The mini-Triduum of the Benedictine Office: Psalm 87

The Agony in the Garden
Duccio di Buoninsegna c1308-11

One of the most striking changes St Benedict made to his Office, compared to the old Roman, was surely the addition of Psalm 87, generally agreed to be the darkest psalm in the entire psalter, to Lauds.

A mini-Triduum?

The lamentation of a man close to death, it is the only psalm in the psalter not to end on a positive note. It is a song of abandonment, of the agony in the garden, making it, at first glance at least, a surprising choice for an hour of the day generally associated with the Resurrection.

It is a choice that makes sense, however, if the Office of Thursday to Saturday is viewed as a mini-Triduum each week, for while there is something of a Eucharistic sub-theme that can be found in today’s Office, it is the theme of abandonment and betrayal that stands at the forefront of the day, and most especially in this psalm.

The Father’s saw this psalm as a prophesy of the Passion, as St Cyril of Jerusalem explains:

“Accept an additional testimony from the eighty-seventh psalm, where Christ speaks in the prophets—for he who then spoke afterwards came among us: "O Lord, the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day and in the night before you"; and subsequently, "I am become as a man without help, free among the dead." He did not say, "I am become a man with¬out help," but "as a man without help"; for he was crucified, not because of helplessness but because he willed it; his death was not a result of involuntary weakness. "I am numbered with those who go down into the pit." What is the sign? "You have taken my friends away from me" (for the disciples fled away). "Will you work wonders for the dead"? Then, "But I, O Lord, cry out to you; with my morning prayer I wait on you." See how these verses manifest the actual circumstances of the passion and the resurrection.”

It is the dark prayer of Gethsemane, before that final resolution point is reached.

St Benedict on humility
This psalm invites us, I think, to contemplate the humility of Christ in taking on human form: the God who washed the feet of his disciples to teach them humility, and suffered for us.  St Benedict invites us to compare ourselves to both God and others, and accept out own lack of worth, citing of verse 16 in his treatment of the twelve degrees of humility in his Rule:

“The seventh degree of humility is that he should not only in his speech declare himself lower and of less account than all others, but should in his own inmost heart believe it, humbling himself and saying with the prophet: But I am a worm and no man, a byword to all men and the laughing-stock of the people. I have been lifted up only to be humbled and confounded; and again: It is good for me that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy commandments.”

In the face of abandonment

This is a psalm for the dark night of the soul: despite the fact that the speaker seems to receive no answer, he continues to call out to ‘the God of my salvation’ (verses 1, 2, 10, 14), and to set out the reasons why God will listen to his plea. Cassiodorus interprets this as a prayer ‘that the resurrection will come with all speed’, and recitation of his sufferings that invites us all to be joined to:

“This is Christ's chorus…for the faithful people, following His most holy passion, gave answer with a most splendid imitation. On one side the prison held confessors in confinement; from another the blood of martyrs welled forth, more precious than purple garments and fine linen; from another the words of the apostles thundered through the whole world; from another the sacred faith came forth like the brightest sun; from another, even today people hasten to embrace deaths which are transient in search of the rewards of eternal life. So let no person fear the wretchedness which makes men blessed. Let none tremble at the tortures which bring lasting security; let none fear the sadness which bestows eternal joy. How slight a thing is momentary death when its purpose is to win enduring life! How slight an imposition is the judgment of men, enabling us to obtain divine forgiveness! Who would be ashamed of the pains which the Lord Christ deigned to bear? Who would regard as dishonour what our Creator chose to endure for all? So let us shoulder for Him disaster in this world if we wish to possess with Him our enduring portion.”

Psalm 87

A canticle of a psalm for the sons of Core: unto the end, for Maheleth, to answer understanding of Eman the Ezrahite.

2 O Lord, the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day, and in the night before you.
3 Let my prayer come in before you: incline your ear to my petition.
4 For my soul is filled with evils: and my life has drawn near to hell.
5 I am counted among them that go down to the pit: I have become as a man without help,
6 free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres, whom you remember no more: and they are cut off from your hand.
7 They have laid me in the lower pit: in the dark places, and in the shadow of death.
8 Your wrath is strong over me: and all your waves you have brought in upon me.
9 You have put away my acquaintance far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth:
10 My eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried to you, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to you.
11 Will you show wonders to the dead? Or shall physicians raise to life, and give praise to you?
12 Shall any one in the sepulchre declare your mercy: and your truth in destruction?
13 Shall your wonders be known in the dark; and your justice in the land of forgetfulness?
14 But I, O Lord, have cried to you: and in the morning my prayer shall prevent you.
15 Lord, why do you cast off my prayer: why do you turn your face from me?
16 I am poor, and in labours from my youth: and being exalted have been humbled and troubled.
17 Your wrath has come upon me: and your terrors have troubled me.
18 They have come round about me like water all the day: they have compassed me about together.
19 Friend and neighbour you have put far from me: and my acquaintance, because of misery.

