Notes on the psalm notes

The psalm notes on this blog generally include an overview of each psalm, particularly with a mind to praying it in the context of St Benedict's schema for his Office.

In addition, there are some posts on particular psalms in other liturgical contexts, such as the Office for the Dead, or the Mass.

The verse by verse commentaries are intended to provide a basis for the deeper penetration of the meaning of the psalm through lectio divina on them based on the commentaries of the Fathers and Theologians.

Praying the Office with St Benedict

The first focus for the notes on this blog is to encourage those using the Benedictine Office to consider the deeper structure of that Office.

St Benedict devotes almost a third of his Rule to specifying the particular order of the psalms to be said in the form of the Divine Office to be followed by his monks.  And it is clear that he exercised great care and deliberation in selecting the pattern of repetitions and particular groupings he specified for each hour and day.

It is true that St Benedict does give permission for other (weekly) orderings of the psalter to be adopted.  Yet for centuries - up until the most recent one in fact - the overwhelming majority of his monks and nuns treasured the patrimony handed to them, and allowed themselves to be formed by the distinctive Office St Benedict bequeathed to them.

It is often suggested by modern liturgists that there is no underlying programmatic content to St Benedict's Office.  It is true of course, that liturgy - at least when it is the product of a process of organic development over centuries - rarely runs in clear straight lines.  Instead, as the theologian Catherine Pitstock argued in After Writing, it stutters and stops, re-beginnings and repeats in patterns borne of its cultural context.  Nonetheless, I believe that there is considerable internal and external evidence that St Benedict did in fact seek impose a particular implicit program on his Office.

It is generally agreed that St Benedict's starting point was the old Roman Office of his time.  He made many changes to it, however, and I would argue that those changes are spurred by three objectives: to give greater shape the nature of the particular hours; to emphasize particular aspects of his spirituality through repetition; and above all, a desire to give greater emphasis each day to the themes set out in the traditional (ferial) Office canticles set for Lauds each day.

In approaching this task, St Benedict, I would suggest, takes advantage of some of the distinctive sub-groupings of psalms as they appear in Scripture in order to give a more thematic feel to his Office.

Some of these linkages are horizontal, giving a thematic unity to particular hours of a particular day, or across the psalms of Prime and Vespers for example.

But there is also, in my view, a vertical unity, for I think that, taking its cue from the Lauds Canticles, the Benedictine Office is deeply Christological in character, tracing the life of Christ  - and its implications for us - in each day of the week.  In particular:

• Monday covers the Incarnation to his baptism (Vespers) and the Temptation in the Desert, with a    particular focus for the nun or monk on the renewal of monastic vows;
• Tuesday reflects on the public mission of Jesus, whereby he teaches us how to live the Christian life and thus ascend the steps towards the heavenly Temple (reflected in the use of the Gradual Psalms from Terce to Vespers);
• Wednesday focuses on his betrayal;
• Thursday to Saturday provides recapitulates the events of the Triduum; and
• Sunday celebrates the Resurrection.

Whether or not you agree with the arguments I develop for the existence of this particular mystical seven days of the remaking of the world in the notes provided herein, I hope you will nonetheless find meditation on the life of Christ in the context of the psalms worthwhile.

Praying the Office in Latin

The notes are also intended to assist those who wish to learn to pray the Office in Latin, particularly since there is no officially approved English version of the traditional Benedictine Office, and the translations that are included for study purposes in editions such as the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal do not always mirror the Latin Vulgate.

In general, the English translations provided (unless otherwise indicated) are from an updated version of the Douay-Rheims (previously on the New Advent site), since this is generally the most literal translation from the Latin Vulgate.  Text comments will often focus on the reasons for variations in the translations most commonly used for reference purposes for those saying the Office, viz Coverdale and the early twentieth century Collegeville translation used in the Farnborough edition of the Monastic Diurnal, as well as variations adopted by the 1979 Neo-Vulgate (used in the Novus Ordo Divine Office).

The vocabulary lists are generally derived from Dom Matthew Britt, A Dictionary of the Psalter (Preserving Christian Publications 2007 reprint of Benziger Brothers, 1928), supplemented by others sources such as Cassell's Latin Dictionary and Lewis and Short.

Where other translations are provided (note that the selection is limited by copyright considerations), the abbreviations used are as follows:

V            =Vulgate (available on the New Advent website)
NV         =Neo-Vulgate (available on the Vatican website)
JH          =St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew
Sept       =Septuagint (available on the New Advent website)
DR         =Douay-Rheims (generally the version previously on the New Advent website)
MD        =Monastic Diurnal published by Farnborough Abbey (Collegeville translation)
Brenton  =Sir Lancelot Brenton's translation from the Septuagint
NETS    =New English Translation from the Septuagint, available here
RSV       =Revised Standard Edition
Cover    =Coverdale
Knox      =Ronald Knox's translation available from the New Advent site
Grail      =Grail Psalter

The Hebrew, with links to Strong's Concordance, can be found (along with numerous other translations) at Blue Letter Bible.

The word by word translations, text notes and commentary are my own, but draw heavily on the commentaries of the Fathers and Theologians (on whom overview notes can be found elsewhere on this blog), Magisterial teaching, and other psalm commentaries.  As well as these, the next notes draw heavily on the following sources:

TE Bird, A Commentary on the Psalms 2 vols, (London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1927)
Msgr Patrick Boylan, A Study of the Vulgate Psalter in the Light of the Hebrew Text, 2 vols (Dublin: M H Gill and Son, 2nd ed 1921)
David  J Ladouceur, The Latin Psalter Introduction, Selected Text and Commentary (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2005)

Suggestions, comments and queries

Comments, questions or suggestions on the content or presentation of these notes are always welcome.

In terms of content and layout, I've tried out several different formats in these notes and am currently moving to a slightly different one, and I'm always keen to get any feedback on issues such as whether the commentary notes are too long or not (I'm planning on shortening them henceforth) and so forth.

I'm also open to requests to look at particular psalms as a priority.

Psalms 20 to 31: Psalms of the Passion or Resurrection?

In my recent series over at Saints Will Arise on the structure of the Benedictine Office, I suggested that St Benedictine started Sunday Matins at Psalm 20 rather than Psalm 1 in order to give more of a Resurrection focus, in keeping with the nature of Sundays.

Joshua of Psallite Sapienter however, argues that we should view Psalms 21 to 30 as particularly focusing on the Passion, and hence an appropriate Lenten devotion.  He points to the suggestion by William of Autun (765-812) and Durandus (1237-1296) and  that Our Lord said all of these psalms while on the Cross.

Psalms of the Resurrection or psalms of the Passion?

There is certainly Scriptural warrant for viewing Psalm 21 in this way: Scripture puts its opening line (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me) on Our Lord's lips, and this is taken as impliedly a reference to the whole psalm. 

And I certainly have no doubt about the value of saying these psalms as a group as a devotion. 

But they should they really be viewed primarily as psalms of the Passion?

Psalm 21

In fact a large part of the point of the implied reference to the whole of Psalm 21 by Our Lord is as a prophesy of the Resurrection. 

