Those other psalms: Extend our lives O Lord that we may yet live!



Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry

I want to continue, today, with my look at the ferial canticles in the traditional Office, so today Isaiah 38:10-20, of the Canticle of King Hezekiah.

The imitation of Christ 

Tuesdays in the Benedictine Office, I’ve previously suggested, focus on Our Lord’s public life, when he teaches us how to make the mystical ascent to heaven through the imitation of him; when he teaches us what it means to be truly human. At the very beginning of his ministry, Our Lord asserts that he himself is the true Temple; through our worship of that true Temple we that were sick with sin can gain everlasting life.

The historical story behind today's canticle is that King Hezekiah was told by the prophet Isaiah that he was about to die. At first he resisted the message out of pride (2 Chron 32: 24). But then he repented, and prayed desperately to God for more time. His prayer was granted, a miracle confirmed by the sign of the sundial winding backwards (Is 38:7-8; 2 Kings 20).

The story of Hezekiah’s miraculous restoration to health appears three times in the Old Testament, signaling its importance: as well as Isaiah 38, the story also appears in 2 Kings 20 and 2 Chron 32.

In the liturgy, the canticle is also used in Lauds for the Office of the Dead.

Tuesday in the Office

At first blush, however, its appropriateness for Tuesday in the Office is perhaps less than obvious. Hrabanus Maurus, however, explains the significance of the Canticle for us as follows:

“On Tuesday the canticle or if prayer of Ezekiel is sung, in which recovering from his infirmity the actions of grace from God for his salvation refers, admonishing us in order that after receiving the grace of God and the sacred absolution of baptism by which we are freed from the chains of death for all the time of life, we must be diligent to give our thanks to God.”

St Benedict, I think, provides psalms for Tuesday that expand on three aspects of this canticle.

First, the sense, in the first half of the canticle, that we start off far away from God, cut off from him, condemned to a foreshortened, alienated life even, just as the psalmist bewails his exile in the first of the Gradual psalms said at Terce.

The second, more important theme, though, is the possibility of reform: in verse 16 the psalmist asks for God to correct him, that he may yet have hope of life, and this process of gradual sanctification, of spiritual ascent or deification is the major focus of the day. Christ came to earth, after all, as a physician for our souls, sent to bring us to repentance and gives us healing grace.

And for this reason, the Council of Tent cited verse 10 in its explanation of the sacrament of penance, even citing it in one of its canons:

“If anyone says that this contrition, which is evoked by examination, recollection, and hatred of sins "whereby one recalls his years in the bitterness of his soul" ( Isa. Is 38,15), by pondering on the gravity of one's sins, the multitude, the baseness, the loss of eternal happiness, and the incurring of eternal damnation, together with the purpose of a better life, is not a true and a beneficial sorrow, and does not prepare for grace, but makes a man a hypocrite, and a greater sinner; finally that this sorrow is forced and not free and voluntary: let him be anathema.”

But the third key idea, that gives meaning to the previous two is our ultimate objective: our hope is, with Hezekiah, that God will save us, so that we can worship him all the days of our life in heaven.

Extend our lives that we may yet be saved!

St Benedict, in the Prologue to his Rule, sets out, I think, exactly this theology:

“Wherefore the Lord also saith in the Gospel: He that heareth these my words and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. The floods came and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. Having given us these instructions, the Lord daily expects us to make our life correspond with his holy admonitions. And the days of our life are lengthened and a respite allowed us for this very reason, that we may amend our evil ways. For the Apostle saith: Knowest thou not that the patience of God inviteth thee to repentance? For the merciful Lord saith: I will not the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and live.”

