Psalm 4 verse 8 - Wherein lies the good?

Verse 8 of Psalm 4 can be read as continuing the description of the good things God gives us: in the previous verse we were reminded of our baptism; here the reference is to the Eucharist and perhaps Holy Unction.  But it can also be interpreted as a reminder that ultimately the good lies in our future in heaven, and we shouldn't be satisfied to pursue purely earthly pleasures.

Understanding the Latin

The Vulgate of Verse 8 of Psalm 4 reads:

A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui multiplicáti sunt.

 The key vocabulary for the verse is:

fructus, us, m. fruit, produce; the fruit of the soil, trees; a reward; the fruit of the womb, children, posterity.

frumentum, i, n.  corn, wheat, rye, barley, etc. 

vinum, i, n. wine

oleum, ii, n.  oil, esp., olive-oil.

multiplico, avi, atum, are  to multiply, increase; to grow, flourish.

This is a difficult verse to translate, as its interpretation really depends on whether or not you link it to the preceding and following phrases.  A word by word version gives:

A (from) fructu (the fruit/produce) fruménti (of corn/grain), vini (of wine) et (and) ólei (of oil) sui (of their) multiplicáti sunt (they are multiplied)

The Douay-Rheims Challoner is fairly unhelpful in translating it as 'By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest', the last two words coming from the following verse in the liturgical division of the psalm.

Earthly riches vs true joy

One view of the verse is that it points to a contrast between earthly riches and carnal pleasures, and the true joy that is the gift of God.  This reading of the verse reflected in most of the modern translations, and is best captured by the Knox and Brenton translations (see below):

MD	Greater than the joy in rich harvests of corn and wine and oil
RSV	Than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Brenton	They have been satisfied with the fruit of their corn and wine and oil.
Knox	Never did rich harvests of corn and wine bring gladness like the gladness thou puttest into my heart
Grail	You have put into my heart a greater joy than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

That is, either they (sinners) have been satisfied with carnal pleasures, while we (who trust in God) have true joy (Brenton, Grail); or the joy God gives is infinitely better than that derived from earthly pleasures (Knox, Monastic Diurnal).

In this reading of the text, multiplicati sunt refers back to the first phrase of the previous verse; that is, the joy of God is much greater than the pleasure from temporal things such as an abundance of food and wine.

St Alphonsus Liguori interprets the verse this way, suggesting that it teaches that while sinners will be given good things now, we can look forward to the joys of heaven:

I behold my enemies multiplying with the good things that they enjoy.

St Augustine similarly interprets the multiplicati as referring to the many (men) who pursue the pleasures of this world, and are as a result held back from acting rightly:

But men (who doubtless are many) who follow after things temporal, know not to say anything else, than, Who shows us good things? when the true and certain good within their very selves they cannot see....But those many, who say, Who shows us good things? and who see not that the kingdom of heaven is within them: these, from the time of His grain, of wine, and oil, are multiplied. For multiplication does not always betoken plentifulness, and not, generally, scantiness: when the soul, given up to temporal pleasures, burns ever with desire, and cannot be satisfied; and, distracted with manifold and anxious thought, is not permitted to see the simple good....Such is the soul of which it is said, For the corruptible body presses down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that muses on many things. A soul like this, by the departure and succession of temporal goods, that is, from the time of His grain, wine, and oil, filled with numberless idle fancies, is so multiplied, that it cannot do that which is commanded, 

 God's blessings on us

The alternative reading of the verse though, is a more positive one, seeing it as a reminder of the blessings God gives us, above all in the Eucharist.

One of the antiphons for Matins of the feast of Corpus Christi (composed by St Thomas Aquinas), for example, links this verse very explicitly to the peace and rest mentioned later in the psalm:

A fructu fruménti et vini multiplicáti fidéles in pace Christi requiéscunt.

His faithful ones which are increased by the fruit of His corn and His wine do lay them down in peace and sleep in Christ.

Grain and wine, then are the elements needs for the  Eucharist, and oil for Holy Unction, relevant, as we shall see to the next verse.  This line of interpretation originates, I think, with St Augustine, who although providing the alternative reading above, also suggests that the great harvest can be seen as referring to Christ, given the sacral connotations of grain, wine and oil:

For the grain is God's: inasmuch as He is the living bread which came down from heaven…The wine too is God's: for, they shall be inebriated, he says, with the fatness of your house. The oil too is God's: of which it is said, You have fattened my head with oil... Think on the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek Him. For this multiplicity is strongly opposed to that simplicity. And therefore leaving these, who are many, multiplied, that is, by the desire of things temporal, and who say, Who shows us good things? which are to be sought not with the eyes without, but with simplicity of heart within...

