Psalm 128 verses 5-6

Today's verses of Psalm 128 take the form of a curse on the face of it, and so need to be considered in their proper context: these words a warning to repent, for repentance and salvation are always possible while we still have life!

Psalm 128 (129) – Saepe expugnaverunt me

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Notes on the verses

5. Fiant sicut fœnum tectorum, quod priusquam evellatur exaruit:Let them be as grass on the tops of houses: which withered before it be plucked up

6. de quo non implevit manum suam qui metit, et sinum suum qui manipulos colligit. 

Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.  

Fiant (let them be) sicut (like) fœnum (grass) tectórum (on the rooftop) quod (that) priúsquam (before)

evellátur (it is pulled out) exáruit (it) withers

The image is of blades of wheat or corn growing on flat roofs that can never develop sufficient roots to harvest because the soil is too shallow and it lacks protection from the sun.

fio, factus sum, fieri (pass, of facio), to be made or done, to become, happen

foenum, i, n., grass.

tectum, i, n.  a roof, house top.

priusquam or prius quam, adv., before, before that.

evello, velli, vulsum, ere 3, to tear, pull, or pluck out.

exaresco, arm, escere 3, to become dry, to wither, dry up. 

De (from) quo (which) non (not) implévit (he does not fill) manum (hand) suam (his) qui (who/which) metit (he reaps et (and) sinum (breast) suum (his) qui (who/which) manípulos (sheaves) cólligit (he gathers)

The second phrase is difficult to translate. ‘Sinus’ normally means bosom or breast – some have suggested that the thought is probably that no bunch of grass is able to be gathered up against his breast in order to be tied into a sheaf.  Others though have suggested that sinus here refers to the fold of a garment where things can be tucked in, and the NETS Septuagint adopts this translation, making the verse 'With which no reaper filled his hand, and a gatherer of sheaves, the fold of his garment'.

impleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2  to fill, fill up, fill full;  to fill, to cover; to fill, satisfy.

manus, us, f.,  hand

meto, messiii, messum, ere 3, to reap, mow, gather harvest.

sinus, us, m.,  bosom, breast; the arm.

colligo, legi, lectum, ere 3 to gather, gather together, collect.

manipulus, i, m.  a small bundle, a handful; a sheaf. 

Isaiah's prophecy about the destruction of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:26) uses the identical image of grass on a rooftop.  Bellarmine explains the extension of the metaphor:

Another imprecation, which, too, is to be read as a prediction, for it conveys to us the briefness of the happiness of the wicked, and, by a very happy idea, compares it to grass, a vile and fragile substance, and, as is said of it, "which is to day, and tomorrow will be cast into the fire;" and, not content with comparing it to grass, he adds, that it is like the grass that grows on the top of a house, a thing of no value, so much so that nobody ever thinks of cutting it, saving it, or making it into bundles, but leaves it where it grows to wither and to rot. 

He goes on to encourage us to ponder final judgment:

At present, we don't see the full extent of this comparison, though we know of nothing, perhaps, more worthless, or of less value than such grass; but when we shall all come to be judged we shall see that such a comparison, instead of being over the mark, is considerably under it. What will be, then, to see those who abounded in the riches and power of this world, and who imagined they had, through such riches, established themselves and their families in their kingdoms and empires, shoved out ignominiously, and hurled into the lowest pit? and, furthermore, to see those who had reveled in pleasures and enjoyments, who knew not how to put up with the slightest inconvenience, consigned to everlasting torments, without the slightest hope of the smallest relief for all eternity?

And you can find notes on the last verse of the psalm here.

Psalm 128 verse 4

Lochner, c15th

Verse 4 of Psalm 128 speaks of God's coming judgment of those who fail to repent.

Psalm 128

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Notes on the verse

4. Dominus justus concidit cervices peccatorum: confundantur, et convertantur retrorsum omnes qui oderunt Sion.

The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners:  let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion (DR).

