Psalm 42 - Bring me into your holy tabernacles

The first of the variable psalms of Lauds on Tuesday is Psalm 42, which will be familiar to EF Mass goers due to its use in the prayers at the foot of the altar.

Psalm 42 - Lauds Tuesday

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David	A psalm for David.
Júdica me, Deus, et discérne causam meam de gente non sancta, * ab hómine iníquo, et dolóso érue me.	Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
2  Quia tu es, Deus, fortitúdo mea: * quare me repulísti? et quare tristis incédo, dum afflígit me inimícus?	For you are God my strength: why have you cast me off? And why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicts me?
3  Emítte lucem tuam et veritátem tuam: * ipsa me deduxérunt, et adduxérunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernácula tua.	Send forth your light and your truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto your holy hill, and into your tabernacles.
4  Et introíbo ad altáre Dei: * ad Deum, qui lætíficat juventútem meam.	And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who gives joy to my youth.
5  Confitébor tibi in cíthara, Deus, Deus meus: * quare tristis es, ánima mea? et quare contúrbas me?	To you, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why are you sad, O my soul? And why do you disquiet me?
6  Spera in Deo, quóniam adhuc confitébor illi: * salutáre vultus mei, et Deus meus.	Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

Light and truth

At first blush, Psalm 42 barely meets the criteria of a reference to morning prayer and/or light.

There is some connection though, as Pope John Paul II's exegesis makes clear:

The person praying has not yet reached the temple of God, he is still overwhelmed by the darkness of the trial; but now before his eyes shines the light of the future encounter, and his lips already experience the tone of the song of joy. At this point, the appeal is largely characterized by hope.

One of the key themes of the psalm, and one that echoes through the Lauds psalms, is that in shining his light on us, we cannot help but be discomforted as we are confronted with the reality of our sinfulness.  Pope John Paul II, for example continued:

In commenting on our Psalm St Augustine in fact observes:  "Hope in God, he will respond to him whose soul disquiets him.... Meanwhile live in hope:  for "hope that is seen is not hope; but if we hope for that which we cannot see, it is thanks to patience that we wait for it' (cf. Rom 8, 24-25)"... The Psalm then becomes the prayer of the one who is a pilgrim on earth and still finds himself in contact with evil and suffering, but has the certainty that the endpoint of history is not an abyss of death, but rather a saving encounter with God. 

It is for this reason that in the prayers at the foot of the altar it is linked to the saying of the Confiteor: our proper response to this light is to confess our sins and throw ourselves on God's mercy, placing our hope in him.

The reference to the altar here, though, should not be viewed literally.  Psalm 42 has thematic connections both to the songs of Sion sung at Matins and the Gradual psalms sung at the hours from Terce to Vespers (and completed at Compline) on Tuesdays in the Benedictine Office, all of which can be seen as referring not just to the physical temple, but also to each of us, as temples of Christ, and to the Church.  St Liguori, for example, applies the psalm to the individual:

David begs of God to be delivered from his enemies, and consoles himself with the hope of again seeing the Tabernacle of the Lord. In the spiritual sense this psalm applies to the just man who in the trials of the present life longs to leave this world, and to go to his heavenly country.

Temple, tabernacle and altar

But there is a double meaning to this invitation to enter into the altar, for it also, I think, applies to the hear and now.  The Fathers, following St Paul, interpreted the images of temple, tabernacle and altar as symbolising both the Church in this present life, and the individual Christian.

In the Office we are invited each day to commit ourselves to our rest, a mini-sleep of death, but with the hope of Resurrection: dormiam et requiescam (Psalm 4).  In the dark of the night we rise again with Christ (Psalm 3):

6  Ego dormívi, et soporátus sum: * et exsurréxi, quia Dóminus suscépit me.

I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me

Now at Lauds we are invited to take the next step in building that future temple, the new Jerusalem by participating in the work of building the temple within ourselves and in our communities, offering ourselves as a holocaust to God on the altar of our bodies and souls through conversion, penance and good works.

St Bede, for example, saw the altar of incense in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:1-2) as symbolising:

that general way of life of the righteous who daily crucify their flesh with its vices and desires and are accustomed to offer themselves to God as a living sacrifice...the way of life of those who are perfect (On the Tabernacle III:11)

He interprets this psalm as the prayer of those who "offer nothing to the Lord but prayers of longing, having completely quenched all the charms of the flesh and laid them to rest".

