Propers for the First Sunday of Advent: Psalm 24(25)

The psalm propers for the First Sunday of Advent in both the Ordinary (in theory at least; in practise they are mostly displaced by five hymn sandwich and responsorial psalm) and Extraordinary Forms draw on two psalms: Psalm 24 (25), which expresses our spiritual longing for Christ and need for repentance to prepare for his coming, and Psalm 84, which is a psalm of thanksgiving, anticipating our deliverance.

I want to take a brief look today at the first of these, Psalm 24, not least because it particularly fits my November theme of the Office of the Dead, in which it is said at Matins.

Psalm 24: The Introit, Gradual and Offertory

Selections from the first four verses of Psalm 24 are used in the Introit, Gradual and Offertory for this Sunday, but in fact the overall theme is perhaps best summarized by its last verse, which asks God to ‘Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations’.  It is an alphabetical psalm in the Hebrew, and it touches on many of the key themes of Advent, including our need for guidance, forgiveness of sins, and salvation.

Here are the first four verses of the psalm:

Ad te, Dómine, levávi ánimam meam. Deus meus, in te confído, non erubéscam.
To you, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In you, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed

Neque irrídeant me inimíci mei: * étenim univérsi, qui sústinent te, non confundentur. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on you shall be confounded.

Confundántur omnes iníqua agéntes * supervácue.
Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause.

Vias tuas, Dómine, demónstra mihi * et sémitas tuas édoce me.
Show, O Lord, your ways to me, and teach me your paths.

The text I’ve given above for the Latin is the (Clementine) Vulgate, but in fact the liturgical text uses an older version of the Latin (the ‘Itala’) in places, substituting ‘expectant’ in verse 2 for ‘sustinent’ and ‘notas fac’ for ‘demonstra mihi’ in the Gradual text.



The Gospels and the psalm…

In the Extraordinary Form, the psalm text has a direct and obvious links to both the Gospel and the Epistle. St Luke Chapter 21 includes the instruction to ‘lift up your heads for your redemption is at hand’; while Romans 13:11-14 tells us to arise from sleep, put on the armour of light that withstands all enemies, and walk in the ways of the Lord.

In the rotating texts of the Ordinary Form, this year the connections between the texts are far less obvious, save perhaps for the Old Testament reading from Isaiah, which talks about those who wait for the Lord…

Psalm 137/2 - In the presence of the angels

Today I want to start a more detailed look at Psalm 137, the last psalm of Vespers of the Dead, starting with a look at verses 1 and 2:

Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart: for you have heard the words of my mouth.

In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels: I will worship towards your holy temple, and I will give glory to your name.

The duty of thanksgiving

Most of the psalms of this Office have focused primarily on the help that we need from God as we face death, and this is certainly a theme in this psalm too.

But this psalm adds a new element, asking us to remember to give thanks for all the good things God has given us in our lives, even as it draws to a close, and reminds us once again that we are not alone, but connected already to the heavenly court through the invisible presence of the angels.

Verse 1: An offering of thanksgiving and praise

Confitébor tibi Dómine = I will give praise to you O Lord

The deponent verb confiteor has two possible meanings in Latin: to praise or give thanks, as best fits this context; or to acknowledge one’s guilt (hence the ‘confiteor’ in the Mass).

St Augustine comments that most people know of the confession of sin, but few attend to the confession of praise. I suspect the revere is more true these days, but his remarks on this are still worth reading:

“But first I remind you, that the term confession in Scripture, when we speak of confession to God, is used in two senses, of sin, and of praise. But confession of sin all know, confession of praise few attend to. So well known is confession of sin, that, wherever in Scripture we hear the words, I will confess to You, O Lord, or, we will confess to You, immediately, through habitually understanding in this way, our hands hurry to beating our breast: so entirely are men wont not to understand confession to be of anything, save of sin. But was then our Lord Jesus Christ Himself too a sinner, who says in the Gospel, I confess to You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth? He goes on to say what He confesses, that we might understand His confession to be of praise, not of sin, I confess to You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. He praised the Father, he praised God, because He despises not the humble, but the proud. And such confession are we now going to hear, of praise of God, of thanksgiving.”

in toto corde meo = with all my heart

The heart (cor cordis) is often used in Scripture to mean the mind and the soul. Totus is an adjective meaning the whole, entire. What is being offered here is the person’s whole being, focused on thanksgiving.

quóniam audísti verba oris mei = because you have heard the words of my mouth

This phrase seems to have dropped out of the Hebrew Masoretic Text for some reason, but it is retained in the neo-Vulgate, probably because it links up nicely to verse 3.

audio, ivi or li, Itum, ire to hear; to hear gladly; sound forth, utter, announce; hear favorably, to grant,
verbum, i, n.,word, command, edict, also a promise; saying, speech; Law, the Eternal Son.
os, oris, n., the mouth.