The Canticle of Hezekiah

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Ego dixi: in dimídio diérum meórum * vadam ad portas ínferi.	10 I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell:
2  Quæsívi resíduum annórum meórum. * Dixi : Non vidébo Dóminum Deum in terra vivéntium.	I sought for the residue of my years. 11 I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living.
3  Non aspíciam hóminem ultra, * et habitatórem quiétis.	I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.
4  Generátio mea abláta est, et convolúta est a me, * quasi tabernáculum pastórum.	12 My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent.
5  Præcísa est velut a texénte, vita mea: dum adhuc ordírer, succídit me: * de mane usque ad vésperam fínies me.	My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning even to night you will make an end of me.
6  Sperábam usque ad mane, * quasi leo sic contrívit ómnia ossa mea:	13 I hoped till morning, as a lion so has he broken all my bones:
7  De mane usque ad vésperam fínies me: * sicut pullus hirúndinis sic clamábo, meditábor ut colúmba:	from morning even to night you will make an end of me. 14 I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove:
8  Attenuáti sunt óculi mei, * suspiciéntes in excélsum:	my eyes are weakened looking upward
9  Dómine, vim pátior, respónde pro me. * Quid dicam, aut quid respondébit mihi, cum ipse fécerit?	Lord, I suffer violence; answer for me. 15 What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he himself has done it?
10  Recogitábo tibi omnes annos meos * in amaritúdine ánimæ meæ.:	I will recount to you all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
11  Dómine, si sic vivítur, et in tálibus vita spíritus mei, corrípies me et vivificábis me. * Ecce in pace amaritúdo mea amaríssima	16 O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, you shall correct me, and make me to live. 17 Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter:
12  Tu autem eruísti ánimam meam ut non períret: * projecísti post tergum tuum ómnia peccáta mea.	but you have delivered my soul that it should not perish, you have cast all my sins behind your back.
13  Quia non inférnus confitébitur tibi, neque mors laudábit te: * non exspectábunt qui descéndunt in lacum, veritátem tuam.	18 For hell shall not confess to you, neither shall death praise you: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for your truth.
14  Vivens vivens ipse confitébitur tibi, sicut et ego hódie: * pater fíliis notam fáciet veritátem tuam.	19 The living, the living, he shall give praise to you, as I do this day: the father shall make the truth known to the children.
15  Dómine, salvum me fac, * et psalmos nostros cantábimus cunctis diébus vitæ nostræ in domo Dómini.	20 O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

Psalm 110 (111) - He has sent redemption to his people

Gathering of the manna, c1460-70

Some months back I started a look at the psalms for Sunday Vespers, and now I'm finally getting back to that!

I've already looked at Psalm 109 (110).  Accordingly, today an introduction to Psalm 110, the second psalm of Sunday Vespers in the traditional organisation of the psalter.  I will then look at into more detail, with a series of verse by verse posts.

And to organise my thoughts and hopefully demonstrate its efficacy, I'm going to use the lectio divina schema suggested by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Alleluia	Alleluja
1  Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * in consílio justórum, et congregatióne.	I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart; in the council of the just, and in the congregation.
2  Magna ópera Dómini: * exquisíta in omnes voluntátes ejus.	2 Great are the works of the Lord: sought out according to all his wills.
3  Conféssio et magnificéntia opus ejus: * et justítia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.	3 His work is praise and magnificence: and his justice continues for ever and ever.
4  Memóriam fecit mirabílium suórum, miséricors et miserátor Dóminus: * escam dedit timéntibus se.	4 He has made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: 5 He has given food to them that fear him.
5  Memor erit in sæculum testaménti sui: * virtútem óperum suórum annuntiábit pópulo suo:	He will be mindful for ever of his covenant: 6 He will show forth to his people the power of his works.
6  Ut det illis hereditátem géntium: * ópera mánuum ejus véritas, et judícium.	7 That he may give them the inheritance of the Gentiles: the works of his hands are truth and judgment.
7  Fidélia ómnia mandáta ejus: confirmáta in sæculum sæculi, * facta in veritáte et æquitáte.	8 All his commandments are faithful: confirmed for ever and ever, made in truth and equity.
8  Redemptiónem misit pópulo suo: * mandávit in ætérnum testaméntum suum.	9 He has sent redemption to his people: he has commanded his covenant for ever.
9  Sanctum, et terríbile nomen ejus: * inítium sapiéntiæ timor Dómini.	Holy and terrible is his name: 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
10  Intelléctus bonus ómnibus faciéntibus eum: * laudátio ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.	A good understanding to all that do it: his praise continues for ever and ever

Lectio: what does the text mean?
 
Psalm 110 is a hymn of praise to God for his wonderful work of redemption.  In the Old Testament context, it refers to the freeing of the Jewish people from Egypt; in the New, of the sending of Our Lord.
 
The key line is verse 9:
 
"He has sent redemption to his people: he has commanded his covenant for ever."
 

Pope Benedict XVI presents it as a prayer of contemplation on the mystery of salvation:

"In this Psalm we find a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for the many benefits that describe God in his attributes and his work of salvation: the Psalmist speaks of "compassion", "love", "justice", "might", "truth", "uprightness", "standing firm", "covenant", "works", "wonders", even "food" which God provides, and lastly his glorious "name", that is, God himself. Thus, prayer is contemplation of the mystery of God and the wonders that he works in the history of salvation."

 
Psalm 110 is a sapiential/praise psalm that continues the theme of the previous psalm, albeit from a different direction, namely the kingship of God. But whereas Psalm 109 prophesies the coming and victory of Christ, Psalm 110 expresses our joy as a result of that news.

The first half of the psalm looks at the wonder of creation; the second focuses on the glory of the law. After the first verse, which announces the subject, the prophet praises the works of God in general, v. 2, 3; then his benefits towards the typical people, v. 4, 5, 6; the excellence and the stability of his law, v. 7; and finally, the sending of the divine Redeemer giving salvation to the world: the last two verses form a practical conclusion, indicating the way to be followed to profit by these graces.

