Sunday canticles: Jeremiah 14:17-21 (Lent 1)

I wanted to continue today with some notes in my series on the Sunday Matins canticles in the Benedictine Office, as have now come to a new set of these for Lent.

The Benedictine Office, you will recall, uses three canticles in the third Nocturn on Sundays, and the first of these during Lent and Passiontide is from Jeremiah 14:17-21.

Here is the text laid out as for liturgical use:

Jeremiah 14:17-21

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
1. Deducant oculi mei lacrimam per noctem et diem, et non taceant	Let my eyes shed down tears night and day, and let them not cease
2. quoniam contritione magna contrita est virgo filia populi mei, plaga pessima vehementer.	because the virgin daughter of my people is afflicted with a great affliction, with an exceeding grievous evil
3. Si egressus fuero ad agros, ecce occisi gladio: et si introiero in civitatem, ecce attenuati fame.	If I go forth into the fields, behold the slain with the sword: and if I enter into the city, behold them that are consumed with famine.
4. Propheta quoque et sacerdos abierunt in terram quam ignorabant.	The prophet also and the priest are gone into a land which they knew not.
5. Numquid projiciens abjecisti Judam? aut Sion abominata est anima tua?	Hast thou utterly cast away Juda, or hath thy soul abhorred Sion?
6. quare ergo percussisti nos ita ut nulla sit sanitas?	why then hast thou struck us, so that there is no healing for us?
7. Exspectavimus pacem, et non est bonum: et tempus curationis, et ecce turbatio.	we have looked for peace, and there is no good: and for the time of healing, and behold trouble.
8. Cognovimus, Domine, impietates nostras, iniquitates patrum nostrorum, quia peccavimus tibi.	We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquities of our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9. Ne des nos in opprobrium, propter nomen tuum, neque facias nobis contumeliam solii gloriæ tuæ:	Give us not to be a reproach, for thy name' s sake, and do not disgrace in us the throne of thy glory:
10. recordare, ne irritum facias fœdus tuum nobiscum	remember, break not thy covenant with us.

Scriptural context

This canticle comes from a chapter that is a dialogue between God and Jeremiah: God has sentenced Israel to famine, drought and destruction because of its sins, particularly idolatry; Jeremiah is pleading for a remission of the sentence in the face of the suffering being experienced.  

Jeremiah's pleas for mercy, though are unsuccessful: the prophecy was given around 587, just before the sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.  The reason God gives for his refusla to relent is that the people have refused to acknowledge their sin and repent, and instead have been relying on false prophets who have assured them that it isn't their fault and things will be fine.   

The canticle describes the consequences, in the fall of Jerusalem (the virgin daughter) and horrors that followed:

"If I go forth into the fields, behold the slain with the sword: and if I enter into the city, behold them that are consumed with famine."

Denialism

There are some messages in the canticle that have great contemporary relevance, in the face of those who seem determined to deny that the Church is collapsing in the West, or that many of the reforms and directions implemented in the name of Vatican II have proved a disaster.

And the canticle points to one of the key causes of this denialism: those who should have been giving leadership (the priests and prophets of verse 4, as it is arranged for liturgical use) have proved to be hirelings, not shepherds, and run off elsewhere.

The canticle ends with an injunction to confess our sins before it is too late.

Pope John Paul II on the canticle

In the (OF) Liturgy of the Hours, this canticle is said at morning prayer on Friday in the third week, and Pope John Paul II gave a General Audience on it in that context back in 2002.  Here is what he had to say:

1. The Prophet Jeremiah raises to heaven from within his own historical context a bitter and deeply felt song (14,17-21). We have just heard it recited as an invocation, which the Liturgy of Lauds presents to us on the day when we commemorate the Lord's death: Friday. The context in which this lamentation arises is represented by a scourge that often strikes the land of the Middle East: drought. However, with this natural disaster, the prophet interweaves another, the tragedy of war which is equally appalling: "If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword; if I enter the city look! those consumed by hunger". Unfortunately, the description is tragically present in so many regions of our planet.