Verse 2: In the presence of the angels

In conspéctu Angelórum =in the presence of the angels

conspectus, us, m. sight, presence;
angelus, i, m.an angel, spirit, messenger

The second verse is a crucial reminder that when the Church militant here on earth prays, it does so in union with the Church Triumphant, represented by the angels invisibly present at our liturgy. In the context of the Office of the Dead it is also a reminder, perhaps particularly of the aid available from our own guardian angels.  Curiously, although the Greek uses the word ‘messenger’ (angel) here, the Hebrew Masoretic Text talks about ‘the gods’ instead, particularly jarring in the context of the Temple!

psallam tibi = I will sing praises to you

psallo, ere 3 to sing to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument,; to sing the praises of God.

adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum =I will adore towards you holy temple

adoro, avi, atum, are, to worship, adore
templum, i, n. the Sanctuary or new Tabernacle on Mount Sion; a temple-like structure; heaven; a palace.
sanctus, a, um, holy, holy person

et confitébor nómini tuo = and I will give thanks to your name

nomen, mis, n. name; God himself; the perfections of God, His glory, majesty, wisdom, power, goodness,

St Benedict on the Divine Office

St Benedict, in his Rule, particularly focused on this second verse in his instructions on the correct performance of the Divine Office, urging us to be conscious of the presence of the angels while saying it:

“We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place" (Prov. 15:3). But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God. To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear" (Ps. 2:11) and again "Sing praises wisely" and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to You". Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in sight of the Godhead and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.”

Psalm 137

Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.
In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.
Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.
Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.
Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.
Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.
Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.




This mini-series on Psalm 137 continues here.

Psalm 137: Latin study hints

Yesterday I gave a general introduction to Psalm 137.  Today, as usual, before I start on the verse by verse analysis of Psalm 137, I want to give a few pointers to help you absorb the Latin.

Grammar

If you are following the Simplicissimus Latin Reading Course (see the link in the sidebar), you are hopefully up to Unit 7, which deals with the passive subjunctive.

There is one example of this in Psalm 37, in the form of a deponent (so an active meaning even though it looks passive), namely verse 5:

Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ:
May all the kings of the earth give glory to you

If you look back at the last psalm, Psalm 114, you will find another example:

miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
The Lord is merciful and just, and our God shows mercy.

But as well as absorbing the new grammar, it is also worth doing some revision.  So I strongly suggest going through and working out the case of some of those high frequency nouns we've previously noted, such as anima (soul), gloria (glory) and Dominus (Lord) on the various occasions they recur.  Look out too, for an important example of a third declension noun, nomen, nominis, n name:

Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.
In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.
Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.
Et cantent in viis Dómini: quóniam magna est glória Dómini.
Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: et alta a longe cognóscit.
Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.
Dóminus retríbuet pro me: Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.

Vocabulary revision

It is also worth taking a look through Psalm 137 to see how many of the words you already know.

First, look through and pick out the words you know (even if the endings are not the same).  Here are a few key ones I've previously highlighted:

ambulo, avi, atum, are to walk; the manner in which one orders one's life
est - he/she/it is
et - and
me – me (pronoun)
meus (mea, meum) – my, mine (adjective)
omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything
quoniam, conj., for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.
quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed;
sanctus, a, um, holy.
super, with, on, upon, for, because of.
tu (pronoun) - you
tuus (tuum, tua) – your, yours, referring to one person

Confitébor tibi (to you), Dómine, toto corde meo: quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne (omnis), nomen sanctum tuum
In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.
Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia (omnis) verba oris tui.
Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.
Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.
Si ambulávero (ambulo) in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.
Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.

Secondly, you may have also recognised a few words that we have already come across in the previously considered psalms, and appear often elsewhere in the psalter.  In particular:

exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.
misericordia, ae, mercy, kindness, favor, compassion, loving-kindness.
multiplico, avi, atum, are to multiply, increase; to grow, flourish.
medius, a, um in the middle, midst
conspectus, us, m. sight, presence

Here they are highlighted in the psalm:

Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.
In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.
Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.
Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.
Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.
Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.
Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.

New vocabulary

Finally, a few key new words to look out for as we work through the psalm:

adoro, avi, atum, are, to worship, adore
confiteor, fessus sum, eri 2 to praise, give thanks; to confess, acknowledge one's guilt.
canto, avi, atum, are to sing, to praise in song
psallo, ere 3 to sing to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument,; to sing the praises of God.
audio, ivi or li, Itum, ire to hear; to hear gladly; sound forth, utter, announce; hear favorably, to grant,
(exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer).
terra, ae, f. the earth
verbum, i, n.,word, command, edict, also a promise; saying, speech; Law, the Eternal Son.
veritas, atis, truth. grace, kindness ,goodness, fidelity to promises, Faithfulness
via, ae, a way, road, path, street. God's way, God's policy, way of life
manus, us, f, the hand
dexter, tera, terum; the right hand.

