Psalm 145: Overview

Psalm 145 (146) is said at  Saturday Vespers in the Benedictine Office, and, according to the Patristic commentators, is intended to orient us to the next world.

Cassiodorus, for example, commented that:

Alleluia. Once again divine authority resounds in our ears, and Alleluia knocks at the doors of our hearts, bidding us not to absorb ourselves vainly in empty thoughts, since it does not befit a soldier of Christ to be on furlough. The tongue too has its fruits, for a most abundant harvest is gathered if it is roused to the Lord's praise by an unsullied mind. The tongue is a spiritual member when it serves the Creator; it also commends the soul when it speaks the truth. So let us fill the air with the sweetest sounds, for this music of salvation not only charms mens' ears but also delights the understanding of angels. 

Division of the Psalm: The prophet is eager that the Lord's praises be sung wholeheartedly. Initially he says that we must put no trust whatever in men, to prevent our making lukewarm entreaty of the Lord through belief that some other can grant our request. Secondly, he proclaims that all our hope must be placed in the almighty Lord. Since He is our Lord, a most beautiful definition of Him is presented from His deeds, so that the Gentiles may be convinced by such reiterated reasoning, and may abandon their errors with faithful devotion... 

Conclusion Drawn From the Psalm: The prophet through the benefit of contemplation takes his position, so to say, in the earth's last days, when we know that the world's wantonness is to be condemned. He has taught the whole creation to busy itself with the Lord's praises to avoid seeking the transient desires which are undoubtedly soon to be ended. When that future time is proclaimed to us, he clearly refers to our own day. We are at the world's close when we abandon it, and embrace death after no long extent of time. All passing desires should leave us; worldly enticements must depart. We must instead desire what we know is eternal.

Pope John Paul II on the psalm

Pope John Paul II presented a General Audience on this psalm in July 2003:

Praise the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 146[145] that we have just heard is an "alleluia", the first of five which complete the entire collection in the Psalter. The Jewish liturgical tradition formerly used this hymn as a morning song of praise; it culminates in the proclamation of God's sovereignty over human history. Indeed, the Psalm ends with the declaration: "The Lord will reign for ever" (v. 10). From this follows a comforting truth: we are not left to ourselves, the events of our days are not overshadowed by chaos or fate, they do not represent a mere sequence of private acts without sense or direction. 

From this conviction develops a true and proper profession of faith in God, celebrated in a sort of litany in which the attributes of his love and kindness are proclaimed (cf. vv. 6-9).  God is the Creator of heaven and earth who faithfully keeps the covenant that binds him to his people; it is He who brings justice to the oppressed, provides food to sustain the hungry and sets prisoners free. It is He who opens the eyes of the blind, who picks up those who have fallen, who loves the just, protects the foreigner, supports the orphan and the widow. It is he who muddles the ways of the unjust and who reigns sovereign over all beings and over all ages. 

These are 12 theological assertions which, with their perfect number, are intended as an expression of the fullness and perfection of divine action. The Lord is not a Sovereign remote from his creatures but is involved in their history as the One who metes out justice and ranks himself on the side of the lowliest, of the victims, the oppressed, the unfortunate.

 Man, therefore, finds himself facing a radical choice between two contrasting possibilities: on one side there is the temptation to "trust in princes" (cf. v. 3), adopting their criteria inspired by wickedness, selfishness and pride. In fact, this is a slippery slope, a ruinous road, a "crooked path and a devious way" (cf. Prv 2: 15), whose goal is despair. Indeed, the Psalmist reminds us that man is a frail, mortal being, as the very word 'adam implies; in Hebrew, this word is used to signify earth, matter, dust. Man - the Bible constantly states - is like a palace that crumbles [to dust] (cf. Eccl 12: 1-7), a spider's web that can be torn apart by the wind (cf. Jb 8: 14), a strip of grass that is green at dawn but has withered by evening (cf. Ps 90[89]: 5-6; 103[102]: 15-16). When death assails him, all his plans disintegrate and he returns to dust: "When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish" (Ps 146[145]: 4). 