Dóminus (the Lord) justus (just) concídit (he cuts) cervíces (the necks) peccatórum (of sinners)

confundántur (let them be put to shame) et (and) convertántur (let them be converted/turned) retrórsum (back) omnes (all) qui (who) odérunt (hate) Sion

The Septuagint/Vulgate version of this verse suggests that sinners have been punished (their necks cut off); the surviving medieval Hebrew version (reflected in the RSV) gives a rather obscure allusion to ‘cutting the cords’, perhaps to the ploughs (of the foreign invaders?) mentioned in the previous verse.  

The Coverdale translation attempts to make sense of the received Hebrew version as follows: "But the righteous Lord hath hewn the snares of the ungodly in pieces. Let them be confounded and turned backward, as many as have evil will at Sion."

Knox, however, offers perhaps a more PC translation of the sense of the verse: "but the Lord proved faithful, and cut the bonds of tyranny asunder.Let them be dismayed and routed, all these enemies of Sion."

justus -a, um just.
concido, cidi, cisum, ere  to cut, cut in pieces; to cleave, hew asunder
cervix, icis, f., the neck.
peccator, oris, m. (pecco), a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.
confundo, fudi, fusum, ere 3, to put or bring to shame, to discomfit.
converto, verti, versum, ere 3,  to turn, change, alter, bring back, quicken, refresh, restore,  convert, turn from sin
retrorsum, back, backward,. behind
odi and odivi, odisse; other forms, odirem, odiens; to hate. 

Many of the Fathers and Theologians see this verse as an encouragement to those who are faithful to the Church.  St Robert Bellarmine, for example, summarises the sentiment as: 'cheer up', for eventually God's justice will catch up with the impenitent sinner!  St Augustine, however, approaches the verse as a warning to us all, and that seems to me to fit better with St Benedict's reasons for placing this psalm here:

Which of us does not fix his eyes upon the earth, like the Publican, and say, Lord, be merciful unto me a sinner? Luke 18:13 If therefore all are sinners, and none is found without sin; all must fear the sword that hangs above their neck, because the righteous Lord shall hew the necks of the sinners. 

And you can find notes on the next two verses here.

Psalm 128 verse 3

Rubens

Verse 3 of Psalm 128 speaks of the persecution the just often suffer.

Psalm 128: Saepe expugnaverunt 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Notes on the verse

3. Supra dorsum meum fabricaverunt peccatores; prolongaverunt iniquitatem suam.

The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity (DR).

Supra (upon) dorsum (the back) meum (my) fabricavérunt (they have fashioned/made/devised/wrought) peccatóres (the sinners/the wicked) 

Ladouceur (The Latin Psalter Introduction, Selected Text and Commentary) notes that this phrase can be literally translated as ‘upon my back, sinner were framing (ie devising) schemes; the Hebrew Masoretic Text here uses the metaphor of  ‘ploughers ploughing upon my back’ (ie whipping), and the Monastic Diurnal and Knox translations follows this: 'I bent my back to the oppressor, and long was the furrow ere the plough turned' (Knox).  The Hebrew word is, however, ambiguous, and can also mean devising (in a bad sense), so the (more ancient) Greek (and Vulgate reflecting this) should probably be preferred.

supra, prep, with abl., and adv.  on, upon
dorsum, i, n.t the back.
fabrico(r), avi, atum, are to make, fashion, build; to forge anything out of hard material.

prolongavérunt (they have prolonged) iniquitátem (the sin/wickedness/iniquity) suam (his/her/its)

Note that suam here refers to iniquitatem, so in English is plural, so translated as their.

peccator, oris, m.  a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.
prolongo, avi, atum, are  to prolong, lengthen, draw out.
iniquitas, atis, f (iniquus), iniquity, injustice, sin. 

How do we resist the assaults of those who would attack us? St Benedict's tools of good works (RB 4) offer several defenses against such assaults:

To fear the Day of Judgement.

To dread hell.

To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.

To keep death daily before one's eyes.

To keep constant guard over the actions of one's life.

