short interval in the face of eternity, and the only journey that really counts is the journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem.
We should always remember that we are never truly alone on this journey. We are following in the footsteps of Christ as we make this spiritual ascent, and aided by the grace flowing from his sacred wounds. And through our prayers we bring with us the souls in purgatory, who in turn will pray for us once they reach the promised land.
A psalm of David while he was
in the desert
of Edom.
1 Deus, Deus meus, * ad te de luce vígilo.
O
my God,
to you do I watch at break of day.
2 Sitívit in te
ánima mea, * quam multiplíciter tibi caro mea.
For
you my soul
has thirsted; for you my flesh, O how many ways!
3 In terra
desérta, et ínvia, et inaquósa: * sic in sancto appárui tibi, ut vidérem
virtútem tuam, et glóriam tuam
3 In a desert land, and where
there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before you, to
see your power and your glory.
4Quóniam mélior est misericórdia tua
super vitas: * lábia mea laudábunt te.
4For your mercy is better than lives: you my lips
will praise.
5 Sic
benedícam te in vita mea: * et in nómine tuo levábo manus meas.
5 Thus will I bless you all my life
long: and in your name
I will lift up my hands.
6 Sicut ádipe
et pinguédine repleátur ánima mea: * et lábiis exsultatiónis laudábit os
meum.
6 Let my soul be filled as with
marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.
7 Si memor fui
tui super stratum meum, in matutínis meditábor in te: * quia fuísti adjútor
meus.
7 If
I have remembered you upon my bed, I will meditate on you in the morning: 8 Because you have been my helper.
8Et in velaménto alárum tuárum exsultábo, adhæsit ánima mea post te: * me
suscépit déxtera tua.
And
I will rejoice under the covert of your wings: 9 My soul has stuck close to
you: your right hand has received me.
9 Ipsi vero in
vanum quæsiérunt ánimam meam, introíbunt in inferióra terræ: * tradéntur in
manus gládii, partes vúlpium erunt.
10 But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall
go into the lower parts of the earth: 11 They
shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of
foxes.
10 Rex
vero lætábitur in Deo, laudabúntur omnes qui jurant in eo: * quia obstrúctum
est os loquéntium iníqua.
12 But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be
praised that swear
by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.
The second variable psalm of Sunday Lauds, Psalm 62, is often regarded as the quintessential Lauds hymn due in particular to its opening line - in many other forms of the Office including the Roman it is (or was) said every day at this hour.
One of the puzzles about its place in St Benedict's Office though, is why it is placed after Psalm 117 rather than before it. One possibility perhaps is that its imagery provides horizontal links to the other second variable psalms of Lauds. In particular, the image of God protecting us with his wings also occurs in Psalms 35 and 56, and it contains a reference to at least one of the elements alluded to in all but one of these psalms, namely truth and mercy.
St Augustine provides a nice commentary on the title of the psalm that I think nicely captures the essence of the psalm:
This psalm has the title, For David himself, when he was in the desert of Idumæa. By the name of Idumæa is understood this world. For Idumæa was a certain nation of men going astray, where idols were worshipped.
In no good sense is put this Idumæa. If not in a good sense it is put, it must be understood that this life, wherein we suffer so great toils, and wherein to so great necessities we are made subject, by the name of Idumæa is signified. Even here is a desert where there is much thirst, and you are to hear the voice of One now thirsting in the desert.
But if we acknowledge ourselves as thirsting, we shall acknowledge ourselves as drinking also. For he that thirsts in this world, in the world to come shall be satisfied, according to the Lord's saying, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for the same shall be satisfied.
Therefore in this world we ought not to love fullness. Here we must thirst, in another place we shall be filled. But now in order that we may not faint in this desert, He sprinkles upon us the dew of His word, and leaves us not utterly to dry up, so that there should not be in our case any seeking of us again, but that we may so thirst as that we may drink. But in order that we may drink, with somewhat of His Grace we are sprinkled: nevertheless we thirst. And what says our soul to God?
You can find my previous notes on this psalm here and the next part in this series here.
29 O praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy
endures for ever.
Psalm 117 is the last of the 'Hallel' psalms sung on major feasts in the Jewish liturgy, it contains a number of key verses that Our Lord made clear applied to him, above all verse 22.
The reasons for its use on Sunday are fairly clear cut: Fr Pius Pasch's early twentieth century breviary commentary, for example, says:
Festival hymn. In this psalm, a celebrated liturgical hymn of the ancient synagogue (also a thanksgiving hymn on the feast of Tabernacles), we sing our Easter joy occasioned by the Resurrection of our Lord and our own spiritual resurrection in him.
It has some very clear links to the traditional canticle of the day as well (which I'll go into a little more below).
In the earlier version of the Roman Office from which St Benedict may have borrowed, though, Psalm 117 was probably said at Prime rather than Lauds. If this was the case, why did he shift it to Lauds, particularly given its lack of overt references to dawn and the morning?
Christ the true day
One possibility seems to me to be the reference to Christ as the day (latin: dies, diei) in verse 24.
Christ as the day was a favourite theme of the Fathers. St Cyprian's instruction on prayer for example, include the following:
But for us, beloved brethren, besides the hours of prayer observed of old, both the times and the sacraments have now increased in number. For we must also pray in the morning, that the Lord's resurrection may be celebrated by morning prayer.
And this formerly the Holy Spirit pointed out in the Psalms, saying, My King, and my God, because unto You will I cry; O Lord, in the morning shall You hear my voice; in the morning will I stand before You, and will look up to You. And again, the Lord speaks by the mouth of the prophet: Early in the morning shall they watch for me, saying, Let us go, and return unto the Lord our God...