Where the ancient Israelites offered animal and other sacrifices on their altars, he argues, we perform this spiritually when we place faith in the Lord's Incarnation and Passion; the bases of the altar are 'the hearts of the elect which are prepared by the precepts of the teachers' (On Ezra, Book I).  St Bede goes on to point to our Lauds prayer as dedicated to ensuring that at every moment we be seen to be pleasing to God.

St Benedict makes this connection between good works and being 'dwellers in the tabernacle' many times throughout the Rule, and it is in the Tuesday psalms that it gets its most explicit workout.

The coming of Christ

Cassiodorus' explanation of the number of the psalm may also have some relevance to its selection for Tuesday Lauds:

It was in the forty-second generation from Abraham that the Lord Saviour came and saved the world by His coming, so it is rightly believed that this faithful spokesman known to have been associated with this ancient number will attain the Lord's kingdom. So the faithful soul finds here all virtues and all pleasures; thus whoever obtains that spark of divine love can console and renew himself by God's grace.

Latin word study: heaven/the Church

In the psalms of Lauds we have already looked at we have seen a number of words that are typically taken by the Fathers as references to heaven and/or the Church, including

Israel 

Psalm 117

2  Dicat nunc Israël quóniam bonus: * quóniam in sæculum misericórdia ejus.

2 Let Israel now say, that he is good: that his mercy endures for ever.

Tabernacle (tabernaculum), or tent

Psalm 117

15  Vox exsultatiónis, et salútis: * in tabernáculis justórum.

15 The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just.

Jersualem, a city surrounded by walls and protected with gates and towers

Psalm 117

19  Aperíte mihi portas justítiæ, ingréssus in eas confitébor Dómino: * hæc porta Dómini, justi intrábunt in eam.

19 Open to me the gates of justice: I will go in to them, and give praise to the Lord 20 This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it.

The temple (templum), whose cornerstone is the Lord

Psalm 117

21  Lápidem, quem reprobavérunt ædificántes: * hic factus est in caput ánguli.

22 The stone which the builders rejected; the same has become the head of the corner.

Psalm 5

8  Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.

I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.

The house of the Lord (domus Dei or Domini)

Psalm 117

25  Benedíximus vobis de domo Dómini: * Deus Dóminus, et illúxit nobis.

We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has shone upon us.

Psalm 5

8  Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.

I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.

(Holy) Mountain (mons, montis; Sion)

Today's psalm adds the holy mountain to the list:

3  Emítte lucem tuam et veritátem tuam: * ipsa me deduxérunt, et adduxérunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernácula tua.

Send forth your light and your truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto your holy hill, and into your tabernacles.

There are many more such references to come!




You can find some more notes on this psalm here.

And the next part in this series is on Psalm 63.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Mt 26:38, Mk 14:34 (v5)
RB cursus	Tuesday Lauds+AN 4683
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Corpus Christi AN 2823, 3516, 3518, 3718 (1) 3388(4)
Responsories	7043
Roman pre 1911	Tues lauds
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Sat Lauds 1970: Thursday Lauds wks 2&4;
Mass propers (EF)	Prayers at the foot of the altar; Sexagesima Sunday CO (4) Passion Sunday I IN (1-3); Passion Tues GR (1, 3);

Psalm 45 - God our upholder and protector

Psalm 45: Tuesday Matins I, 1

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, filiis Core, pro arcanis. Psalmus.	Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden.
1 Deus noster refúgium, et virtus: * adjútor in tribulatiónibus, quæ invenérunt nos nimis.	Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly.
2  Proptérea non timébimus dum turbábitur terra: * et transferéntur montes in cor maris.	3 Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.
3  Sonuérunt, et turbátæ sunt aquæ eórum: * conturbáti sunt montes in fortitúdine ejus.	4 Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled with his strength.
4  Flúminis ímpetus lætíficat civitátem Dei: * sanctificávit tabernáculum suum Altíssimus.	5 The stream of the river makes the city of God joyful: the most High has sanctified his own tabernacle
5  Deus in médio ejus, non commovébitur: * adjuvábit eam Deus mane dilúculo.	6 God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help it in the morning early.
6  Conturbátæ sunt Gentes, et inclináta sunt regna: * dedit vocem suam, mota est terra.	7 Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: he uttered his voice, the earth trembled.
7  Dóminus virtútum nobíscum: * suscéptor noster Deus Jacob.	8 The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.
8  Veníte, et vidéte ópera Dómini, quæ pósuit prodígia super terram: * áuferens bella usque ad finem terræ.	9 Come and behold the works of the Lord: what wonders he has done upon earth, 10 making wars to cease even to the end of the earth.
9  Arcum cónteret, et confrínget arma: * et scuta combúret igni.	He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in the fire.
10  Vacáte, et vidéte quóniam ego sum Deus: * exaltábor in Géntibus, et exaltábor in terra.	11 Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
11  Dóminus virtútum nobíscum: * suscéptor noster Deus Jacob.	12 The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.