While the first half of the psalm speaks very literally of the suffering Our Lord underwent, as Pope John Paul II pointed out in a General Audience on the psalm, its ending is one of triumph:

"On the other hand in quoting the beginning of Psalm 22, which he perhaps continued to recite mentally during the passion, Jesus did not forget the conclusion which becomes a hymn of liberation and an announcement of salvation granted to all by God. The experience of abandonment is therefore a passing pain which gives way to personal liberation and universal salvation. In Jesus' afflicted soul this perspective certainly nourished hope, all the more so since he had always presented his death as a passage to the resurrection as his true glorification. From this thought his soul took strength and joy in the knowledge that at the very height of the drama of the cross, the hour of victory was at hand."

Psalm 20

The key to the interpretation of this set of psalms surely has to be the opener of the group, Psalm 20, which features this key verse:

4  Vitam pétiit a te: * et tribuísti ei longitúdinem diérum in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi.

5 He asked life of you: and you have given him length of days for ever and ever.

The Fathers invariably interpret this as a reference to the Resurrection.

St Irenaeus, for example asked:

"Why does the Psalmist say: "Life you have asked for', since Christ was about to die? 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" (Esposizione della Predicazione Apostolica, 72, Milan, 1979, p. 519).

Similarly, St Augustine commented:

"He asked life; and You gave Him: He asked a resurrection, saying, Father, glorify Your Son; John 17:1 and You gave it Him, Length of days for ever and ever. The prolonged ages of this world which the Church was to have, and after them an eternity, world without end."

The rest of the set

St Benedict, I think, was undoubtedly influenced by the Fathers' view of this group of psalms as having more of a Resurrection focus than a Passion one.

In the Septuagint text, four of them have titles rendered into Latin as 'in finem', which is invariably interpreted by the Fathers to be a reference to the Resurrection and/or Second Coming.

Several others have equally suggestive, upbeat titles: Psalm 23, for example, is labelled 'for the first day after the Sabbath', and Cassiodorus comments on it:

"A psalm of David on the first day of the week. Let us with the Lord's help eagerly remove the veil of this title, so that the inner sanctum may become clearer to us. The first day of the week indicates the Lord's day, the first after the sabbath, the day on which the Lord rose from the dead. It is rightly called the Lord's day because of the outstanding nature of the miracle, or because on that day He stabilised the world, for by rising again on it He is seen to lend succour to the world and is declared also its Maker. Because the whole psalm is sung after the resurrection, this heading has been set before it to inform the hearts of the faithful with the appropriate indication."

Similarly, let's look at what St Augustine has to say about the opening and closing of Joshua's proposed set of psalms:

Psalm 21 (My God, my God why have you forsaken me): St Augustine opens his commentary on this Passion psalm as follows:

To the end, for His own resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself speaks. John 20:1-17 For in the morning on the first day of the week was His resurrection, whereby He was taken up, into eternal life, Over whom death shall have no more dominion."

Psalm 30 (In you have I hoped): St Augustine comments:

To the end, a Psalm of the joy of the Resurrection, and the change, the renewing of the body to an immortal state, and not only of the Lord, but also of the whole Church. For in the former Psalm the tabernacle was finished, wherein we dwell in the time of war: but now the house is dedicated, which will abide in peace everlasting."

What about the content of these psalms?

Take a look too, at a couple of  key verses in this set, and you will similarly see why they can be seen as much as hymns of the Resurrection as the Passion.

Psalm 22 (The Lord is my shepherd): ends with the verse: "And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days".

Psalm 23 (The earth is Lord's): Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in", made famous by Handel's setting of it, is the quintesential Resurrection verse.

In fact pretty much all of these psalms have some verses that are generally interpreted as references to heaven and/or the Resurrection.

Psalms 21 to 30 in the Office

Nonetheless, there seem to have been an intriguing development in thinking about these psalms, reflected in their liturgical use. 

In the oldest form of the Roman Office, Psalms 1 to 26 were said at Sunday Matins, and 27 to 31 as part of Monday Matins.  This arguably simply reflects the older 'running cursus' approach to the Office.

As I noted above, Psalms 20 to 31 were shifted to Sunday Matins by St Benedict.  That seems to me to reflect a deliberate design decision, reflecting the Resurrection focus on Sunday.  That is consistent with St Benedict's firm focus on heaven: you will be hard-pressed to find an explicit reference to the Cross in his Rule!

But there was an interesting Reformation development in the Roman Office: under Pope Pius V, psalms 21 to 25 were taken out of Sunday Matins and reallocated to Prime, but not in numeric order. 

Instead, Psalm 21 (My God, my God why have you forskaen me) moved to Friday, giving that day an obvious Passion focus.  Psalm 22 (The Lord is my shepherd) was allocated to Thursday, perhaps to reflect its eucharistic connotations; Psalm 23 was placed on Monday; Psalm 24 on Tuesday; and Psalm 25 to Wednesday.

The Pius X reorganisation of the Psalter retained those allocations for Prime, but further shuffled the Matins psalms so that the remaining psalms of  Psalm 20 to 31 were now said on Monday at various hours.

St Benedict revisited

To go back to my rather upbeat view of these psalms, suffice it to note that St Benedict's set of Sunday Matins psalms starts with a psalm of the Incarnation (Psalm 20), and ends on one of the seven penitential psalms.   But is a penitential psalm that starts "Blessed are those...", and ends with an injunction to "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you just, and glory, all you right of heart. "

In the end I suspect your focus is depends on your particular school of spirituality....

Christ the perfect man; Our Lady as the model for believers: Introduction to Psalm 118/2

Yesterday I provided some extracts from Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience on Psalm 118 by way of introduction to the psalm.  Today I'd like to continue this series on Psalm 118 (119) with some further material from that Catechesis.

Christ the perfect man and Our Lady, model for believers

Pope Benedict’s comments on the psalm today focus first on the idea of meditation on God’s word, pondering it in our hearts, following the model of Mary.

The opening verses of Psalm 118 really just recapitulates the ideas of verses 1-2 of Psalm 1.

Psalm 1 says:

Beátus vir, qui non ábiit in consílio impiórum, et in via peccatórum non stetit,et in cáthedra pestiléntiæ non sedit. Sed in lege Dómini volúntas ejus, et in lege ejus meditábitur die ac nocte.

“Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence: But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night”

Psalm 118 says:

Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini. Beati qui scrutantur testimonia ejus; in toto corde exquirunt eum.

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that search his testimonies: that seek him with their whole heart.”

The main difference between the two is that Psalm 1 talks of one man, which many of the Fathers interpret as Christ, whereas Psalm 118 talks about the happiness of the blessed in the plural, perhaps expanding out the field to believers more generally, implicitly opened up to us through the psalms read thus far! In the Benedictine Office, St Benedict stresses the importance of these two sets of verses by having them open Sunday and Monday Prime respectively.

Pondering the law in our hearts

Pope Benedict XVI places Our Lady before us as the model for lectio divina:

“The Psalmist’s faithfulness stems from listening to the word, from pondering on it in his inmost self, meditating on it and cherishing it, just as did Mary, who “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart”, the words that had been addressed to her and the marvellous events in which God revealed himself, asking her for the assent of her faith (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).

And if the first verses of our Psalm begin by proclaiming “blessed” those “who walk in the law of the Lord” (v. 1b), and “who keep his testimonies” (v. 2a). It is once again the Virgin Mary who brings to completion the perfect figure of the believer, described by the Psalmist. It is she, in fact, who is the true “blessed”, proclaimed such by Elizabeth because “she... believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Lk 1:45). Moreover it was to her and to her faith that Jesus himself bore witness when he answered the woman who had cried: “Blessed is the womb that bore you”, with “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Lk 11:27-28). Of course, Mary is blessed because she carried the Saviour in her womb, but especially because she accepted God’s announcement and because she was an attentive and loving custodian of his Word.

