Psalm 116 - Laudate Dominum

Psalm 116 is the shortest in the psalter, so short that St Benedict doesn't even treat it as a separate psalm in his ordering of the psalter, but adds it the end of Psalm 115 under the same Gloria.

Laudáte Dóminum, omnes Gentes: * laudáte eum, omnes pópuli :
Quóniam confirmáta est super nos misericórdia ejus: * et véritas Dómini manet in ætérnum.

or 

Praise the Lord, all you nations: praise him, all you people. 
For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remains for ever.

Laudáte (praise) dóminum (the Lord), omnes (all) gentes (peoples): * laudáte (praise) eum (Him), omnes (all) pópuli (peoples)

Quóniam (for) confirmáta est (it is confirmed/established) super (upon/over) nos (us) misericórdia (mercy) ejus (his): * et (and) véritas (the truth) dómini (of the Lord) manet (it remains/endures) in ætérnum (forever)

Why is this psalm so suitable for Monday Vespers, and why is it joined to Psalm 115?  

Firstly, like Psalm 115, this psalm links us back to Psalm 2, as St Robert Bellarmine comments:

He addresses the whole Church and exhorts it to praise God.  “All ye nations” is directed to the converted Gentiles, who are named first by reason of their being in the majority, and the people nearer those of the Jews who had been converted to the faith; and the apostles themselves, in alluding to a similar expression in the second Psalms, “Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people meditated vain things," apply the former to the Gentiles, and the latter to the Jews.

Secondly, it brings us back, once more, to our response to the salvation offered through the Incarnation and Christ's public ministry, as Cassiodorus points out:

The reason is given why the Lord must be praised throughout the world: it is because He has fulfilled His promises made through the holy prophets by His coming to us. His mercy towards the Christian people is confirmed and will not be moved for ever, for He who granted it, as we justly believe, protects us with His pity. He added: And the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. The truth of the Lord here means the Son; as He Himself says: I am the way, the truth and the life? 

In the notes on verse 7 of Psalm 115, I quoted Pope Benedict on the importance of the 'sacrifice of praise' offered by religious for the world as testimony.  In the context of this Psalm, though, it is worth considering Pope Benedict's other comments on the reasons for this offering:

Monks pray first and foremost not for any specific intention, but simply because God is worthy of being praised. “Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus! – Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is eternal!”: so we are urged by a number of Psalms (e.g. Ps 106:1). Such prayer for its own sake, intended as pure divine service, is rightly called officium. It is “service” par excellence, the “sacred service” of monks. It is offered to the triune God who, above all else, is worthy “to receive glory, honour and power” (Rev 4:11), because he wondrously created the world and even more wondrously renewed it. (Speech at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, 2007)

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Rom 15:11 (v1);
RB cursus	Mon V
Monastic feasts etc	-        (NB in Roman feasts, Vespers)
Roman pre 1911	Monday Vespers
Responsories	7078 (v1, Romanum; cf Sept, for Judith)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Vespers . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent, Pent & Sept Ember Sat TR 1-2; Easter Vigil AL (1-2),

And you can find notes on the final psalm of Monday Vespers Psalm 128, here.

Psalm 115: Verse 7 - Let us break our bonds asunder!

The first phrase of the second last verse of Psalm 115 takes us back to the sentiments of Psalm 2 (made famous by Handel's setting of it in the Messiah), said at Prime ('Let us break our bonds asunder'):

Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
You have broken my bonds:  I will sacrifice to you the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

Read

Dirupísti (you have broken) víncula (the bonds/chains) mea (my)

dirumpo, riupi, ruptum, ere 3,  to rend, burst, break or dash to pieces; to cleave

vinculum, i, n. a bond, fetter, chain.

tibi (to you) sacrificábo (I will sacrifice) hóstiam (the gift/offering/victim) laudis (of praise)

sacrifico, avi, atum, are to offer something to God in atonement for sin, to procure favors, to sacrifice.

hostia, ae, f., a victim, sacrifice, offering, gift.

laus, laudis, f., praise.

et (and) nomen (the name) Dómini (of the Lord) invocábo (I will call upon)

Study

Christ came to break for us for the bonds of sin, as St John Chrysostom comments:

And Isaiah spoke of Christ: "I have given you as a covenant of the nations, saying to those in bonds, Come out." Consequently, he broke these bonds, not just released them: the former is more decisive than the latter. If, however, you wanted to take this also in a spiritual sense, saying they are the bonds of sins, you would not miss the proper meaning; it has all to do with his old self. 

What is the sacrifice of praise offered?  For monk or nun, perhaps, above all their special calling to offer the Opus Dei, the Divine Office.

Meditation

Pope Benedict XVI, at his visit to the monastery of Heiligenkreuz in 2007 commented:

"...in a monastery of Benedictine spirit, the praise of God, which the monks sing as a solemn choral prayer, always has priority. Monks are certainly – thank God! – not the only people who pray; others also pray: children, the young and the old, men and women, the married and the single – all Christians pray, or at least, they should!

In the life of monks, however, prayer takes on a particular importance: it is the heart of their calling. Their vocation is to be men of prayer. In the patristic period the monastic life was likened to the life of the angels. It was considered the essential mark of the angels that they are worshippers. Their very life is worship. This should hold true also for monks... 

At the same time, the officium of consecrated persons is also a sacred service to men and women, a testimony offered to them. All people have deep within their hearts, whether they know it or not, a yearning for definitive fulfilment, for supreme happiness, and thus, ultimately, for God. A monastery, in which the community gathers several times a day for the praise of God, testifies to the fact that this primordial human longing does not go unfulfilled: God the Creator has not placed us in a fearful darkness where, groping our way in despair, we seek some ultimate meaning (cf. Acts 17:27); God has not abandoned us in a desert void, bereft of meaning, where in the end only death awaits us. No! God has shone forth in our darkness with his light, with his Son Jesus Christ. In him, God has entered our world in all his “fullness” (cf. Col 1:19); in him all truth, the truth for which we yearn, has its source and summit."

The text

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.
2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.
3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.
5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.



And next...

As we have already looked at the final verse of this psalm, this is the final part of this series on Psalm 115.  In the Office, however, this psalm is said under the same Gloria as Psalm 116, and indeed Pope Benedict's commentary on prayer in the life of the monk is extremely pertinent to it, as we shall see in the next post in this series on Monday Vespers.

Psalm 115: Verse 6 - The son of your handmaid

Verse 6 of Psalm 115 reads:

O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
O Lord, for I am your servant: I am your servant, and the son of your handmaid.

Lectio

O Dómine (O Lord), quia (for/because) ego (I) [am] servus (servant/slave) tuus (yours) ego (I) servus (servant) tuus (yours), et (and) fílius (the son) ancíllæ (of the handmaid) tuæ (your) – I (am) your servant and the son of your handmaid

quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed

ancilla, ae, f, a handmaid, maidservant. 

Study

This verse can, like many others, be interpreted literally, in its historical context, spiritually, as it applies to us, and Christologically.

First, what does it mean to be God's slave or servant in this context?  The expression 'son of your handmaid' literally indicates one who has been born in the master's own household.  But in the Old Testament context, it means a Jew born of Jews, and is accordingly a mark of honour.  Indeed, Chrysostom says:

He is referring not to ordinary slavery but to that in keeping with a warm disposition and affection, aflame with desire, which is the highest crown, and more illustrious than any diadem. Hence God also cites it as equivalent to the highest honor in the words, "Moses my servant has died."

The Fathers of course interpreted this as meaning within the Church, as does Cassiodorus:

Son of thy handmaid seems to have been appended to denote the Catholic Church in all its forms, for she is a handmaid in her service and a bride in her marriage. So we fittingly observe that there is no martyrdom except that gained by a servant of the Lord and a son of the Catholic Church. 

Meditation

We can though also apply it to Christ, for Mary is indeed the handmaid of the Lord, and Christ came to serve, taking on a lowly human nature to do so: though equal to God in his divine nature, for a time he was 'a little lower than the angels' in his human nature.  This verse and the next then, provide a link back to the psalms of the morning which focus on the mystery Incarnation, reminding us of what it is we are responding to with our vows, promises and sacrifices.

Contemplation

St Augustine instructs us on how we should respond to this verse:

Let therefore the slave purchased at so great a price confess his condition, and say, Behold, O Lord, how that I am Your servant: I am Your servant, and the son of Your handmaid ....This, therefore, is the son of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is above, the free mother of us all (Galatians 4:26) And free indeed from sin she is, but the handmaid of righteousness; to whose sons still pilgrims it is said, You have been called unto liberty (Galatians 5:13) and again he makes them servants, when he says, but by love serve one another....

The text

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.
2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.
3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.
5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.

You can find notes on the next verse of this psalm here.

Psalm 115: verses 5&8 - The white martyrdom of public vows and promises

Verses 5&8 of Psalm 115 are worth considering together since they echo each other:

Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints...
Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.
 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people:  In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

Lectio

5a: Vota (Vows) mea (my) Dómino (to the Lord) reddam (I will render) coram (in the hearing/presence) omni (of all) pópulo (the people) ejus (his)

8a: Vota (Vows) mea (my) Dómino (to the Lord) reddam (I will pay/render) in conspéctu (in the presence) omnis (of all) pópuli (the people) ejus (his)

votum, i, n. a vow

reddo, didi, ditum, ere. to restore, return, give back; to requite, repay, reward, render;

coram prep, with abl., in the presence of, before the face of, before.

5b: pretiósa (precious) in conspéctu (in the sight) Dómini (of the Lord) mors (the death) sanctórum (of the saints) ejus (his)

pretiosus, a, um  precious, of great value. of great concern or importance.

conspectus, us, m. sight, presence

mors, mortis, f, death

8b: in átriis (in the courtyard) domus (of the house) Dómini (of the Lord) in médio (in the midst) tui (of you), Jerúsalem 

atrium, ii, n., a court, often pi., courts; esp. the open courts surrounding the Tabernacle and Temple

Study

What are the vows or promises referred to here?  The second phrase of verse 5 points to the self-offering to the point of martyrdom so precious to God.  Monastic profession is above all a form of martyrdom in this sense, for the monk or nun surrenders, as St Benedict points out, even control of their own body. But we can think of this as a reference also to all of the promises and commitments we have made to God: our baptismal promises, marriage and more.

The second phrase of each of these two verses though, make it clear that we are talking about public commitments, made in and through the Church.  Bellarmine comments on Verse 8:

This is a repetition of verse 5, with the addition of, "In the courts of the house of the Lord;" to give us to understand that the servant of God should offer his vows, his confession, and himself to God, in the Church, indicated by Jerusalem; for they who work outside the Church derive nothing from it.

Meditation 

These two verses are a call to public witness.  Verse 5 points to the testimony of the martyrs, whose blood is the seed of the Church:

Being prepared to drink the chalice of suffering, he says with great confidence, I will offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, not alone in nooks and chambers, but openly and publicly before all the people, enemies included, and even though I may be satisfied of my death being the consequence; for "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints;" that is, God sets great value on the death of the saints, when suffered for his honor and glory; just as valuable gems, such as those worn in the crowns of monarchs, and which are of great value, are highly prized by mankind. See, says St. Basil, what glory is in store for the martyrs, whose souls are not only crowned in heaven, but even whose relics are highly valued on earth. Formerly, anyone touching a dead body was looked upon as unclean, but at present, anyone touching the bones of the martyrs is supposed to acquire fresh sanctification. (Bellarmine)

In this, we imitate the witness that Christ was about to embark on in his preaching and miracles, for as Cassiodorus explains:

Notice his information here about the house of the Lord which he mentioned in the previous short verse: it is in the sight of all his people, for it is right that He who deigned to suffer for the salvation of all should receive public praise. The Lord is most perfectly aware of it even if it is performed in the recess of the heart. This contributes to the edification of the people, if a good confession is absorbed by the ears of the community at large. As Christ says in the gospel: He who confesses before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. He added: In the midst of thee, Jerusalem, where the Lord's peace resides, and where the unity of the holy people rejoices in contemplation of the Lord.

Psalm 115 

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.
2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.
3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.
5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.

You can find the next set of notes on this psalm here.

Psalm 115: verse 4 - The chalice of salvation

As noted in the context of the previous verse, Verse 4 of Psalm 115 is said by the priest at Mass before he receives the Precious Blood:

Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.

I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

Lectio

Cálicem (the chalice/cup) salutáris (of salvation) accípiam (I will take/receive/accept)

calix, icis, m. cup, goblet, drinking-vessel. Pars calicis, share, portion.

salutaris, e  a Savior, Helper, used of God;  help, saving help, rescue, salvation,

accipio, cepi, ceptum, ere 3  to take; seize, grasp; take away; receive or grasp mentally; receive

et nomen Dómini invocábo =and I will invoke the name of the Lord

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

invoco, avi, atum, are,  to invoke, call upon (God); to put trust in

Study

This is one of those verses that has multiple levels of meaning.

In the Christological sense, in the context of Monday Vespers, we can perhaps read it as Christ's acceptance, as he is about to commence his three year public mission, of all that is to come, including his suffering and death.  St Robert Bellarmine, for example, tells us that:

"This is universally understood of the sufferings and passion of Christ, concerning which our Savior himself said, "Can you drink of the chalice that I shall drink?" and again, "Let this chalice pass from me;" and again, John 18, "The chalice which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it?" And it is not only in the New Testament that the word chalice is used for a bitter draught of tribulation, but it also occurs in the same sense in many passages in the Old. Thus, in Psalm 74, "For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine, full of mixture;" and in Isaias 51, "Stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath." In Jer. 25, "Take the cup of wine of this fury at my hand." In Ezech. 23, "Thus saith the Lord God: Thou shalt drink thy sister's cup deep and wide: thou shalt be had in derision and scorn, and thou shalt drink it, and drink it up, even to the dregs." In Hab. 2, "Thou art filled with shame instead of glory, drink thou also and fall fast asleep; the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall compass thee, and shameful vomiting shall be on thy glory." The just man, who loves God, then says, "When I have nothing better to offer my Lord in return for all he has conferred on one, 'I will take the chalice of salvation.' I will cheerfully drink the chalice of the Lord, however bitter it may be, whether it consists in tribulations, dangers; or even death itself. For his own honor's sake he will support me; for I know that this chalice, however bitter, will be wholesome. And, as I do not rely on my own strength, but, with God's help, can do everything, 'I will, therefore, call upon the name of the Lord' to give me the grace to drink this cup courageously." 

But, following 1 Cor 10:16 (which reads, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?') it can also be read more generally and positively as our participation in the sacraments, as St John Chrysostom points out:

Those, then, who take the expression in a spiritual sense say it is the participation in the sacraments, whereas we for the moment keep to the literal sense and say he is referring here to libations, sacrifices and thanksgiving hymns. In olden times, you see, there were different kinds of sacrifices: there was a sacrifice of praise, for sins, and burnt offerings, for personal welfare, and peace offerings and many others. So what he means is this: While I have nothing worthy to pay, I make a payment of what I have: I shall offer to God a thanksgiving sacrifice, and make mention of him for the sake of my salvation.

Meditation

This psalm is used in the Common of Martyrs, and that context, it is worth emphasizing that our offering here is dependent on God's power and the graces he gives us, as Cassiodorus points out:

This is indeed a worthy promise, but it would be hazardous presumption if it rested on human powers. Who can endow confessors with endurance of tortures except Him who deigned to accept the chalice of suffering on our behalf? To show with certainty that this is impossible for human powers, they next said: And I will call upon the name of the Lord. By relying on His help they believed that they were achieving what they thought their bodily frailty inadequate to perform. The death of martyrs is defined most beautifully and briefly as: The chalice of salvation. Chalice, because it is drunk in due measure; of salvation, because through the Lord's generosity it is served for eternal salvation. Of this chalice the Lord also said in the gospel: Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink?

Prayer

O Lord through your goodness you strengthen us in grace, pouring out life through the sacraments.  Strengthen us indeed so we may be worthy to drink the cup of salvation, calling on your name.  Save us from our enemies O Lord, that we may render a worthy sacrifice to you.

Contemplation

The prayer at Mass is completed by a verse from Psalm 17:

Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi?  Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo.  Laudans invocabo Dominum, et ab inimicis meis salvus ero.  

Psalm 115

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.

3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?

4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.

5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:

6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.

7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.

8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.

You can find notes on the next verses of the psalm here.

Psalm 115: verses 3 - What can I give him, poor as I am?

The third (and fourth) verse of Psalm 115 feature in the Ordinary of the Mass (Vetus Ordo) as the prayer the priest says before he receives the Precious Blood, and thus completes the sacrifice of the Mass:

Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that he has rendered to me?

Lectio

Quid (what) retríbuam (I shall repay/render/give back) Dómino (to the Lord)

retribuo, tribui, tributum, ere 3, to repay, requite, reward, recompense, render; give back, return; make requital for

pro (for) ómnibus (all), quæ (that) retríbuit (he has rewarded/rendered) mihi (to me)? = for all that he has rendered to me?

Study

This verse poses an important question: what can we possibly offer God?

God, after all, made all things, including us.  And, as the previous verse points out, in the main we have repaid him with lies and deceit.  As St Augustine comments:

"What had preceded, on the man's part, save sins? ...for such was the return of those who said, This is the heir: come, let us kill him (Matthew 21:38)."

Yet what has God rendered to us?  Cassiodorus instructs that it is the hope of the Resurrection, and promise of the kingdom of heaven.  God, in short, repays good for our evil.

All the same, the question models for us an attitude of thankfulness that we ought to cultivate, as Chrysostom comments:

"...this is the mark of a thankful attitude, busying oneself and searching how to repay something to the benefactor for what had been received, and after paying everything to think one has given nothing worthwhile."

Meditation

Christina Rossetti's poem, In the Bleak Midwinter provides a wonderful meditation on this verse.  Here it is:

In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan, 
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,Snow on snow, 
In the bleak mid-winter / Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; 
Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: 
In the bleak mid-winter A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day, 
A breastful of milk And a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before, 
The ox and ass and camel Which adore.

Angels and archangels May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air, 
But only His mother In her maiden bliss, Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss.

What can I give Him, Poor as I am? 
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, 
If I were a wise man I would do my part, 
Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart.

Contemplation

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (222-4) teaches:

Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.  It means coming to know God's greatness and majesty: "Behold, God is great, and we know him not." Therefore, we must "serve God first".  It means living in thanksgiving: if God is the only One, everything we are and have comes from him: "What have you that you did not receive?" "What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?"

The text

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.
2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.
3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.
5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.



You can find notes on the next verse of the psalm here.

Psalm 115: verses 1-2 - All men are liars

Epimenides (c600BC)  

Epimenides, a Cretan (c600 BC), is generally credited as the originator of the liar paradox with his claim that 'All Cretans are liars'.  Yet this psalm is probably much older than that, and our faith has long offered a different philosophical resolution of the supposed paradox to those of modern philosophy.

The opening verses of Psalm 115 are:

Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

I have believed, therefore have I spoken; but I have been humbled exceedingly.

Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.

I said in my excess: Every man is a liar. 

Lectio

Crédidi (I have believed) propter quod (therefore/on that account) locútus sum (I have said/spoken) when I said)

credo, didi, ditum, ere 3, to believe, with the dative, or with in followed by the ace. or abl.; passive, to be

faithful to, loyally devoted to.

propter  quod = propterea or quando, therefore, on that account.

loquor, locutus sum, loqui, to speak, utter, tell

ego (I) autem (but) humiliátus sum (I have been humbled) nimis (exceedingly/greatly)

humilio, avi, atum, are  to humble, bring low.

nimis, adv., exceedingly, greatly, beyond measure.

 Ego (I) dixi (I said)  in (in) excéssu (dismay/excess/distress/consternation) meo (my)

excessus, us, m.   a going out, going forth, departure;  transport (terror, perturbation, emotion, dismay)

Omnis (all) homo (men) [are] mendax (liars)

mendax, acis  , given or prone to lying, mendacious; deceitful, unreliable. 

Study

Faith calls forth action, in this case testimony, even though we may suffer for speaking up. Indeed, St John Chrysostom cites a version of the Greek that provides an alternate reading for the second phrase, 'Yet I was severely abused'.  And St Augustine comments on the verse:

"For he suffered many tribulations, for the sake of the word which he faithfully held, faithfully preached; and he was sorely brought down; as they feared who loved the praise of men better than that of God."

The traditional resolution of the paradoxical nature of a man claiming that all men are liars is twofold.  First, though all men lie, they do not lie all the time.  St Jerome, for example, suggested:

"...It only takes one lie to be a liar, and even a regular liar may tell the truth on occasion. Had the statement been: 'Every man lies at every opportunity, and therefore not a word of truth is ever spoken by a man', a case could have been made for the existence of a paradox in what David reportedly said, although this also would probably have a perfectly rational explanation based entirely on semantics."

The other part of the resolution lies in the fact that Scripture is inspired directly by God: through grace we can see and speak truth.  St Augustine comments:

"In consternation he has had regard to his infirmity, and has seen that he ought not to presume on himself; for as far as pertains to the man himself, he is a liar, but by the grace of God he is made true; lest yielding to the pressure of his enemies he might not speak what he had believed, but might deny it; even as it happened to Peter, since he had trusted in himself, and was to be taught that we ought not to trust in man. And if every one ought not to trust in man, surely not in himself; because he is a man. Rightly therefore in his fear did he perceive that every man was a liar; since they also whom no fear robs of their presence of mind, so that they never lie by yielding to the persecutors, are such by the gifts of God, not by their own strength...."

Meditation

The reference to suffering is not just to the reaction of evil men to truth, but also to the transient suffering that God allows the would-be saint to suffer, the carrying of our cross, necessary to our spiritual development.  Pope Benedict XVI for example comments:

The Apostle feels in spiritual harmony with the Psalmist, in serene trust and sincere witness, notwithstanding suffering and human weakness…. In our text the memory of a distressing past surfaces: the person praying has held high the torch of faith, even when on his lips played the bitterness of despair and unhappiness (cf. Ps 116[115]: 10).

The point, as Pope Benedict XVI has pointed out, is that God saves us from the false culture around us that promotes a false concern with the present over eternal happiness:

Writing to the Romans, Paul takes up again verse two of the Psalm and highlights a difference between God who is faithful and man who is inconsistent: "God must be proved true even though every man be proved a liar" (Rom 3: 4)… Indeed, around him an icy curtain of hatred and deceit is being raised, as the neighbour shows himself to be false and unfaithful (cf. v. 11). The supplication, however, is now transformed into gratitude because the Lord has remained faithful in this context of infidelity and has saved his faithful [servant] from the dark vortex of lies (cf. v. 11).

Prayer

Help us Lord when we struggle in the depths of unhappiness and distress, help us always to believe and speak your truth.

Help us Lord to carry our cross, to grow in humble realization of our own inadequacy; to trust in your perfecting grace.

Contemplation

Cassiodorus reminds us, in his commentary on the psalm, of St Benedict's 'Tool of Good Work' of attributing to God whatever good we see in ourselves, and to recognize that the evil is our own doing:

"Just as unreflective and foolish people lyingly say that they are most truthful, so enlightened persons know that they are liars. So this undeviating rule should bind us: when we lie through the frailty of the flesh, we should confess the fault as ours, but when we are truthful we should attribute it to God's gift."

Psalm 115

1 Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.
2  Ego dixi in excéssu meo: * Omnis homo mendax.
3  Quid retríbuam Dómino, * pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi?
4  Cálicem salutáris accípiam: * et nomen Dómini invocábo.
5  Vota mea Dómino reddam coram omni pópulo ejus: * pretiósa in conspéctu Dómini mors sanctórum ejus:
6  O Dómine, quia ego servus tuus: * ego servus tuus, et fílius ancíllæ tuæ.
7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
8  Vota mea Dómino reddam in conspéctu omnis pópuli ejus: * in átriis domus Dómini, in médio tui, Jerúsalem.

You can notes on the next verse here.