However, there is another possibility open to man, and the Psalmist exalts it with a beatitude: "Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God" (v. 5). This is the path of trust in God, eternal and faithful. The amen, which is the Hebrew word for faith, precisely means being based on the steadfast solidity of the Lord, on his eternity, on his infinite power. Above all, however, it means sharing his choices, on which the profession of faith and praise described above has shed light. We must live in consistency with the divine will, offer food to the hungry, visit prisoners, sustain and comfort the sick, protect and welcome foreigners, devote ourselves to the poor and the lowly. In practice this corresponds exactly to the spirit of the Beatitudes; it means opting for that proposal of love which saves us already in this life and will later become the object of our examination at the last judgment, which will seal history. Then we will be judged on our decision to serve Christ in the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the sick, the prisoner. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25: 40): this is what the Lord will say at that time.  

Let us conclude our meditation on Psalm 146[145] with an idea for reflection which is offered to us by the Christian tradition that followed. When Origen, the great third-century writer, reaches verse 7 of our Psalm which says: "[the Lord] gives food to the hungry, the Lord sets the prisoners free", he finds in it an implicit reference to the Eucharist: "We hunger for Christ and he himself will give us the bread of heaven. "Give us this day our daily bread'. Those who say these words are hungry; those who feel the need for bread are hungry". And this hunger is fully satisfied by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which man is nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ (cf. Origene-Gerolamo, 74 Omelie sul Libro dei Salmi, Milan 1993, pp. 526-527). 

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Alleluja, Aggæi et Zachariæ
1  Lauda, ánima mea, Dóminum, laudábo Dóminum in vita mea: * psallam Deo meo quámdiu fúero.	Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be.
2  Nolíte confídere in princípibus: * in fíliis hóminum, in quibus non est salus.	Put not your trust in princes: 3 In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.
3  Exíbit spíritus ejus, et revertétur in terram suam: * in illa die períbunt omnes cogitatiónes eórum.	4 His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish.
4. Beátus, cujus Deus Jacob adjútor ejus, spes ejus in Dómino Deo ipsíus: * qui fecit cælum et terram, mare et ómnia, quæ in eis sunt.	5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
5. Qui custódit veritátem in sæculum, facit judícium injúriam patiéntibus: * dat escam esuriéntibus.	7 Who keeps truth for ever: who executes judgment for them that suffer wrong: who gives food to the hungry.
6  Dóminus solvit compedítos: * Dóminus illúminat cæcos.	The Lord loosens them that are fettered: 8 The Lord enlightens the blind.
7  Dóminus érigit elísos: * Dóminus díligit justos.	The Lord lifts up them that are cast down: the Lord loves the just.
8  Dóminus custódit ádvenas, pupíllum et víduam suscípiet: * et vias peccatórum dispérdet.	9 The Lord keeps the strangers, he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
9  Regnábit Dóminus in sæcula, Deus tuus, Sion, * in generatiónem et generatiónem.	10 The Lord shall reign for ever: your God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

Scriptural and liturgical uses

NT references	Acts 4:24, 17:24 (4); Lk 4:17-31 (5-6); Mt 9:30; Jn 9:7 (6) Lk 13:13, (7)
RB cursus	Sat Vespers+AN 3583 (2)
Monastic feasts etc	AN 3413 (10)
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Saturday Vespers
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wednesday Lauds. 1 970: Wednesday lauds wk 4
Mass propers (EF)	Eastertide3, OF (1); Pent Ember Fri OF (1)

Psalm 108: Overview

Psalm 108 is a imprecatory psalm, and thus has been omitted altogether from the modern Liturgy of the Hours.