To know for certain that God sees one everywhere.

When evil thoughts come into one's heart, to dash them at once on the rock of Christ and to manifest them to one's spiritual father.

And you can find on the next verses here.

Psalm 128: Verses 1-2

In the previous post I provided an introduction to Psalm 128.

The first two verses set the scene by pointing us to the enemy.  Here is the complete text of the psalm again for reference purposes, with the relevant verses bolded.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Notes on the verses

Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say (DR)

sæpe expugnaverunt me a juventute mea: etenim non potuerunt mihi. 

Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me. 

1a&2a:Sæpe (often) expugnavérunt (they have oppressed/fought against/afflicted) me (me) a (from) juventúte (youth) mea (my)

saepe, adv., often, oftentimes, frequently.

expugno are avi atum to fight against, to oppress, afflict
juventus, utis,. youth.

The Douay-Rheims translation (provided above) is fairly literal, and the Coverdale translation is similar; the (Farnborough edition) Monastic Diurnal makes it instead "They have hard pressed me from my youth...'  The Knox translation is more poetic: 'Sore have they beset me even from my youth'. 

1b:  dicat (let he/she/it say) nunc (now) Israël

This phrase can be interpreted two ways: firstly we can lament at the Church's constant persecution; but secondly, as the Knox ('let this be Israel’s boast') as a badge of honour.

dico, dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak;  to sing; in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to command; to praise.

nunc, adv. at present, at this moment

2b: étenim (and/yet/truly) non (not) potuérunt (they have prevailed) mihi (to me/against me)

etenim, conj., a strong et; and, yea, indeed, truly;  as an adversative.

possum, potui, posse   to be able, can, to have power; +dat= prevail over, prevail against

The inclusion of 'let Israel say' suggests that these two verses can be viewed as a lament for the persecution that the people of Israel - and the Church - has always suffered, from its very beginnings.

Some claim we currently live in a time of emergency for the Church.

That is true in a sense.

Yet the Fathers remind us that this has more often been the case than a state of peace!  St Augustine for example, in his commentary on this verse provides a long list of struggles within the Church, starting with Abel and Cain.  Yet despite its torrid history of internal division and external persecution, the Church, founded on the rock, has always prevailed.

The verses can also be taken as a reference to the individual spiritual combat we must all engage in, modelled for us in the temptations Christ faced in the desert.

Notes on the next set of verses can be found here.

Psalm 128 (129): Let them be turned back and confounded!

The final psalm of Monday Vespers is Psalm 128, one of the Gradual psalms, that group of fifteen psalms thought to represent the ascent of the steps of the Temple.  It presents us something of a puzzle: why did St Benedict choose to move away from the running cursus of psalms in order to jump to this cursing psalm to end Monday Vespers with?

Scriptural and liturgical context

It is clear that the placement of this psalm on Monday was a very deliberate choice by St Benedict.

In the Roman Office, Vespers uses Psalms 109 -147, including the Gradual Psalms (Psalms 119-132, with 133 said at Compline each day) in numerical order.   St Benedict, however, shifts most of the gradual psalms (Ps 119-127) to Terce to None from Tuesday, and places the remainder (Ps 129-132) - save for this one - at Tuesday Vespers. The net result is that on Tuesday everyone of the Gradual psalm is said in sequence, except for this one.

It would have been easy for St Benedict to have kept the numerical sequence, or at least to have kept the saying of the Gradual psalms together on Tuesday.  Monday Vespers, after all, is the second longest of the week while Tuesday is the second shortest, so placing Psalm 128 on Tuesday would have evened up the balance.  St Benedict could still have preserved the four psalm sections (unlike the Roman Office, St Benedict divides psalms on several days at Vespers) structure of the hour either by splitting Psalm 113 in two (as in the Hebrew Bible), or by treating Psalm 116 as a separate psalm on Monday and joining Psalm 132 (the second shortest psalm in the psalter) to its predecessor on Tuesday.

Why didn't St Benedict do this?  There are perhaps several reasons.

First, Psalm 128 is a cursing psalm, and perhaps St Benedict didn't see this fitting well with the generally rather upbeat nature of Tuesday’s psalms.

Secondly, it does arguably fit well with St Benedict’s Monday theme of the promises associated with the Incarnation, particularly the idea that through the Incarnation the enemy will be confounded, and the proud humbled.  Verse 4 in particular uses the phrase ‘convertantur et revereantur’, echoing a number of the psalms set for Matins (and other hours, such as Psalm 6 at Prime) on Monday.  My take on the programmatic focus for the day is that in this psalm, we have reached the end of Satan's temptations of Christ: he has been confounded and turned back, as will all be who do his work in the world:

"Then Jesus said to him, Away with thee, Satan; it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve none but him. Then the devil left him alone; and thereupon angels came and ministered to him." (Mt 4: 10-11)

But perhaps there is one other reason at work here, and that is to provide a warning note for us.

Although one level of the programmatic focus for the Office I've been suggesting is the life of Christ, the other is its imitation by us.  And I've suggested previously that one of the recurring themes of the day is our promises and vows to God, with many of the psalms of the day forming an extended meditation on monastic profession.  This psalm is perhaps one final part of that design.

The Suscipe verse sung in the profession ceremony begs that we not be confounded in our hope.  St Benedict's discussion of the profession ceremony in his Rule though, also sounds a note of warning to those who would walk away from their vows, and are confounded.  In Chapter 58 of the Rule he says:

Then, having deliberated with himself, if he promises to keep it in its entirety and to observe everything that is commanded, let him be received into the community. But let him understand that, according to the law of the Rule, from that day forward he may not leave the monastery nor withdraw her neck from under the yoke of the Rule which she was free to refuse or to accept during that prolonged deliberation...This promise he shall make before God and His Saints, so that if he should ever act otherwise,he may know that she will be condemned by Him whom he mocks...Then if he should ever listen to the persuasions of the devil and decide to leave the monastery (which God forbid), he may be divested of the monastic clothes and cast out. 

St Benedict would surely have viewed such defectors as deserving the excommunication described in this psalm, and the warning of the consequences as important to the topic of the day's Office.

And in fact St Augustine's commentary on the final verse of the psalm, which St Benedict quotes from a number of times in his Rule, is particularly apposite on this:  because they are the friends of the bridegroom, they refuse to be adulterers of the bride.

The psalm

Psalm 128 (129) – Saepe expugnaverunt me

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Here is the rather more poetic Knox translation of it:

Sore have they beset me even from my youth (let this be Israel’s boast); sore have they beset me even from my youth, but never once outmatched me. I bent my back to the oppressor, and long was the furrow ere the plough turned; but the Lord proved faithful, and cut the bonds of tyranny asunder. Let them be dismayed and routed, all these enemies of Sion. Let them be like the stalks on a house-top, that wither there unharvested; never will they be grasped in the reaper’s hand, or fill the binder’s bosom, no passer-by will say, The Lord’s blessing on you; we bless you in the name of the Lord.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	2 Cor 4:8-10 (v2)
RB cursus	Monday V
Monastic feasts etc	-
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Wed V
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wed V . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Passion I, TR (1-4)

For more on this psalm:

Introduction to Psalm 128 (Saepe expugnaverunt me) (2017 updated version)
Ps 128 v1-2
Psalm 128 v3
Psalm 128 v4
Ps 128 v5-6
Ps 128 v7

Notes on the psalm notes

The psalm notes on this blog generally include an overview of each psalm, particularly with a mind to praying it in the context of St Benedict's schema for his Office.

In addition, there are some posts on particular psalms in other liturgical contexts, such as the Office for the Dead, or the Mass.

The verse by verse commentaries are intended to provide a basis for the deeper penetration of the meaning of the psalm through lectio divina on them based on the commentaries of the Fathers and Theologians.

Praying the Office with St Benedict

The first focus for the notes on this blog is to encourage those using the Benedictine Office to consider the deeper structure of that Office.

St Benedict devotes almost a third of his Rule to specifying the particular order of the psalms to be said in the form of the Divine Office to be followed by his monks.  And it is clear that he exercised great care and deliberation in selecting the pattern of repetitions and particular groupings he specified for each hour and day.

It is true that St Benedict does give permission for other (weekly) orderings of the psalter to be adopted.  Yet for centuries - up until the most recent one in fact - the overwhelming majority of his monks and nuns treasured the patrimony handed to them, and allowed themselves to be formed by the distinctive Office St Benedict bequeathed to them.

It is often suggested by modern liturgists that there is no underlying programmatic content to St Benedict's Office.  It is true of course, that liturgy - at least when it is the product of a process of organic development over centuries - rarely runs in clear straight lines.  Instead, as the theologian Catherine Pitstock argued in After Writing, it stutters and stops, re-beginnings and repeats in patterns borne of its cultural context.  Nonetheless, I believe that there is considerable internal and external evidence that St Benedict did in fact seek impose a particular implicit program on his Office.

It is generally agreed that St Benedict's starting point was the old Roman Office of his time.  He made many changes to it, however, and I would argue that those changes are spurred by three objectives: to give greater shape the nature of the particular hours; to emphasize particular aspects of his spirituality through repetition; and above all, a desire to give greater emphasis each day to the themes set out in the traditional (ferial) Office canticles set for Lauds each day.

In approaching this task, St Benedict, I would suggest, takes advantage of some of the distinctive sub-groupings of psalms as they appear in Scripture in order to give a more thematic feel to his Office.

Some of these linkages are horizontal, giving a thematic unity to particular hours of a particular day, or across the psalms of Prime and Vespers for example.

But there is also, in my view, a vertical unity, for I think that, taking its cue from the Lauds Canticles, the Benedictine Office is deeply Christological in character, tracing the life of Christ  - and its implications for us - in each day of the week.  In particular:

• Monday covers the Incarnation to his baptism (Vespers) and the Temptation in the Desert, with a    particular focus for the nun or monk on the renewal of monastic vows;
• Tuesday reflects on the public mission of Jesus, whereby he teaches us how to live the Christian life and thus ascend the steps towards the heavenly Temple (reflected in the use of the Gradual Psalms from Terce to Vespers);
• Wednesday focuses on his betrayal;
• Thursday to Saturday provides recapitulates the events of the Triduum; and
• Sunday celebrates the Resurrection.

Whether or not you agree with the arguments I develop for the existence of this particular mystical seven days of the remaking of the world in the notes provided herein, I hope you will nonetheless find meditation on the life of Christ in the context of the psalms worthwhile.

Praying the Office in Latin

The notes are also intended to assist those who wish to learn to pray the Office in Latin, particularly since there is no officially approved English version of the traditional Benedictine Office, and the translations that are included for study purposes in editions such as the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal do not always mirror the Latin Vulgate.

In general, the English translations provided (unless otherwise indicated) are from an updated version of the Douay-Rheims (previously on the New Advent site), since this is generally the most literal translation from the Latin Vulgate.  Text comments will often focus on the reasons for variations in the translations most commonly used for reference purposes for those saying the Office, viz Coverdale and the early twentieth century Collegeville translation used in the Farnborough edition of the Monastic Diurnal, as well as variations adopted by the 1979 Neo-Vulgate (used in the Novus Ordo Divine Office).

The vocabulary lists are generally derived from Dom Matthew Britt, A Dictionary of the Psalter (Preserving Christian Publications 2007 reprint of Benziger Brothers, 1928), supplemented by others sources such as Cassell's Latin Dictionary and Lewis and Short.

Where other translations are provided (note that the selection is limited by copyright considerations), the abbreviations used are as follows:

V            =Vulgate (available on the New Advent website)
NV         =Neo-Vulgate (available on the Vatican website)
JH          =St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew
Sept       =Septuagint (available on the New Advent website)
DR         =Douay-Rheims (generally the version previously on the New Advent website)
MD        =Monastic Diurnal published by Farnborough Abbey (Collegeville translation)
Brenton  =Sir Lancelot Brenton's translation from the Septuagint
NETS    =New English Translation from the Septuagint, available here
RSV       =Revised Standard Edition
Cover    =Coverdale
Knox      =Ronald Knox's translation available from the New Advent site
Grail      =Grail Psalter

The Hebrew, with links to Strong's Concordance, can be found (along with numerous other translations) at Blue Letter Bible.

The word by word translations, text notes and commentary are my own, but draw heavily on the commentaries of the Fathers and Theologians (on whom overview notes can be found elsewhere on this blog), Magisterial teaching, and other psalm commentaries.  As well as these, the next notes draw heavily on the following sources:

TE Bird, A Commentary on the Psalms 2 vols, (London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1927)
Msgr Patrick Boylan, A Study of the Vulgate Psalter in the Light of the Hebrew Text, 2 vols (Dublin: M H Gill and Son, 2nd ed 1921)
David  J Ladouceur, The Latin Psalter Introduction, Selected Text and Commentary (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2005)

Suggestions, comments and queries

Comments, questions or suggestions on the content or presentation of these notes are always welcome.

In terms of content and layout, I've tried out several different formats in these notes and am currently moving to a slightly different one, and I'm always keen to get any feedback on issues such as whether the commentary notes are too long or not (I'm planning on shortening them henceforth) and so forth.

I'm also open to requests to look at particular psalms as a priority.

Monday (feria secunda) in the Benedictine Office, masterpost

Monday in the Benedictine Office

Monday for us today represents the start of the working week; liturgically however, it is labelled 'feria secunda', for Sunday is both the first day of creation, and, for Christians, the eighth day, or day of the Resurrection.   That inherent tension between beginnings and endings is certainly reflected in St Benedict's Office.

The start of the week?

Liturgically, Sunday represents the start of the week in many ways: a new collect is allocated to the week from the Sunday Mass for example.  St Benedict's structuring of his Office in part reflects this new start too, by commencing the recitation of that great foundational psalm of the law, Psalm 118 on that day.

Yet in many ways, it is Monday that really represents the start of the liturgical week in the Benedictine Office.

My contention is that St Benedict made a number of judicious changes to the structure of the Office he started from, namely the old Roman one, in order to provide a more thematic approach to the Office.  In fact, I want to suggest, taking his cue from the customary (ferial) Office canticles, each day in the Benedictine Office traces the journey of Christ's life, from the Incarnation, public ministry, through his crucifixion, death and up to the Resurrection.

The beginnings of our salvation: from the Incarnation to the Temptation in the Desert

That early medieval monks understood his Office this way is, I think, suggested nicely captured by the summations of the message of these canticles provided by the Hrabanus Maurus (780-856).  In the case of Monday, Maurus argues that the canticle for Lauds focuses on those events of Christ's life prior to the start of his public ministry:

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

Many of the psalms of the day, and particularly the changes St Benedict made to the ordering of the day work well to fit this focus.

At Matins, many of the psalms of the day contain phrases that were incorporated in the New Testament Benedictus and Magnificat canticles, or are redolent of its promises.

Prime contains the two psalms that are generally regarded as both an introduction to the entire psalter and a summation of it, in Psalms 1 and 2.  Psalm 1 presents the picture of Christ, the perfect man, and the choice we must all make between walking in his way, or the way of evil.  Psalm 2 chronicles the history of his coming, particularly  with the verse used in the Introit of Christmas Day: the Lord said to me: you are my son, this day have I begotten thee (Dóminus dixit ad me: fílius meus es tu, ego hódie génui te).

At Vespers, one can perhaps see the psalms as a meditation on the baptism of Christ, his forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert, and his temptation by Satan.