2. Jeremiah enters the scene with his face bathed in tears:  he weeps uninterruptedly for "the daughter of his people", namely for Jerusalem. Indeed, according to a well-known biblical symbol, the city is represented with a feminine image, "the daughter of Zion". The prophet participates intimately in the "great destruction" and in the "incurable wound" of his people (v. 17). Often, his words are marked by sorrow and tears, because Israel does not allow herself to be involved in the mysterious message that suffering brings with it. In another passage, Jeremiah exclaims:  "If you do not listen to this in your pride, I will weep in secret many tears; my eyes will run with tears for the Lord's flock, led away to exile" (13,17).

3. The reason for the prophet's heart-rending prayer is to be found, as has been said, in two tragic events:  the sword and hunger, that is, war and famine (Jer 14,18). We are therefore in a tormented historical situation and the portrait of the prophet and the priest, guardians of the Lord's Word who "wander about the land distraught" (ibid.) is striking.

The second part of the Canticle (cf. vv. 19-21) is no longer an individual lament in the first person singular, but a collective supplication addressed to God:  "Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed?" (v. 19). In fact, in addition to the sword and hunger, there is a greater tragedy, that of the silence of God who no longer reveals himself and seems to have retreated into his heaven, as if disgusted with humanity's actions. The questions addressed to him are therefore tense and explicit in a typically religious sense:  "Have you cast off Judah completely?", or "Is Zion loathsome to you?" (v. 19). Now they feel lonely and forsaken, deprived of peace, salvation and hope. The people, left to themselves, feel as if they were isolated and overcome by terror.

Isn't this existential solitude perhaps the profound source of all the dissatisfaction we also perceive in our day? So much insecurity, so many thoughtless reactions originate in our having abandoned God, the rock of our salvation.

4. Now comes the turning-point:  the people return to God and raise an intense prayer to him. First of all, they recognize their own sin with a brief but heartfelt confession of guilt: "We recognize, O Lord, our wickedness,... that we have sinned against you" (v. 21). Thus God's silence was provoked by man's rejection. If the people will be converted and return to the Lord, God will also show himself ready to go out to meet and embrace them.

Finally, the prophet uses two fundamental words:  "remember" and "covenant" (v. 21). God is asked by his people to "remember", that is, to return to the line of his generous kindness, which he had so often shown in the past with crucial interventions to save Israel. God is asked to remember that he bound himself to his people by a covenant of fidelity and love. Precisely because of this covenant, the people can be confident that the Lord will intervene to set them free and save them.
The commitment he assumed, the honour of his "name" and the fact that he was present in the temple, "the throne of his glory", impel God - after his judgement of sin and his silence - to draw close to his people once again to give them life, peace and joy.

With the Israelites, therefore, we too can be sure that the Lord will not give us up for good but, after every purifying trial, will return to make "his face to shine upon us, and be gracious to us ... and give us peace" as the priestly blessing mentioned in Numbers says (6,25-26).

5. To conclude, we can associate Jeremiah's plea with the moving exhortation that St Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage in the third century, addressed to the Christians of that city. In a time of persecution, St Cyprian exhorted his faithful to implore the Lord. This prayer is not identical to the prophet's supplication for it does not include a confession of sin as the persecution is not so much a punishment for sin, but a participation in Christ's Passion. Nevertheless, it is as urgent an entreaty as Jeremiah's. St Cyprian writes, "What we must do is beg the Lord with united and undivided hearts, without pause in our entreaty, with confidence that we shall receive, seeking to appease Him with cries and tears as befits those who find themselves amid the lamentations of the fallen and the trembling of the remnant still left, amidst the host of those who lie faint and savaged and the tiny band of those who stand firm. We must beg that peace be promptly restored, that help be quickly brought to our places of concealment and peril, that those things be fulfilled which the Lord vouchsafes to reveal to his servants:  the restoration of His church, the certitude of our salvation, bright skies after rain, after darkness light, after wild storms a gentle calm. We must beg that the Father send his loving aid to his children, that God in his majesty perform now as he has so often His wonderful works" (cf. Letter 11,8 in The Letters of St Cyprian of Carthage, vol. I, p. 80, in the series Ancient Christian Writers, Newman Press, Ramsay, N.J. 1984).

The Seven Penitential Psalms - Psalm 31/2: The grace of forgiveness

 

The first verse of Psalm 131 points us to the idea of happiness, or blessedness.

	V	Beáti quorum remíssæ sunt iniquitátes: * et quorum tecta sunt peccáta.
	NV	Beatus, cui remissa est iniquitas, et obtectum est peccatum.
	JH	Beatus cui dimissa est iniquitas, et absconditum est peccatum.
		συνέσεως μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι

remitto, misi, missum, ere 3,  to forgive, pardon, remit; to send or give back, return

tego, texi, tectum, ere 3,  to cover, covered, taken away altogether.

DR	Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
MD	Blessed are they whose guilt is forgiven, and whose sins are pardoned.
RSV	Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
NETS	Happy are those whose lawless behaviour was forgiven and whose sins were covered over.
Brenton	Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and who sins are covered.
Coverdale	Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, & whose sin is covered.
Knox	Blessed are they who have their faults forgiven, their transgressions buried deep;

The idea of beatitude

Beatus simply means happy, or blessed.  It has the same meaning in the (New Testament) beatitudes.  In the first verse, it is in the plural; in the second verse, the psalmist continues with the same ideas, bringing it back to the individual.
 
Why is the psalmist happy?  Because his sins (iniquitas=iniquity, sin, or rebellion against God's authority; peccatum=sin, failure, error, going astray) are forgiven or pardoned (the verb is from remittere), 'covered' (tegere) or taken away altogether (the Hebrew suggests something more like 'offend the eye no longer').  The whole thrust of the verse is that sense of a lightening of one's burden experienced (hopefully) when one emerges from the confessional.
 
Scripture interprets Scripture?
 
It always important to look at how the New Testament in particular interprets passages from the Old, since the New fulfills and explains the Old.  In the case, St Paul quotes this verse in Romans 4, in his discussion on salvation:

"Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.  So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin."… No distrust made him [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "reckoned to him as righteousness." But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

 Real remission of sin

This passage by St Paul, though, is one of those passages that demonstrate the importance of reading Scripture with the guidance of the Church, for the verses are also used by Luther in his theory of the non-imputation, rather than real forgiveness of sin.
 
Pope John Paul II puts the text in its orthodox context:

"In the Letter to the Romans St Paul refers explicitly to the beginning of our Psalm to celebrate Christ's liberating grace (cf. Rom 4: 6-8). We could apply this to the sacrament of Reconciliation.  In light of the Psalm, this sacrament allows one to experience the awareness of sin, often darkened in our day, together with the joy of forgiveness. The binomial "sin-punishment" is replaced by the binomial "sin-forgiveness", because the Lord is a God who "forgives iniquity and transgression and sin" (cf. Ex 34: 7)."

You can find the next part in this series on Psalm 31 here. 

The Penitential Psalms: No. 2 - Psalm 31/1

The second of the Seven Penitential Psalms, Psalm 31 (32), Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, is a timely reminder of why we undertake Lenten penances, namely the joy that comes when we confess our sins and have them forgiven.  It is a prayer to overcome our resistance to doing just that.

In the traditional Benedictine Office, it is the last psalm of Sunday Matins.

Psalm 31: Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Ipsi David intellectus.	To David himself, understanding
1 Beáti quorum remíssæ sunt iniquitátes: * et quorum tecta sunt peccáta.	Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
2  Beátus vir, cui non imputávit Dóminus peccátum, * nec est in spíritu ejus dolus.	2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3  Quóniam tácui, inveteravérunt ossa mea, * dum clamárem tota die.	3 Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long
4  Quóniam die ac nocte graváta est super me manus tua: * convérsus sum in ærúmna mea, dum confígitur spina.	4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.
5  Delíctum meum cógnitum tibi feci: * et injustítiam meam non abscóndi.	5 I have acknowledged my sin to you, and my injustice I have not concealed.
6  Dixi: Confitébor advérsum me injustítiam meam Dómino: * et tu remisísti impietátem peccáti mei.	I said I will confess against my self my injustice to the Lord: and you have forgiven the wickedness of my sin.
7  Pro hac orábit ad te omnis sanctus, * in témpore opportúno.	6 For this shall every one that is holy pray to you in a seasonable time.
8  Verúmtamen in dilúvio aquárum multárum, * ad eum non approximábunt.	And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come near unto him.
9  Tu es refúgium meum a tribulatióne, quæ circúmdedit me: * exsultátio mea, érue me a circumdántibus me.	7 You are my refuge from the trouble which has encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me.
10  Intelléctum tibi dabo, et ínstruam te in via hac, qua gradiéris: * firmábo super te óculos meos.	8 I will give you understanding, and I will instruct you in this way, in which you shall go: I will fix my eyes upon you.
11  Nolíte fíeri sicut equus et mulus, * quibus non est intelléctus.	9 Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding.
12  In camo et freno maxíllas eórum constrínge: * qui non appróximant ad te.	With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto you.
13  Multa flagélla peccatóris, * sperántem autem in Dómino misericórdia circúmdabit.	10 Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopes in the Lord
14  Lætámini in Dómino et exsultáte, justi, * et gloriámini, omnes recti corde.	11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you just, and glory, all you right of heart.