St Alphonsus Liguori provided a summary of the debate as to who the imprecations are directed at:

Interpreters have given various explanations of this psalm. Some apply it to Saul giving vent to his anger against Doeg and those that resemble him. Others to David predicting in form of imprecation the chastisements reserved for Doeg and Achitophel, his enemies. Others, as Xavier Mattel, Mark Marius, and Louis Mingarella suppose that the imprecations are uttered against David and Jesus Christ by their enemies. But commonly the Fathers and the other interpreters regard these imprecations as pronounced against Judas and the other enemies of our Lord. This interpretation, which we follow, agrees especially with that of St. Augustine.

The Navarre Commentary provides a useful discussion of the interpretation of the psalm:

Set as it is here, Psalm 108 rounds off the entreaty made for the people (cf. Ps 107:6) with a plea for the psalmist's own salvation (Ps 108:26). God is extolled for saving both people and the person (cf. Ps 107:5; 108:31). As in Psalm 101 which is the counterpart of Psalm 108 in the group, Psalm 108 asks God to show mercy to a distressed member of the chosen people (cf. Ps 101:13; 108:26).

It begins with an appeal to God made by someone unjustly accused and despised (vv. 1-5). He calls on God to punish the wicked (vv. 6-15) and spells out what they have done wrong (vv. 16-20). Then the psalmist, who is poor and needy, asks the Lord to show him mercy (vv. 21-25). The psalm ends with a plea for help for the psalmist and vengeful punishment for his enemies (vv. 26-29)—and a promise to praise the Lord (vv. 30-31). 

One way to understand this psalm and its structure is to take it that the desires expressed in vv. 6-19 have to do with the false accusations levelled against the psalmist, and that v. 20 contains his response. This interpretation avoids attributing to the psalmist the sentiments expressed in those first verses. But one can also interpret it by taking vv. 6-15 as an accusation against the psalmist brought before a tribunal by some enemy (cf. vv. 2,4, 28-29) and that the psalmist is responding to this (w. 16-20) by exposing the wickedness of his accuser. In the latter case the words of the psalmist, which include standard expressions about forms of divine punishment, and which are a chilling imprecation, belong to a time when the fullness of Revelation lay in the future (with Christ) and the law of retaliation/vengeance was the order of the day.

 Persecution of an innocent person— someone, indeed, who loves his enemies (vv. 3,4)—was experienced at its worst by our Lord Jesus Christ; it caused him to cry out, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death" (Mt 26:38). But our Lord's attitude to his persecutors shows what the new law of love involves: he asks God to forgive them, for they don't realize what they are doing (cf. Lk 23:34).

