Psalm 9 (Pt 2) - Prime on Wednesday

Beinecke Collection, Yale

Wednesday - Exsúrge, Dómine, non confortétur homo 

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

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

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

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

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

Father Pius Pasch commented:

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

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of Psalm 9/2

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

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: