Psalm 89 - Seventy years in this life; eighty years old to eternity...

William Blake

Psalm 89: Domine refugium factus es nobis - Thursday Lauds

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Oratio Moysi, hominis Dei.	A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Dómine, refúgium factus es nobis: * a generatióne in generatiónem.	Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation.
2  Priúsquam montes fíerent, aut formarétur terra et orbis: * a sæculo et usque in sæculum tu es, Deus.	2 Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity you are God.
3  Ne avértas hóminem in humilitátem: * et dixísti: Convertímini, fílii hóminum.	3 Turn not man away to be brought low: and you have said: Be converted, O you sons of men.
4  Quóniam mille anni ante óculos tuos, * tamquam dies hestérna, quæ prætériit.	4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, which is past.
5  Et custódia in nocte, * quæ pro níhilo habéntur, eórum anni erunt.	And as a watch in the night,  things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.
6  Mane sicut herba tránseat, mane flóreat, et tránseat: * véspere décidat, indúret et aréscat.	6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.
7  Quia defécimus in ira tua, * et in furóre tuo turbáti sumus.	7 For in your wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in your indignation.
8  Posuísti iniquitátes nostras in conspéctu tuo: * sæculum nostrum in illuminatióne vultus tui.	8 You have set our iniquities before your eyes: our life in the light of your countenance.
9  Quóniam omnes dies nostri defecérunt: * et in ira tua defécimus.	9 For all our days are spent; and in your wrath we have fainted away.
10  Anni nostri sicut aránea meditabúntur: * dies annórum nostrórum in ipsis, septuagínta anni.	Our years shall be considered as a spider:  The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years.
11  Si autem in potentátibus, octogínta anni: * et ámplius eórum, labor et dolor.	But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow.
12  Quóniam supervénit mansuetúdo: * et corripiémur.	For mildness has come upon us: and we shall be corrected.
13  Quis novit potestátem iræ tuæ: * et præ timóre tuo iram tuam dinumeráre?	11 Who knows the power of your anger, and for your fear  can number your wrath?
14  Déxteram tuam sic notam fac: * et erudítos corde in sapiéntia.	So make your right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
15  Convértere, Dómine, úsquequo? * et deprecábilis esto super servos tuos.	13 Return, O Lord, how long? And be entreated in favour of your servants.
16  Repléti sumus mane misericórdia tua: * et exsultávimus, et delectáti sumus ómnibus diébus nostris.	14 We are filled in the morning with your mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
17  Lætáti sumus pro diébus, quibus nos humiliásti: * annis, quibus vídimus mala.	15 We have rejoiced for the days in which you have humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
18  Réspice in servos tuos, et in ópera tua: * et dírige fílios eórum.	16 Look upon your servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
19  Et sit splendor Dómini Dei nostri super nos, et ópera mánuum nostrárum dírige super nos: * et opus mánuum nostrárum dírige.	17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do you direct.

Psalm 89, it seems to me, is the high point of this set of Lauds psalms, and key to understanding the whole set.  Attributed to Moses, it not only contains many references to morning and light, it also provides the link between these and the truth and mercy theme.

Truth and mercy

The overarching theme is God's eternity, compared to the ephemeral nature of our life on this earth.  And against this background God confronts us with the truth about ourselves:

You have set our iniquities before your eyes: our life in the light of your countenance.

Sinful and doomed to die, mankind lies suffering, awaiting God's mercy; then the Lord indeed arrives on this earth, creating for us a morning that is the dawn of the new creation, where in we can live forever with God:

We are filled in the morning with your mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.

What is necessary for this to occur: that we cultivate humility, and allow the Lord to direct the works of our hands:

We have rejoiced for the days in which you have humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils....and direct the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do you direct.

Cassiodorus and many others saw this is as a key prayer, perhaps used daily by the people in their desert wanderings, and in his introduction to it, he offers a mini-treatise on the effects of prayer:

 A prayer, by which the Lord's anger is deferred, pardon gained, punishment avoided, and generous rewards obtained when he speaks to the Lord, gossips with the Judge, and pictures before his eyes Him whom he cannot see. 

By his prayer he placates Him whom he eagerly exalts by his actions. 

Prayer in some sense affords clois­tered converse with the Lord, and offers an opportunity for intimations; the sinner is granted access to the Judge's inner sanctum, and the only person rejected is he who is found lukewarm in his prayer. 

He seeks what he desires, he acquires more than he deserves. He approaches his prayer with melancholy, but departs from it in glad­ness. 

Prayer which is holy saves the committed and makes them blessed; it also welcomes the wicked. There are countless examples of this blessing, but it must suffice that the Lord Himself in giving us precepts for living deigned to pray. So it is appropriate that a prayer was placed before this noble and great man, who often softened the angry Lord with a marvellous mode of entreaty for us to follow.