Finally, don't forget to take the time to listen to the psalm being read or sung aloud (see the links in the last post) and practise saying and singing it aloud yourself until you are fluent.

Introduction to Psalm 137 in the context of the Office of the Dead

The memento mori of René of Anjou, king of Naples.
(British Library, Egerton 1070 f. 53)
c1442-3

Through November I've been looking at some of the psalms of the Office of the Dead, and today I want to give a short introduction to the last psalm of Vespers of the Dead, Psalm 137(138), before embarking on a verse by verse look at it.

A psalm of thanksgiving and a last plea for help

This hymn of thanksgiving alternates between the personal concerns of the speaker, and a call for the praise of God to be spread amongst all nations.

Like most of the other psalms of this Office, it has a strong focus on the protection God offers in times of trouble, and preservation from the final death. God is to be worshipped, it argues, for his truth and mercy, for his help in times of tribulation and aid against enemies, and for his aid to the poor and marginalized. In the Office of the Dead, the last phrase of the last verse ‘the works of Thy hands O Lord, forsake not’ is used as the antiphon.

The psalm is also said at Wednesday Vespers in the Benedictine Rite (Thursday in the Roman).

Psalm 137: The text

First listen to be being read and/or or sung through in Latin so you can hear how it should sound:

Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.
2 In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.
3 Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.
4 In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.
5 Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.
6 Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.
7 Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.
8 Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.
9 Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.



Next, in order to get a sense of the overall meaning, have a quick look at the English.  Here it is in the Coverdale translation so you can enjoy the lovely Anglican chant version sung for the Pope during his UK visit at Westminster Abbey in 2010 (warning: this is not a Catholic translation, and I will comment on some of the differences between it and one's based on the Vulgate and Neo-Vulgate as we go along in this mini-series):

I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart;
even before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy Name,
because of thy loving-kindness and truth; for thou hast magnified thy Name, and thy word, above all things.
When I called upon thee, thou heardest me, and enduedst my soul with much strength.
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord; for they have heard the words of thy mouth.
Yea, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, that great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly; as for the proud, he beholdeth them afar off.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet shalt thou refresh me; thou shalt stretch forth thy hand upon the furiousness of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
The Lord shall make good his loving-kindness toward me. Yea, thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; despise not then the works of thine own hands.



Pope Benedict XVI on Psalm 137

Pope Benedict XVI gave a General Audience on this psalm back in 2005. Here is an extract from his talk by way of introduction:

“Psalm 138[137], the hymn of thanksgiving that we have just heard, attributed by the Judaic tradition to the patronage of David although it probably came into being in a later epoch, opens with a personal hymn by the person praying… We must be sure that however burdensome and tempestuous the trials that await us may be, we will never be left on our own, we will never fall out of the Lord's hands, those hands that created us and now sustain us on our journey through life. As St Paul was to confess: "he who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion" (Phil 1: 6). Thus, we too have prayed with a psalm of praise, thanksgiving and trust. Let us continue to follow this thread of hymnodic praise through the witness of a Christian hymn-writer, the great Ephrem the Syrian (fourth century), the author of texts with an extraordinary poetic and spiritual fragrance: "However great may be our wonder for you, O Lord, your glory exceeds what our tongues can express", Ephrem sang in one hymn and in another: "Praise to you, to whom all things are easy, for you are almighty".  And this is a further reason for our trust: that God has the power of mercy and uses his power for mercy. And lastly, a final quote: "Praise to you from all who understand your truth" (General Audience, Wednesday, 7 December 2005)

If you are interested in using this psalm series to help brush up or learn your Latin, you can find some notes to aid you on this here.

Or you can go straight to the first part of the phrase by phrase notes on the psalm here.

Psalm 120: I will up mine eyes unto the hills

The third psalm of Vespers of the Dead is Psalm 120 (121), in my view one of the most beautiful and most comforting of the entire psalter.

Psalm 120

Here’s the text:

Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi.
I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me.

Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit cælum et terram.
My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Non det in commotionem pedem tuum, neque dormitet qui custodit te.
May he not suffer your foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keeps you.

Ecce non dormitabit neque dormiet qui custodit Israël.
Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keeps Israel.

Dominus custodit te; Dominus protectio tua super manum dexteram tuam.
The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your protection upon your right hand

Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem.
The sun shall not burn you by day: nor the moon by night.

Dominus custodit te ab omni malo; custodiat animam tuam Dominus.
The Lord keeps you from all evil: may the Lord keep your soul.

Dominus custodiat introitum tuum et exitum tuum, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
May the Lord keep your coming in and your going out; from henceforth now and for ever.