Psalm 110 forms a pair with the next psalm: both are alphabetic psalms, with each half line starting with a letter of the (Hebrew) alphabet; and the two are complementary in terms of content.

Meditatio: What is the text telling us?

Although Psalm 110 is joyous, titled with an Alleluia, it does in fact wrestle with some issues that are difficult for modern readers.  At its heart is a question that many struggle with, namely why do some reach heaven (the inheritance of the gentiles, vs 6) while others are excluded, and are cast down to hell? Why do some benefit from the redemption offered by Christ (vs 8), but not all?

The psalm provides, I think, three answers to this.

The first is that God’s offer of redemption is a two-way covenant, an agreement with his people. He offers, but we have to respond: we have to accept the offer and put ourselves within the ‘council of the just’ (v 1), the congregation that is the Church.

Secondly, we have to understand that each of the covenant parties undertake to do certain works. God for his side creates and sustains us (vs 2-5), but we must keep our end of the bargain and keep the commandments, for God is also truth and justice (vs 6-8). Those who fail to understand this will be dispossessed, their inheritance taken away and given to those who do respond (vs 7).

Finally, we must cultivate the right attitude: we must praise God in the liturgy (v1), and maintain an appropriate fear of God (vs 4&9) rather than presuming on our salvation.

The key to our acceptance of salvation sits at the very centre of the psalm, and is the sustaining and transforming power of the Eucharist which gives us the grace necessary for salvation: "He has made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: He has given food to them that fear him." (v4)

As Rupert of Deutz suggests:

"Since as he has said in the previous psalm that [...] You are a priest forever, like Melchisedek of old, and because he has instituted the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, in this psalm he sings in truth: He provides food for those who fear him" (De Sancta Trinitate et operibus eius, 5, in psalmo 110).

Oratio: what do we say to the Lord?
 
The psalm asks us to so several things: first to praise God for the things he has done for us. 
 
This injunction can be interpreted literally: that is, worship in Church, particularly on a Sunday, and partake of the Eucharistic food he offers.  Similarly, when we pray Vespers liturgically, even at home by ourselves, we are offering the public prayer of the Church, and we are praying along with the angels and saints, the assembly of the just indeed. 
 
The second injunction is to keep the commandments: and we must constantly recommit ourselves to this through our prayers for help, as we do for example, in the Lord's Prayer.  
 
Thirdly, we are asked to cultivate a holy fear of God, and we can pray here for that perfect, filial, fear whereby we act 'no longer for fear of hell, but for love of Christ and through good habit and delight in virtue' (Rule of St Benedict, Chapter 7).
 
Contemplatio: what conversion of mind, heart and life is God asking of us?

Pope Benedict XVI concluded his General Audience on this psalm with some advice on how to put into the effect the second verse of the psalm, the injunction that the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord: 

"The Christian writer Barsanuphius of Gaza (active in the first half of the sixth century) comments on this verse: "What is the first stage of wisdom if not the avoidance of all that is hateful to God? And how can one avoid it, other than by first asking for advice before acting, or by saying nothing that should not be said, and in addition, by considering oneself foolish, stupid, contemptible and of no worth whatsoever?" (Epistolario, 234: Collana di testi patristici, XCIII, Rome, 1991, pp. 265-266).

The true conversion comes though, as the Pope goes on to note, when we progress beyond servile fear:

"However, John Cassian (who lived between the fourth and fifth centuries) preferred to explain that "there is a great difference between love, which lacks nothing and is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, and imperfect love, called "the first stage of wisdom'. The latter, which in itself contains the idea of punishment, is excluded from the hearts of the perfect because they have reached the fullness of love" (Conferenze ai monaci, 2, 11, 13: Collana di testi patristici, CLVI, Rome, 2000, p. 29). Thus, on the journey through life towards Christ, our initial servile fear is replaced by perfect awe which is love, a gift of the Holy Spirit."

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT references	Rev 15:3 (2, 6); James 5:11 (4); Lk 1:72(6,9); Lk 1:68 (9)
RB cursus	Sunday Vespers+AN 2865 (v8)
Monastic feasts etc	Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, CC, Sacred Heart, Transfiguration, Holy Cross; 1 Vespers of all male saints; Dedication of a Church; 2 V of Confessor not a bishop AN 3214, 3665 (v2); 4587 (v9)
Responsories	Sundays in August no 6 - 6967 (v10)
Roman pre 1911	Sunday Vespers
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Sunday Vespers  1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Post Easter 3, AL(8)

You can find the next post in this series on Psalm 110 here.

Canticle of Isaiah: The Incarnation and our baptism in Isaiah 12

Having looked briefly at the variable psalms for Lauds, I want to turn now to those other 'psalms' in the Benedictine (and Roman) Office, the canticles, or psalms from books other than the book of psalms. 

The importance of the (ferial) Canticles

The ferial canticles (the festal set are a later addition) are important to St Benedict’s Office for a number of reasons.

First they represent an ancient ecclesial tradition: St Benedict simply took them over from the old Roman tradition in using them, as he makes clear in his Rule.

Secondly, though, I want to suggest that they in fact provide the key to the themes that St Benedict has used to help select which psalms should be said each day.

When I first went looking for underlying themes for the Benedictine Office each day, I was prompted to do so by the recurring phrases and ideas that seem to fill each days Office.

Hrabanus Maurus

It didn’t take much study to see the traces of a mini-Triduum in the Office each week. But my hunt through the patristic literature and elsewhere to find possible associations for Mondays and Tuesdays in particular didn’t bear much fruit until I came across the Benedictine Hrabanus Maurus’ (760-856) Commentary on the Office Canticles (it can be found in Migne's Patrologia Latina, vol 107).

Maurus’ provides, by way of an introduction to his commentary, some pithy summaries of each day’s canticles. And those summaries provide some concrete evidence of how early Benedictines understood their Office.

In particular, I’ve previously suggested that the underlying theme of St Benedict’s Office on Monday was the life from the Incarnation to his Baptism. Here is what Maurus says:

“On Monday [feria secunda], truly the second day, the canticle of Isaiah, in which the coming of the Saviour and the sacrament of baptism is preached, is prescribed to be said, because these are the beginning of our salvation.”

And of course, his commentary goes on to elaborate on these ideas, including providing some of the links (inter alia) between the psalms of the day and the canticle.

Scriptural context

In fact today’s canticle comes from Isaiah and brings to a close the section known as the ‘Book of Emmanuel, which contains the prophesies of the coming Messiah, born of a Virgin, and set to be the "Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace".

Having foretold the coming wonderful redemption of the remnant of the people, and the coming of the son of David promised by God, Scripture gives us the lead in ‘On that day you will say:”

The canticle effectively falls into two parts. The first half thanks God for the results of the Incarnation: he rejoices that God has finally turned aside his anger, allows us to approach him not just in fear, but with confidence, and points to the graces that flow from the saviour (verses 1-3). The second half speaks of the mission of the Church to make known God’s salvation to all the world, for God has become man.

The Scriptural context would perhaps point us to the Incarnation dimension of this canticle in any case. But it is the repeated use of the word ‘salvation’ that the Fathers drew attention to. Robert Wilken’s introduction to the Patristic commentaries on these verses (Isaiah Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentaries, pp154-5), for example, notes that the Hebrew of v. 2, God is my salvation, was translates by the LXX (and versions dependent on the LXX) as ‘my Savior’, allowing a direct application to Christ. Irenaeus of Lyons, for example says:

“The knowledge of salvation does not consist in believing in another God, nor another Father ... but the knowledge of salvation consists in knowing the Son of God who is called I and truly is "salvation" and Savior and "bringer of salvation" (salutare). "Salvation," as in the passage: I waited for your salvation, O lord (Gen 49:18). And again, Behold, my God, my Savior, I will put my trust in him (12:2). As for "bringer of salvation": God has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations (Ps 98:2). For he is indeed Savior as Son and Word of God; "bringer of salvation" as Spirit, for he says: The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord (Lam 4:20 LXX). And "salvation" as being flesh: The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). This knowledge of salvation John made known to those who repented and who believed in the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29).”

The waters of baptism

The references to drawing water from the fountain of joy in verse 3 have obvious connections to the imagery used in St John’s Gospel, and to the idea of the living water flowing from Christ’s side from the Cross, and thus to the font/sacrament of baptism. Indeed Pope Pius XII used the opening words of Verse 4 in his Encyclical encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Perhaps the most important message of the canticle though, is that God has become man: Emmanuel or God-with-us makes it possible for us to deal confidently with God, to obtain that living water and make a fresh commitment to the God that is our salvation, strength and joy.

Isaiah 12
And you shall say in that day:
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for you were angry with me: your wrath is turned away, and you have comforted me.
2 Behold, God is my saviour, I will deal confidently, and will not fear: because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and he has become my salvation.
3 You shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour's fountains:
4 And you shall say in that day: Praise the Lord, and call upon his name: make his works known among the people: remember that his name is high.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things: show this forth in all the earth.
6 Rejoice, and praise, O habitation of Sion: for great is he that is in the midst of you, the Holy One of Israel.

Et dices in die illa :
Confitebor tibi, Domine, quoniam iratus es mihi; conversus est furor tuus, et consolatus es me.
2 Ecce Deus salvator meus; fiducialiter agam, et non timebo : quia fortitudo mea et laus mea Dominus, et factus est mihi in salutem.
3 Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus salvatoris.
4 Et dicetis in die illa : Confitemini Domino et invocate nomen ejus; notas facite in populis adinventiones ejus; mementote quoniam excelsum est nomen ejus.
5 Cantate Domino, quoniam magnifice fecit; annuntiate hoc in universa terra.
6 Exsulta et lauda, habitatio Sion, quia magnus in medio tui Sanctus Israël.

Rejoicing in the Resurrection: Psalm 62

In the Benedictine Office Psalm 62 is given a festal connotation, used at Lauds on Sundays (and major feasts).

In the Old Roman Office by contrast it was used every day at Lauds, presumably because it seems so suitable for the hour of the day when we celebrate the Resurrection, with its opening line on watching for God at the break of day.

Waiting for the Resurrection

Why does St Benedict drop the repetition?

Perhaps St Benedict wanted to emphasize the special character of Sundays as the day of the Resurrection, the day we wait especially at dawn, longing for the rising of the Son/sun after our mini-Easter Vigil each week?

I suggested that St Benedict's Office makes each Saturday a remembrance of Holy Saturday, a day when the tomb is empty and mass is not celebrated: a 'desert day' that helps sharpens our longing for Christ, the living water that our soul and flesh longs for (v.2).

Patrick Reardon, in Christ in the Psalms suggests that the psalm as a whole can be seen as a longing for communion (p124), and the psalm as a whole a preparation for its reception, particularly with its phrases such as 'Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness' (verse 6).

A prayer of the Church?

The psalm can also be seen though, as a prayer of the Church as a whole, as she assembles to worship on this special day of worship. Certainly St Benedict's contemporary Cassiodorus saw it as the prayer of the Church Militant, that dwells in the desert of this world, under the protection of God, and waiting for his mercy:

“So the words of the Church, who is to be the spokeswoman, are rightly set forth as referring to the Lord Saviour. So she dwells in The Desert of Edom, that is, in the aridity of this world, where she thirsts and feels longing, where she seeks the Lord's mercy eagerly until she can deserve to attain that eternal glory… the Church at daybreak keeps vigil before the Lord, praying that she may not be enmeshed in the errors of this world. That spiritual bride, who embodies the limbs of the Lord Saviour, says in the first part that she is taken up with insatiable longing to be able to behold the Lord's power.”

Above all though, this is surely a song of the triumph of Christ:

But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth.. But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him."(vv11-12)

Psalm 62

A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.
O God my God, to you do I watch at break of day.
For you my soul has thirsted; for you my flesh, O how many ways!
3 In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before you, to see your power and your glory.
4 For your mercy is better than lives: you my lips will praise.
5 Thus will I bless you all my life long: and in your name I will lift up my hands.
6 Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.
7 If I have remembered you upon my bed, I will meditate on you in the morning:
8 Because you have been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of your wings:
9 My soul has stuck close to you: your right hand has received me.
10 But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth:
11 They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.
12 But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.


1 Psalmus David, cum esset in deserto Idumææ.
2 Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo. Sitivit in te anima mea; quam multipliciter tibi caro mea!
3 In terra deserta, et invia, et inaquosa, sic in sancto apparui tibi, ut viderem virtutem tuam et gloriam tuam.
4 Quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitas, labia mea laudabunt te.
5 Sic benedicam te in vita mea, et in nomine tuo levabo manus meas.
6 Sicut adipe et pinguedine repleatur anima mea, et labiis exsultationis laudabit os meum.
7 Si memor fui tui super stratum meum, in matutinis meditabor in te.
8 Quia fuisti adjutor meus, et in velamento alarum tuarum exsultabo.
9 Adhæsit anima mea post te; me suscepit dextera tua.
10 Ipsi vero in vanum quæsierunt animam meam : introibunt in inferiora terræ;
11 tradentur in manus gladii : partes vulpium erunt.
12 Rex vero lætabitur in Deo; laudabuntur omnes qui jurant in eo: quia obstructum est os loquentium iniqua.

The canticle for the Sabbath that God dictated? Deuteronomy 32/1

Saturday in the Benedictine Office, I have suggested previously, calls us to remember Holy Saturday, when the tomb is empty and the Mass is not celebrated, because Christ is preaching to those in Sheol.

It is a day when we can meditate on God's wonderful faithfulness and care of us, set against our constant rejection of him through sin.

In St Benedict’s ordering of the Office, Saturday has but one psalm, Psalm 142.

The reason for this is no doubt in part that the Canticle he set for the day, from Deuteronomy 32, is extremely long (65 verses when arranged for liturgical use). Today I want to look briefly provide something of an introduction to it.