 Cassiodorus summarises the content of the psalm as follows:

Moses, a most holy man remarkable for his achievements, and ven­erable because of his converse with God, begins in the first section with praise of the Judge, briefly recounting His kindnesses and His power. Next he asks for support for our weakness, which he demon­strates with many instances. Thirdly, he begs that the coming of the Lord Saviour may become known more quickly, for he knew that it would afford benefits for the human race.

Life expectancy and the number of the psalms

Cassiodorus offers another reason for seeing this psalm as a key to the others, and that goes to the life expectancy of men (70 year or 80 if...) and the number of the psalms (ie 70+80=150).

The Fathers viewed numbers as part of the divine law, inherent in creation, as Cassiodorus explains here:

Let us ponder, men of the greatest wisdom, how many mysteries of the sacred law are revealed to us by the various numbers. ..Other mysteries of the divine law are contained in various numbers. We read that the grains of sand of the sea, the drops of rain, the hairs of men's heads are counted. So that we may in brief grasp the praise and power of the discipline of number, Solomon says that God has ordered all things in measure and number and weight. Thus it becomes clear and indubitable to all that the discipline of arithmetic is pervasive every­where. 

In this particular case, he notes:

Moses here by computation of the numbers seventy and eighty draws the lives of men together. The entire sequence of psalms is embraced by that number... 

Cassiodorus also alludes to the number symbolism here as referring to the combination of Old and New Testaments - the old symbolised by the seven days of creation (and perhaps also the 70 translators of the Septuagint); the new by the eighth day of the new creation.

Light

This psalm includes several references to the illuminating power of God, from lux, lucis (light), including:

8  Posuísti iniquitátes nostras in conspéctu tuo: * sæculum nostrum in illuminatióne vultus tui.

8 You have set our iniquities before your eyes: our life in the light of your countenance.

and

19  Et sit splendor Dómini Dei nostri super nos, et ópera mánuum nostrárum dírige super nos: * et opus mánuum nostrárum dírige.

17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do you direct.

It is worth noting that the expression that St Benedict uses in his rule (in the received text) on the time for Lauds is 'qui incipiente luce agendi sunt', or when light begins, starts to take hold.  He also uses a word frequently used in these psalms to describe the hour itself: matutinis.

In Scripture, first light and dawn are often described by reference to light for example: before the light (ante lucem, Psalm 62); at first light (prima luce, 1 Esdras 9:41); morning light  (lux matutinas); lux aurora; light shining in the darkness; and so forth.

The most beautifully poetic of these is surely that of Psalm 18 (Prime on Saturday):

5  In sole pósuit tabernáculum suum: * et ipse tamquam sponsus procédens de thálamo suo.	He has set his tabernacle in the sun: and he as a bridegroom coming out of his bridechamber,
6  Exsultávit ut gigas ad curréndam viam, * a summo cælo egréssio ejus.	Has rejoiced as a giant to run the way: His going out is from the end of heaven,

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	2 Peter 3:8 (vs3-4)
RB cursus	Thursday Lauds+AN 2373
Monastic feasts etc	Maundy Thurs Tenebrae Lauds; Last verse used at chapter. AN (8, 9, 16)
Responsories	6508 (1); 1919 (13-17); 7676 (17)
Roman pre 1911	Thurs lauds
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Thursday Lauds . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Tues Lent I IN (1-2); PP 6 GR (1, 13); PP13 AL(1); PP 21 GR (1-2); Lent and Sept Ember Sat GR (1, 13);

I've also written about this psalm in the context of the psalms for Thursday and Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday.

Or you can continue on to the next part in this series.

Psalm 64 - You have visited the earth O Lord

Psalm 64 is said at Lauds on Wednesday in The Benedictine Office, and St Benedict noted that in this he was following the Roman office.