God our protector

In the previous psalm of this hour, the speaker has become restless with the realization that he is far from God. Here he asks for grace to accompany him on his journey towards him. The key theme of this psalm is the protection God offers the pilgrim – the verb custodire, meaning to guard or protect, is used six times in the course of eight verses, and combines with other several other synonyms for God’s help. It emphasizes God’s constant protection: day and night; our comings and goings. And it echoes in many ways, the petitions of the Lord’s prayer, asking that we not fall into temptation (our foot not be moved, v3), that we protected from all evil (v7), and that we not be led astray (v5&8).

The key verse in the context of the Office of the Dead is, I think, the last one: our coming in (to this world) and goings out from it are under God’s loving watch, and he will help us not to stumble at the end.

A setting to listen to

And finally, in terms of listening to it, although this blog is generally devoted to promoting the use of the Latin, this is one of those psalm settings for which we should embrace the 'Anglican patrimony' in my view!

Psalm 119: To the Lord I cry

c1450

I’ve devoted November to looking at Vespers of the Office of the Dead. So far we’ve looked at Psalm 114 in some detail.

Because I’ve looked in some detail elsewhere at the three middle psalms of Vespers of the Dead, Psalms 119, 120 and 129, I’m not going to give them the verse by verse treatment here, but instead just an overview.

Yesterday I posted on Psalm 129, the fourth psalm of this Office.

Today I want to take a quick look at Psalm 119, then tomorrow I’ll look at Psalm 120, before moving to a verse by verse look at the last Psalm of Vespers of the Dead, Psalm 137.

In the traditional Roman Office, Psalm 119 is said on Monday at Vespers; in the Benedictine Office at Terce from Tuesday to Saturday.

Psalm 119

First, here is the whole psalm, in the Vulgate and Douay-Rheims translations:

Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me.
In my trouble I cried to the Lord: and he heard me.

Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis et a lingua dolosa.
O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue.

Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi ad linguam dolosam?
What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, to a deceitful tongue?

Sagittæ potentis acutæ, cum carbonibus desolatoriis.
The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.

Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est! habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar; multum incola fuit anima mea.
Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: My soul has been long a sojourner.

Cum his qui oderunt pacem eram pacificus; cum loquebar illis, impugnabant me gratis.
With them that hated peace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.

Our earthly pilgrimage draws to a close…

Psalm 119 (120), like Psalm 120 and 129, is one of the gradual psalms or pilgrim songs.

In the daily Office, it serves as a reminder that we are all on a journey towards heaven.

In the context of the Office of the Dead, the realization that the exile has been living too long far from his true home takes on a more immediate application to the situation of the dying soul. In this context, it teaches us that a key step for our spiritual progress is to detach ourselves from earthly things and remember that our true hope is not the extension of this life, but to dwell in heaven.

And it is surely a plea for protection from all the temptations as we make this final journey that might prevent us from final perseverance.

De Profundis in the Office and the Mass

Over the last few weeks I've been looking at Psalm 114, the first psalm of Vespers of the Dead. 

One of the other psalms from this Office features heavily in today's propers in the Extraordinary Form, namely Psalm 129 (130), Out of the Deep.  The first verse of Psalm 129, actually gets two guenseys in the Propers of the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, as the Alleluia and the Offertory.

Psalm 129

First the full text of the psalm:

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine, exaudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuæ intendentes in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus: speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.

Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord. My soul has relied on his word: My soul has hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

In the context of the Mass, the psalm clearly looks forward to the dark days of the end of the world (Out of the deep) but also suggests the promise of redemption in the Second Coming.

The medieval exegetes, Dom Gueranger points out in Liturgical Year, saw it as particularly referring to the promised conversion of the Jews in the last days. It is therefore not altogether surprising therefore that this is one of those psalms where the (pre-Christian) Septuagint Greek (and thus Vulgate) and the (medieval) Hebrew Masoretic Text are in places very different, in ways impossible to reconcile by looking for alternative readings of the Hebrew. In particular, from verse 4 onwards, the Hebrew puts much more emphasis on fear of God, and omits two references to the hope of the Christ’s redemption.

Psalm 129 is one of the most heavily used psalms liturgically and quasi-liturgically, showing its applicability not only as a collective hymn, but also as an individual prayer. As well as featuring in Vespers of the dead, it is one of the Gradual psalms and one of the seven penitential psalms. In this context, Cassiodorus suggests that in this psalm, “as penitent he cries from the depths to the Lord, asking that the great power of the Godhead be experienced by the deliverance of mankind.”

You can find some notes I've previously written on this psalm in the context of the penitential psalms, starting here.  And you can find notes on it in the context of Tuesday Vespers here.

Here is the Alleluia:



And to listen to the Offertory: