The Penitential Psalms - Psalm 142: verses 10-12

The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fresco Borgia Apartments,
Hall of the Mysteries of the Faith, 1492-4

Today's verses of Psalm 142 deal with how to be effective in meditation and contemplations.

Verses 10-12: Knowledge of God enkindled by his spirit

 In verse 10, the psalmist asks that God make known his ways to the genuine seeker after truth:

10	V/NV	Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.
	JH	notam fac mihi uiam in qua ambulo; quoniam ad te leuaui animam meam.

 notum facere, to make known.

DR	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
Brenton	make known to me, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to thee.
MD	Make known to me the way which I must go, for to Thee have I lifted up my soul.
Cover	Show thou me the way that I should walk in; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

David Tenier the Younger, 1610-90,
Rocky Landscape with pilgrims

In verse 11, he asks for God to teach him the virtue of obedience:

11b	V/NV	doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.
	JH	Doce me ut faciam uoluntatem tuam, quia tu Deus meus

confugio, fugi, ere 3, to flee for refuge or succor, to take sanctuary.

DR	Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
Brenton	Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God;
MD	Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God
Cover	Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee; for thou art my God.

 Finally, and most crucially, in verse 12 he asks for the help of the Holy Ghost:

12	V	Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.
	NV	Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam; propter nomen tuum, Domine, vivificabis me. In iustitia tua
	JH	spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terra recta. Propter nomen tuum, Domine, uiuificabis me: in iustitia tua

DR	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
Brenton	thy good Spirit shall guide me in the straight way. Thou shalt quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake; in thy righteousness
MD	May Thy good spirit lead me on the right path, for Thy name’s sake O Lord, preserve my life.
RSV	Let thy good spirit lead me on a level path! For thy name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
Cover	Let thy loving Spirit lead me forth into the land of righteousness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy Name’s sake; and for thy righteousness’ sake

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

Hildegarde von Bingen, creation

The existence of the Holy Ghost is of course foreshadowed in the Old Testament: in the spirit that hovers over the waters at the time of creation. The clearest prophesy of the life of grace that the psalmist is asking for here though, is surely those famous verses from Ezekiel, featured at the last World Youth Day.

St Robert Bellarmine comments:

“That good Spirit is the Holy Ghost, who is essentially good, and through whom "the charity of God is poured out into our hearts;" and this it is that makes us wish to work and carry out our wishes; and it is of it Ezechiel speaks when he says, "And I will put my Spirit in the midst of you, and I will cause you to walk in my commandments." This good Spirit "shall lead me into the right land;" in that plain and direct road, the Lord's law, which is most plain and direct The "right land" may also mean our country above, where all is right and straight, and nothing distorted or crooked. "For thy name's sake thou wilt quicken me in thy justice." To show us that justification, which is a sort of spiritual resuscitation, is not to be had from our own merits, but from the gratuitous gift of God, he adds, "For thy name's sake," for the glory that will accrue to you by the gift of so much grace, "thou wilt quicken me in thy justice."

Indeed, each of the seven penitential psalms can readily be associated with one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, no doubt one of the reasons why the Catechism of the Catholic Church in fact cites this verse in relation to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:

CCC 1831: “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

Defeating our enemies with the help of grace

I deliberately skipped over the first half of verse 11 above, which is the lead in to the request to be taught obedience and given the guidance of the Holy Ghost. In fact, it says:

11a	V/NV	Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi:
	JH	Libera me de inimicis meis, Domine: a te protectus sum.

confugio, fugi, ere 3, to flee for refuge or succor, to take sanctuary.

DR	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled:
Brenton	Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord; for I have fled to thee for refuge.
MD	Deliver me from my enemies of Lord to Thee I fly for refuge.
Cover	Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies; for I flee unto thee to hide me.

These gifts of the spirit, then, together with the virtues, most especially hope, are the key to escaping sin and defeating the temptations that beset us in the spiritual war that we must wage.

Psalm 142: Domine, exaudi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

And you can find the final post in this series on Psalm 142 and the Penitential Psalms here.

Psalm 142 verses 8-9

8	V	Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.
	NV	Non abscondas faciem tuam a me, ne similis fiam descendentibus in lacum.
	JH	ne abscondas faciem tuam a me, et comparabor descendentibus in lacum.

similis, e, like

descendo, scendi, scensum, ere 3  to descend, to come or go down.

lacus, us, m.  a pit.; pitfall, a trap;  the grave, the nether world, the kingdom of the dead, Sheol;

DR	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Brenton	turn not away thy face from me, else I shall be like to them that go down to the pit.
MD	Hide not Thy face from me, that I be not like those gone into the grave.
Cover	hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

Cassiodorus sees this verse as a warning of hell:

Earlier God had turned away His face because of the arrogance of sinning, but the prophet now begs that He look upon him because he prostrated himself in remorseful entreaties; for it befits the Lord's mercy to look kindly on the humble since He despises the hearts of the proud. By pit we must understand the lower region of hell, where the wicked are to be plunged into eternal punishment. So such men are matched with those who spurned God's power, and who befouling the images in which they were created assumed the shape of the devil's condemnation. Go down is a good description, for those who deserve to enter that pit are plunged to the lowest depths. So he entreats that he should not be­come like the proud, by lamenting his sins with humble satisfaction.

9	V/NV	Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.
	JH	Fac me audire mane misericordiam tuam; quoniam in te confido :

auditum facere, to sound forth, utter, announce.

DR	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
Brenton	Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for I have hoped in thee;
MD	Make me experience Thy mercy soon, for I trust in thee
Cover	O let me hear thy loving-kindness betimes in the morning; for in thee is my trust.

The morning here is symbolic, As Cassiodorus explains:

To hear thy mercy refers to the Lord's clemency widely known through the whole world, by which He lends help to suppliants, and kindness to the afflicted. The prophet seeks to hear the gospel words: Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.' The morning denotes the time of par­don, for it brings light to the mind when it descends on it with blessed outcome. It is rightly called the morning, for it comes after the dark­ness of sins, when guilt is forgiven. Alternatively it refers to the news of the resurrection, when the angel said to Mary: Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he has risen from the dead, as he said? The reason also follows, which must hold good: there was hope in Him who cannot deceive those who show praiseworthy trust in Him. Observe too that by such reasoning he strengthens his other requests that follow.

The text

Psalm 142: Domine, exaudi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

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

The Penitential Psalms - Psalm 142 v6&7

Death of St Benedict, Monte Cassino

Verse 6 of Psalm 142 is particularly important.  The reference to outstretched hands is often taken as a reference to Christ on the Cross, hence justifying the psalms traditional placement usage in the Roman Office on Fridays.  St Benedict however, shifted this psalm to Saturday, a day that marks Christ resting in the tomb, and the verse's second phrase, which seems to express a fervent longing for an absent Christ, fits well with that interpretation.

6	V/NV	Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.
	JH	Expandi manus meas ad te: animia mea quasi terra sitiens ad te.

‘Stretching out the hands’ (expandi manus) is a gesture of prayer.  The literal translation of the second phrase is something like ‘my soul is like the earth without water to you’, however most translators interpret the missing verb as ‘thirsts’ on the basis of similar sentiments in other psalms.  The Septuagint however omits the tibi which solves the problem a slightly different way, so that NETS makes it ‘I spread out my hands to you, my soul was like a parched land’.  The sense is not that different however.

expando pani pansum ere to spread out, stretch out

DR	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
NETS	I spread out my hands to you, my soul was like a parched land
Brenton	I spread forth my hands to thee; my soul thirsts for thee, as a dry land.
MD	I stretch out my hands to Thee, my soul thirsteth after Thee, like parched soil
Cover	I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land.

Cassiodorus summarises the Patristic interpretations of the passage:

"Though he has prophesied the Lord Saviour's coming in countless passages, here too by stretching out his hands he formed the shape of the holy cross. The person who prays with hands extended imitates the cross of the Redeemer which was inflicted as punishment by the faithless Jews, but was none the less bestowed on believers as salvation. When Moses was warring with the Amalekites, this was how he fared: he conquered when he stretched forth his hands, he was defeated if he let his arms fall. The comparison follows in which he says that his soul longs for God as the parched earth often absorbs abundant rain. The beginning of Psalm 41 is similar: As the hart pants after fountains of water, so my soul pants for thee, 0 God.Notice that he said: Unto thee, not to anyone else, so that you would not attach this longing to evil desires."

Bellarmine likewise sees this verse as a plea for God's grace:

The consideration of God's mercy having inspired him with hope, he began to sigh and to look up to him. "I stretched forth my hands to thee" in prayer; for my soul thirsts as much for your grace, as the parched earth does for the rain. A most appropriate comparison; for as the earth, when devoid of mois­ture, does not adhere together, is not clothed with herbage, nor adorned with flowers, produces no fruit, and is altogether idle and unproductive; so the soul, without God's grace, offers no resistance to temptation; but like the dust, that is carried about by the wind, has neither the clothing of justice, nor the orna­ments of wisdom, nor the fruit of good works, of all of which the penitent had practical experience, and was therefore the more thirsty.

7	V/NV	Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.
	JH	Cito exaudi me, Domiu ; defecit spiritus meus :

velociter, adv.  swiftly, quickly, speedily, rapidly

deficio, fed, fectum, ere 3 to fail, to be wasted, spent, consumed, cease to be, come to an end, vanish, long for, pine for,

DR	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
Brenton	Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit has failed
Cover	Hear me, O Lord, and that soon, for my spirit waxeth faint;

St Augustine expands on this plea for mercy:

For what need of delay to inflame my thirst, when already I thirst so eagerly? You delayed the rain, that I might drink and imbibe, not reject, Your inflowing. If then Thou for this cause delayed, now give; for my spirit has failed. Let Your Spirit fill me. This is the reason why You should speedily hear me. I am now become poor in spirit, make Thou me blessed in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 For he in whom his own spirit lives, is proud, is puffed up with his own spirit against God....

St Robert Bellarmine turns it into a call for action on our part:

The turpitude of the sin he acknowledged and the desire of grace now so presses on the penitent, that he can brook no further delay; and the fact of the penitent not deferring his con­fession, and the other remedies suggested, from day to day, but running at once to his spiritual physician, just as one taken suddenly ill would urgently send for the doctor, or one suffer­ing from thirst would run to the water, is a sign of true contri­tion. "Hear me speedily;" I cannot bear my wretched state any longer; wash me quickly from my iniquities; heal, at once, my disease; because "my spirit hath fainted away;" I am in the last extremities, can scarce draw my breath.

Psalm 142: Domine, exaudi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

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