Psalm 119 is thus woven around this Word of life and blessedness. If its central theme is the “word” and “Law” of the Lord, next to these terms in almost all the verses such synonyms recur as “precepts”, “statutes”, “commandments”, “ordinances”, “promises”, “judgement”; and then so many verbs relating to them such as observe, keep, understand, learn, love, meditate and live.”

Vocab preparation

Yesterday I highlighted five words used in the text used for the law (lex, testimonium, via, eloquium and judicium). Let me add five more to the list:

mandatum, i, n. law, precept, command, commandment (of God); commandments, precepts, decrees; the Law as a command—as enjoined upon man prescribing his duties towards God, and his obligations towards his fellow men.

justificatio, onis, f, precepts, decrees, statutes, ordinances

sermo, onis, m. words; a command, edict; the expression of God's will. (1) word, speech, saying, discourse.. (2) scheme, plan, proposal

semita, ae, f., a path, way; used almost entirely in a fig. sense ; the "way" is the path which God's commandments prescribe. (2) course of life, action, conduct, or procedure.

justitia, ae, f the Law as an expression of God's justice. (1) justice, righteousness, innocence, piety, moral integrity (2) It is found in phrases: (a) In an adjectival sense (b) In an adverbial sense

And please do continue on to the next part in this series.

Coming soon: a psalm for Lent, Psalm 118 (119)

For Lent I'm going to put aside my current series on the Sunday Vespers psalms, and turn instead to Psalm 118 (119 in Protestant and modern catholic Bibles), and invite you to join me in praying and meditating on some verses of it each day for Lent.

Why Psalm 118?

I've explained why I think it is a particularly appropriate Lenten penance over at my Australia Incognita blog. 

In short, it is a psalm above all about the path to happiness, about the Law of God in its broadest meaning.  In both Scripture and the Benedictine Office, it is placed so as to provide a preparation for the spiritual ascent into the Temple represented by the Gradual psalms, so fits neatly with the idea of preparing for the joy of Easter.

This psalm used to be said daily in the Roman Office at the minor hours.  In the Roman 1962 Office it is said on Sundays, and in the Benedictine Office, is spread over Sunday and Monday.

Looking at Psalm 118

At 176 verses, Psalm 118 (119) is the longest psalm in the psalter (and in fact the longest chapter in the Bible).   

But it is neatly divided into stanzas of eight verses, and so I plan to arrange it so as work through it stanza by stanza over the course of Lent up to Holy Week, with a few extra posts at the beginning by way of introduction, and lingering over a few verses here and there!

What to expect...

My plan is to post something relatively short each day over at my Australia Incognita blog, and provide a more extended set of notes, including looking at the Latin of the psalm, over here.

For this week, I'll start by providing an overview and introduction to the psalm, but also provide a couple of verses each day that you could use for prayer purposes that relate to the more general comments.

You can find the first part in the series on Psalm 118 here.

Psalm 109/9: Prophesying Christ’s humility and the Ascension

Garofalo, 1510-20

Today’s verse is somewhat enigmatic, and needs some help to interpret properly, as Pope Benedict XVI points out:

“The evocative image that concludes our Psalm fits in here; it is also an enigmatic word: “He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head”. The king’s figure stands out in the middle of the description of the battle. At a moment of respite and rest, he quenches his thirst at a stream, finding in it refreshment and fresh strength to continue on his triumphant way, holding his head high as a sign of definitive victory. It is clear that these deeply enigmatic words were a challenge for the Fathers of the Church because of the different interpretations they could be given…”

The final verse of Psalm 109 is:

De torrénte in via bibet: * proptérea exaltábit caput
ἐκ χειμάρρου ἐν ὁδῷ πίεται διὰ τοῦτο ὑψώσει κεφαλήν
He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Looking at the Latin

De (de, from govern s ablative case) torrénte (abl of torrens, torrentis, a stream, brook or torrent)

in via (in +ablative governing via, way, road, path) bibet (3rd person indicative future of bibo, to drink) = on the way he will drink

The Diurnal translates in via as ‘on the march’, to give the flavour that this is a stop on a journey.

Still, the phrase is open to several different interpretations in the context of this psalm, on which see below.

De torrénte in via bibet = he will drink from a stream on the way

proptérea (therefore) exaltábit (3rd person indicative future of exalto, to exalt, dignify, elevate) caput (nom of caput, head)

To lift one's head up is a sign of triumph or success, and in this context, is often seen as a reference to Christ's Ascension.

proptérea exaltábit caput = therefore he will lift the head

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal gives this verse as “On his march He drinketh at the brook: therefore he lifteth high his head”. Coverdale make it ‘He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up his head’.

Vocab

torrens, entis, m. a brook, stream, torrent
bibo, bibi, bibitum, ere 3, to drink.
propterea, adv., therefore, on that account, for that cause; but now
exalto, avi, atum, are to exalt, i.e., to elevate in rank, power, dignity, or the like; to dignify

Drinking from the stream: three possible interpretations

Pope Benedict’s comments on this psalm, that I quoted above, suggest that this verse can be given several different translations.

Let’s consider first that offered by St John Chrysostom, who sees it as a reference to Christ’s humility in his time on earth:

“Here he shows the lowliness of his lifestyle, the meanness of his existence, no swagger about him, no bodyguards in attendance, no visible display when he performs this; instead, his way of life was simple to the extent of his drinking from a torrent. His drink matched his food in this: his food was barley loaves, his drink water from the torrent. He came, you see, to teach this reasonable way of life, to keep the appetite in check, trample on pomp and circumstance, shun conceit. Then, to show the advantage of this lifestyle, he added, Hence I shall lift up his head: this is the fruit of his humility and difficult life. These words refer not to divinity, however, but to humanity - drinking from a torrent, being raised up. You see, far from this insignificance doing him any harm, it even lifted him to an ineffable height.”

The moral, then according to St John, is that we too should “scorn a flashy and meretricious lifestyle, and aim instead for one that is lowly and unpretentious”.

St Augustine too sees the verse as a reference to Christ’s humble obedience, an obedience even unto death that results in God also exalting him. St Augustine though, interprets the stream as the sea of human life which Christ joins by his Incarnation:

“…what is the brook? The onward flow of human mortality: for as a brook is gathered together by the rain, overflows, roars, runs, and by running runs down, that is, finishes its course; so is all this course of mortality. Men are born, they live, they die, and when some die others are born, and when they die others are born, they succeed, they flock together, they depart and will not remain. What is held fast here? What does not run? What is not on its way to the abyss as if it was gathered together from rain? For as a river suddenly drawn together from rain from the drops of showers runs into the sea, and is seen no more, nor was it seen before it was collected from the rain; so this hidden rain is collected together from hidden sources, and flows on; at death again it travels where it is hidden: this intermediate state sounds and passes away.”

Drinking at the brook then, means becoming human:

“Of this brook He drinks, He has not disdained to drink of this brook; for to drink of this brook was to Him to be born and to die. What this brook has, is birth and death; Christ assumed this, He was born, He died.”