The songs of Sion

The first psalm of Tuesday Matins is one of the 'songs of Sion', praising the virtues of the heavenly kingdom, a strong theme of the day, given that many of the Matins psalms are also focused on the same topic, while at Terce through Vespers we sing the 'songs of Ascent'.

The psalm was, however, appropriated by Luther as the battle hymn for the Reformation in the form of the hymn 'A mighty fortress is our God', and in Germany had strong nationalistic overtones, with a line that can be interpreted very literally as referring to a very earthly kingdom, viz "The Kingdom must remain ours".

Unsurprisingly, the Fathers tend to take a different view, generally seeing it as referring to Christ and the Church triumphant.

God our susceptor

A particularly key part of this psalm from a Benedictine perspective is the reference to God as susceptor (at least in the Vulgate; the neo-Vulgate rather unfortunately substitutes refugium for susceptor), the key word which is related to suscipere, the verb of the verse used in the profession ceremony.

The Douay-Rheims translates the word as protector, but it has broader connotations then that, as St Augustine's exposition on the verse 7 makes clear:

The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up: Not any man, not any power, not, in short, Angel, or any creature either earthly or heavenly, but the Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up. 

He who sent Angels, came after Angels, came that Angels might serve Him, came that men He might make equal to Angels. Mighty Grace! If God be for us, who can be against us? The Lord of Hosts is with us. What Lord of Hosts is with us? If (I say) God be for us, who can be against us? 

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how has He not with Him also freely given us all things.  Therefore be we secure, in tranquillity of heart nourish we a good conscience with the Bread of the Lord. 

The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up. However great be your infirmity, see who takes you up. One is sick, a physician is called to him. His own taken-up, the Physician calls the sick man. Who has taken him up? Even He. A great hope of salvation; a great Physician has taken him up. What Physician? Every Physician save He is man: every Physician who comes to a sick man, another day can be made sick, beside Him. The God of Jacob is our taker up. 

Make yourself altogether as a little child, such as are taken up by their parents. For those not taken up, are exposed; those taken up are nursed. Do you think God has so taken you up, as when an infant your mother took you up? Not so, but to eternity. For your voice is in that Psalm, My father and my mother forsake me, but the Lord has taken me up.

It is worth noting that the word recurs several times in today's psalms.

 The city of God

The introductions to the psalm provided by the Fathers generally emphasise the eschatological dimensions of the psalm.

Basil:

This psalm seems to me to contain the prophecy concerning the end of time. Paul, having knowledge of this end, says: 'Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father.   

Or, since our actions lead us to the end, each one to the end proper to itself, the good leading toward happiness, and the base toward eternal condemnation, and since the counsels delivered by the Spirit in this psalm lead those obeying them to the good end, therefore it has been entitled: 'Unto the end inasmuch as it is the record of the teachings for the happy end of human life. Tor the sons of Core'. 

This psalm is also said to be for the sons of Core, whom the Holy Spirit does not separate, since, as with one soul and one voice, with complete harmony toward each other, they utter the words of prophecy, while no one of them prophesies anything at all contrary to the others, but the gift of prophecy is given to them equally because of the equality of their mutual affection for the good. 

Moreover, the psalm is said to be 'for the hidden' that is to say, for secret things, and those buried in mystery. Having meditated on the expressions of the psalm in turn, you will learn the hidden meaning of the words, and that it is not the privilege of any chance person to gaze at the divine mysteries, but of him alone who is able to be a harmonious instrument of the promise, so that his soul is moved by the action of the Holy Spirit in it instead of by the psaltery. 

Cassiodorus:

We know how unto the end can be referred to the Lord Christ. We have said that the sons of Core signifies Christians, in whose persons this psalm is sung. For the hidden denotes the coming of the Lord Saviour, which he has ordered in a wondrously secret way for the salvation of men. 

The sons of Core, who are to be understood as faithful Christians, proclaim in the first section of the psalm that they do not fear the troubles of life, because God is known to be their refuge and strength. 

In the second part they state that Christ appears in the midst of His Church and has deigned to build it on Himself as on the firmest of rocks. 