Canticum Psalmi, filiis Core, in finem, pro Maheleth ad respondendum. Intellectus Eman Ezrahitæ.
2 Domine, Deus salutis meæ, in die clamavi et nocte coram te.
3 Intret in conspectu tuo oratio mea, inclina aurem tuam ad precem meam.
4 Quia repleta est malis anima mea, et vita mea inferno appropinquavit.
5 Æstimatus sum cum descendentibus in lacum, factus sum sicut homo sine adjutorio,
6 inter mortuos liber; sicut vulnerati dormientes in sepulchris, quorum non es memor amplius, et ipsi de manu tua repulsi sunt.
7 Posuerunt me in lacu inferiori, in tenebrosis, et in umbra mortis.
8 Super me confirmatus est furor tuus, et omnes fluctus tuos induxisti super me.
9 Longe fecisti notos meos a me; posuerunt me abominationem sibi. Traditus sum, et non egrediebar;
10 oculi mei languerunt præ inopia. Clamavi ad te, Domine, tota die; expandi ad te manus meas.
11 Numquid mortuis facies mirabilia? aut medici suscitabunt, et confitebuntur tibi?
12 Numquid narrabit aliquis in sepulchro misericordiam tuam, et veritatem tuam in perditione?
13 Numquid cognoscentur in tenebris mirabilia tua? et justitia tua in terra oblivionis?
14 Et ego ad te, Domine, clamavi, et mane oratio mea præveniet te.
15 Ut quid, Domine, repellis orationem meam; avertis faciem tuam a me?
16 Pauper sum ego, et in laboribus a juventute mea; exaltatus autem, humiliatus sum et conturbatus.
17 In me transierunt iræ tuæ, et terrores tui conturbaverunt me:
18 circumdederunt me sicut aqua tota die; circumdederunt me simul.
19 Elongasti a me amicum et proximum, et notos meos a miseria.

Psalm 63: Remembering Judas' betrayal on Wednesday

The association of Wednesday with the councils of the Jews plotting to kill Our Lord and the betrayal of Judas goes back to the earliest days of Christianity: that it was a fast day throughout the year for this reason is attested to in many early Christian documents.

St Benedict certainly follows this tradition in his own prescriptions on fasting. Does he echo the theme liturgically however?

Human malice

Psalm 63, the first of the two variable psalms said at Lauds today, certainly suggests so. Indeed it is part of a set (the rest of which are said at Matins) which, according to the Navarre Commentary on the Psalms, deal with different aspects of the theme of human malice.

The original historical context for the psalm is not clear: the title clams Davidic authorship, and the style and language seems to support this, so some modern commentators have suggested that it may refer to David’s early days at Saul’s court, when enemies plotted to bring about his downfall.

The Fathers, however, gave it an entirely Christological interpretation, as Cassiodorus explains:

“The words of this heading, as has often been remarked, are wholly related to the Lord Christ, who is to speak through the entire psalm. These words are written without historical narration; the clarity of the heading seems to waft the light of the coming psalm over us. The Lord will speak of His passion, which has afforded life to the world and has poured on us the light of belief…initially prays that He be freed from fear of the Jewish people, as He relates their deceits and impious deeds as if they have already been performed. He teaches that they have failed in their acts of persecution, whereas He has attained the glory of resurrection.”

We are all Judas'...

Many of the patristic and medieval commentaries on the betrayal of Jesus are portrayed these days as ideologically unsound for their anti-semitism: they typically link, for example, the betrayal of Jesus by the Jews with the closure of the Old Covenant and the opening of the New to the Gentiles. Indeed, the (ferial) canticle set for today, the Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2: 1-10) Hannah's change in status from the denigrated barren wife to the mother of the prophet Samuel was typically interpreted as a type for just this event.
 
Yet this psalm, and those same commentaries on it, places the election of the Gentiles in a slightly broader context: in the end, we must all choose to be whether part of the 'assembly of the malignant' (verse 2), resolute in wickedness (v6) or to join the just, the upright of heart.   The Apostles preached the works of the Lord (v10) to those who had crucified Jesus, offering them the chance of redemption.  And many of those same persecutors were indeed converted, as the life of St Paul attests. 
 
The early Christians fasted and did penance on Wednesday because they knew that we are all Judas' at heart, yet through the offer of grace won for us the cross; we too can reject the path of evil and rejoice in the Resurrection of Our Lord (v11).
 
Psalm 63
 

Psalm 63: Exaudi Deus

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm for David.
1 Exáudi, Deus, oratiónem meam cum déprecor: * a timóre inimíci éripe ánimam meam.	Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to you: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.
2 Protexísti me a convéntu malignántium: * a multitúdine operántium iniquitátem.	You have protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity.
3  Quia exacuérunt ut gládium linguas suas: * intendérunt arcum rem amáram, ut sagíttent in occúltis immaculátum.	For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent their bow a bitter thing, to shoot in secret the undefiled.
4  Súbito sagittábunt eum, et non timébunt: * firmavérunt sibi sermónem nequam.	They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are resolute in wickedness.
5 Narravérunt ut abscónderent láqueos: * dixérunt: Quis vidébit eos?	They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them?
6  Scrutáti sunt iniquitátes: * defecérunt scrutántes scrutínio.	They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their search.
7  Accédet homo ad cor altum: * et exaltábitur Deus.	Man shall come to a deep heart: And God shall be exalted.
8  Sagíttæ parvulórum factæ sunt plagæ eórum: * et infirmátæ sunt contra eos linguæ eórum.	The arrows of children are their wounds: And their tongues against them are made weak
9  Conturbáti sunt omnes qui vidébant eos: * et tímuit omnis homo.	All that saw them were troubled; and every man was afraid.
10  Et annuntiavérunt ópera Dei, * et facta ejus intellexérunt.	And they declared the works of God, and understood his doings.
11  Lætábitur justus in Dómino, et sperábit in eo: * et laudabúntur omnes recti corde.	The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and all the upright in heart shall be praised.

A psalm for Tuesday: Psalm 56

David foresees the coming of Christ,
Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
folio 26v

Tuesday in the Benedictine Office centres around the temple, the heavenly city of God, and our ascent to it.

The day opens with the first of the ‘Songs of Zion’, Ps 45, and continues with a sequence focusing on love of the temple. At Lauds, Psalm 42, used in the prayers at the foot of the altar in the Mass, is said. Terce to Vespers features the Gradual psalms, or songs of Ascent, the pilgrim songs that were sung on the approach to the Temple on the major Jewish feasts.

The key to understanding this focus, I would propose, is the earthly mission of Our Lord, where he came to teach us what we must to do to make the ascent to heaven ourselves: for we must above all imitate Christ.  Psalm 56, the second variable psalm of Lauds, is certainly consistent with this.

Historical context of Psalm 56 (57)

The historical context of Psalm 56 is 1 Samuel 22:1, 24: 4-8, when David was hiding from Saul in a cave. Cassiodorus (a contemporary of St Benedict) follows St Augustine in seeing the cave as a figure of Christ’s hidden divinity during his time on earth:

“Just as David in fleeing from Saul hid in a cave, so the Lord Saviour's divinity is known to have been hidden within the temple of His body from the unfaithful Jews.”

Accordingly, the psalm can be read as Our Lord contemplating and praying on his coming Passion, and thus providing a model of how we must approach our own cross; how we should approach sharing in his sufferings.

God sends forth his mercy and truth

The modern commentary by Antiochian Orthodox theologian Patrick Henry Reardon in his interesting book Christ in the Psalms (I’ll provide a review of this shortly), however, gives this an extra layer of meaning by suggesting that the repetition of the phrase ‘he sent forth’ in the psalm refers to the two ‘missions’ of the Son and Holy Ghost respectively:

“Twice in this half of the psalm we speak of God’s redemption as a “sending forth” (exsapesteilen the verb in each instance): He sent forth from heaven and saved me…God sent forth His mercy and His truth.” Does this double “sending forth” of God refer to the sending forth of the Son and the Holy Spirit into the world? Well, maybe so. Compare the wording here with that in Galatians 4:4-6, where the identical verb, exapesteilen, is used twice – “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son…” (p111).

The psalm, then, becomes one of great hope and trust in God’s mercy and help as we focus on preparing our hearts (verse 10) as his was prepared, through prayer and mortification as we proclaim his message through our words and deeds ‘among the nations’ (verse 12).

You can find some further notes on this psalm in the context of Benedictine Lauds here.

Psalm 56

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, ne disperdas. David in tituli inscriptionem, cum fugeret a facie Saul in speluncam.	Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a title, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Miserére mei, Deus, miserére mei: * quóniam in te confídit ánima mea.	Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusts in you.
2 Et in umbra alárum tuárum sperábo: * donec tránseat iníquitas.	And in the shadow of your wings will I hope, until iniquity pass away.
3 Clamábo ad Deum altíssimum: * Deum, qui benefécit mihi.	I will cry to God the most high; to God who has done good to me.
4 Misit de cælo, et liberávit me: * dedit in oppróbrium conculcántes me.	He has sent from heaven and delivered me: he has made them a reproach that trod upon me.
5 Misit Deus misericórdiam suam, et veritátem suam, * et erípuit ánimam meam de médio catulórum leónum: dormívi conturbátus.	God has sent his mercy and his truth, and he has delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions. I slept troubled
6 Fílii hóminum dentes eórum arma et sagíttæ: * et lingua eórum gládius acútus.	The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
7 Exaltáre super cælos, Deus: * et in omnem terram glória tua.	Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory above all the earth.
8 Láqueum paravérunt pédibus meis: * et incurvavérunt ánimam meam.	They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul.
9 Fodérunt ante fáciem meam fóveam: * et incidérunt in eam.	They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.
10 Parátum cor meum, Deus, parátum cor meum: * cantábo, et psalmum dicam.	My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and rehearse a psalm.
11 Exsúrge, glória mea, exsúrge psaltérium et cíthara: * exsúrgam dilúculo.	Arise, O my glory, arise psaltery and harp: I will arise early.
12 Confitébor tibi in pópulis, Dómine: * et psalmum dicam tibi in Géntibus :	I will give praise to you, O Lord, among the people: I will sing a psalm to you among the nations
13 Quóniam magnificáta est usque ad cælos misericórdia tua, * et usque ad nubes véritas tua.	For your mercy is magnified even to the heavens: and your truth unto the clouds.
14 Exaltáre super cælos, Deus: * et super omnem terram glória tua.	Be exalted, O God, above the heavens: and your glory above all the earth.

Psalm 118 (119) Tau : All we like sheep have gone astray!

Today the final part in this Lenten series on Psalm 118, as we come to the twenty-second stanza labeled Tau.

And it is a particularly suitable ending point as we come up to Holy Week, for its theme is the longing for salvation.

Text of the stanza

The Knox translation:

169 Wilt thou not admit my cry, Lord, to thy presence, and grant me thy promised gift of wisdom?
170 Wilt thou not countenance my plea, redeem thy pledge to deliver me?
171 What praise shall burst from my lips, when thou makest known thy will!
172 What hymns of thankfulness this tongue shall raise to the author of all just decrees!
173 Wouldst thou but lift thy hand to aid me, that take my stand on thy covenant!
174 Weary it is, Lord, waiting for deliverance, but thy law is my comfort.
175 When will thy just award grant redress, that I may live to praise thee?
176 Wayward thou seest me, like a lost sheep; come to look for thy servant, that is mindful still of thy bidding.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
169  Appropínquet deprecátio mea in conspéctu tuo, Dómine: * juxta elóquium tuum da mihi intelléctum.	Let my supplication, O Lord, come near in your sight: give me understanding according to your word.
170  Intret postulátio mea in conspéctu tuo: * secúndum elóquium tuum éripe me.	Let my request come in before you; deliver me according to your word.
171  Eructábunt lábia mea hymnum, * cum docúeris me justificatiónes tuas.	My lips shall utter a hymn, when you shall teach me your justifications.
172  Pronuntiábit lingua mea elóquium tuum: * quia ómnia mandáta tua æquitas.	My tongue shall pronounce your word: because all your commandments are justice.
173  Fiat manus tua ut salvet me: * quóniam mandáta tua elégi.	Let your hand be with me to save me; for I have chosen your precepts
174  Concupívi salutáre tuum, Dómine: * et lex tua meditátio mea est.	I have longed for your salvation, O Lord; and your law is my meditation.
175  Vivet ánima mea, et laudábit te: * et judícia tua adjuvábunt me.	My soul shall live and shall praise you: and your judgments shall help me.
176  Errávi, sicut ovis, quæ périit: * quære servum tuum, quia mandáta tua non sum oblítus.	I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost: seek your servant, because I have not forgotten your commandments.

Longing for salvation

Cassiodorus (c485-585) summarises the stanza as follows:

“With the Lord's help the twenty-second letter has been reached, in which the longing of the band of saints to draw near to Christ is commensurate with their proximity to the close of the psalm. The whole composition is relevant to the Lord Saviour's coming. The devotion of the faithful awaited it with an indescribable longing, so that He might deign to summon back the lost sheep through the kindness of His love; for when they begged that their prayer should draw near to the Lord's sight, they revealed that the presence of sinners is exceedingly far from Him, for only things cleansed by the purest holiness draw near to Him.”

The shepherd seeks the lost sheep

The most memorable verse of this stanza is the last, echoed several times in the New Testament:

Errávi, sicut ovis, quæ périit: quære servum tuum, quia mandáta tua non sum oblítus.
I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost: seek your servant, because I have not forgotten your commandments.

The New Testament of course, puts this verse in the context of Christ’s mission to convert and redeem sinners. St Luke 15: 4-7 for example says:

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Everyone’s autobiography

The psalmist’s story of falling into sin is surely the story of us all.

In the opening verses of the stanza the psalmist pleads for God to hear him and grant him the necessary grace for salvation:

169 Appropínquet deprecátio mea in conspéctu tuo, Dómine: * juxta elóquium tuum da mihi intelléctum.
Let my supplication, O Lord, come near in your sight: give me understanding according to your word.

170 Intret postulátio mea in conspéctu tuo: * secúndum elóquium tuum éripe me.
Let my request come in before you; deliver me according to your word.

He states too that once he has that necessary grace he will surely be moved to rejoice, as we do at the Easter Vigil:

171 Eructábunt lábia mea hymnum, * cum docúeris me justificatiónes tuas.
My lips shall utter a hymn, when you shall teach me your justifications.

He has committed himself to God, he states, and now waits, a waiting symbolized by this Lenten period, with desperate longing for salvation to be realized for him personally:

173 Fiat manus tua ut salvet me: * quóniam mandáta tua elégi.
Let your hand be with me to save me; for I have chosen your precepts.

174 Concupívi salutáre tuum, Dómine: * et lex tua meditátio mea est.
I have longed for your salvation, O Lord; and your law is my meditation.

Almost but not yet redemption

In fact Easter is that season that should most clearly bring home to us the almost but not yet nature of our redemption – despite the assertions of fundamentalists, we cannot, in this life claim to be saved!

As St Bellarmine points out, the idea that we have all strayed from God and suffered the consequences of it applies whether or not we have personally sinned, for through Adam’s sin we have all been banished from Paradise:

“Banished from my country, and still an exile, through the sin of my first parents, that extended to the whole human race, "I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost," by seduction, and not like the devil, the roaring lion, who fell through malice.”

St Bellarmine points out that through our baptism the door to heaven has been reopened:

"Seek thy servant," for though you have already partly sought and found him, inasmuch as you justified him from sin, and reconciled him to God”

Yet still we can fall again into sin, and must seek reconciliation anew, confident in the success of our petition made possible by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross:

“…yet the lost sheep is still to be sought for, inasmuch as he expects the redemption of his body, so that he may body and soul be brought to the heavenly mountains, and those most fertile pastures, where the ninety-nine that did not stray had been left; and I confidently ask for this salvation of soul and body, "because I have not forgotten thy commandments."

I pray as we move into this Holy Week, that we can all make our own the statement that we have not forgotten God’s commandments, and therefore wait in joyful hope.

And I do hope you have found this series of interest and use….please do pass any comments or reactions you have to it to me on or offline.

Verse by verse

169 Appropínquet deprecátio mea in conspéctu tuo, Dómine: juxta elóquium tuum da mihi intelléctum.
Let my supplication, O Lord, come near in your sight: give me understanding according to your word.

Appropínquet deprecátio mea in conspéctu tuo, Dómine = may/let my supplication approach into your presence O Lord

St Bellarmine comments: “that is to say, may my prayer, that does not rely on its own merits, be raised up and ascend, through the aspirations of your grace, and come so near you, that you may deign to take a nearer view of it, and regard it with favor”

appropinquo, avi, atum, are , to draw near, approach
deprecatio, onis, f prayer, supplication, entreaty

juxta elóquium tuum da mihi intelléctum = according to your word give to me understanding

And here we have the content of the prayer, as St Bellarmine suggests: Grant me the grace, therefore, of understanding your commandments, as they are understood by those who observe them, and who, by their observance, have come to life everlasting.

170 Intret postulátio mea in conspéctu tuo: * secúndum elóquium tuum éripe me.
Let my request come in before you; deliver me according to your word.

Intret postulátio mea in conspéctu tuo = let my request/prayer/petition come into your presence

introeo, ivi or li, Itum, ire, to go into, to enter.
postulatio, onis, f., prayer, request, supplication, petition

secúndum elóquium tuum éripe me = according to your word deliver/free me

St Augustine comments: For by receiving understanding he is delivered, who of himself through want of understanding is deceived.

We can perhaps see this as relating back to the previous stanza’s comment on the law as a stumbling block to some. The lover of the law assumes that anything seems odd is simply a want of understanding on his own part, and asks God’s help to resolve it.

171 Eructábunt lábia mea hymnum, * cum docúeris me justificatiónes tuas.
My lips shall utter a hymn, when you shall teach me your justifications.

Eructábunt lábia mea hymnum = my lips will declare/utter a hymn

The sense is that God’s word naturally elicits a joyful response in song, just like belching after eating much food...

eructo, avi, atum, are, to belch, belch forth; to utter, declare, publish; overflow.

cum docúeris me justificatiónes tuas = when you [will] teach me your justifications

Grammatically this is a temporal clause, so the future tense of the Latin isn’t normally really reflected in the English meaning. If one wanted to be very literal, you could translate it (as Brenton’s from the Septuagint does) as ‘when you shall have’, but a more colloquial rendering would be something like ‘when you have taught me your justifications or commands’.

172 Pronuntiábit lingua mea elóquium tuum: * quia ómnia mandáta tua æquitas.
My tongue shall pronounce your word: because all your commandments are justice.

Pronuntiábit lingua mea elóquium tuum = My tongue will announce/proclaim your word

St Augustine sees this as speaking of the duty of all of us to preach in our own way, God’s word: When he says that he will declare these things, he becomes a minister of the word. For though God teach within, nevertheless faith comes from hearing: and how do they hear without a preacher? For, because God gives the increase, 1 Corinthians 3:7 is no reason why we need not plant and water.

pronuntio, avi, atum, are, to announce, declare, proclaim.

quia ómnia mandáta tua æquitas =because all your commandments [are] justice/righteous

173 Fiat manus tua ut salvet me: * quóniam mandáta tua elégi.
Let your hand be with me to save me; for I have chosen your precepts.

Fiat manus tua ut salvet me = let your hand be done/made in order to save me = let your hand save me

The neo-Vulgate changes ‘save’ to ‘help’ (adiuvet). Bellarmine comments: He follows up his prayer, asking for the only thing worth asking for, life everlasting, which is the object of the commandments… Let your wisdom and power be exercised to save me; and as the apostle teaches, that Christ is the power and wisdom of God, the Fathers have very properly explained this prayer to be, "Let Christ be with me to save me:"

quóniam mandáta tua elégi – for I have chosen your commandments/precepts

The Greek here is ἐντολάς which is usually translated as commandments; it is not clear why the Douay-Rheims uses precepts instead, though it may be following St Jerome’s from the Hebrew translation. In any case, the neo-Vulgate retains mandata. St Augustine comments here that the psalmist is saying that he has ‘stifled fear with love’.

eligo, legi, lectum, ere 3 to choose, pick out, select.

174 Concupívi salutáre tuum, Dómine: * et lex tua meditátio mea est.
I have longed for your salvation, O Lord; and your law is my meditation.

Concupívi salutáre tuum, Dómine = I have your longed for your salvation O Lord

Cassiodorus comments: They had longed for the Lord Christ as revealed by the prophets, for they knew that His coming birth had been foretold by them; and inevitably He was sought with great love, for they had learnt that His coming for the salvation of the human race was signified all those centuries before.

concupisco, ciiplvi or ciipii, ciipltum, ere 3 to desire eagerly, to long for or after.

et lex tua meditátio mea est = and your law is my meditation

The neo-Vulgate changes it to the law is my delight (delectatio).

175 Vivet ánima mea, et laudábit te: * et judícia tua adjuvábunt me.
My soul shall live and shall praise you: and your judgments shall help me.

Vivet ánima mea, et laudábit te =My soul will live and I will praise you

St Augustine points to the service of the martyrs here; St Bellarmine however to the joys of everlasting life:

"My soul shall live," when it shall have obtained the salvation it so longs for and "thy hand shall have been with it to save it;" and then its duty, and its only business, will be to praise you for "blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord, they shall praise thee forever and ever," "and thy judgments shall help me." Your commandments, so observed by me, will help me, ultimately, when I shall rise in the resurrection to live forever.”

et judícia tua adjuvábunt me = and your justice/judgments will help me

adjuvo, juvi, jutum, are, to help, assist, support.

176 Errávi, sicut ovis, quæ périit: * quære servum tuum, quia mandáta tua non sum oblítus.
I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost: seek your servant, because I have not forgotten your commandments.

Errávi, sicut ovis, quæ périit = I have strayed like a sheep which has perished/is lost

erro, avi, atum, are, to wander, stray, rove,
pereo, li, ltum, ire, to perish, come to naught, be lost; stray, be lost.

quære servum tuum = seek your servant

cf Mt 18:12, Lk 15:4-7, 1 Peter 2:25 going after the lost sheep.

quaero, sivi, situm, ere 3, to seek, seek after; to will, desire, think upon.

quia mandáta tua non sum oblítus = for I have not forgotten your commandments

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the stanza

NT references	Mt 18:12, Lk 15:4-7; 1 Peter 2: 25 (176)
RB cursus	Monday None (3)
Monastic feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Daily None
Responsories	7645 (Lent 3), 6731 (Sat per annum), 7639 (Lent 1)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Sunday None
Mass propers (EF)	-

Psalm 118 (119) Shin: Rebuilding the walls of the city of God

Today we come to the penultimate stanza of Psalm 118.  There is a lot that could be said on this stanza, but I just want to briefly touch on three not entirely unrelated points, namely the peace offered through Christ; the law as a stumbling block (v165); and the importance of symbolism in worship.

The text of the stanza

But first the text of the stanza in the Knox, Vulgate and Douay-Rheims translations:

161 Vexed by the causeless malice of princes, my heart still dreads thy warnings.
162 Victors rejoice not more over rich spoils, than I in thy promises.
163 Villainy I abhor and renounce; thy law is all my love.
164 Votive thanks seven times a day I give thee for the just awards thou makest.
165 Very great peace is theirs who love thy law; their feet never stumble.
166 Valiantly, Lord, I wait on thee for succour, keeping ever true to thy charge.
167 Vanquished by great love, my heart is ever obedient to thy will.
168 Vigilantly I observe precept and bidding of thine, living always as in thy sight.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
161  Príncipes persecúti sunt me gratis: * et a verbis tuis formidávit cor meum.	Princes have persecuted me without cause: and my heart has been in awe of your words.
162  Lætábor ego super elóquia tua: * sicut qui invénit spólia multa.	162 I will rejoice at your words, as one that has found great spoil.
163  Iniquitátem ódio hábui, et abominátus sum: * legem autem tuam diléxi.	163 I have hated and abhorred iniquity; but I have loved your law.
164  Sépties in die laudem dixi tibi, * super judícia justítiæ tuæ.	164 Seven times a day I have given praise to you, for the judgments of your justice
165  Pax multa diligéntibus legem tuam: * et non est illis scándalum.	165 Much peace have they that love your law, and to them there is no stumbling block
166  Exspectábam salutáre tuum, Dómine: * et mandáta tua diléxi.	166 I looked for your salvation, O Lord: and I loved your commandments.
167  Custodívit ánima mea testimónia tua: * et diléxit ea veheménter.	167 My soul has kept your testimonies and has loved them exceedingly.
168  Servávi mandáta tua, et testimónia tua: * quia omnes viæ meæ in conspéctu tuo.	168 I have kept your commandments and your testimonies: because all my ways are in your sight.

The peace of Christ

The psalm opens with a reminder that princes – or these days perhaps we should speak of Prime Ministers and Presidents – will persecute the Church without reason. But it goes on to assert that the person who loves the law will nevertheless enjoy peace:

161 Príncipes persecúti sunt me gratis: Princes have persecuted me without cause…
165 Pax multa diligéntibus legem tuam: Much peace have they that love your law

What does he mean here by peace? It is not the false peace of toleration of sin that the psalmist is pointing to here, but rather the peace of mind that comes from the hope of salvation. As Cassiodorus comments:

“Much peace is to be understood as purity of mind and abundance of faith, which we aptly set against vices. But the person who proclaims himself the servant of the Lord is subject in this world to hardships and dangers. The Lord says to the apostles who were to be ravaged by various forms of persecution: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you, so that it may become clear that the Lord's servants always enjoy peace of mind in spite of appearing to be molested by various physical tribulations.”

When the law seems a stumbling block…

The second half of verse 165 deals with a subject of particular contemporary relevance, namely the idea that God’s law can be a stumbling block to some. Today many Catholics stumble indeed at the law as passed down to us, often deeming it as scandalous for example in its requirements around sexual morality.  Yet the psalmist asserts that the law can never be a stumbling block to one who looks to God for salvation:

et non est illis scándalum = and to them there is no stumbling block/scandal

St Augustine provides an important explanation of just why this should be the case, arguing that one who truly loves the law of God, when confronted with a law that seems absurd to him, must assume not that the law is a bad one, but rather that his own reaction is due to a lack of understanding on his part:

“Does this mean that the law itself is not an offense to them that love it, or that there is no offense from any source unto them that love the law? But both senses are rightly understood. For he who loves the law of God, honours in it even what he does not understand; and what seems to him to sound absurd, he judges rather that he does not understand, and that there is some great meaning hidden: thus the law of God is not an offense to him...”

This approach has of course been echoed down the centuries by the Magisterium of the Church, and applied to areas such as Scriptural interpretation and more. It is a counsel of humility, of appreciating that we are limited beings who can never hope, at any particular point in time to know everything, whereas God is infinite and all-knowing…

Seven times a day I have praised you….

Thirdly, I wanted to draw attention to a key verse in this psalm from the point of view of the Divine Office:

164 Sépties in die laudem dixi tibi, * super judícia justítiæ tuæ.
Seven times a day I have given praise to you, for the judgments of your justice.

Seven is a number symbolizing completeness (viz the creation of the world), perfection (viz metal refined seven times), or an infinite number of times (viz the number of times we should forgive sins). St Benedict cites this verse as the reason for the seven day hours of his Office, and the Roman Office followed him on this.

It is true of course that the verse can also be interpreted spiritually, as a call to continuous praise.

But one does not have to be a traditionalist to appreciate that the seven day hours of the Office, particularly in monastic usage where it was said in choir at set times each and every day, served symbolically to convey the spiritual message, and in a way far more effective than just saying that we are called to pray constantly. Fr Michael Casey of Tarrawarra Abbey, for example, certainly no traditionalist, suggests in his book Strangers to the City that it is regrettable that ‘secularization theology’ was unthinkingly incorporated in the ‘process of reformation and renewal’ following Vatican II (p174). Certainly the new ‘Liturgy of the Hours’ achieved what the fourteenth century heretic Wycliff and the reformation’s Luther could not, namely the abandonment of this long ecclesial tradition. Haydock comments:

“The Church has enjoined matins to be said at night, lauds in the morning, prime, tierce, sext, none, vespers and complin, in the course of the day. (St. Benedict, reg. 8., and 16.) (Calmet) --- This ecclesiastical office consists of hymns, psalms, &c. (St. Isidore) --- Against it some have risen up, particularly against that part which was said in the night, pretending that God had made the night for rest; and hence they were called nuctazontes, or "drowsy" heretics. (St. Isidore, Of. i. 22.) --- St. Jerome styles Vigilantius Dormitantius, for the same reason; as if it were better to sleep than to watch. Wycliff (Wald. iii. Tit. iii. 21.) and Luther have oppugned the same holy practice, though it be so conformable to Scripture and to the fathers. (St. Basil, reg. fus. 37.; St. Gregory, dial. iii. 14.; Ven. Bede, Hist. iv. 7., &c.)”

The Office, the law and genuine peace

Is there a connection between these three threads? Well yes, I would argue that there is.

I would argue that the drastic reduction in the number of times of prayer each day, and the length of those times of prayer - and above all consequent reduction of what was once a weekly cycle of saying all the psalms to a monthly one omitting all the 'hard bits' - has undermined the spiritual lives of priests and religious. It has weakened the walls of what Catherine Pickstock has called the 'liturgical city' to the point where they are but ruins.

And the consequences we see all around us.

We see it in the bishops and priests who no longer accept the natural law as a starting point for Christian morality, who see God's law as a stumbling block, not a means to salvation, but think in their arrogance that they know best.

We see it in the bishops and priests who faced with the persecution of princes have continued to compromise and crumble rather than standing up for the faith, able to draw on a true inner peace.

We see it in the many who left the priesthood and religious life despite their promises and vows, no longer sufficiently nourished in their lives by Sacred Scripture.

Recovery will take a long time. But it has to start from somewhere.

Verse by verse

161 Príncipes persecúti sunt me gratis: et a verbis tuis formidávit cor meum.
Princes have persecuted me without cause: and my heart has been in awe of your words.

Príncipes persecúti sunt me gratis = Princes/the mighty have persecuted me without cause

Old Testament history contains numerous examples of persecution without good reason that foreshadow Our Lord’s own persecution. And in our own age, Western Christians are once more starting to feel the heat…

gratis – without cause, unjustly

et a verbis tuis formidávit cor meum = and/but from/at your words my heart has trembled/been afraid

Note that formido takes a with the ablative; most translations make it of.

But all facing persecution should remember the words of the Gospel, as Cassiodorus points out: Fear not them that kill the body and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell.

formido, avi, atum, are. to fear, be afraid, tremble at. (formido +a)

162 Lætábor ego super elóquia tua: sicut qui invénit spólia multa.
I will rejoice at your words, as one that has found great spoil.

Lætábor ego super elóquia tua = I will rejoice/exult over your words/promises

sicut qui invénit spólia multa = like [one] who has found great spoils/riches

The comparison here is to the victors of an earthly battle. The spoils found include our reward in heaven, but also the conversion of persecutors moved to pity as occurred so often in the early years of Christianity (Augustine).

spolium, ii, booty, spoil.

163 Iniquitátem ódio hábui, et abominátus sum:  legem autem tuam diléxi.
I have hated and abhorred iniquity; but I have loved your law.