Psalm 64: Te Decet hymnus Deus in Sion - Lauds, Wednesday

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David, canticum Jeremiæ et Ezechielis populo transmigrationis, cum inciperent exire.	To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremiah and Ezechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out.
1 Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion: * et tibi reddétur votum in Jerúsalem.	A hymn, O God, becomes you in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to you in Jerusalem
2  Exáudi oratiónem meam: * ad te omnis caro véniet.	3 O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to you.
3  Verba iniquórum prævaluérunt super nos: * et impietátibus nostris tu propitiáberis.	4 The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and you will pardon our transgressions.
4  Beátus quem elegísti et assumpsísti: * inhabitábit in átriis tuis.	5 Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to you: he shall dwell in your courts.
5  Replébimur in bonis domus tuæ, sanctum est templum tuum: *  mirábile in æquitáte.	We shall be filled with the good things of your house; holy is your temple, 6 wonderful in justice.
6  Exáudi nos, Deus salutáris noster: * spes ómnium fínium terræ et in mari longe.	Hear us, O God our saviour, who is the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off
7  Præparans montes in virtúte tua, accínctus poténtia: * qui contúrbas profúndum maris sonum flúctuum ejus.	7 You who prepares the mountains by your strength, being girded with power: 8 Who troubles the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves.
8  Turbabúntur Gentes, et timébunt qui inhábitant términos a signis tuis: * éxitus matutíni, et véspere delectábis.	The Gentiles shall be troubled, 9 and they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at your signs: you shall make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.
9  Visitásti terram, et inebriásti eam: * multiplicásti locupletáre eam.	10 You have visited the earth, and have plentifully watered it; you have many ways enriched it.
10  Flumen Dei replétum est aquis; parásti cibum illórum: * quóniam ita est præparátio ejus.	The river of God is filled with water, you have prepared their food: for so is its preparation.
11  Rivos ejus inébria multíplica genímina ejus: * in stillicídiis ejus lætábitur gérminans.	11 Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.
12  Benedíces corónæ anni benignitátis tuæ: * et campi tui replebúntur ubertáte.	12 You shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness: and your fields shall be filled with plenty.
13  Pinguéscent speciósa desérti: * et exsultatióne colles accingéntur.	13 The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy,
14  Indúti sunt aríetes óvium et valles abundábunt fruménto: * clamábunt, étenim hymnum dicent.	14 the rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.

The claim for this psalm's place at Lauds presumably comes from verse 8's reference to morning; although Hildemar's commentary on the Rule also sees a reference to dawn in the poetic image of verse 13.  It also contains multiple allusions to heaven (Sion, Jerusalem, the house of God, the halls of God), though instead of the 'leading us in' motif, it highlights God's choice and action in bringing us up to him.

The psalm though, has much stronger resonances with the overall themes of the day, viz Judas' betrayal paving the way for the establishment of the Church.  Accordingly, perhaps Christ's mission of bringing truth and mercy can be seen as being referred to implicitly in the psalm, in the promises of the new Jerusalem described here.

The new Jerusalem

St Augustine, for example, explains the psalm's title, 'Unto the end, a Psalm of David, a song of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, on account of the people of transmigration when they were beginning to go forth' as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem following our Lord's crucifixion, and the promise of its being rebuilt in the form of the Church Triumphant in heaven:

...For the captive people Israel from the city of Jerusalem was led into slavery unto Babylon.  But holy Jeremiah prophesied, that after seventy years the people would return out of captivity, and would rebuild the very city Jerusalem, which they had mourned as having been overthrown by enemies. But at that time there were prophets in that captivity of the people dwelling in Babylon, among whom was also the prophet Ezekiel. But that people was waiting until there should be fulfilled the space of seventy years, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. 

It came to pass, when the seventy years had been completed, the temple was restored which had been thrown down: and there returned from captivity a great part of that people. But whereas the Apostle says, these things in figure happened unto them, but they have been written for our sakes, upon whom the end of the world has come: we also ought to know first our captivity, then our deliverance: we ought to know the Babylon wherein we are captives, and the Jerusalem for a return to which we are sighing. For these two cities, according to the letter, in reality are two cities... 

That they might not lose their place, they killed the Lord; and they lost it [Jerusalem], even because they killed. Therefore that city, being one earthly, did bear the figure of a certain city everlasting in the Heavens: but when that which was signified began more evidently to be preached, the shadow, whereby it was being signified, was thrown down: for this reason in that place now the temple is no more, which had been constructed for the image of the future Body of the Lord. We have the light, the shadow has passed away....

The psalm then, according to Cassiodorus, tells us that:

The people who have abandoned worldly sinning and returned to the Lord Saviour are liberated, and at the outset of the psalm acknowledge their Creator. They ask that their prayer be heard, and say that only he who has deserved to attain God's courts is blessed.

 In the second section they call the Lord the hope of all the ends of the earth. They enunciate His various praises and His power by allegorical comparison. They say that His holy ones rejoice in hymns of joy sung to Him...With remarkable brevity he has described the glory of His incarnation. This faithful teacher has informed us what Christ conferred on the world. Finally he tells us that at the future resurrection all His saints will rejoice in Him with joyful hymns of praise. Thus the psalmist has recounted the present with marvellous brevity and has promised us future rewards to rouse the greatest hope. Heavenly King, grant that we too may be rescued from the barrenness of sin and more abundantly watered by the river of Your mercy. May we deserve to grow fat, so that in the company of Your saints we can sing continually to You a hymn of praise.

The heavenly harvest

 Some have suggested that today’s psalm was originally a hymn used for the harvest festival.  In Christian usage, however, that harvest has become the heavenly one, for verses 1 and 2 are used in the Introit of the Requiem Mass.