Psalm 31 in the Vulgate numbering, or 32 in the Hebrew, starts with a reminder that ‘penitential’ does not mean gloom and doom!

Instead, this psalm reminds us that penitence is, paradoxically, the key to true happiness.

The main focus of this psalm is the grace of conversion, and how God brings it about in us, as its opening lines suggest:

"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile...."

Context

The setting for the psalm is generally accepted to be after David has confessed his sins and been punished for it through the death of his child, as described in 2 Samuel 12. That chapter tells how when the child becomes sick, David fasted and wept for seven days, imploring God to spare the child.  But when the child died despite his entreaties, David scandalized his servants by putting on his normal clothes and eating as normal again rather than mourning, since there was nothing he could then do to change the outcome. Instead he went out to worship God, and comforted his wife.

The psalm helps fill out Samuel's account by giving us some insight into King David's state of mind, taking us through several stages of the process of his conversion, including his stubborn resistance, until he at last reaches the joy that comes when he finally accepts God’s mercy, grace and guidance.  Perhaps the most graphic verses are the early ones describing the psalmist's torment before he achieves that realization however, as  Pope John Paul II commented:

"Above all, the person praying describes his very distressful state of conscience by keeping it "secret" (cf. v. 3): having committed grave offences, he did not have the courage to confess his sins to God. It was a terrible interior torment, described with very strong images. His bones waste away, as if consumed by a parching fever; thirst saps his energy and he finds himself fading, his groan constant. The sinner felt God's hand weighing upon him, aware as he was that God is not indifferent to the evil committed by his creature, since he is the guardian of justice and truth.

Unable to hold out any longer, the sinner made the decision to confess his sin with a courageous declaration that seems a prelude to that of the prodigal son in Jesus' parable (cf. Lk 15: 18)...In this way, a horizon of security, trust and peace unfolds before "every believer" who is repentant and forgiven, regardless of the trials of life (cf. Ps 32[31]: 6-7)."

Sin and punishment

The punishments we incur for sin in this life at least are rarely as horrific and direct as David's loss of a child.  Indeed, when bad things happen to us, they are not necessarily meant as punishments at all.

Still, David's example is given to us for a reason, and St John Fisher's commentary on this psalm points out that while contrition and confession are important, voluntarily doing penance to make up for the evil of what we have done is equally important.  The sacrament of confession, he points out requires that we do 'satisfaction', make amends, ideally accepting our penance with good grace.  And if the penance given is merely tokenistic, and does not 'cover' us as the psalm suggests, then we would do well to do more now, so as to avoid having to do it in purgatory later! St John argues that:  "There are many who wail, are contrite, and confess their sins, but there is scarce one in a thousand who does due satisfaction."

Lent then, is a good time to address any deficit in penance we may have to our charge.  Nor should this weigh us down: on the contrary, St John argues, doing penance expels sin and leads to the joy the psalmist eventually arrives at.

New Testament citations and liturgical uses

NT Refs	Roman 4: esp 7-8; James 5:16 (v1); Jn 1:47, Rev 14:5 (v2); 1 John 9 (v5); Jas 3:3 (v11)
RB cursus	Sunday II, 6
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	All Saints; Penitential psalms AN 3563 (11)
Roman pre 1911	Monday matins
Responsories	7066 (11), 6063 (11)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday None .
Mass propers (EF)	Common of several martyrs, Fabian and Sebastian (Jan 20) OF (11)

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

Penitential Psalms: No. 1: Psalm 6

c15th Harrowing of Hell and Psalm 6

As I've only recently posted a series on Psalm 6, I'm not going to linger over this first of the Seven Penitential Psalms, but will rather refer you back to that series, which you can find at the links below.

By way of a starter for our meditation though, I want to share a little of St John Fisher's commentary on this psalm, which focuses on the call to true contrition and penance.

Verses 2 and 3, he suggests, describe the agitated state of the unconverted sinner:

"Saint Ambrose asks this question: What pain is more grievous than the inward wound of a man's conscience?  It troubles, it vexes, it pricks, it tears, and it also crucifies the mind; it turns the memory upside down, it confounds the reason, it makes crooked the will, and it agitates the soul."

When the psalmist asks how long (verse 3), he is pleading, St John says, for God to turn to the sinner and calm his heart, which will occur once he truly repents and starts doing penance.  The plea for mercy and salvation of verse 4 is a reminder that in hell or even purgatory punishment is our preoccupation, not praise of God, and so we must hope to avoid it by doing penance now.

And if we are free of sin and any associated punishment, we are rich indeed, and must share it with those who are poor and sick, he urges.

Let us then make a start on a good Lent!

Notes on Psalm 6

Introduction to Psalm 6
Psalm 6 Pt 2: On God's anger (v1)
Psalm 6 pt 3: God the physician (v2)
Psalm 6 pt 4: In death no man remembers you (v3-5)
Psalm 6 pt 5: A baptism of tears (v6)
Psalm 6 pt 6: praying for our enemies (v7-10)

You can also find some short summaries of the psalm by assorted authors here.

Psalm 6

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Magistro chori. Fidibus. Super octavam. PSALMUS. David.	Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave.
Dómine, ne in furóre tuo árguas me, * neque in ira tua corrípias me.	O Lord, rebuke me not in your indignation, nor chastise me in your wrath.
2  Miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam infírmus sum : * sana me, Dómine, quóniam conturbáta sunt ossa mea.	Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
3  Et ánima mea turbáta est valde : * sed tu, Dómine, úsquequo?	And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but you, O Lord, how long?
4  Convértere, Dómine, et éripe ánimam meam : * salvum me fac propter misericórdiam tuam.	Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for your mercy's sake.
5.  Quóniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui : * in inférno autem quis confitébitur tibi?	For there is no one in death that is mindful of you: and who shall confess to you in hell?
6  Laborávi in gémitu meo, lavábo per síngulas noctes lectum meum : * lácrimis meis stratum meum rigábo.	I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears
7  Turbátus est a furóre óculus meus : * inveterávi inter omnes inimícos meos.	My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies.
8  Discédite a me, omnes, qui operámini iniquitátem : *  quóniam exaudívit Dóminus vocem fletus mei.	Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity: for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9  Exaudívit Dóminus deprecatiónem meam, *  Dóminus oratiónem meam suscépit.	The Lord has heard my supplication: the Lord has received my prayer.
10  Erubéscant, et conturbéntur veheménter omnes inimíci mei : * convertántur et erubéscant valde velóciter.	Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.

Liturgical uses of Psalm 6

RB: Monastic:	Monday Prme
Maurist	Matins for All Souls, Matins of the Dead (Nocturn I),
Thesauris schemas	A:Matins Sunday wk 1; B:Tuesday Matins; C: Compline Wednesday wk 2; D:  Laud Tuesday wk 1
Brigittine	Friday Vespers
Ambrosian	Monday Matins wk 1
Roman	Pre 1911: Sunday Matins; Post 1911: Monday Compline. 1970: Monday Complinewk 1
Mass propers (EF)	Lent wk3 Wed GR (2-3); Passion Monday OF (4), PP2 OF (4)

 New Testament References/allusions

Jn 12:27 (v2); Mt 7:23; 25:41; Lk 13:27 (v8)

The next post in this series is an introduction to the second penitential psalm, Psalm 31.

Introduction to the Seven Penitential Psalms

Today, I want to start my Lenten series on the seven penitential psalms with a general introduction to this set of psalms.

Penance and Lent

St John Fisher's Exposition of the Seven Penitential Psalms opens with a discussion of the example of King David, and points out that there are three different ways God deals with sinners:

"There are some sinners, who continue in their wretchedness till they die, and those almighty God punishes in hell's eternal pains, whose ministers are the devils.  There are other sinners who have begun to be penitent before their death and to amend their lives, and these almighty God punishes in the pains of purgatory, which have an end and whose ministers are his angels.  Thirdly, there are still other sinners who, by grace in this life, have so punished themselves by penance for their offences that they have made sufficient repayment for them.  And these almighty God accepts in his infinite mercy." (Ignatius Press edition, pp9-10)

David, he suggests, was one of this last group: knowing that he had grievously offended God, he asked mercy of him and through the composition of psalms such as Psalm 6 and 50, "attained great contrition and sorrow of soul, by which he obtained forgiveness."

We too should use these psalms to excite that same deep sense of contrition.

Our aim must firstly be to make a good confession of our sins this Lent, and cease sinning.

Secondly, by this act of penance, we must hope to go some way to wiping out the awful punishments we would otherwise face in purgatory which are traditionally thought to be no less than the pains of hell, but better than them in that they have an end point!

And thirdly, as an act of charity, we can, of course, also offer our efforts for others, whether for the conversion of the living, and other needs, or for the faithful dead in purgatory.

The Seven Penitential Psalms

The Penitential Psalms were traditionally prayed communally each day during Lent - indeed, Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) ordered them to be prayed at this time.

You can find them with the antiphon normally used in most missals, or in the Monastic Diurnal.

The origins of the list though are obscure.

St Augustine certainly refers to four of these psalms as a grouping, but the first surviving complete listing of the penitential psalms - Psalm 6, Psalm 31 (32), 37 (38), 50 (51), 101 (102), 129 (130) and 142 (143) - comes from Cassiodorus, a sixth century contemporary of St Benedict.  Yet Cassiodorus seems to take it as an already existing grouping rather than something that he is specifically proposing.

The Psalms and their significance

Because the penitential psalms have a long devotional tradition, their number is often given some significance.  Cassiodorus, for example, suggests that the number aligns with the number of paths to forgiveness of sins:

" Do not believe that there is no significance in this aggregate of seven, because our forebears said that our sins could be forgiven in seven ways: first by baptism, second by suffering martyrdom, third by almsgiving, fourth by forgiving the sins of our brethren, fifth by diverting a sinner from the error of his ways, sixth by abundance of charity, and seventh by repentance."

Another common idea has been to view each psalm as countering one of the seven deadly sins: Psalm 6 is the counter to pride; Psalm 31 against avarice; Psalm 37 against anger; Psalm 50 is a defense against lust; Psalm 101 against gluttony; Psalm 129 against envy; and Psalm 142 as a counter to sloth.

Personally I see them more as tracing the path we travel individually in having our sins forgiven and expiated, through contrition, confession and so forth.  But I don't think there is just one way to view them, and there are many layers of meaning in each of them to meditate on.

King David

I mentioned above that St John Fisher starts his exposition of the Penitential Psalms with a reflection on the life of King David, and rereading his story in Scripture (I Samuel 16 onwards), is, I think, a very useful starting point, for he is named of the author of the first four and the last of the penitential psalms.

 David is recognised as a saint by the Church, but you would have to say his life does not follow the typical pattern of conversion and then advancement in holiness.  In fact in some respects he seems to have enjoyed more graces and holiness as a youth and young man than when he was older.

As a teenager his merits were recognised both by God, who had the prophet Samuel anoint him as a future king at a time when he was just the youngest of nine sons, and employed as a shepherd.  King Saul employed him for his ability to soothe away the ill-humour and demons that tormented him.  And of course God gave him other special graces and knowledge, reflected in his spectacular defeat of the Philistine champion Goliath.

After he had been crowned king and enjoyed happiness, he became discontented and proud.  He committed adultery with one of his officer's wives, and compounded the sin by arranging for her husband to be killed.

Yet unlike so many others who fall into sin, David repented wholeheartedly once confronted with his sin.  Moreover, not least by writing these psalms has surely brought many other souls into heaven.

He did, however, suffer along the way.  He was punished by the loss of the child Bathsheba was carrying by him.  And over and over  in these psalms David acknowledges that he has sinned grievously, that he deserves punishment, and chronicles his penances.

David knows that he deserves eternal punishment for what he has done.  Instead though, he pleads with God to deal with him mercifully, and accept the punishment he bears now, and the penance he is doing in this life, so as to spare him from the pains of purgatory or worse.

Let us fervently make that prayer our own.



The next part in this series looks at Psalm 6.

Coming soon for Lent....

Just a reminder that my Lenten series on the seven penitential psalms will start this Wednesday.  You can find the text of the psalms - Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129 and 142  - here.

On Ash Wednesday I will do a general introduction to the series.

Then each day of the penitential days of Lent (that is up until the start of the Triduum) I'll post some notes to assist you in praying and meditating on these beautiful psalms.

I won't be posting on Sundays (since they are not included in the days we are obliged to do penance) or on the four solemnities (that is, the feasts of St Joseph, St Patrick, St Benedict and the Annunciation) that occur during this season for the same reason.

In the case of some of the psalms that I've previously posted in depth notes for, I'll pass over very quickly; in the case of the other two psalms used in the day hours of the Benedictine Office, Psalms 50 and 142, I'll provide notes on all of the verses of the psalm.  The rest of the psalms will get a selective treatment focusing on key verses.

I do hope you will join me in praying these psalms this Lent.

Psalm 137 in the context of Wednesday Vespers

Mercy and truth

The final psalm of Wednesday Vespers is Psalm 137, and as I've previously provided a series of notes on Psalm 137 in the context of the Office of the Dead, I'm just going to devote one post to it here, to point to some possible links to the themes of Wednesday in the Office.

This hymn of thanksgiving alternates between the personal concerns of the speaker, and a call for the praise of God to be spread amongst all nations.  God is to be worshipped, it argues, for his truth and mercy, for his help in times of tribulation and aid against enemies, and for his aid to the poor and marginalized.

So how does it fit into the Wednesday schema?

First, Wednesday's Vespers psalms have all focused on the issue of worshipping God in spirit and truth, and rejecting the allure of false substitutes such as power, wealth or pleasure.  Psalm 137's sentiments on praising God in the presence of the angels (verse 2) continues this theme, and reflects a point that St Benedict emphasizes in his Rule:

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

Secondly, the days psalms have been instructing us on resisting temptation, stopping us from becoming Judas' who will be cast out from the path of salvation.  Verses 4&8 in particular point to the aid that God will give us in difficult times to this end.

Finally, the psalms of Wednesday have been recalling for us key events in salvation history.  We now come to the most important of these, looking forward to the mini-Triduum of the Office, with the Passion.  The psalm points out in verse 9 that when we do fall, Christ is ready to pull us out again if we only repent, just as he rescued the Hebrews enslaved by Babylon whose lament we heard in the previous psalm.   We can never merit salvation through our own efforts, but as St Athanasius points out in his famous letter on the interpretation of the psalms, through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we can yet be saved:

"Having thus shown that Christ should come in human form, the Psalter goes on to show that He can suffer in the flesh He has assumed... For He did not die as being Himself liable to death: He suffered for us, and bore in Himself the wrath that was the penalty of our transgression, even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses. [Mt 8:17] So in Psalm 137 we say, The Lord will make requital for me..."

The text of the psalm

Psalm 137 (138)– Confitebor tibi

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Ipsi David.	For David himself.
Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.	I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart: for you have heard the words of my mouth.
2  In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.	I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels: 2 I will worship towards your holy temple, and I will give glory to your name.
3  Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.	For your mercy, and for your truth: for you have magnified your holy name above all.
4  In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.	3 In what day soever I shall call upon you, hear me: you shall multiply strength in my soul.
5  Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.	4 May all the kings of the earth give glory to you: for they have heard all the words of your mouth.
6  Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.	5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
7  Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.	6 For the Lord is high, and looks on the low: and the high he knows afar off.
8  Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.	7 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you will quicken me: and you have stretched forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies: and your right hand has saved me.
9  Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.	8 The Lord will repay for me: your mercy, O Lord endures for ever: O despise not the works of your hands.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Lk 1:51-52, Jas 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5 (v7); Phil 1:6 (v9)
RB cursus	Wednesday Vespers
Monastic feasts etc	2 Vespers of St Michael the Archangel; Vespers of Dead AN 1812, 4159
Roman pre 1911	Friday Vespers
Responsories	St Michael, All Saints v 1-2 (6893, 6894, 7707 )
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Thurs Vespers 1970: Evening Prayer - Tuesday of the Fourth Week
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 3 Thurs OF (8); PP19, OF (3,7). St Raphael/Votive Mass of the Holy Angels AL (1-2) St Michael OF V (1-2) Dedication of a church AL (2)

And that is the last post in this series of posts on the psalms of Wednesday Vespers.