Iniquitátem ódio hábui, et abominátus sum (deponent) = Sin/iniquity/evil-doing I have hated and detested/abhorred

The neo-Vulgate changes sin (iniquitatem) to lies (mendacium) which reflects the Masoretic Hebrew Text’s flavour of falsehood/lies in particular rather than evil-doing in general.

iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.
odio habere, to have hatred towards, to entertain hatred against, to hate
abominor, atus sum, ari to abhor, loathe, detest.

legem autem tuam diléxi = but your law I have loved

St Augustine’s commentary on this verse draws attention to the tension between fear and love of something or someone, arguing that we can and should do both: the wife loves her husband for example, but fears losing him. He quotes Hebrews 12:6: Let the Father's judgments therefore be praised even in the scourge, if His promises be loved in the reward.

164 Sépties in die laudem dixi tibi, super judícia justítiæ tuæ.
Seven times a day I have given praise to you, for the judgments of your justice.

Sépties in die laudem dixi tibi = Seven times in the day I have given [literally said] praise to you

Seven is a number symbolizing completeness (viz the creation of the world), perfection (viz metal refined seven times), or an infinite number of times (viz the number of times we should forgive sins). St Benedict cites this verse as the reason for the seven day hours of his Office. Interestingly, his contemporary Cassiodorus has to stretch things a little to achieve a similar literal interpretation, for his monastery evidently didn’t include Prime in its regime:

“Should we wish to interpret this number literally, it denotes the seven offices with which monks in their devoted piety console themselves, namely, matins, terce, sext, none, vespers, compline, nocturn; the hymn of saint Ambrose, sung at the sixth hour, also attests this.”

St Benedict, like some of the prophets of old such as Hosea, modelled this literally.  Cassiodorus, however, points to the spiritual interpretation of the verse:

“But if you seek a spiritual significance, you more wisely interpret this as the expression of continuing activity, like: I shall bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be ever in my mouth.”

septies, num. adv. seven times.

super judícia justítiæ tuæ = for/because of the judgments of your justice/righteous judgments

165 Pax multa diligéntibus legem tuam: et non est illis scándalum.
Much peace have they that love your law, and to them there is no stumbling block.

Pax multa diligéntibus legem tuam = Much peace loving the law = those who love the law have much peace

What do we mean by peace? Cassiodorus suggests this is about our state of mind, not the external state of affairs: Much peace is to be understood as purity of mind and abundance of faith, which we aptly set against vices. But the person who proclaims himself the servant of the Lord is subject in this world to hardships and dangers. The Lord says to the apostles who were to be ravaged by various forms of persecution: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you, so that it may become clear that the Lord's servants always enjoy peace of mind in spite of appearing to be molested by various physical tribulations.

et non est illis scándalum = and to them there is no stumbling block/scandal

Today many Catholics stumble indeed at the law as passed down to us, often deeming it as scandalous for example in its requirements around sexual morality. St Augustine comments: Does this mean that the law itself is not an offense to them that love it, or that there is no offense from any source unto them that love the law? But both senses are rightly understood. For he who loves the law of God, honours in it even what he does not understand; and what seems to him to sound absurd, he judges rather that he does not understand, and that there is some great meaning hidden: thus the law of God is not an offense to him...

scandalum, i, n. lit., a trap, snare, that which causes one to stumble, a stumbling-block.

166 Exspectábam salutáre tuum, Dómine: et mandáta tua diléxi.
I looked for your salvation, O Lord: and I loved your commandments.

Exspectábam salutáre tuum, Dómine = I was waiting/looked for/waited/hoped for your salvation O Lord

The Fathers see this as a reference to the two comings of Christ, first in the Incarnatin, and next in the Second Coming.

exspecto, avi, atum, are, to wait for a person or thing, to await, trust; to look for, expect

et mandáta tua diléxi = and I have loved your commandments

The neo-Vulgate changes mandata to praecepta and dilexi to feci (ie I have kept your precepts) to reflect the MT.

167 Custodívit ánima mea testimónia tua: et diléxit ea veheménter.
My soul has kept your testimonies and has loved them exceedingly

Custodívit ánima mea testimónia tua = My soul has kept your testimonies

et diléxit ea veheménter = and it has loved them greatly/exceedingly

vehementer, adv. greatly, exceedingly, very much.

168 Servávi mandáta tua, et testimónia tua: * quia omnes viæ meæ in conspéctu tuo.
I have kept your commandments and your testimonies: because all my ways are in your sight.

Servávi mandáta tua, et testimónia tua = I have observed your commandments and your testimonies

servo – preserve, protect, guard; keep, obey, observe

quia omnes viæ meæ in conspéctu tuo = for all of my ways in your sight

Bellarmine comments:

Whatever I did was done as if your eyes were fixed on me, being fully satisfied of your seeing and knowing everything. Such thoughts have a wonderful effect in controlling men's actions; for, if the presence of a prince of this world has the effect of preventing the subject from transgressing, nay, even more, of making them blush to be found lazy or careless, timid or fearful, what must not the effect be of having constantly before one's eyes the presence of a heavenly and all-powerful ruler? Hence the Lord said to Abraham, "Walk before me, and be perfect." And Elias and Eliseus said, "The Lord liveth, in whose sight I stand."

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	-
RB cursus	Monday None/2
Monastic feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Sunday None
Responsories	7639 (Lent 1)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Daily None  1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Common of female martyr CO v161-2

And you can find the final part in this series here.