Importance of the Canticle

Before looking at the text itself, it is worth noting that this is an extremely important canticle.

Whereas in the case of the other Lauds canticles St Benedict simply says, in his Rule, to use the Roman ones, he specifically mentions Deuteronomy for Saturday. In this he was carrying over a Jewish tradition that this canticle be recited each Sabbath in the synagogues, a tradition alluded to by St James in Acts 15:21.

This in fact reflects a Scriptural injunction: in Deuteronomy 31 God tells Moses that he is going to die soon, and calls him and Joshua before him within the tabernacle. Appearing as a pillar of cloud, Scripture records that God then dictated the canticle and instructed Moses to make the children of Israel learn it by heart so they would have no excuses as to what the law required, and could not say that they did not know the consequences of not following it.

Modern (and modernist?) commentaries (yes, even the Navarre) tend to reject the idea that it was composed all at once, or dictated in quite so dramatic a fashion, Scripture notwithstanding.  Still, regardless of how literally you interpret the story of its composition, the inclusion of this explanation clearly signals its importance.

The canticle is effectively a summary of all of Deuteronomy, and its mix of rejoicing over God’s care and creation of us, testimony to God’s care of us and man’s infidelity and continuing rejection of him, together with warnings over the consequences of sin.  Its themes are also reflected in many of the psalms of Matins today in the Benedictine Office.

And its references to a perverse generation and should sound very familiar from the New Testament.

Liturgical wreckovation?

Despite all this, the full text of the canticle is likely to be relatively unfamiliar to those who say the 1962 Benedictine Office using the Monastic Diurnal or Breviary (as opposed to the Antiphonale Monasticum) for several reasons.

First, on many Saturdays during the year, the rubrics suggest that it be replaced by the festal canticle, as part of the Saturday Office of Our Lady.

But secondly, even where it is retained (such as during Lent and Advent), the 1962 breviary actually cuts out more than half of it, ending it at verse 27, before even the division point of the original version! Indeed, the Monastic Diurnal for some reason inserts a division into Psalm 142 rather than the canticle as St Benedict actually specified, perhaps by way of a protest?  The result is that the canticle seems to end on a rather odd note, condemning the people who had forgotten God who created them.

Soft soaping?

I can only speculate on the reasons for this bit of liturgical butchery.

Were the verses condemning homosexuality perhaps ones the reformers didn’t want to have modern monks confronted with on a regular basis?

Or was it perhaps the references to God’s judgment?

Or worse still from a liberal perspective, the references to God’s vengeance, that actually conclude the canticle?

Unsurprisingly, the modern Liturgy of the Hours goes even further, slashing the canticle to but twelve verses, and thus transforming it from some hard sayings coupled with a tough warning to a ‘joyful hymn to the Lord who lovingly protects and cares for his people amid the daylong dangers and difficulties’ (Pope John Paul II, in a General Audience on it in 2002).

Can one legitimately add those excluded verses back into the 1962 Office? Given that many monasteries continue to use the older version of the Antiphonale Monasticum which includes the full text of this canticle, I actually do think this is legitimate and even desirable.

Deuteronomy 32

Here is the canticle with the different divisio and endpoints identified:

Canticum Moysis [4] 32:1 Audíte, cæli, quæ loquor: * áudiat terra verba oris mei. 32:2 Concréscat ut plúvia doctrína mea, * fluat ut ros elóquium meum. 32:3 Quasi imber super herbam, et quasi stillæ super grámina. * Quia nomen Dómini invocábo. 32:4 Date magnificéntiam Deo nostro. * Dei perfécta sunt ópera, et omnes viæ ejus judícia: 32:5 Deus fidélis, et absque ulla iniquitáte, justus et rectus. * Peccavérunt ei, et non fílii ejus in sórdibus: 32:6 Generátio prava atque pervérsa. * Hǽccine reddis Dómino, pópule stulte et insípiens? 32:7 Numquid non ipse est pater tuus, * qui possédit te, et fecit, et creávit te? [1962 divisio point] 32:8 Meménto diérum antiquórum, * cógita generatiónes síngulas: 32:9 Intérroga patrem tuum, et annuntiábit tibi: * majóres tuos, et dicent tibi. 32:10 Quando dividébat Altíssimus gentes: * quando separábat fílios Adam. 32:11 Constítuit términos populórum * juxta númerum filiórum Israël. 32:12 Pars autem Dómini, pópulus ejus: * Jacob funículus hereditátis ejus. 32:13 Invénit eum in terra desérta, * in loco horróris et vastæ solitúdinis: 32:14 Circumdúxit eum, et dócuit: * et custodívit quasi pupíllam óculi sui. 32:15 Sicut áquila próvocans ad volándum pullos suos, * et super eos vólitans, 32:16 Expándit alas suas, et assúmpsit eum, * atque portávit in húmeris suis. 32:17 Dóminus solus dux ejus fuit: * et non erat cum eo deus aliénus. 32:18 Constítuit eum super excélsam terram: * ut coméderet fructus agrórum, 32:19 Ut súgeret mel de petra, * oleúmque de saxo duríssimo. 32:20 Butýrum de arménto, et lac de óvibus * cum ádipe agnórum, et aríetum filiórum Basan: 32:21 Et hircos cum medúlla trítici, * et sánguinem uvæ bíberet meracíssimum. 32:22 Incrassátus est diléctus, et recalcitrávit: * incrassátus, impinguátus, dilatátus, 32:23 Derelíquit Deum, factórem suum, * et recéssit a Deo, salutári suo. 32:24 Provocavérunt eum in diis aliénis, * et in abominatiónibus ad iracúndiam concitavérunt. 32:25 Immolavérunt dæmóniis, et non Deo, * diis, quos ignorábant: 32:26 Novi recentésque venérunt, * quos non coluérunt patres eórum. 32:27 Deum qui te génuit dereliquísti, * et oblítus es Dómini, creatóris tui. [1962 endpoint] 32:28 Vidit Dóminus, et ad iracúndiam concitátus est: * quia provocavérunt eum fílii sui et fíliæ. 32:29 Et ait: Abscóndam fáciem meam ab eis, * et considerábo novíssima eórum: 32:30 Generátio enim pervérsa est, * et infidéles fílii. 32:31 Ipsi me provocavérunt in eo, qui non erat Deus, * et irritavérunt in vanitátibus suis: [traditional divisio point] 32:32 Et ego provocábo eos in eo, qui non est pópulus, * et in gente stulta irritábo illos. 32:33 Ignis succénsus est in furóre meo, * et ardébit usque ad inférni novíssima: 32:34 Devorabítque terram cum gérmine suo, * et móntium fundaménta combúret. 32:35 Congregábo super eos mala, * et sagíttas meas complébo in eis. 32:36 Consuméntur fame, * et devorábunt eos aves morsu amaríssimo: 32:37 Dentes bestiárum immíttam in eos, * cum furóre trahéntium super terram, atque serpéntium. 32:38 Foris vastábit eos gládius, et intus pavor, * júvenem simul ac vírginem, lactántem cum hómine sene. 32:39 Dixi: Ubinam sunt? * cessáre fáciam ex homínibus memóriam eórum. 32:40 Sed propter iram inimicórum dístuli: * ne forte superbírent hostes eórum, 32:41 Et dícerent: Manus nostra excélsa, et non Dóminus, * fecit hæc ómnia. 32:42 Gens absque consílio est, et sine prudéntia. * Utinam sáperent, et intellégerent, ac novíssima providérent. 32:43 Quómodo persequátur unus mille, * et duo fugent decem míllia? 32:44 Nonne ídeo, quia Deus suus véndidit eos, * et Dóminus conclúsit illos? 32:45 Non enim est Deus noster ut dii eórum: * et inimíci nostri sunt júdices. 32:46 De vínea Sodomórum vínea eórum, * et de suburbánis Gomórrhæ: 32:47 Uva eórum uva fellis, * et botri amaríssimi. 32:48 Fel dracónum vinum eórum, * et venénum áspidum insanábile. 32:49 Nonne hæc cóndita sunt apud me, * et signáta in thesáuris meis? 32:50 Mea est últio, et ego retríbuam in témpore, * ut labátur pes eórum: 32:51 Juxta est dies perditiónis, * et adésse festínant témpora. 32:52 Judicábit Dóminus pópulum suum, * et in servis suis miserébitur: 32:53 Vidébit quod infirmáta sit manus, * et clausi quoque defecérunt, residuíque consúmpti sunt. 32:54 Et dicet: Ubi sunt dii eórum, * in quibus habébant fidúciam? 32:55 De quorum víctimis comedébant ádipes, * et bibébant vinum libáminum: 32:56 Surgant, et opituléntur vobis, * et in necessitáte vos prótegant. 32:57 Vidéte quod ego sim solus, * et non sit álius Deus præter me: 32:58 Ego occídam, et ego vívere fáciam: percútiam, et ego sanábo, * et non est qui de manu mea possit erúere. 32:59 Levábo ad cælum manum meam, et dicam: * Vivo ego in ætérnum. 32:60 Si acúero ut fulgur gládium meum, * et arripúerit judícium manus mea: 32:61 Reddam ultiónem hóstibus meis, * et his qui odérunt me retríbuam. 32:62 Inebriábo sagíttas meas sánguine, * et gládius meus devorábit carnes, 32:63 De cruóre occisórum, * et de captivitáte, nudáti inimicórum cápitis. 32:64 Laudáte, gentes, pópulum ejus, * quia sánguinem servórum suórum ulciscétur: 32:65 Et vindíctam retríbuet in hostes eórum, * et propítius erit terræ pópuli sui.