But Cassiodorus offers a third possible interpretation of the idea of drinking from the torrent, namely Our Lord’s persecution:

“This torrent was disordered persecution by the Jews, of which the Lord Christ drank on the way, that is, in this life, when He endured it in the flesh. The phrase, in the way, indicates the onset of violence and the great speed of the journey made by travellers as they drive to another lodging.”

Our Lord's humility: the Incarnation and Ascension

St Robert Bellarmine provides a commentary on this verse that I think synthesizes these competing ideas neatly, and has the psalm concluding with a reference to Christ’s Ascension. The purpose of the verse, he says, is to explain why the psalm has talked about his power to judge nations:

“He now assigns a reason for Christ being endowed with such power as to be able to break kings, to judge nations, to fill ruins, and to crush heads, and says, "He shall drink of the torrent in the way, therefore shall he lift up the head;" as if he said with the apostle, "He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God also hath exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name."

The stream or torrent, he argues, is the transitory noise of humanity:

“The torrent means the course of human affairs; for, as a torrent flows with great noise and force, full of mud and confusion, and soon after subsides without leaving even a trace of itself, so it is with the affairs of this mortal life—they all pass away, having, generally speaking, been much troubled and confused. Great battles and revolutions, such as those in the time of Caesar and Alexander, and others, have been heard of, but they and their posterity have passed away without leaving a trace of their power.”

Through his Incarnation, Our Lord joins this torrent:

“The Son of God, through his Incarnation, came down this torrent, and "in the way," that is, during his mortal transitory life, drank the muddy water of this torrent in undergoing the calamities consequent on his mortality; nay, even he descended into the very depth of the torrent through his passion, the waters of which, instead of contributing to his ease and refreshment, only increased his pains and sufferings, as he complains in Psalm 68. "The waters are come in even unto my soul. I stick fast in the mire of the deep, and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me."

But the conclusion of the story lies in his Ascension, Resurrection and Second Coming:

"In consideration, then, of such humiliation, freely undertaken for the glory of the Father and the salvation of mankind, he afterwards "lifted up his head," ascended into heaven, and, sitting at the right hand of the Father, was made Judge of the living and the dead.”

And that brings us to the end of this mini-series on Psalm 109.  If you have found it useful, or have any comments, questions or suggestions, please do leave a  comment.

For an introduction to the next psalm of Sunday Vespers, Psalm 110, follow the link here.



And you can find notes on the second psalm of Sunday Vespers, Psalm 110, starting here.

Will Christ come again with a bang or a whimper? Psalm 109/8

Georgios Klontzas, c16th

Some today suggest that the Second Coming of Christ will be like the first, something that happens quietly, almost without most people even realising it is happening. Today’s verse of Psalm 109 seems to suggest otherwise.  But is that first impression misleading?

Here is the verse itself, in a variety of translations:

Vulgate: Judicábit in natiónibus, implébit ruínas: * conquassábit cápita in terra multórum.
Neo-Vulgate: Iudicabit in nationibus: cumulantur cadavera, conquassabit capita in terra spatiosa.
Septuagint: κρινεῖ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν πληρώσει πτώματα συνθλάσει κεφαλὰς ἐπὶ γῆς πολλῶν
Douay-Rheims: He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: he shall crush the heads in the land of many

Looking at the Latin

Judicábit (3rd person future of judico, to judge, punish, rule) in (in +abl) natiónibus (nations, governed by in)

Judicábit in natiónibus = he will judge among the nations

implébit (3rd person future of impleo, I fill, fill up) ruínas (accusative pl of ruina, ruin, destruction)

implébit ruínas = he will fill up ruins/destruction

The Greek here is πληρώσει πτώματα, which Brenton translates as “he shall fill up the number of corpses”. The neo-Vulgate is closer to the Greek than the Vulgate here, making it cumulantur cadavera, corpses are piled up. The RSV translates the phrase as ‘filling up with corpses’.

conquassábit (3rd person indic fut of conquasso, I break or crush) capita (acc pl of caput, head)

conquassábit cápita = he will crush/break the heads

in terra (in +abl) multórum (gen pl of multus, many)

The Greek here (ἐπὶ γῆς πολλῶν) has both earth and many in the genitive: earth is governed by the preposition ἐπὶ meaning on. Accordingly, Brenton, correctly in my view, translates the half verse as

‘he shall crush the heads of many on the earth’. The Douay-Rheims, however, instead of referring back to the Greek, simply follows the Latin word order literally making it ‘in the land of many’, which makes rather less sense to me at least!

It is worth noting, however, that the neo-Vulgate avoids the ambiguity by providing a third variant, changing the phrase to ‘in terra spatiosa’, which the Monastic Diurnal makes ‘throughout the land’. However I suspect that the neo-Vulgate is just confusing the issue here by following the Hebrew Masoretic Text (rab erets), which could be best translated as Coverdale does ‘over divers countries’.

in terra multórum = of many on the earth

Translations

A literal reading of the Vulgate would be to slightly correct the Douay-Rheims as follows: He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: he shall crush the heads of many in the land.

The Monastic Diurnal makes this verse: He judgeth among the nations, maketh ruin complete, He crusheth heads throughout the land.

But looking to the Greek Septuagint as authoritative, I think the better version is Brenton’s: He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill up the number of corpses, he shall crush the heads of many on the earth.

Protestant versions of this verse, based entirely on the Masoretic Text, have different take again on this verse. The King James Bible, for example, makes it “He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill [the places] with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries”.

Vocab

natio, onis, f nation, people; in pi., the gentiles; a generation.
judico, avi, atum, are to judge, rule, punish, do justice to, to relieve from wrong.
impleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2 to fill, fill up, fill full; to fill, to cover; to fill, satisfy.
ruina, ae, f. a falling down, fall, ruin, destruction; evil, destruction, i.e., a plague
conquasso, avi, atum, are to break, crush, or dash to pieces
caput, itis, n. the head,
terra, ae, .f, earth, land
multus, a, um, much; many, numerous; much, great

Christ’s judgment of the world

This verse, Pope Benedict XVI points out, paints the final victory of Christ in vivid colours:

“Supported by the Lord, having received both power and glory from him (cf. v. 2), he opposes his foes, crushing his adversaries and judging the nations. The scene is painted in strong colours to signify the drama of the battle and the totality of the royal victory. The sovereign, protected by the Lord, demolishes every obstacle and moves ahead safely to victory. He tells us: “yes, there is widespread evil in the world, there is an ongoing battle between good and evil and it seems as though evil were the stronger. No, the Lord is stronger, Christ, our true King and Priest, for he fights with all God’s power and in spite of all the things that make us doubt the positive outcome of history, Christ wins and good wins, love wins rather than hatred.”

Nonetheless, the verse can be interpreted at the spiritual level in somewhat softer tones, as St John Chrysostom points out:

“If you prefer to take this in a spiritual sense, you would say that he is doing away with folly…”

Similarly, St Augustine portrays the verse as talking about the humbling of the proud that leads to their conversion:

“Whoever you are who art obstinate against Christ, you have raised on high a tower that must fall. It is good that you should cast yourself down, become humble, throw yourself at the feet of Him who sits on the right hand of the Father, that in you a ruin may be made to be built up…He makes them humble instead of proud; and I dare to say, my brethren, that it is more profitable to walk here humbly with the head wounded, than with the head erect to fall into the judgment of eternal death. He will smite many heads when he causes them to fall, but He will fill them up and build them up again.”