The harvest theme is appropriate though, for it is on Holy Wednesday that Our Lord is traditionally said to have prophesied his death to his disciples, reminding them that the seed has to die in order for new life to grow (Jn 12: 24).  Similarly this psalm tells us that the Lord has ‘visited the earth, and have plentifully watered it; you have many ways enriched it’, such that the streams are full, and everything is set for a ripe harvest.

In the weekly mini-cycle on the life of Christ, Wednesday marks the end of Our Lord's three year period of preaching, and the beginning of the Passion cycle.  This fits neatly with St John Chrysostom's interpretation of the rain provided here as Christ’s teaching, and Cassiodorus’ interpretation of verse 7 as suggesting that the ‘prepared mountains’ here refers to the apostles:

So we fittingly interpret allegorically the prepared mountains as the apostles who were chosen to proclaim the word. They had strength of faith and height of sanctity; they were lowly in style of life, but deservedly ranked higher. The Lord prepared them by His strength because He performed great miracles through them, so that by the greatness of the Word they could convert unbelievers, and admiration at their deeds could soften the hardest hearts.

Word study: coronasti

In terms of words to look at more closely, I want to focus today on corona, meaning a crown or wreath or garland:

12  Benedíces corónæ anni benignitátis tuæ: * et campi tui replebúntur ubertáte.

12 You shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness: and your fields shall be filled with plenty.

The related verb corono, (avi, atum, are, to crown, to bestow some thing on as a mark of honor, to adorn; to surround, encompass) is used in the last verse of Psalm 5:

15  Dómine, ut scuto bonæ voluntátis tuæ * coronásti nos.

O Lord, you have crowned us, as with a shield of your good will.

The verb also occurs in Psalm 8:

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.

Most often, though, it is used in Scripture to mark those blessed with gifts from God, such as wisdom, or the saints in heaven in Revelation 4:4:

Et in circuitu sedis sedilia viginti quatuor: et super thronos viginti quatuor seniores sedentes, circumamicti vestimentis albis, et in capitibus eorum coronæ aureæ.

Round it were twenty-four seats, and on these sat twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

First the text of the psalm, arranged for liturgical use.

Psalm 64

Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion: * et tibi reddétur votum in Ierúsalem.	A hymn, O God, becomes you in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to you in Jerusalem
Exáudi oratiónem meam: * ad te omnis caro véniet.	O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to you.
Verba iniquórum prævaluérunt super nos: * et impietátibus nostris tu propitiáberis.	The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and you will pardon our transgressions.
Beátus quem elegísti et assumpsísti: * inhabitábit in átriis tuis.	Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to you: he shall dwell in your courts.
Replébimur in bonis domus tuæ, sanctum est templum tuum: * mirábile in æquitáte.	We shall be filled with the good things of your house; holy is your temple, wonderful in justice.
Exáudi nos, Deus salutáris noster: * spes ómnium fínium terræ et in mari longe.	Hear us, O God our saviour, who is the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off
Præparans montes in virtúte tua, accínctus poténtia: * qui contúrbas profúndum maris sonum flúctuum eius.	You who prepares the mountains by your strength, being girded with power: Who troubles the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves.
Turbabúntur Gentes, et timébunt qui inhábitant términos a signis tuis: * éxitus matutíni, et véspere delectábis.	The Gentiles shall be troubled, and they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at your signs: you shall make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.
Visitásti terram, et inebriásti eam: * multiplicásti locupletáre eam.	You have visited the earth, and have plentifully watered it; you have many ways enriched it.
Flumen Dei replétum est aquis; † parásti cibum illórum: * quóniam ita est præparátio eius.	The river of God is filled with water, you have prepared their food: for so is its preparation.
Rivos eius inébria multíplica genímina eius: * in stillicídiis eius lætábitur gérminans.	Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.
Benedíces corónæ anni benignitátis tuæ: * et campi tui replebúntur ubertáte.	You shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness: and your fields shall be filled with plenty.
Pinguéscent speciósa desérti: * et exsultatióne colles accingéntur.	The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy,
Indúti sunt aríetes óvium, † et valles abundábunt fruménto: * clamábunt, étenim hymnum dicent.	The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

NT references	Mt 8:26, Mk 4:39 (v7); Lk 21:25 (v8)
RB cursus	Wednesday Lauds+AN 5115
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	All Souls, Lauds of the Dead, Common of a martyr AN 2767 (3)
Responsories	6686 (6)
Roman pre 1911	Wednesday Lauds
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wednesday Lauds . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Requiem, IN (v1); PP 10 AL (1)

You can read more on the psalm in the context of the Office on Wednesday and the Office of the Dead.

Or you can can go on to the next part in this series, on Psalm 89.