St John Chrysostom, though, takes an even more literal approach to the verse, seeing it as a simple reference to God's providential care for us, as well as to the inner joy we receive from God:

Now, in saying this, he touches on no small part of God's providence at this point, that which emerges in visible things. I mean, when he mentions grain and wine and oil, and the abundance of these things, he im­plies as well rain, and mildness of the seasons, the earth's conceiving and labouring and bearing, the flow of the air, the sun's course, phases of the moon, the galaxy of stars, summer and winter and autumn and spring, farming skills, advantages of implements, and the scores of other arts. 

You see, if all these did not work together, it would not be possible for fruit to ripen and come to maturity. So when he mentions grain and wine and oil, he provides the wise person with an occasion for proceeding in thought from the part to the whole, with the spreading out of the ocean of God's provi­dence that emerges in perceptible realities. 

This is the reason that Paul, too, in one place becomes eloquent when discoursing of God's providence, and treats of the subject in the words, "He gives show­ers and seasons of fruitfulness, filling us with nourishment and our hearts with joy." 

 St Robert Bellarmine also follows this line of interpretation:

Another argument from which men may understand that God is the author of all good, for it is he who, in the fitting time, multiplies the grain and produces the fruit, as St. Paul has it, Acts 14: "Nevertheless he left not himself without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons, fill­ing our hearts with food and gladness."

And St Cassiodorus links the blessings listed here to that bestowed on the Church more broadly:

She continues to number the blessings possessed by Christians. The gladness she mentions is not that which we express aloud by laughter. It is the gladness of upright faith which the Lord habitually bestows on a good conscience. We are truly glad when we rightly believe, and with the Lord's help live a life of trust­worthy companionship with each other. 

In the context of the Benedictine Office

Which reading is St Benedict implying here?

Personally I prefer the second reading, as it seems to provide some echoes for the end of the day to mirror the sentiments of Psalm 66, which opens the day hours at Lauds.

Like this psalm, Psalm 66 refers to the light of Christ's face:

66:1 Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.

May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

But where Psalm 66 requests this blessing, Psalm 4, at the close of the day, affirms that it has been given:

4:7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: * dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.

The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.

And so too, both psalms refer to the blessing of creation that God confers on us:

66: 6-7  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.

Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you: The earth has yielded her fruit.

4: 8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.

By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest

We should humble ourselves before God, in other words, offer the sacrifice of justice that recognises and responds to God's great gifts to us, which include both the material things necessary for life, and above all gladness of heart that enables us to rest at peace in him, both each night, and eventually in heaven with him as part of the true harvest.

The psalm as a whole

Psalm 4: Cum invocarem

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: * in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.	When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.	Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? *  ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?	O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.	Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?	Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: * dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.	The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.	By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, [they rest]
9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

And for the next part in this series, click here.

Psalm 4, verse 7: The light of Christ inscribed on our souls

Verse 7 of Psalm 4 introduces the idea of God's light being signed upon us, which was often interpreted by the Fathers as a reference to our baptism, keeping us safe through the darkness of the night through Christ's light within us.

Understanding the Latin

The Vulgate of verse 7 of Psalm 4 is:

Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, Dómine: dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

signo, avi, atum, are , to mark, sign, imprint. 

lumen, inis, n.  light; in the hymns, brightness, splendor. 

vultus, us, m., the face, countenance; 

laetitia, ae, f joy, gladness.

A literal word by word translation therefore runs:

Signátum est (it is marked/imprinted/signed) super (over/on) nos (us) lumen (the light) vultus (face/countenance) tui (your), Dómine (O Lord): dedísti (you have given) lætítiam (the joy) in corde (the heart) meo (mine)

The Douay-Rheims Challoner translates the verse as:

The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.

Christ's light signed on us

At both Lauds and Compline, light is a key theme: its coming into the world through the Resurrection, symbolised by the rising sun at Lauds, and the light of Christ shining through the darkness to guide us through the night at Compline.

And at both Lauds and Compline the first psalm of the hour refers to the light of God's countenance on us.  In Psalm 66 at Lauds, the relevant verse asks for the blessing of God's countenance on us (Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis; illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri); at Compline we acknowledge its receipt, and its importance in keeping us safe through the darkness of the night.

The early Church Father Tertullian, for example, pointed to the idea of Christ as the light shining in the darkness through the Church:

Now he did not observe how much this clause of the sentence made against him: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to (give) the light of the knowledge (of His glory) in the face of (Jesus) Christ.”  Now who was it that said; “Let there be light?”. And who was it that said to Christ concerning giving light to the world: “I have set Thee as a light to the Gentiles” to them, that is, “who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death?”  and. (None else, surely, than He), to whom the Spirit in the Psalm answers, in His foresight of the future, saying, “The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, hath been displayed upon us.”. Now the countenance (or person of the Lord here is Christ. Wherefore the apostle said above: “Christ, who is the image of God.” Since Christ, then, is the person of the Creator, who said, “Let there be light,” it follows that Christ and the apostles, and the gospel, and the veil, and Moses—nay, the whole of the dispensations—belong to the God who is the Creator of this world, according to the testimony of the clause (above adverted to), and certainly not to him who never said, “Let there be light.” 