Nonetheless, St John, St Augustine and the rest of the Fathers also accorded this a decidedly material interpretation, prophesying the fall of demons, the fate of the Jews and heathen, and indeed any who reject Christ, as St Alphonse Liguori tells us:

“Jesus Christ shall judge the rebellious nations, and will carry into effect the chastisements with which they have been threatened; he shall shiver in pieces on the earth the proud heads that rose up against him. This verse well applies to the end of the world and to the Last Judgment. Hence the proud will be confounded, and the humble after having been made to drink with their divine Master of the water of the torrent, shall be glorified with him.”

Make sure then that we learn from those things that humble us, lest our corpses join the pile consigned to eternal death….

And you can find the last part of the series on this psalm here.

The Magisterium of 'me' and Psalm 109 (Ps 109/7)

The St.Omer Psalter, c1330
Yates Thompson MS 14; f.120r
The British Library, London

Today’s verse of Psalm 109 is:

Dóminus a dextris tuis, * confrégit in die iræ suæ reges.
κύριος ἐκ δεξιῶν σου συνέθλασεν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλεῖς
The Lord at your right hand has broken kings in the day of his wrath.

St Augustine poses the key question, of who is it talking about when the verse refers to kings:

“What kings, do you ask? Have you forgotten? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed. These kings He wounded by His glory, and by the weight of His Name made kings weak, so that they had not power to effect what they wished. For they strove again to blot out the Christian name from the earth, and could not; for Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken.”

Is this purely a historical reference, though, a prophesy entirely fulfilled? The Fathers thought not. Indeed, St John Chrysostom comments:

“You would not be wide of the mark to say this refers to the current rebels against the church and about those accountable in the future for their sins and impieties.”

I’ll come back to this point, but first a look at the verse phrase by phrase.

Looking at the Latin

The Incarnation

Dominus (nom s) a (prep +abl) dextis (abl) tuis (agreeing with dextris
Dóminus a dextris tuis = the Lord at your right hand

The first phrase of this section of the psalm takes us back to the first verse, with a reminder of the Incarnation, as St John Chrysostom points out:

“Then, having dwelt on that for as long as he wished, he touches again on the incarnation, adopting a more lowly form of language in the words, The Lord is at your right hand. Admittedly, he mentioned above that he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Do you see how the need to stay close to the expressions is not without purpose? What is the force of The Lord is at your right hand? Since he touched on the incarnation, he directs his attention to the flesh in receipt of assistance: it is seen to be struggling and sweating - and sweating to such a degree that blood flowed - and given strength. The nature of flesh is like that, you see.”

He will destroy kings

If we look at the Latin here phrase by phrase, it will quickly become evident that English requires us to change the word order in order to make sense of the verse:

confrégit = (third person indicative perfect of confringo) he has broken/destroyed/dashed in pieces

The neo-Vulgate makes this ‘conquassabit’ instead.

in (prep +abl) die (abl of dies) irae (ira, anger, gen) sueae (agreeing with ira)

in die iræ suæ =in the day of his anger/wrath

reges = kings (acc pl)

Translations

The MD makes this: The Lord at Thy right hand smiteth kings in the day of His wrath. Other versions say ‘he has broken kings’ (DR), ‘has dashed in pieces kings’ (Brenton), ‘shall wound even kings’ (Coverdale).

Key vocab

confringo, fregi, fractum, ere 3 to break in pieces, shatter; to destroy, bring to naught
dies, ei, m. and /.; fem. a day, the natural day
ira, ae, /., anger, wrath
rex, regis, m. a king, ruler, lawgiver

Who are the ‘kings’ now?

St Augustine, in the extract from his commentary on the psalm quoted above, links the reference to kings being crushed to Psalm 2. Cassiodorus repeats this sentiment in his commentary on the psalm:

“He hath broken kings denotes those of whom Psalm 2 says: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together against the Lord and against his Christ. He broke them when He laid low their pride with the power of His omnipotence, for if they had not been broken they would have stuck fast in the harmful rigidity of their malice.”

But, St Augustine goes on, while Christ’s victory was obvious in the Resurrection, now it is hidden, to be made manifest again in the Second Coming, when all shall be judged.

St Robert Bellarmine sees it as literally referring to the various kings and emperors who have persecuted the Church:

“Having asserted that the Son was called a priest forever by the Father, the Prophet now addresses the Father, and says that Christ will be really a priest forever; for though many kings of the earth will conspire against him in order to upset his religion and his priesthood, he, however, seated at the right hand of his Father, will break his adversaries down, and, in spite of them all, will perpetuate his priesthood and his sacrifice. "The Lord at thy right hand;" Christ, as you spoke to him sitting there, when you said, "Sit thou at my right hand." "Hath broken kings in the day of his wrath;" when he shall be angry with his enemies, the kings of the earth, for persecuting his Church, he will break them, and, as far as I can foresee, has already broken them; for in the spirit of prophecy, I already see Herod stricken by the angel. Nero, in his misery, laying violent hands on him¬self; Domitian, Maximinus and Decius put to death; Valerian taken captive by the barbarians; Diocletian and Maximinus throwing up the reins of government in despair; Julian, Valens, and Honoricus, and nearly all the kings hostile to Christ meeting a miserable end here, and well-merited punishment in hell afterwards for all eternity.”

Yet others, such as St John Chrysostom and St Alphonse Liguori, suggest a rather broader interpretation of the term kings here – for just as we are all in one sense priests, we are all, in a sense kings, capable of deciding for ourselves to reject the kingship of Christ, and the teaching of his Church. Those who choose to fight actively against the Magisterium, and substitute instead the ‘Magisterium of Me’, aka FrZ's the Magisterium of Nuns, etc, should take heed!

Psalm 109

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,

donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te. Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Dominus a dextris tuis; confregit in die iræ suæ reges.
Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas; conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput.

You can find the next part on this psalm here.

Who was Melchisedech? Psalm 109/6

Meeting of Abraham and Melchisedech
Dieric Bouts, c1464

The first half of Psalm 109, the verses that we have looked at so far, essentially focused on our Lord’s kingship:

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.

Now we turn to his status as high priest.

Today’s verse of Psalm 109 alludes to the mysterious figure of Melchisedech:

Jurávit Dóminus, et non pœnitébit eum: * tu es sacérdos in ætérnum secúndum órdinem Melchísedech.
ὤμοσεν κύριος καὶ οὐ μεταμεληθήσεται σὺ εἶ ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδεκ
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

Who was Melchisedech?

Melchisedech is a mysterious figure, because unlike almost every other figure in Genesis, he is presented without genealogy.

As one of David’s line the Messiah could not of course be a member of the Aaronic priesthood, the Levites. This verse however tells us that he will nonetheless be a priest in the manner of the priest king Melchisdech, who offered God a sacrifice of bread and wine, as described in Genesis 14:14-20:

“When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people. After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-lao'mer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"

Melchisedech also appears in some surviving non-canonical works, particularly the Second Book of Enoch.