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm for David.
1 Deus, laudem meam ne tacúeris: * quia os peccatóris, et os dolósi super me apértum est.	O God be not silent in my praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me.
2  Locúti sunt advérsum me lingua dolósa, et sermónibus ódii circumdedérunt me: * et expugnavérunt me gratis.	3 They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they have compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against me without cause.
3  Pro eo ut me dilígerent, detrahébant mihi: * ego autem orábam.	4 Instead of making me a return of love, they detracted me: but I gave myself to prayer.
4  Et posuérunt advérsum me mala pro bonis: * et ódium pro dilectióne mea.	5 And they repaid me evil for good: and hatred for my love.
5  Constítue super eum peccatórem: * et diábolus stet a dextris ejus.	6 Set the sinner over him: and may the devil stand at his right hand.
6  Cum judicátur, éxeat condemnátus: * et orátio ejus fiat in peccátum.	7 When he is judged, may he go out condemned; and may his prayer be turned to sin.
7  Fiant dies ejus pauci: * et episcopátum ejus accípiat alter.	8 May his days be few: and his bishopric let another take.
8  Fiant fílii ejus órphani: * et uxor ejus vídua.	9 May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
9  Nutántes transferántur fílii ejus, et mendícent: * et ejiciántur de habitatiónibus suis.	10 Let his children be carried about vagabonds, and beg; and let them be cast out of their dwellings.
10  Scrutétur fœnerátor omnem substántiam ejus: * et dirípiant aliéni labóres ejus.	11 May the usurer search all his substance: and let strangers plunder his labours.
11  Non sit illi adjútor: * nec sit qui misereátur pupíllis ejus.	12 May there be none to help him: nor none to pity his fatherless offspring.
12  Fiant nati ejus in intéritum: * in generatióne una deleátur nomen ejus.	13 May his posterity be cut off; in one generation may his name be blotted out.
13  In memóriam rédeat iníquitas patrum ejus in conspéctu Dómini: * et peccátum matris ejus non deleátur.	14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered in the sight of the Lord: and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
14  Fiant contra Dóminum semper, et dispéreat de terra memória eórum: * pro eo quod non est recordátus fácere misericórdiam.	15 May they be before the Lord continually, and let the memory of them perish from the earth: 16 Because he remembered not to show mercy,
15  Et persecútus est hóminem ínopem, et mendícum, * et compúnctum corde mortificáre.	17 but persecuted the poor man and the beggar; and the broken in heart, to put him to death.
16  Et diléxit maledictiónem, et véniet ei: * et nóluit benedictiónem, et elongábitur ab eo.	18 And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him: and he would not have blessing, and it shall be far from him.
17  Et índuit maledictiónem sicut vestiméntum, * et intrávit sicut aqua in interióra ejus, et sicut óleum in óssibus ejus.	And he put on cursing, like a garment: and it went in like water into his entrails, and like oil in his bones.
18  Fiat ei sicut vestiméntum, quo operítur: * et sicut zona, qua semper præcíngitur.	19 May it be unto him like a garment which covers him; and like a girdle with which he is girded continually
19  Hoc opus eórum, qui détrahunt mihi apud Dóminum: * et qui loquúntur mala advérsus ánimam meam.	20 This is the work of them who detract me before the Lord; and who speak evils against my soul.
20  Et tu, Dómine, Dómine, fac mecum propter nomen tuum: * quia suávis est misericórdia tua.	21 But you, O Lord, do with me for your name's sake: because your mercy is sweet.
21  Líbera me quia egénus, et pauper ego sum: * et cor meum conturbátum est intra me.	Deliver me, 22 for I am poor and needy, and my heart is troubled within me.
22  Sicut umbra cum declínat, ablátus sum: * et excússus sum sicut locústæ.	23 I am taken away like the shadow when it declines: and I am shaken off as locusts.
23  Génua mea infirmáta sunt a jejúnio: * et caro mea immutáta est propter óleum.	24 My knees are weakened through fasting: and my flesh is changed for oil.
24  Et ego factus sum oppróbrium illis: * vidérunt me, et movérunt cápita sua.	25 And I have become a reproach to them: they saw me and they shaked their heads.
25  Adjuva me, Dómine, Deus meus: * salvum me fac secúndum misericórdiam tuam.	26 Help me, O Lord my God; save me; according to your mercy.
26  Et sciant quia manus tua hæc: * et tu, Dómine, fecísti eam.	27 And let them know that this is your hand: and that you, O Lord, have done it.
27  Maledícent illi, et tu benedíces: * qui insúrgunt in me, confundántur: servus autem tuus lætábitur.	28 They will curse and you will bless: let them that rise up against me be confounded: but your servant shall rejoice.
28  Induántur qui détrahunt mihi, pudóre: * et operiántur sicut deplóide confusióne sua.	29 Let them that detract me be clothed with shame: and let them be covered with their confusion as with a double cloak.
29  Confitébor Dómino nimis in ore meo: * et in médio multórum laudábo eum.	30 I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth: and in the midst of many I will praise him.
30  Quia ástitit a dextris páuperis, * ut salvam fáceret a persequéntibus ánimam meam.	31 Because he has stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from persecutors.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT references	Acts 1:20 (7); Mt 27:39; Mk 15:29-30 (24); 1 Cor 4:12 (28)
RB cursus	Saturday matins II, 6
Responsories	Palm Sunday v2
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Saturday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Saturday None. 1970: omitted because of imprecatory character
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 3 Wednesday OF (20)