St Augustine similarly sees this verse firstly as a reminder that we are made in God’s image:

The light of Your countenance, says he, is stamped on us, O Lord. This light is the whole and true good of man, which is seen not with the eye, but with the mind. But he says, stamped on us, as a penny is stamped with the king's image. For man was made after the image and likeness of God…

St Augustine goes on to argue that just as the head on a coin symbolizes to whom one must pay our taxes, so to must those marked with the sign of God on their souls render homage to God.

Others of the saints and theologians, most notably St Thomas Aquinas, interpret the verse more directly as a reference to the sacraments: that mankind defaced that image of God through Original Sin, but reclaims it by baptism; we can deface that image again by sin, but yet have it restored by confession.  In this they are building on several New Testament passages that draw on the idea of a mark or seal on the soul (such as Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 1:21- 22; Eph 1:13, 4:30; Rev 7:2-3, 9:4; Jn 6:27) that make a permanent mark on our soul also draw on the imagery of a seal or mark made on us by God, and called to mind anew each time we make the sign of the cross.

Masoretic vs Septuagint traditions

This is one of those verses, though, where the Hebrew Masoretic Text, used in the Neo-Vulgate translation, is significantly different from the text tradition preserved in the Greek Septuagint.

Instead of being signed on us, the first phrase of the Neo-Vulgate runs: 'Leva in signum super nos lumen vultus tui, Domine', or as the Revised Standard Version translates it, 'Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O Lord'.  The Knox translation makes the connection to the night even less obvious, reading 'do thou, then, Lord, shew us the sunshine of thy favour'.

There is at least some Patristic support for this reading.  Origen for example suggests that the light is a guide to the path we must take:

And therefore that very ancient prophet...expressed himself in these words:  “The Lord is my light and my salvation:  whom shall I fear?”(attributed to David).and, “Thy law is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path;”   and again, “The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, was manifested towards us;”  “Lift up upon us,” etc. and, “In Thy light we shall see light.”  And the Logos, exhorting us to come to this light, says, in the prophecies of Isaiah:  “Enlighten thyself, enlighten thyself, O Jerusalem; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The same prophet also, when predicting the advent of Jesus, who was to turn away men from the worship of idols, and of images, and of demons, says, “To those that sat in the land and shadow of death, upon them hath the light arisen;”

The Septuagint-Vulgate reading though, it seems to me more readily lends itself to a particularly Christian interpretation.  Either way, light is a common image in Scripture, standing here for the guidance God gives us to show us the correct path to take.  Above all, it stands for the gift of Our Lord himself, the light of the world.

Joy and gladness of heart

The second half of the verse goes to God’s promise of happiness to those who serve him.

Several of the Fathers see this verse as reminding us that true happiness lies in eternal things, not the material benefits referred to in the next verse.  St John Chrysostom, for example, points out that it is not the joy or gladness that comes from the things of this life, but rather comes from looking to the world to come:

…that is to say, You have taught me to love wisdom, to overlook the things of this life, to know the things that are true and lasting, you have lifted my expectation upwards to sound hope, you have led me forward to the life to come, you have raised me from the enjoyment of present goods to the prospect of future goods...

You see, if you are on the point of succeeding to wealth or entering an important office, you are exhilarated not only at the moment of acceptance but also by expectation before the actual experience, buoyed up by hope and thus enjoying the whole period. So consider how natural this is for someone who has expectations of the kingdom living and immortal, and of those goods which eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have they entered human heart (cf 1 Cor 2.9; Is 64.4). Hence he said, You have made me the gift of joy of heart... 

...he did not say simply, You have made me the gift of joy but of heart, suggesting that the joy is not in external things, not in slaves or gold or silver, not in clothing or groaning tables, not in the extent of sovereignty or the size of one's house. Such joy is not of heart but of eyes only. Many people with these possessions, at any rate, think life not worth living; they carry around with them in their soul a furnace of despondency, exhausted by the multitude of concerns and oppressed by unceas­ing apprehension.  

To me on the contrary, you say, joy is not in these things, but in the core of my intellect, in my understanding which is immaterial and gives thought to immaterial things…

Psalm 4: Cum invocarem

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: * in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.	When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.	Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? *  ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?	O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.	Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?	Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: * dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.	The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.	By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest
9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

And continue on to the next part in this series.