St John Chrysostom comments on the importance of Melchisidech as a type of Jesus:

“What was the reason for his saying in the line of Mechizedek? With the eucharist in mind, because he too offered bread and wine to Abraham, and because of the independence of this priesthood of the Law and its being without end and without beginning, as Paul too says. You see, what that priest had in shadow was realized in reality in the case of Jesus; and as the names, like "Jesus" and "Christ," had preceded him, so too this Melchizedek seems to have had no beginning to his days nor end to his life, not because he did not have them but because he had no genealogy. Jesus, on the other hand, had no beginning to his days nor end to his life, not in that fashion but because there was absolutely no chronological beginning in his case, nor any end. One case was shadow, you see, the other reality. So when you hear the name "Jesus," do not be deceived into thinking he was really Jesus, but recognize only the type in the name, and look for no further significance. Likewise also, when you hear that Melchizedek had no beginning or end, do not require him to provide the reality in fact; instead, be content with the name alone, and grasp the reality in the case of Christ.”

The Latin

The Lord swore an oath

Jurávit (3rd person indicative pf of juro, I swear, take an oath) Dóminus (nominative)

Jurávit Dóminus = the Lord has sworn

Here is the first point of contrast between the Aaronic priesthood and the Christian: Aaronic priests were priests by virtue purely of their birth; Christ was immediately appointed by God. As Hebrews points out: “Those who formerly became priests took their office without an oath, but this one was addressed with an oath, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, `Thou art a priest for ever.'" This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant.” (7:21-22)

A priest forever

et non pœnitébit (3rd person future indicative of peonitet, he relents, repents) eum (demonstrative pronoun is ea id, acc governed by poenitebit, provides emphasis)

et non pœnitébit eum = and he will not relent

St Paul in Romans 11:29 comments: “For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

tu (you, pronoun nom) es (you are) sacérdos (priest, nom) in ætérnum

tu es sacérdos in ætérnum= you are a priest forever

secúndum (according to, by reason of) órdinem (acc, likeness, order, manner) Melchísedech

secúndum órdinem Melchísedech= according to the order of /after the manner of/in the line of Melchisedech

St Robert Bellarmine comments:

“Now Christ is said to be a priest forever, because the effect of the one sacrifice in which he offered his body on the cross holds forever, as the apostle, in Heb. 10 has it, "For by one oblation he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified;" as also, because he, living forever, daily, through the hands of the priests of his Church, who succeed each other, offers a sacrifice to which the apostle alludes, when he says, "And the others indeed were made many priests, because, by reason of death, they were not suffered to continue; but this, for that he continueth forever, hath an everlasting priesthood."

On the word ‘order’ the Catechism (CCC1537) notes:

“The word order in Roman antiquity designated an established civil body, especially a governing body. Ordinatio means incorporation into an ordo. In the Church there are established bodies which Tradition, not without a basis in Sacred Scripture, has since ancient times called taxeis (Greek) or ordines. And so the liturgy speaks of the ordo episcoporum, the ordo presbyterorum, the ordo diaconorum. Other groups also receive this name of ordo: catechumens, virgins, spouses, widows,. . . .

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal translates this fairly literally as “The Lord hath sworn and will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisdedech”. The other main translations offer only minor variants on this.

Key vocab

juro, avi, atum, are, to swear, take an oath
poenitet, ituit with acc, it repents one, one relents,
secundum, according to; by reason of, because of; after the manner of, according to the likeness of, like.
ordo, inis, m. order, manner, likeness
aeternus, a, um eternal. Forever

The Christian priesthood

The main Scriptural expositions of this verse are contained in Hebrews chapter 5-7, which explains the continuity of New and Old when it comes to the priesthood in particular.  There are important distinctions to be made here though, as St Robert Bellarmine points out:

“In the first place, Melchisedech succeeded no priest, nor had he a successor; and, thus, the apostle says of him, "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." While in the priesthood of Aaron one succeeded another, the son supplied the father's place. Secondly, Melchisedech was both king and priest; Aaron was simply a priest. Thirdly, Melchisedech's offering consisted of bread and wine, that of Aaron was of sheep and oxen. Fourthly, Melchisedech was the priest of mankind, Aaron's priesthood was confined to the Jews. Fifthly, Melchisedech required neither tent, tabernacle, nor temple for sacrifice, Aaron did; and hence, to the present day, the Jews have no sacrifice, because they have no temple. Christ, then, is a priest according to the order of Melchisedech, by reason of his having succeeded no priest, and by reason of his having had no priest to succeed him in the great dignity of his everlasting priesthood; and he in fact, as to his human nature has really no father, and as to his divine nature has no mother. The same Christ is both King and Priest, and he offered bread and wine at his Last Supper, that is, his body under the appearance of bread, and his blood under the appearance of wine; and he is the priest, not only of the Jews, but of the Gentiles; nor is his priestly office confined to one temple or one tabernacle, but, as Malachy predicted, "From the rising of the sun, even to the going down, in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation."

St Augustine though draws out what I think is the really key point, namely the link between this prophesy of the nature of the priesthood of Christ and the destruction of the Temple:

“But Priest, in what sense? Will there be those victims, victims offered by the Patriarchs, altars of blood, and tabernacle, and those sacred emblems of the Old Covenant? God forbid! These things are already abolished; the temple being destroyed, that priesthood taken away, their victim and their sacrifice having alike disappeared, not even the Jews have these things. They see that the priesthood after the order of Aaron has already perished, and they do not recognise the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedec.”

Pope Benedict XVI comments:

"In the Risen Lord Jesus who had ascended into Heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father the prophecy of our Psalm is fulfilled and the priesthood of Melchizedek is brought to completion. This is because, rendered absolute and eternal, it became a reality that never fades (cf. 7:24). And the offering of bread and wine made by Melchizedek in Abraham’s time is fulfilled in the Eucharistic action of Jesus who offers himself in the bread and in the wine and, having conquered death, brings life to all believers. Since he is an eternal priest, “holy, blameless, unstained” (7:26), as the Letter to the Hebrews states further, “he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (7:25)."

Psalm 109

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.
Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.
Dominus a dextris tuis; confregit in die iræ suæ reges.
Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas; conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput.

You can find the next part in this series here.

Why is psalm 109 used for Marian feasts? Ps 109/5

Georgia, c1125

Today’s verse speaks of the divine - rather than human - begetting of Our Lord.  So why is it used in the Office of Our Lady and for Vespers of her feasts?

It is worth noting first that this verse in the Septuagint and Vulgate bears little or no resemblance to the Hebrew Text as it has come down to us, as Pope Benedict explains:

“In the original Hebrew text a reference was made to the mustering of the army to which the people generously responded, gathering round their sovereign on the day of his coronation. The Greek translation of The Septuagint that dates back to between the second and third centuries B.C. refers however to the divine sonship of the king, to his birth or begetting on the part of the Lord. This is the interpretation that has been chosen by the Church, which is why the verse reads like this: “Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendour; before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you”.

The RSV accordingly renders this verse:

“Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains.  From the womb of the morning like dew your youth will come to you.”

It is not unreasonable, however, to infer that the “original” Hebrew has in fact been corrupted in order to avoid granting the Messiah inheritance of his status by right of birth and eternal generation.  So ignore Coverdale and any other protestant translations of this psalm in your consideration of it!

Here is the text as the Church reads it:

Tecum princípium in die virtútis tuæ in splendóribus sanctórum: *ex útero ante lucíferum génui te.
μετὰ σοῦ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῆς δυνάμεώς σου ἐν ταῖς λαμπρότησιν τῶν ἁγίων ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐξεγέννησά σε
With you is the principality in the day of your strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot you.

