Sowing the crop of good works: Psalm 125 v 6

Official's house Thebes

Verse 6 of Psalm 125 reminds us of this necessity of the hard work of penitence.

6	V/NV/JH	Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.
		οἱ σπείροντες ἐν δάκρυσιν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει θεριοῦσιν

semino, avi, atum, are to sow.

lacryma, ae, /., a tear.

DR	They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Brenton	They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Grail	Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
MD	They who sow in tears shall reap in gladness
RSV	May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
Cover	They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Knox	The men who are sowing in tears will reap, one day, with joy.

The first harvest, and the last

On Holy Wednesday, Our Lord said to the apostles:

Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die,Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal. (John 12:24-25)

Similarly, in chapter 16 of his Gospel, Our Lord alludes to the psalm, saying:

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

 In this light, the verse can be interpreted as a reference to the Resurrection.  St Augustine, for example, says that:

Therefore in Judea the harvest was now ready. Rightly there the crop was, so to speak, ripe, when so many thousands of people were bringing the price of their possessions and laying it at the feet of the apostles; their shoulders freed of worldly baggage, they were following Christ, the Lord. Truly a ripe harvest...

This is not, however, the end of the story, for there is another and final crop yet to be harvested:

What came of it? From that harvest a few grains were cast out, and they sowed the world, and there arises another har­vest that is to be reaped at the end of the world. About this harvest it is said, "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy." To this harvest, there­fore, not apostles but angels will be sent; he says, "The reapers are the angels." Tractates On The Gospel Of John 15.32.3.16

Ensuring we are part of the harvest

The Fathers and Theologians invariably apply the verse also to the necessity of cultivating virtue in ourselves, teasing out each part of the verse to do so.

Planting out a crop, St John Chrysostom reminds us, requires hard work:

Virtue is like that, you see: it offers conspicuous reward for its labors; we need firstly to toil and struggle, and then to seek rest. After all, you would find this happening everywhere even in things of this life. For this reason the psalmist also focused on these things, sowing and harvesting. In other words, just as the sower needs to apply effort, sweat and tears, and winter is also required, so too the person practicing virtue: nothing is so unsuited to laxity as a human being. 

Hence God made this way narrow and constrained - or, rather, not only the practice of virtue: even the things of this life he made laborious, and in fact far more so. I mean, the sower, the builder, the traveler, the woodsman, the artisan - every person who has in mind to gain some advantage needs to apply labor and effort.

And, he adds, the crop needs to watered with our tears:

As the seeds need rain, so we need tears; and as the land has need of ploughing and digging, so too the soul needs trials and tribulations in place of the hoe so that it not bear noxious weeds, that its hardness be softened, that it not be carried away. Soil that is not worked with diligence, remember, produces nothing healthy...

This crop will not be harvested in this world, Caesarius of Arles, but rather the next:

Let no one believe that he possesses any happiness or true joy in this world. Happiness can be prepared for, but it cannot be possessed here. Two times succeed each other in their own order, "a time to weep, and a time to laugh." Let no one deceive himself, brethren; there is no time to laugh in this world. I know, indeed, that everyone wants to rejoice, but people do not all look for joy in the place where it should be sought. 

True joy never did exist in this world, it does not do so now, and it never will. For thus the Lord warned his disci­ples in the Gospel when he said, "You will suffer in the world,"and again, "While the world rejoices, you will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy. "For this reason, with the Lord's help let us do good in this life through labor and sorrow, so that in the future life we may be able to gather the fruits of our good deeds with joy and exultation according to that sentence: "Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing." Sermon 215.2.20

We sow now, in other words, in order to obtain our reward in heaven.  Cassiodorus says:

Casting means sending in advance into the world to come, which our deeds reach before we ourselves can get there. As Scripture has it: But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not dig through and steal." 

Psalm 125 (126)

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1  In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:	When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted.
2  Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne	2 Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy.
3  Tunc dicent inter Gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.	Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord has done great things for them.
4  Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.	3 The Lord has done great things for us; we have become joyful.
5  Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in austro.	4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
6  Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.	5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
7  Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.	6 Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
8  Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.	7 But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And the next part in the series, on verse 7 of Psalm 125, can be found here.

Convert us O Lord - Psalm 125 v5 (Gradual Psalm No 7/5)

5	V/NV	Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in austro.
	JH	Conuerte, Domine, captiuitatem nostram,  sicut riuum in austro.
		ἐπίστρεψον κύριε τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἡμῶν ὡς χειμάρρους ἐν τῷ νότῳ

Text notes: The second phrase is a proverbial allusion to the sudden change from dried up wadies in summer to overflowing rivers and streams in winter, ie Converte Domine captivitatem nostram, sicut torrens in Austro = Change, 0 Lord, our lot, like the wady in the south-land.

converto, verti, versum, ere 3,  to turn, change, alter, bring back, quicken, refresh,restore,  convert, turn from sin

torrens, entis, m.  a brook, stream, torrent

Auster, stri, m.,  the south wind;, the south.

DR	Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
Brenton	Turn, O Lord, our captivity, as the steams in the south.
Grail	Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land.
MD	Restore again our fortunes O Lord as the torrent in the south
RSV	Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb!
Cover	Turn our captivity, O Lord, as the rivers in the south.
Knox	Deliver us, Lord, from our bondage; our withered hopes, Lord, like some desert water-course renew

A traditionalist's prayer for the restoration of the Church?!

There are two main lines of interpretation in relation to this verse.  The first is to see it as a call on the part of those who have already returned to God praying for the return of the rest of the people, just as there were two waves of return from Babylon to Jerusalem, under Ezra and Nehemiah respectively.

St Robert Bellarmine, for example, suggested:

As all the captives did not come home together—for some came, in the first instance, with Esdras, and then another party with Nehemias — the first party, then, pray to God for the return of all the captives, and they take up the simile of a torrent that is wont to run with great force and violence in a southerly gale; hence they say, "Turn again, O Lord, our captivity." Bring back our captives, the majority of whom are still in the land of the stranger; and bring them back at once, as quickly "as a stream in the south;" for when the wind blows from the south, the rain falls, the streams and the rivers rise, and the great flood rolls rapidly on to the ocean, and that without delay or obstruction. 

If the exiles, on their return, prayed to God so earnestly, what amount of earnestness will not be required of us, still exiles as we are? For though some have got home, have  come to their country, yet many are still in exile, on the not so are quite reconciled to the captivity, and attached to the things of this world that they don't bestow even a thought on their country; it was, then, absolutely necessary that the Lord, with all the violence of a torrent, when the south wind blows, should force them and compel them to ascend. 

In conclusion, then, the former, as well as the latter, are, to a certain extent, captives; for "all expect that every creature shall be deliv­ered from the servitude of corruption;" and even the blessed in heaven included. It is for this perfect liberty of the children of God, of which St. Paul treats in Rom. 8, that we most properly pray when we say, "Turn again our captivity as a stream in the south." The south means the south wind that usually preceded rain, and caused the streams and rivers to fill and run with rapidity; most expressive of the tide of captives returning back again in crowds and in haste to their beloved country.

And for our own conversion

The second line of interpretation focuses on the verses application to ourselves.  Cassiodorus, for example says: 

Now that they have proclaimed redemption brought by the Lord's coming, the faithful people reach the second section, entreating that their sins be again pardoned, for as Scripture says: The just man is bis own accuser at the beginning of his speech? and again: First tell of your iniquities that you may justify yourself. So rightly they both rejoiced at the general pardon and prayed that they too be granted indulgence. 

There follows a beautiful comparison: As a torrent in the south wind. The south is a warm wind which by the force of its exhalation looses waters which are fast bound with cold, and unleashes a rushing torrent through the heat of its breath. In the same way, sins held fast by the cold of death (for they have no life in them) are loosed by the warmth of heavenly mercy, and swiftly depart like a raging torrent. To grasp the fullness of the sense we must say: "Transform our captivity, Lord, as a torrent in the south wind is transformed into running water."

 Psalm 125 (126)

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1  In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:	When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted.
2  Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne	2 Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy.
3  Tunc dicent inter Gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.	Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord has done great things for them.
4  Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.	3 The Lord has done great things for us; we have become joyful.
5  Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in austro.	4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
6  Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.	5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
7  Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.	6 Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
8  Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.	7 But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And the next part of this series, covering verse 6, can be found here.

The Lord has done great things for us - Psalm 125 v 3-4 (Gradual Psalm No 7/4)

The previous spoke of our proper Easter joy; this one builds on it by emphasising that  God's great work of redemption was visible not just to the Jews of the time, but to the Gentiles as well, many of whom converted.  And truth has a greater impact when outsiders can witness to it.

3	V/NV	Tunc dicent inter gentes: * magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.
	JH	tunc dicent in gentibus,  Magnificauit Dominus facere cum istis.
		τότε ἐροῦσιν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐμεγάλυνεν κύριος τοῦ ποιῆσαι μετ' αὐτῶν

Text notes:  A number of the commentators suggest that ‘dicent’ should be translated here as ‘men were saying’ or ‘it is said’.  ‘Magnificare facere’ is a particular construction taken over from the Hebrew meaning ‘has done great things’.

gens, gentis, sing., people, nation, the chosen people, the Israelites; pl the heathen, the gentiles,

magnifico, avi, atum, are to praise, glorify, extol, magnify

DR	Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord has done great things for them.
Brenton	then would they say among the Gentiles The Lord has done great things among them.
Grail	The heathens themselves said: "What marvels the Lord worked for them!"
MD	Then was it said among the heathens, The Lord hath done great things for them
RSV	then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
Coverdale	Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
Knox	Among the heathen themselves it was said, What favour the Lord has shewn them!

Cassiodorus explains the reasons for emphasising the attention of the Gentiles:

The praise proclaimed by enemies is unambiguous; there is great weight of truth when a person known to have opposing senti­ments gives favourable testimony. Note quite carefully that he does not say: "The Gentiles," but among the Gentiles. At the coming of the Lord not all Gentiles believed, but among them were some who could have uttered such words when pricked at heart. So when they saw religion flourishing among the Christian people, they attained good understanding, and they proclaimed that the Lord was truly with such people, for they showed zeal for an upright conscience, and did not desire to besmirch themselves with any superstition. 

Since they saw that the Christians were also exercising virtues, they said: "The Lord has decided to do great things with them," for they saw that the Christians through their prayers were having their requests fulfilled.

The second half of the verse is echoed in the Magnificat, and goes to the wonder of what has happened, as St John Chrysostom explains:

And observe: they did not say, "He saved us," nor "He freed us," but He excelled himself, wanting to bring out through the term "excelling" the baffling character of the marvel...  word of them circulated everywhere, making clear to every­one God's lovingkindness: the wonders worked for them were marvellous and larger than life. 

As St Augustine tells us, we have received reward well beyond any possible merit or expectation:

It is the fact that the Lord dealt nobly with us, beyond our merits and our expectations, when he brought us from a miser­able captivity to this our sweetest native land; and thus "we are become joyful;" we who had hitherto been groaning in sorrow, captives as we were.

4	V/NV/JH	Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.
		ἐμεγάλυνεν κύριος τοῦ ποιῆσαι μεθ' ἡμῶν ἐγενήθημεν εὐφραινόμενοι

laetor, atus sum, ari, (laetus), to rejoice, be joyful, take delight in

DR	The Lord has done great things for us; we have become joyful.
Brenton	The Lord has done great things for us, we became joyful.
Grail	What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
MD	Yes the Lord hath done great things for us, and we were filled with joy.
RSV	The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
Coverdale	Yea, the Lord hath done great things for us already, whereof we rejoice.
Knox	Favour indeed the Lord has shewn us, and our hearts are rejoiced.

St Augustine comments: 

In the whole world our redemption is received; Amen is answered. The dwellers in Jerusalem, therefore, captive, destined to return, pilgrims, sighing for their country, speak thus among the heathen. What do they say? The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we rejoice. Have they done anything for themselves? They have done ill with themselves, for they have sold themselves under sin. The Redeemer came, and did the good things for them.

Psalm 125 (126)

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1  In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:	When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted.
2  Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne	2 Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy.
3  Tunc dicent inter Gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.	Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord has done great things for them.
4  Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.	3 The Lord has done great things for us; we have become joyful.
5  Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in austro.	4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
6  Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.	5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
7  Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.	6 Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
8  Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.	7 But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And the next part in this series is on Psalm 125 verse 5.

Show your joy - Psalm 125 v2 (Gradual Psalm No 7/3)

El Greco

2	V/NV	Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne.
	JH	Tunc implebitur risu os nostrum, et lingua nostra laude :
		τότε ἐπλήσθη χαρᾶς τὸ στόμα ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα ἡμῶν ἀγαλλιάσεως

tunc, adv. denoting a point of time which corresponds with another; then, at that time. as a subst.

repleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2, to fill, sate, satisfy

gaudium, ii,, joy, gladness, delight

os, oris, n., the mouth. 

lingua, ae, , the tongue; language, speech, tongue; plan, council. .

exsultatio, onis, joy, rejoicing, exultation

DR	Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy.
Brenton	Then was our mouth filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation:
Grail	Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs.
MD	Then our mouth was filled with gladness, and our tongue with jubilation.
RSV	Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
Coverdale	Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with joy.
Knox	in every mouth was laughter, joy was on every tongue.

Verse 2 of Psalm 125 takes us to the people's rejoicing at their liberation, and this is proper, as it reflects our proper attitude of gratitude towards God.

Cassiodorus tells us that the when referred to here (tunc) means the coming of Christ; but it can equally be applied, I think to his sacrifice that redeemed us:

Then means when the coming of the Lord Saviour, as has now been said, transformed our captivity into joy, our vices into virtues, our ignorance into knowledge of things divine, our death into eternal life, so that our mouth was rightly filled with gladness, and our tongue with joy, for such blessings were bestowed on us by the Lord's gift. Here mouth describes the hidden depth of the heart, where joys are first sown and sprout, and through the office of the tongue burst out into a harvest of words. It is the mouth which is referred to in: Taste, and see that the Lord is good!1 Even though his lips are closed, he cries out to the Lord, and the utterance of his remorseful heart is effectively heard, though his mouth is inactive.

 St Robert Bellarmine urges us always to show our joy:

this selfsame unspeakable consolation is always felt by those who are seri­ously converted to God, and, despising the hopes of this world, and abandoning all desire for the goods of this world, "direct their steps in the path of peace." 

They know the value of being rescued from the captivity of the devil, from the depths of the pit, and the being prepared for the enjoyment of true liberty and everlasting peace, through the call and the guidance of the Almighty. Interior joy will not fail to show itself externally, which it does by the expression of joy on the countenance and gladness on the tongue.

Rejoicing, he argues, is the proper reaction to God's action:

Rejoicing at liberation from captivity is no slight contribution to a change for the better. And who, he asks, does not rejoice at it? Their forebears, when liberated from Egypt and transferred from that awful slavery to freedom, under the influence of extreme ingratitude murmured in the midst of the very benefits, were dis­gruntled, indignant, and maintained their grief. This is not true of us, they claim: we rejoice and exult.

Psalm 125 (126)

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1  In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:	When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted.
2  Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne	2 Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy.
3  Tunc dicent inter Gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.	Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord has done great things for them.
4  Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.	3 The Lord has done great things for us; we have become joyful.
5  Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in austro.	4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
6  Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.	5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
7  Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.	6 Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
8  Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.	7 But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And the next part in this series covers verses 3&4 of Psalm 125.