In the third section the mass of believers is invited to gaze on the great things of God. They say that almighty God shatters the arms of wickedness, banishes wars, and transforms the sadness of the faithful into eternal joys.... 

How brightly this short and healing psalm has gleamed forth! If we take confidence from it by the Lord's kindness, we surmount with strength of spirit the thorns of this world, and in the proverbial phrase we obtain help from tribulation. For in it all hope lies in the coming of the Lord Christ, through whom on our behalf the Church was founded and great wonders became manifest. He who said: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you, removed the wars caused by superstitions.

Liguori:

....this psalm is to be understood of the Catholic Church with regard to the victories that she has gained over her persecutors, and her stability under the protection of God.

Our ascent through and to Christ

One final point by way of a footnote.  There is in fact a little puzzle in St Benedict's construction of the Tuesday Office around the gradual psalms and Songs of Sion.

On the face of it, his starting point was the Old Testament canticle at Lauds, the canticle of Hezekiah, which is about King Hezekiah's illness, and then God's gift of fifteen additional years of life, symbolised by the turning back of the sundial.  The connection is that there are fifteen gradual psalms, and Cassiodorus, for example noted that:

 Some commentators think that the fifteen additional years accorded to king Ezechias are related to this parallel, so that the number is shown to have signified also the course of his perfect life.

But if St Benedict subscribed to this view, why does he go to some trouble to have only fourteen of the gradual psalms said on Tuesday, shifting Psalm 128 out of numerical sequence to put it on Monday, rather than on this day when all the other gradual psalms are said?

The answer I think is a play on the three groups (Tuesday is day three of the week) of fourteen 'generations to Christ' set out in Matthew 1, keying off St Augustine's comments on the psalm.  In particular, St Augustine's introduction to Psalm 145 makes the point that we need go no further than Christ:

It is called, A Psalm, to the end, for the sons of Korah, for things secret. Secret is it then; but He Himself, who in the place of Calvary was crucified, you know, has rent the veil, that the secrets of the temple might be discovered. 

Furthermore since the Cross of our Lord was a key, whereby things closed might be opened; let us trust that He will be with us, that these secrets may be revealed. What is said, To the end, always ought to be understood of Christ. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. But The End He is called, not because He consumes, but because He perfects. For ended call we the food which is eaten, and ended the coat which is woven, the former to consumption, the latter to perfection. 

Because then we have not where to go farther when we have come to Christ, Himself is called the end of our course. Nor ought we to think, that when we have come to Him, we ought to strive any further to come also to the Father. For this thought Philip also, when he said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. When he said, It suffices us, he sought the end of satisfaction and perfection. Then said He, Have I been so long time with you, and have you not known Me, Philip: he that has seen Me, has seen the Father. In Him then have we the Father, because He is in the Father, and the Father in Him, and He and His Father are One.

On Tuesday's then, our ascent is in and through Christ who perfects us.  In this life, our aim is to become true temples of Christ.  But we have to wait until Sunday, the mysterious 'eighth day' (which St Augustine repeatedly informs us added to the seven days of creation makes 15, and thus takes us to the number of psalms to be said each week) that we are to step beyond, into heaven...

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the Psalm

NT references	Lk 21:25 (3); Rev 22:1 (4)
RB cursus	Tuesday Matins I:1
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Comon of female saints, Dedication of church, several martyrs, Epiphany, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, Transfiguration; Little Office of Our Lady, Matins N2
Roman pre 1911	Tuesday Matins
Ambrosian
Brigittine
Maurist
Thesauris schemas	A: ; B: ; C: ; D:
Roman post 1911	1911-62:Wednesday Matins  . 1970: Friday Vespers wk 1
Mass propers (EF)	-

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 8 - Tuesday at Prime (2) - Short summaries

 Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna

Psalm 8: Domine Dominus Noster 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem pro torcularibus, Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for the presses: a psalm of David.
1. Dómine, Dóminus noster, * quam admirábile est nomen tuum in univérsa terra!	O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!
2  Quóniam eleváta est magnificéntia tua, * super cælos.	For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.
3  Ex ore infántium et lacténtium perfecísti laudem propter inimícos tuos, * ut déstruas inimícum et ultórem.	Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.
4  Quóniam vidébo cælos tuos, ópera digitórum tuórum: * lunam et stellas, quæ tu fundásti.	For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.
5  Quid est homo quod memor es ejus? * aut fílius hóminis, quóniam vísitas eum?	What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
6  Minuísti eum paulo minus ab Angelis, glória et honóre coronásti eum: * et constituísti eum super ópera mánuum tuárum.	Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: And hast set him over the works of thy hands.
7  Omnia subjecísti sub pédibus ejus, * oves et boves univérsas : ínsuper et pécora campi.	Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover, the beasts also of the fields.
8  Vólucres cæli, et pisces maris, * qui perámbulant sémitas maris.	The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea.
9  Dómine, Dóminus noster, * quam admirábile est nomen tuum in univérsa terra!	O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!