Looking at the Latin

Tecum principium (accusative, governed by cum) = with you [is] the sovereignty/dominion

In die (abl, governed by in) virtútis (gen) tuæ = in the day of your power

The first two phrases, then, present the saviour as awe-inspiring.

in splendóribus (in +abl, plural) sanctorum (genitive) = in the splendour of the saints

St John Chrysostom sees this phrase as softening the depiction presented to us:

“Lest he give the impression that he is only fearsome, the psalmist shows as well his mild and kindly character in the words, In the glories of the holy ones. This is a mark of his power, making them glorious like that, as Paul also indicated in saying, "He will transform the body of our lowliness so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory."

This idea of exalting the lowly also hints at the Marian dimension of the verse, taken up in the next phrase.

ex útero = from the womb (abl, governed by ex)

Though this phrase seems to suggest the Incarnation, it should really be viewed figuratively, as St Robert Bellarmine explains:

“By the womb is meant the secret and intimate essence of the Deity; and, though the womb is to be found in woman only, still it is applied to the Father, to show more clearly the consubstantiality of the Son with him, as also to show that God needed not the cooperation of woman to bring forth and produce. Himself begot and gave birth. As Isaias says, "Shall not I, that made others to bring forth children, myself bring forth, saith the Lord."

ante lucíferum = before the morning star (accusative, governed by ante)

St Robert continues:

"Here we have a proof of the eternity of Christ; for he was born before the day star, and, consequently, before all created things; but he named the day star, for he himself, as the Son of God, is the increate light. For he is the true light, that enlighteneth every man and angel.”

génui te – I bore/begot you (present indicative perfect of gigno, I beget)

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal offers a rather free translation of this verse: “Thine is princely rule in the day of Thy power in holy splendour: from the womb before the day-star have I begotten Thee”

Brenton’s translation from the Septuagint is a more literal one: With thee is dominion in the day of thy power, in the splendours of thy saints: I have begotten thee from the womb before the morning.

Key vocab

principium, ii, n. the beginning; the sum, substance, content; sovereignty, princely, power, dominion
splendor, oris, m. brightness, splendor; glory, brightness, i.e., grace, favor.
uterus, i, m. the womb
lucifer, feri, in. the morning-star, the day-star.
gigno, genui, genitum, ere 3 to beget.

So why is this psalm used on Marian feasts?

We have seen above that this verse then attests to our Lord’s divinity, his eternal generation, rather than the Incarnation as such.

Nonetheless, this should immediately remind us of Our Lady’s title as theotokos, or “God bearer”.

And in fact St Augustine argues that the expression ‘before the morning star’:

“…is used both figuratively and literally, and was thus fulfilled. For the Lord was born at night from the womb of the Virgin Mary; the testimony of the shepherds does assert this, who were keeping watch over their flock. Luke 2:7-8 So David: O Thou, my Lord, who sittest at the right hand of my Lord, whence are You my Son, except because, From the womb before the morning star I have begotten You?”

And indeed, the Church places this verse before us at Midnight Mass for Christmas, in the Gradual.



You can find the next part of this series here.

Are we there yet? When will Christ's kingdom be established? Ps 109/4

Van der Weyden, c1445

Today’s verse of Psalm 109 puts before us a paradox. Here is the verse in the Vulgate Latin, Greek Septuagint, and English Douay-Rheims versions:

Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
ῥάβδον δυνάμεώς σου ἐξαποστελεῖ κύριος ἐκ Σιων καὶ κατακυρίευε ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου
The Lord will send forth the sceptre of your power out of Sion: rule in the midst of your enemies.

What is the nature of the paradox? Well on the one hand, it seems to talk about God establishing Christ’s rule, something that is in fact eternal without any beginning, as St Augustine explains:

“It appears, brethren, it most clearly appears, that the Prophet is not speaking of that kingdom of Christ, in which He reigns for ever with His Father, Ruler of the things which are made through Him: for when does not God the Word reign, who is in the beginning with God?”

Yet on the other hand, this clearly is a Christological psalm!

The paradox is resolved by the Fathers, in seeing this verse as reference to the culmination of Christ’s earthly mission, in the establishment of the Church, and the instruction to go out and make disciples of all nations. St Augustine continues:

“…but, nevertheless, that reign of temporal government, by which, through the mediation of His flesh, He called us into eternity, begins with Christians; but of His reign there shall be no end.

Let’s look at the verse more closely in order to penetrate further into the meaning.

The Latin

The scepter from Sion

Parsing out the phrase:
Virgam (acc of virga, a rod, staff or scepter) virtútis (genitive of virtus, strength, power) tuæ (your, agreeing with virtus)

Virgam virtútis tuæ = the scepre of your power =your mighty sceptre

The sceptre is often interpreted as a reference to the Cross.

The Neo-Vulgate translation of the psalm (used in the Liturgy of the Hours) changes virtutis to potentiae (power).

Out of Sion

Parsing the phrase:
emíttet (future indicative 3rd person of emitto, I send) Dóminus ex (ex, out of) Sion (=Jerusalem)

emíttet Dóminus ex Sion = the Lord will send from Sion

St Robert Bellarmine comments:

“…The scepter of his power was sent out of Sion, as if it grew on that mountain; for it was in Jerusalem that the spiritual kingdom of Christ commenced, as there were the first believers, and there the faith began to be propagated by the apostles.”

Rule

Parsing the phrase:
Domináre (imperative of dominor, rule) in médio (in +abl, medius in the midt, middle) inimicórum (gen pl of enemy) tuórum (your, agreeing with enemies)

domináre in médio inimicórum tuórum = rule in the midst of your enemies

This phrase points to the tension implicit in this ‘almost but not yet’ time after Christ’s Resurrection, but before the Second Coming, as St Augustine explains:

“First, Be Thou ruler in the midst of Your enemies: in the midst of the raging heathen. For shall He rule in the midst of His enemies at a later season, when the Saints have received their reward, and the ungodly their condemnation? And what wonder if He shall then rule, when the righteous reign with Him for ever, and the ungodly burn with eternal punishments? What wonder, if He shall then? Now in the midst of Your enemies, now in this transition of ages, in this propagation and succession of human mortality, now while the torrent of time is gliding by, unto this is the rod of Your power sent out of Sion, that You may be Ruler in the midst of Your enemies. Rule Thou, rule among Pagans, Jews, heretics, false brethren. Rule Thou, rule, O Son of David, Lord of David, rule in the midst of Pagans, Jews, heretics, false brethren. Be Thou Ruler in the midst of Your enemies. We understand not this verse aright.”

Other translations

The Monastic Diurnal translates the whole verse as “The scepter of Thy power the Lord sendeth forth from Sion: Rule Thou in the midst of Thy enemies”.

The Coverdale translation renders it “The Lord shall send the rod of thy power out of Sion; be thou ruler, even in the midst among thine enemies.”

The Revised Standard Version prefers sceptre to rod: “The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes!”

Extending the sceptre of Christ’s power

This verse, then can be seen as encapsulating Our Lord’s mission and instruction to spread the Gospel to the whole world, through his Cross, as St Alphonsus Liguri explains:

“Here David speaks to Jesus Christ, and says to him: The Lord, that is, Thy eternal Father, will cause to come forth from Sion, or from Jerusalem, the sceptre of Thy power, and Thy reign shall extend over the whole earth. This accords with the command given by the divine Master to his disciples to go to preach salvation to all nations beginning with Jerusalem…That penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, . . . beginning at Jerusalem (Luke, xxiv. 4). Mattei observes that by Virgam many of the holy Fathers understand the cross, which is the sceptre of Jesus Christ.”

When then is the kingdom established? St Robert Bellarmine explains:

“All success, triumph, and happiness to you on the way; extend your kingdom to all nations; carry the banner of your cross in the midst of Jews and pagans; plant it where they are thickest and strongest; "rule everywhere in the midst of them;" and in spite of them, and in opposition to them, set up your kingdom. That was very soon accomplished; for within a few years, in spite of both Jews and pagans, many Christian churches were established, for the apostle writes to the Colossians, chapter 1, "The truth of the Gospel is in the whole world, and bringeth forth fruit and groweth;" and St. Ireneus, who lived in the century after the apostles, writes, "The Church has been planted through the entire world, even to the ends of the earth;" and he specifies the Churches of Germany, Spain, Libya, Egypt, France, the East, and the churches he calls those in the middle of the world, meaning Greece and Italy. The Psalm most appropriately adds, "in the midst of thy enemies;" because, however prosperous and triumphant the Church may be, she will always be surrounded by enemies—by pagans, Jews, heretics, and bad Christians—as long as she sojourns here below. But at the end of the world, when the good shall come to be separated from the bad, the kingdom of Christ will be no longer in the midst of her enemies, but will rise above, and be exalted over all her enemies.”

Key vocab

virga, ae, f, a rod, staff, scepter, a shepherd's crook.
virtus, utis, f. strength, power, might; an army, host; the angels.; the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars
emitto, misi, missum, ere 3 to send out or forth; to stretch forth, put forth
dominor, atus sum, ari to rule over, have dominion over, lord it over; to rule, reign
medius, a, um in the middle, midst
inimicus, i, m., a foe, enemy

Psalm 109 (110)

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.

Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
The Lord will send forth the sceptre of your power out of Sion: rule in the midst of your enemies.

Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.
Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.
Dominus a dextris tuis; confregit in die iræ suæ reges.
Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas; conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput.



You can find the next part in this series on Psalm 109 here.

Are we allowed to pray for the defeat of enemies? Psalm 109/3

c. 1210 Arundel MS 157, f.93r
The British Library, London

Today’s verse of Psalm 109 alludes to Christ’s immediate victory over his enemies, in the Resurrection, as well as looking forward to the final defeat of evil at the end of the world. And so it raises the question: are we allowed to pray for the defeat of our enemies?

You often see it suggested in some quarters today that we shouldn't even accept the concept of having enemies: rather we should practise inclusiveness and tolerance.  Yet Scripture makes no bones abut the fact that the good is constantly under attack, and that we must work towards its defeat.

Here is verse 2 of Psalm 109:

Donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
until I make your enemies your footstool

The Latin

First let’s look at the Latin.

Donec ponam inimicos tuos

Parsing the first phrase:

Donec (conjunction) ponam (1st person present subj of ponere, to make or render) inimicos (acc pls of enemies) tuos (your, agreeing with enemies).

donec ponam inimicos tuos = until I make your enemies

The underlying Hebrew word translated by donec is less restrictive than the Latin (and Greek), and a number of the patristic commentators note that the word is not meant to imply a time limit. Similarly, St Robert Bellarmine comments that ‘while’ does not imply a temporary kingdom for Christ:

“The kingdom of Christ, then, is never to have an end, nor is there any danger of its being subverted by its enemies, God having determined to bring them all under subjection by degrees, that Christ may then reign peaceably forever after. The word, then, "until," does not imply that Christ's reign was only to hold until his enemies should be subjected; but it means that his kingdom would be always extended more and more until as much as one single enemy not bowing the knee to him would not remain; as if he said, in other words: Come on ruling with me, and cease not extending our kingdom so long as one solitary enemy shall remain unconquered.”

Scabellum pedum tuorum

scabellum (acc sing footstool) pedum (gen pl of foot) tuorum (gen pl)

scabellum pedum tuorum = the stool of your feet = your footstool or a stool for your feet.

This phrase is meant to convey the idea of the subjection and submission: the victors of a battle were often portrayed with a foot on the neck of the vanquished. St Robert notes:

“That extension of Christ's kingdom is daily going on through the conversion of some to faith and obedience, who willingly put themselves under Christ's feet, that he may rest in them as he would on a footstool, and who, after finishing their exile, set out for their country, where they felicitously rest in God: others have either been perverted, or have got hardened in their perversity and are, in the end, hurried away by death to judgment, and, on being condemned, are consigned to hell, where they are, for all eternity, trampled under the feet of Christ. The extension of Christ's kingdom will be completed on the last day, when every knee shall bend of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell, to Christ.”

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal translates this phrase as 'Until I make Thy footstool'.  The other standard translations vary only in variants on 'Thy' such as your and thine.

Vocab

donec, conj., till, until, while
pono, posui, Itum, ere 3, to put, place, lay, set; make, render
inimicus -i m enemy
scabellum, i, n. a low stool, footstool
pes, pedis, m. the foot

The work of extending the kingdom

This verse then, tells us of the ongoing work to extend the kingdom of Christ, the very mission and purpose of the Church, to which we are all called to contribute.

The defeat of the enemy comes about firstly through the Father, as this verse makes clear, but can also be attributed to the Son, as St Robert points out:

“Everything done by the Father is also done by the Son, as he himself asserts; but the Father is made to act here, in order, as it were, to reward the obedience of the Son, as the apostle says, "Wherefore, God also hath exalted him." With that, everything implying power is usually attributed to the Father, though the Son has the same power, because the Father shares it with him, though the Son cannot share it with the Father, he having had it from the Father by generation. The Son also, as man, enjoys it but by virtue of the Hypostatic Union.”

Secondly, the Son’s triumph in his Resurrection is itself a testimony to the kingdom that converts, as Pope Benedict XVI explains:

“The king’s kingship is also brought into being in the victory over his adversaries whom God himself places at his feet. The victory over his enemies is the Lord’s, but the king is enabled to share in it and his triumph becomes a sign and testimony of divine power…Dominion over his foes, glory and victory are gifts received that make the sovereign a mediator of the Lord’s triumph over evil. He subjugates his enemies, transforming them, he wins them over with his love.”

We shouldn’t shy away then, from praying for the defeat of evil. When it comes to our human enemies, we should try to win them over, pray for their conversion. But the very purpose of Our Lord’s mission on earth is to confound those who do wrong, and there is nothing wrong at all with praying that evil actions and words be frustrated!

Psalm 109 (110)

Please do leave a comment if you have a question, query, suggestion or insight to add.

In the meantime, here is the complete psalm for reference purposes, with the verses looked at so far bolded (I've also slotted in the Septuagint Greek for those interested):

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand,

donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου 
until I make your enemies your footstool

Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
The Lord will send forth the sceptre of your power out of Sion: rule in the midst of your enemies.

Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.
With you is the principality in the day of your strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot you.

Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

Dominus a dextris tuis; confregit in die iræ suæ reges.
The Lord at your right hand has broken kings in the day of his wrath.

Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas; conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: he shall crush the heads in the land of many

De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput.
He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

And don't forget to listen to recordings until you can say the Latin aloud, to help get it into your head.



You can find the next post in this series on Psalm 109 here.