Moreover, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms manifests that Christ is called the day. The stone, says He, which the builders rejected, has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us walk and rejoice in it.
Also the prophet Malachi testifies that He is called the Sun, when he says, But to you that fear the name of the Lord shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and there is healing in His wings. But if in the Holy Scriptures the true sun and the true day is Christ, there is no hour excepted for Christians wherein God ought not frequently and always to be worshipped; so that we who are in Christ— that is, in the true Sun and the true Day— should be instant throughout the entire day in petitions, and should pray; and when, by the law of the world, the revolving night, recurring in its alternate changes, succeeds, there can be no harm arising from the darkness of night to those who pray, because the children of light have the day even in the night. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when has not he the sun and the day, whose Sun and Day is Christ?
The references to dawn and morning light in many of the psalms of Lauds then, were not just selected for their references to morning prayer, but perhaps on the basis that they were seen by the Fathers as containing references to the Resurrection, the true day of the world.
And on this basis, one of the key themes reflected in several of the first variable psalms each day is the reference to entering heaven to praise God in verses 19-20:
Open to me the gates of justice: I will go in to them, and give praise to the Lord This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it.
As we shall see this week, all of the first variable psalms of Lauds contain similar references - it is most explicit in Psalms 5, 42 and 75.
The key themes of the psalm
Cassiodorus summarises the structure of the psalm as follows:
The faithful people are freed from the bonds of sins, and in the first section they offer a general exhortation that each of us should confess to the Lord, for they have gained a hearing in afflictions, and have proclaimed that no man whatsoever is to be held in fear.
In the second part they say that we must have confidence in the Lord alone, through whom they know that they have escaped the enmity of the Gentiles, and have attained the remedies of a truly genuine life.
In the third section they say that the gates of justice are to be opened; they speak there also of the Cornerstone which is Christ the Saviour.
In the fourth, they persuade the other Christians that they must crowd the Lord's halls in shared joy and sweet delight at the coming of the holy incarnation.
Latin word study: confess and praise the Lord
This psalm has lots of litany-esq repetitions, making it easier to memorise, so let me first point out a few key words in the opening litany section
Confitemini, the opening word of this psalm is actually quite key to the themes of Lauds I think.The word literally meanslet us confess, and comes from the same verb used in confession of sins, viz confiteor, fessus sum, eri. It has both a positive connotation (to praise, give thanks) and a negative one (to confess, acknowledge one's guilt), and both are implied here and throughout this series of psalms I think.
In fact Daniel 3 (from whence the Sunday canticle, the Benedicite cometh, another reason, presumably for the shift of the psalm to Lauds) provides the phrase spelt out in exactly that way:
[89] Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus: quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus. [90] Benedicite, omnes religiosi, Domino Deo deorum: laudate et confitemini ei, quia in omnia saecula misericordia ejus.
[89] O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever and ever. [90] O all ye religious, bless the Lord the God of gods: praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.
In the pslams that follow, this theme is, I think expanded in this way: God confronts us with the truth (veritas, veritatis) about ourselves which we must acknowledge and ask for his mercy (misericordia -ae); those who refuse to do that will be subject to his justice (justitia).
It's the same key theme as in Psalm 129 (Tuesday Vespers):
3 Si iniquitátes observáveris,
Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?
3 If you, OLord, will markiniquities:Lord, who shall stand it.
4 Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam
sustínui te, Dómine.
4 For with you there is
merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, OLord.
7 Quia apud Dóminum
misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.
So make that key refrain your own:
Confitémini Dómino quóniam bonus:
Dicat nunc Israël (the Church) quóniam bonus:
Dicat nunc domus Aaron (the priests):
Dicant nunc qui timent Dóminum (the faithful):
quóniam in sæculum misericórdia ejus.
Scriptural and liturgical uses
NT references
Rom 8:31,
Heb 13:6 (v6);
Lk 1:51 (v16);
Rev 22:14 (v19);
Jn 10:9 (v20);
Mt 21:42,
Acts 4:11,
1 Cor 3:11,
Eph 2:20,
1Pet 2:4-7 (v21);
Mt21: 9-14, 23-39 (v24)
RB cursus
Sunday Lauds
Feasts, antiphons etc
AN: 3297 (5); 1745
(5); 1809 (11);
3289, 3290, 5509
(15);3577 (v22-3); 2997
(v24); 4024 (25);
4117 (25-6); 2175(28)
Roman pre 1911
Sunday Prime
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Lauds II . 1970:
Responsories
Epiphanytide Friday v28; 6073, 6799 (v24,
Haec dies)
Mass propers (EF)
Nativity Aurora GR
(23, 26, 27)
Lent 2 TR (v1=105)
Lent 3 Tues OF
(16-17);
Lent 4 Friday GR
(8-9);
Passion I OF (17, ),
Maundy Thurs OF
(16-17);
Easter Vigil AL (1);
Easter Day GR (1,
23),
Easter Mon GR (2, 24)
Easter Tues IN v(1),GR
(24,3)
Easter Wed GR (24,
16)
Easter Thurs GR
(23,21,22);
Easter Fri GR (23,
24-5);
Easter Sat AL 23, OF
24-25;
Eastertide 4 AL (16);
PP14 GR (8-9).
Finding holy Cross
May 3: OF (5,6, 16, 17)
You can find some of my previous notes on this psalm here.
And you can find the next part in this series here.