A call to conversion of life

All of these events have deep implications in the life of the Christian.

The Incarnation is not just the coming of God to earth, not just the birth of a baby, but the fulfillment of specific promises made to our forefathers in faith that affect us in the here and now.  One of the most important of these promises is that God will raise up the poor and humble, and confound the proud.  The day's hours constantly come back to this theme, with each of the hours concluding the variable psalms with a reiteration of or plea for this promise to be fulfilled: at Lauds, Psalm 35; Prime, Psalm 6; at Vespers Psalm 128 (which can also be seen as echoing Jesus' final dismissal of Satan after his temptation in the desert).

There is a call to action implicit in this for us to, for Christ's baptism in the Jordan by St John comes with the message that we must all repent and be converted anew: we all have past sins to be ashamed of our past sins, and need to be washed anew in the waters of baptism so that we can be reborn with Christ.  Accordingly, the whole day constitutes an invitation 'turn away from evil and do good' (Ps 33 at Matins), to open ourselves to grace, to taste and see that the Lord is good.  And, as we shall see, the psalms of Vespers in particular provide an opportunity for us to renew our baptismal promises: to affirm that God is our creator and saviour, and reject Satan and all his works.

The Benedictine Office though, is above all a Monastic Office, intended to be said by monks and nuns who have deepened their baptismal promises through the vows made at solemn profession.  St Benedict's ordering of the Office, I think, provides a weekly opportunity for the religious to renew those vows afresh.  At Lauds the psalms summon us to a preparatory examination of conscience, and many of the other psalms of the day could be used to prompt meditation on commitment to the Benedictine way of life.

The high point of the day for the monk, though, is surely the recitation of the Suscipe verse (of Ps 118) used in the profession ceremony at Terce, for if the birth of Christ and our rebirth in him are key focuses for the day, the concrete realisation of our own baptismal promises is, for the monk, nun or oblate, the living out of the Benedictine Rule.

THE PSALMS OF THE DAY

Matins

(Psalm 3 &Psalm 94 said daily)

Psalm 32
Psalm 33
Psalm 34
Psalm 36 (divided)
Psalm 37 (in the context of Tenebrae)

Psalm 38
Psalm 39 (in context of Tenebrae)
Introduction to Psalm 40 (in the Office of the Dead)
Introduction to Psalm 41(in the Office of the Dead)
Psalm 43
Psalm 44

Lauds

(Psalms 66, 50 and 148-150 are said daily)

Introduction to Psalm 5
Ps 5:v1-4a
Ps 5:v4b-7a
Ps 5: v7b-9
Ps 5: v10-12
Ps 5:v 13-15

Introduction to Psalm 35  (see also Ps 35 in the context of Tenebrae of Holy Thursday)

Ferial Canticle: Isaiah 12 (Confitebor tibi Domine) (Introduction)

or Festal Canticle: Canticle of David (1 Chron 29: 10-13)

Prime

Introduction to Psalm 1 (see also  Commentary of St Basil on Psalm 1)
Introduction to Psalm 2 (see also Psalm 2 in the context of Tenebrae for Good Friday)
Psalm 6 (Series with introduction and verse by verse notes)

Terce

Psalm 118 (Nun)
Psalm 118 (Samech) and Part 2
Psalm 118 (Ayin)

Sext

Psalm 118 (Phe)
Psalm 118 (Sade)
Psalm 118 (Coph)

None

Psalm 118 (Res)
Psalm 118 (Sin)
Psalm 118 (Tau)

Vespers

Monday at Vespers (overview notes)

Psalm 113 (In exitu) Introduction and series providing verse by verse notes.
Psalm 114 (Dilexi) Introduction and series providing verse by verse notes.
Psalm 115 (Credidi) Introduction and series providing verse by verse notes.
Psalm 116 (Laudate Dominum)
Psalm 128 (Saepe expugnaverunt)

Compline (same psalms said daily)

Psalm 4 (in the context of Tenebrae)
Psalm 90
Psalm 133