6Canticle of Moses 32:1 Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, * let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth. 32:2 Let my doctrine gather as the rain, * let my speech distill as the dew, 32:3 As a shower upon the herb, and as drops upon the grass. * Because I will invoke the name of the Lord: 32:4 Give ye magnificence to our God. * The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: 32:5 God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right. * They have sinned against him, and are none of his children in their filth: 32:6 They are a wicked and perverse generation. * Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? 32:7 Is not he thy father, * that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee? [1962 divisio] 32:8 Remember the days of old, * think upon every generation: 32:9 Ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: * thy elders and they will tell thee. 32:10 When the Most High divided the nations: * when he separated the sons of Adam, 32:11 He appointed the bounds of people * according to the number of the children of Israel. 32:12 But the Lord’s portion is his people: * Jacob the lot of his inheritance. 32:13 He found him in a desert land, * in a place of horror, and of vast wilderness: 32:14 He led him about, and taught him: * and he kept him as the apple of his eye. 32:15 As the eagle enticing her young to fly, * and hovering over them, 32:16 He spread his wings, and hath taken him * and carried him on his shoulders. 32:17 The Lord alone was his leader: * and there was no strange god with him. 32:18 He set him upon high land: * that he might eat the fruits of the fields, 32:19 That he might suck honey out of the rock, * and oil out of the hardest stone, 32:20 Butter of the herd, and milk of the sheep * with the fat of lambs, and of the rams of the breed of Basan: 32:21 And goats with the marrow of wheat, * and might drink the purest blood of the grape. 32:22 The beloved grew fat, and kicked: * he grew fat, and thick and gross, 32:23 He forsook God who made him, * and departed from God his saviour. 32:24 They provoked him by strange gods, * and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations. 32:25 They sacrificed to devils and not to God: * to gods whom they knew not: 32:26 That were newly come up, * whom their fathers worshipped not. 32:27 Thou hast forsaken the God that beget * and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee. [1962 end] 32:28 The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath: * because his own sons and daughters provoked him. [divisio] 32:29 And he said: I will hide my face from them, * and will consider what their last end shall be: 32:30 For it is a perverse generation, * and unfaithful children. 32:31 They have provoked me with that which was no god, * and have angered me with their vanities: 32:32 And I will provoke them with that which is no people, * and will vex them with a foolish nation. 32:33 A fire is kindled in my wrath, * and shall burn even to the lowest hell: 32:34 And shall devour the earth with her increase, * and shall burn the foundations of the mountains. 32:35 I will heap evils upon them, * and will spend my arrows among them. 32:36 They shall be consumed with famine, * and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite: 32:37 I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, * with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground, and of serpents. 32:38 Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, * both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years. 32:39 I said: Where are they? * I will make the memory of them to cease from among men. 32:40 But for the wrath of the enemies * I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, 32:41 And should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, * hath done all these things. 32:42 They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom * O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end. 32:43 How should one pursue after a thousand, * and two chase ten thousand? 32:44 Was it not, because their God had sold them, * and the Lord had shut them up? 32:45 For our God is not as their gods: * our enemies themselves are judges. 32:46 Their vines are of the vineyard of Sodom, * and of the suburbs of Gomorrha: 32:47 Their grapes are grapes of gall, * and their clusters most bitter. 32:48 Their wine is the gall of dragons, * and the venom of asps, which is incurable. 32:49 Are not these things stored up with me, * and sealed up in my treasures? 32:50 Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, * that their foot may slide: 32:51 The day of destruction is at hand, * and the time makes haste to come. 32:52 The Lord will judge his people, * and will have mercy on his servants: 32:53 He shall see that their hand is weakened, * and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed. 32:54 And he shall say: Where are their gods, * in whom they trusted? 32:55 Of whose victims they ate the fat, * and drank the wine of their drink offerings: 32:56 Let them arise and help you, * and protect you in your distress. 32:57 See ye that I alone am, * and there is no other God besides me: 32:58 I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal, * and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. 32:59 I will lift up my hand to heaven, * and I will say: I live for ever. 32:60 If I shall whet my sword as the lightning, * and my hand take hold on judgment: 32:61 I will render vengeance to my enemies, * and repay them that hate me. 32:62 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, * and my sword shall devour flesh, 32:63 Of the blood of the slain * and of the captivity, of the bare head of the enemies. 32:64 Praise his people, ye nations, * for he will revenge the blood of his servants: 32:65 And will render vengeance to their enemies, * and he will be merciful to the land of his people.