Psalm 7 ends with a promise on the part of the psalmist ‘to sing a song to the name of the Lord the most high’.  Psalm 8 provides a lovely hymn for this purpose.

The psalm is relatively short, but it is theologically very rich, with three main, and closely interrelated, levels of meaning.   First, the psalm represents some of the key ideas of the story of the creation from Genesis 1 in poetic form.  Secondly, as hebrews 2 outlines, it tells of the process by which, through Christ’s Incarnation, death and resurrection, the universe is renewed or recreated, and the dignity of man is restored. For this reason, it features at most of the feasts of Our Lord, as well as Our Lady.  Thirdly, it is a call to the praise and worship of God. 

St Alphonsus Liguori:

This psalm is a canticle composed in praise of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, and especially of his goodness towards man. The multitude of the benefits received from God is therefore the subject of this psalm. Thus it is commonly understood by commentators. Nevertheless there are some who, on the authority of a passage of St. Paul (Heb. ii. 9), apply it not without probability to the person of Jesus Christ.

Fr Pasch:

This majestic hymn is a song of gratitude to God the Creator for having exalted his lowly creature, man.  God's Name shines out in unmistakable splendour on the brow of a child, in the stars of heaven, in man, the king of his creation.

Psalm 7 (Prime, Tuesday) - Short summaries

Psalm 7: Dómine, Deus meus, in te sperávi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quem cantavit Domino pro verbis Chusi, filii Jemini.	The psalm of David, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of Chusi, the son of Jemini.
Dómine, Deus meus, in te sperávi : * salvum me fac ex ómnibus persequéntibus me, et líbera me.	Lord, my God, in you have I put my trust; save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.
2.  Nequándo rápiat ut leo ánimam meam, * dum non est qui rédimat, neque qui salvum fáciat.	Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save.
3  Dómine, Deus meus, si feci istud. * si est iníquitas in mánibus meis :	O Lord, my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands
4  Si réddidi retribuéntibus mihi mala, * décidam mérito ab inimícis meis inánis.	If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.
5  Persequátur inimícus ánimam meam, et comprehéndat, et concúlcet in terra vitam meam, * et glóriam meam in púlverem dedúcat.	Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life, on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.
6  Exsúrge, Dómine, in ira tua : * et exaltáre in fínibus inimicórum meórum.	Rise up, O Lord, in your anger: and be exalted in the borders of my enemies.
7  Et exsúrge, Dómine Deus meus, in præcépto quod mandásti : * et synagóga populórum circúmdabit te.	And arise, O Lord, my God, in the precept which you have commanded: And a congregation of people shall surround you.
8  Et propter hanc in altum regrédere : * Dóminus júdicat pópulos.	And for their sakes return on high. The Lord judges the people.
9  Júdica me, Dómine, secúndum justítiam meam, * et secúndum innocéntiam meam super me.	Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.
10  Consumétur nequítia peccatórum, et díriges justum, *  scrutans corda et renes Deus.	The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and you shall direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.
11 Justum adjutórium meum a Dómino, * qui salvos facit rectos corde.	Just is my help from the Lord; who saves the upright of heart
12  Deus judex justus, fortis, et pátiens : * numquid iráscitur per síngulos dies?	God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day?
13  Nisi convérsi fuéritis, gládium suum vibrábit : * arcum suum teténdit, et parávit illum.	Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready.
14  Et in eo parávit vasa mortis : * sagíttas suas ardéntibus effécit.	And in it he has prepared to instruments of death, he has made ready his arrows for them that burn.
15  Ecce partúriit injustítiam : * concépit dolórem, et péperit iniquitátem.	Behold he has been in labour with injustice: he has conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.
16  Lacum apéruit, et effódit eum : * et íncidit in fóveam quam fecit.	He has opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made.
17  Convertétur dolor ejus in caput ejus : * et in vérticem ipsíus iníquitas ejus descéndet.	His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown.
18  Confitébor Dómino secúndum justítiam ejus : * et psallam nómini Dómini altíssimi.	I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.

You can listen to Psalm 7 being read aloud at Boston Catholic. and then listen to this version which alternates chant tones with a harmonised version (note antiphon first).

The overall theme of Tuesday in the Benedictine Office is Christ's public ministry, the preaching of the kingdom, and particularly of Our Lord as the true Temple.  

In this context, the psalms St Benedict set for Prime form a triptych that looks at our response to God’s call: in particular, they focus on God’s gift to us of free will, and the consequences thereof, both positive and negative.

This psalm, Psalm 7, is the plea of a man falsely accused and persecuted by a friend, asking for God to help him and to set things right.  In the psalm King David, asks the Lord to attest to his innocence of the charges made against him, while speaking of his anguish at the attacks on his integrity. The Fathers typically saw it as a prophesy of the rejection of Christ’s teaching by those who should have most welcomed his coming.

The second half of the psalm sets out God’s role in rendering judgment: God knows what is in our hearts and minds; based on that, he saves the righteous and punishes the sinner. St Benedict actually quotes verse 10 of Psalm 7, on God searching our hearts and minds, in his discussion of the first degree of humility (ch 7, line 14), urging us to be always consciously aware of the presence of God, who is watching us to see if we turning away from evil and doing good.

Because of the psalm's pleas for God’s redeeming power to be manifested, and emphasis on salvation through repentance, it is also said in the Office of the Dead at Matins.

St Augustine:

Now the story which gave occasion to this prophecy may be easily recognised in the second book of Kings (2 Samuel 15:34-37) For there Chusi, the friend of king David, went over to the side of Abessalon, his son, who was carrying on war against his father, for the purpose of discovering and reporting the designs which he was taking against his father, at the instigation of Achitophel, who had revolted from David's friendship, and was instructing by his counsel, to the best of his power, the son against the father. 

But since it is not the story itself which is to be the subject of consideration in this Psalm, from which the prophet has taken a veil of mysteries, if we have passed over to Christ, let the veil be taken away...The ruin then of that disciple, who betrayed Him, is rightly understood to be a brother's ruin, which we said is the interpretation of Achitophel. Now as to Chusi, from the interpretation of silence, it is rightly understood that our Lord contended against that guile in silence, that is, in that most deep secret, whereby blindness happened in part to Israel, when they were persecuting the Lord, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved...Thus that great silence he does not so much discover by explanation, as he sets forth its greatness in admiration. In this silence the Lord, hiding the sacrament of His adorable passion, turns the brother's voluntary ruin, that is, His betrayer's impious wickedness, into the order of His mercy and providence: that what he with perverse mind wrought for one Man's destruction, He might by providential overruling dispose for all men's salvation.

...This Psalm can also be taken in the person of the Lord Man: if only that which is there spoken in humiliation be referred to our weakness, which He bore. 

Cassiodorus:

So the prophet hymned this psalm about the future mystery of the Lord, taking Chusi as a model, for just as David endured unjust persecution from his son Absalom whom he had begotten and raised, so the Lord bore the madness of the abominable arrogance shown by the people whom He had freed and nurtured....In the first section the psalmist speaks in his own person, begging the Lord to be set free from his persecutors through His strength....In the second section, the prophet also asks that the glory of His Resurrection should be made manifest and come to his aid.  The third section ushers in the Lord as Spokesman, asking in the lowly role he has assumed to be judged according to his justice and truth....In the fourth part the prophet again speaks, warning the Jews to abandon their intended wickedness from fear of future judgment...

St Thomas Aquinas:

The account in 2 Kings 17 tells that David fled from the presence of his son...Therefore, when David heard that message of Chusi, he sang this song to the Lord. In a mystical sense, this Psalm can be about the Church and against its persecutors…this psalm has three sections. First, a prayer is set forth. Second, there is a hearkening to the prayer at May the Lord judge, and third, an act of thanksgiving at I will praise the Lord." …First he prays that he would be set free from his enemies…he asks for mercy. Second, that his enemies would be weighed down, Second, he recounts his own innocence…

St Alphonsus Liguori:

Addressing himself to God, David represents to him his innocence and at the same time the anguish of his heart; this was at the time of the persecution that he had to endure from Saul or from Absalom more probably from Saul. The holy king exhorts at the same time his enemies to be converted, and predicts to them the chastisement of heaven if they are not converted. 

In the prophetical sense, says Bellarmine, David represents the person of Jesus Christ, and that of all the just who are calumniated and persecuted.

And a setting of the psalm to meditate to: