The enemy within - Psalm 128 (Gradual Psalm No 10)

The tenth Gradual Psalm, and final psalm of Monday Vespers in the Benedictine Office, is Psalm 128.

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.

Arriving...

This psalm is generally interpreted as referring to the arrival of the pilgrims in Jerusalem, at the gates of heaven, or perhaps the point of the return of the Exiles, and so pause to reflect on their journey.

The journey has not been easy; it has been under constant assault from the enemy.  The opening verses announce, though, that though hard-pressed by enemies along the way, they have not been overcome.

If one interprets these psalms as following the events of the Passion, the devil has been confounded and turned back, as will all be who do his work in the world: we can now look forward to the freeing of the souls in Hades.

The enemy within

Many of the Fathers and Theologians interpret it also as referring to the ongoing struggle in this world against those who oppose Christ both within and outside the Church.  St Cassiodorus, for example, comments:

The prophet teaches us to endure the troubles of the world patiently, for he demonstrates that the Church's sufferings are numerous. The prophet is filled with the Holy Spirit, and in the first section he urges Israel to tell of the great struggles and the nature of the guile which they have endured from their enemies, so that none of the faithful may seem to despair because of their afflictions.

Similarly, St Robert Bellarmine comments:

 God's people, in trouble, console themselves by the reflection that troubles and difficulties are nothing new to them, and that, through God's assistance, they have always got through them. This applies to the Jews, and the repeated attacks of the neighboring nations, while the temple and the city were being rebuilt; and it also applies to the Church of Christ, that scarcely ever had a moment's respite from the assaults of pagans, heretics, or bad Christians. He, therefore, says, "Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say." Let not Israel, God's people, be surprised if her enemies assail her; for it is no new story with her; because, from her very infancy, at the first dawn of the Church, she suffered persecution from Cain, and similar persecutions have been going on to the present day.”

The cursing psalms 

This psalm presents difficulties for many modern readers by virtue of its imprecatory or cursing words. St Robert Bellarmine, however, notes that these should be viewed as prophecy or prediction, not curses: God will not ‘cut off the necks’ of the penitent, but only those sinners who refuse to repent.

Cassiodorus provides a useful discussion of the issue:

In the second section he inveighs with the spirit of prophecy against obstinate foes of the Church by means of certain comparisons, calling down on them what he knew would befall them at the future judgment…Let us observe that this psalm has mounted the tenth level, borne aloft, so to say, on twin wings; for its right wing is the proclaimed conversion of the proud after their manifold persecution of the Church, and the left is the desired confusion of those who hate Sion. The prophet utters this not because he is eager to curse, but out of feeling for the truth to come; for though we are bidden to pray even for our enemies, he revealed the nature of the truth concerning the obdurate who are doomed to perish. These words were not, however, uttered without fruit as the outcome of his great devotion, for many people save themselves by correction from the punishment which was foretold, once they realise the fate that overhangs the obstinate.

It is, then, meant to be a call to action, to conversion.

You can find notes on the individual verses of the psalm in the context of Monday Vespers as follows:

Introduction to Psalm 128 (Saepe expugnaverunt me) (2013)
Ps 128 v1-2
Psalm 128 v3
Psalm 128 v4
Ps 128 v5-6
Ps 128 v7

Or you can go to the next part in this Lenten series, on Psalm 129.

Grace flowing from his side - Psalm 127 (Gradual Psalm No 9)

Morgan Library

There is perhaps a certain irony in having last psalm of None, an hour that commemorates Christ's death, opening with a beatitude.  But we can, I think, see this as speaking of the blessings that flow from the wounds of Christ, when he was pierced by a lance.  Indeed, Cassiodorus suggests that “In the ninth [of the Gradual psalms], it is proclaimed that we become blessed through fear of the Lord, and that all profitable things are granted us.”

Psalm 127

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Beáti omnes, qui timent Dóminum,* qui ámbulant in viis ejus.	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
2  Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.	2 For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.
3  Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans: * in latéribus domus tuæ.	3 Your wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of your house.
4  Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum: * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.	Your children as olive plants, round about your table.
5  Ecce sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.	4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.
6  Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: *  et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.	5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
7  Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum: * pacem super Israël.	6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.
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.

As with yesterday's psalm, I plan to come back to this one after Easter, so today just a taster in the form of the introductory remarks on it by St Cassiodorus:

The number itself announces the splendour of this step, for it reveals to us the sacred summit of the holy Trinity by its triple trebling. 

But since we read: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,we must investigate why the prophet has decided that we must keep it in mind at this stage. There are two fears which prick our hearts. The first is human fear, by which we are apprehensive of suffering physical hazards or losing worldly goods; this is clearly a temporary state, since we fear such things only as long as we dwell in the life of this world. But divine fear always mounts with us through all the advances which we make in this life. Whereas we abandon worldly fear together with the world on the first step, divine fear remains ever with us, and is adapted as a most faithful companion throughout our ascent. 

As has already been said in Psalm 118: Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear, for I am afraid of thy judgments,  So it is fitting that both on this step and everywhere we be instructed that fear of the Lord should be within us, for it is approved as our essential guardian.   

In the first limb the prophet recounts by certain allusions the blessings of those who fear God, so as to fire the spirits of the committed with the warmth of heaven's reward. In the second, he blesses them that they may gain eternal joys, so that none may be apprehensive of this sweetest of fears…We identify in this psalm the promises made to those who fear God, the rewards obtained by the person who with pure mind feels awe for the Lord. 

So let us pray most eagerly that we may deserve to obtain this fear which we seek not as punishment, but for salvation; from it sprout blessings such as never spring from worldly delights. It is right that we seek this highest gift with vehement entreaty. So as we have said, let us continually beg the Lord that by His generosity we may deserve to attain such gifts. He who bids sinners make entreaty in season and out of season has promised that He can hearken even to the undeserving among us.

Liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	-
RB cursus	None weekdays+AN 1587 (1)
Monastic feasts etc	Gradual Psalms 1 Vespers of CC; 2Vespers of SH; AN 5254 (5)
Roman pre 1911	Wed Vespers
Responsories	-
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wed Vespers . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Nuptial mass GR (3), TR (4-6)

And you can find more on this psalm in a set of notes starting here.

Placing ourselvs under God's protection - Psalm 126 (Gradual Psalm 8)

Psalm 126, the eighth Gradual Psalm, is the second psalm of Benedictine weekday None.  Cassiodorus summarises it as follows:

In the eighth, it is said that nothing remains of what any individual has performed by his own will; only the things built by the sponsorship of the Lord are most firmly established.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved, 3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate

As I don't have space, in this current Lenten series, to look at this important psalm verse by verse as it deserves, I thought I would save giving you my take on it until after Easter, and in the meantime provide for your meditation a General Audience on it of Pope Benedict XVI from 31 August 2005:

Psalm 127[126], just proclaimed, places a motion picture before our eyes: a house under construction, the city with its watchmen, family life, night watches, daily work, the little and great secrets of existence. However, a crucial presence towers over everything, the presence of the Lord who watches over the works of man, as the incisive opening of the Psalm suggests: "If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labour" (v. 1).   

Indeed, a sound society is born from the commitment of all its members, but it needs the blessing and support of that God who, unfortunately, is too often excluded or ignored.  The Book of Proverbs emphasizes the primacy of divine action for a community's well-being and does so radically, asserting: "It is the Lord's blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it" (Prv 10: 22). 

This sapiential Psalm, fruit of meditation on the reality of everyday life, is built mainly on a contrast: without the Lord, in vain does one seek to construct a stable house, to build a secure city, to bring our own efforts to fruition (cf. Ps 127[126]: 1-2).  With the Lord, instead, there is prosperity and fruitfulness, a peaceful family richly endowed with children, a well-fortified and protected city, free of constant worry and insecurity (cf. vv. 3-5). 

The text opens with a reference to the Lord, portrayed as a builder of houses and a watchman on guard over the city (cf. Ps 121[120]: 1-8). Man goes out in the morning to toil at a job to support the family and serve the development of society. It is work that consumes his energy, making his brow sweat all day long (cf. Ps 127[126]: 2).3. Well, the Psalmist, although he recognizes the importance of work, does not hesitate to say that all this work is useless if God is not beside the labourer. And he affirms that God even goes so far as to reward his friends' sleep. Thus, the Psalmist desires to exalt the primacy of divine grace that impresses substance and value on human action, although it is marked by limitations and transience.  In the serene and faithful abandonment of our freedom to the Lord, our work also becomes solid, capable of bearing lasting fruit. Thus, our "sleep" becomes rest blessed by God and destined to seal an activity that has meaning and coherence. 

At this point we move on to the other scene outlined in our Psalm. The Lord offers the gift of children, seen as a blessing and a grace, a sign of life that continues and of the history of salvation extending to new stages (cf. v. 3). The Psalmist extols in particular "the sons of youth": the father who has had sons in his youth will not only see them in their full vigour, but they will be his support in old age. He will be able, therefore, to face the future confidently, like a warrior, armed with a quiver of those victorious pointed "arrows" that are his sons (cf. vv. 4-5). 

The purpose of this image, taken from the culture of the time, is to celebrate the safety, stability and strength found in a large family, such as is presented anew in the subsequent Psalm 128[127], in which the portrait of a happy family is sketched. The last picture shows a father surrounded by his sons, who is welcomed with respect at the city gates, the seat of public life. Begetting is thus a gift that brings life and well-being to society. We are aware of this in our days in the face of nations that are deprived, by the demographic loss, of the freshness and energy of a future embodied by children. However, the blessing of God's presence, the source of life and hope, towers over it all. 

Spiritual authors have often made use of Psalm 127[126] to exalt this divine presence, crucial to advancing on the path of good and of the Kingdom of God. Thus, the monk Isaiah (who died in Gaza in 491), recalling the example of the ancient patriarchs and prophets, taught in his Asceticon (Logos 4, 118): "They placed themselves under God's protection, imploring his assistance, without putting their trust in some work they accomplished. And for them, God's protection was a fortified city, because they knew that without God's help they were powerless; and their humility made them say, with the Psalmist: "If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil'" (Recueil Ascétique, Abbey of Bellefontaine 1976, pp. 74-75). Thus, it is also true today that only communion with the Lord can safeguard our houses and our cities.

And you can either go on to the next part in this Lenten series, or to more detailed notes on the psalm.

Psalm 125 v 8 - Going out and coming in

Van Gogh

In the previous verse of Psalm 125 we looked at the idea of 'going out', and the need for almsgiving and other good works; in this verse the focus is on 'coming in', the harvest or reward for our efforts.  It takes us back to the joy of the Resurrection, and of the New Jerusalem to come.

8	V/NV	Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.
	JH	ueniens ueniet in exultatione, portans manipulos suos.
		ἐρχόμενοι δὲ ἥξουσιν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει αἴροντες τὰ δράγματα αὐτῶν

Text notes: Venientes…venient, is as in verse 7, a construction based on the Hebrew and emphasizes the certainty of the action. 

venio, veni, ventum, ire,  to come; to come upon

porto, avi, atum, are, to bear, carry.

manipulus, i, m.  lit., a small bundle, a handful; a sheaf. 125,6 Venientes autem venient cum exultatione, portantes

manipulos suos. But coming they shall come with joy, carrying their sheaves. 128,7.

DR	But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves
Brenton	but they shall surely come with exultation, bringing their sheaves with them.
Grail	they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves.
MD	But they return rejoicing, bearing their sheaves.
RSV	shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Cover	Shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him.
Knox	trust me, they will come back rejoicing, as they carry their sheaves with them.

Sheaves

The image of a sheaf is not one that will be familiar to most of us, so St Cassiodorus' explanation of the context for the literal meaning of the verse is rather helpful:

When harvesters have finished their work, after assembling the ears of corn they carry in their laps to the thresh­ing-floor the bundles which they have tied together in the fields. In the same way the blessed ones carry to the Lord's threshing-floor their most fruitful works. Happy is the bosom which is weighed down by the loads of wheat, so that light straw does not cheat the prayers of the harvester; otherwise he would then reap empty rewards for his toil, for he can now work no longer.

St Augustine provides the spiritual meaning of the verse, focusing on the nature of the reward being held out to us, alluded to figuratively by the reference to sheaves:

For in that resurrection of the dead, each man shall receive his own sheaves, that is, the produce of his seed, the crown of joys and of delight. Then will there be a joyous triumph, when we shall laugh at death, wherein we groaned before: then shall they say to death, O death, where is your strife? O death, where is your sting?

For him, the essence of the reward receive is peace:

And what will you reap? Peace. Said the Angels, Peace on earth unto rich men? No,  but, Peace on earth unto men of a good will.  

 Coming in

St Cassiodorus also explains why this represents a 'coming in':

Coming, they come in joyfulness, for divine mercy is in store for them because their actions on this earth have accorded with the commands of heaven

There is perhaps, a temptation to want t move straight to the positives, and skip past the difficult times that God sends to enable us to endure and learn from in order to progress spirituality.   St John Chrysostom closes his commentary on the psalm, though, with a reminder that we should thank God for both sides of the equation:

Let us also be aware of this, therefore, and thank the Lord both tor tribulation and for relief. Different though they are, after all, they each have one end in view, like sowing and harvest. Let us hear tribulation generously and gratefully, and relief with words of praise, so as to attain also to the future goods, thanks to the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power for ages of ages. Amen.

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 you can find the next part in this series, on Psalm 128, here.

The importance of almsgiving - Psalm 125 v7

In many respects verse 7 seems like another way of repeating the sentiments of verse 6: sorrow turned to joy.  However, the added element is the idea of 'going out', pointing us to the need not to be discouraged, but to actually be active in following the right path and helping others.

7	V	Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.
	NV	Euntes ibant et flebant semen spargendum portantes;
	JH	Qui ambulans ibat et flebat, portans ad seminandum sementem,
		πορευόμενοι ἐπορεύοντο καὶ ἔκλαιον αἴροντες τὰ σπέρματα αὐτῶν

Text notes: The first phrase is literally ‘Going they went’, a construction based directly on the Hebrew – St Jerome’s version from the Hebrew actually 'corrects' it to a more idiomatic Latin rendering.  In Hebrew, it conveys continuance, a prolonged state of action.

eo, ire – to go, walk, proceed (euntes = pres active participle pl; ibant=impf)

fleo, flevi, fletum, flere 2, to weep

mitto, misi, missum, ere 3,  to send; cast out, semina mittere, to sow seed

semen, mis, n. (sero), (1) seed. 

DR	Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
Brenton	They went on and wept as they cast their seeds
Grail	They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing:
MD	They go forth weeping, sowing their seeds
RSV	He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
Cover	He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed,
Knox	Mournful enough they go, but with seed to scatter;

Going out

Cassiodorus argues that the idea of going forth relates to the idea of taking the right path on the pilgrimage of life:

The word Going denotes the advance of a most holy life, in which they always reach their destination by taking the right path.

St Augustine has a slightly different take on it, implicitly relating the verse back to the very first psalm of the sequence, when the decision to set out was made.  He starts from the idea that we can be reluctant to actually get started on what we must do, just as the farmer is put off by the weather.:

When the farmer goes forth with the plough, carrying seed, is not the wind sometimes keen, and does not the shower sometimes deter him? He looks to the sky, sees it lowering, shivers with cold...

The farmer, he argues, nevertheless goes out, lest he end up with no crop, and we too, he argues, need to cease procrastinating:

...nevertheless [he] goes forth, and sows. For he fears lest while he is observing the foul weather, and awaiting sunshine, the time may pass away, and he may not find anything to reap.  Put not off, my brethren; sow in wintry weather, sow good works, even while you weep; for, They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. They sow their seed, good will, and good works. 

Why did they weep?

St Augustine's answer is because of the trials and tribulations of this world, the suffering of others, and the weight of our sins:

In this life, which is full of tears, let us sow...Why do they weep? Because they were among the miserable, and were themselves miserable...

Cassiodorus builds on this, suggesting we should cultivate a proper concern for the suffering of the poor:

They wept, then, when they saw the poor stripped naked, rigid with cold, disfigured by savage poverty, so that they evinced devotion in their hearts before their hands made any generous provision. 

What is the seed being sewn?

St Augustine focuses on the nature of the crop we should sew, pointing particularly to the importance of almsgiving and good works: 

It is better, my brethren, that no man should be miserable, so that you should do alms...as long as there are objects for its exercise, let us not fail amid those troubles to sow our seed...What shall we sow? Good works. Works of mercy are our seeds: of which seeds the Apostle says, Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. 

Cassiodorus follows St Augustine's lead and suggests that the verse is pointing to almsgiving as the particular good work we must undertake:

Though this verse too seems to point to good works in general, it is recognised—and others have thought the same—to be prescribing in particular almsgiving. Hence the words of Scripture: As water quenches fire, so alms quenches sins...

St Robert Bellarmine also takes up this theme:

...it cannot but be of use to consider in what respect the seed may be compared with alms, in the hope that they "who have in their heart disposed to ascend by steps" may be more encouraged to divide freely with the poor. 

The grain that is sown is very small, and yet produces such a number of grains as to seem almost incredible; thus it is with alms, a small thing, a poor thing as being a human act; but when properly sown, produces, not money, nor food, nor clothes, but an eternal kingdom; just as if the grain of wheat that we sow should produce an ear of gold instead of an ear of wheat, studded with precious stones instead of grains of wheat.

Then, the grain put into the ground must corrupt and die or else it will not sprout, as our Lord has it in the Gospel, "Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, itself remaineth alone;" thus alms must be freely bestowed as a right, and not as a loan, and to those only who cannot return it; and it must be given to corrupt and per­ish, that is, without the slightest hope of getting it back in this world; for when thus lost and corrupted, it will not fail to shoot out again, and produce much fruit in life everlasting. 

Again, the grain put into the ground needs both sun and rain to germinate; and so with alms, which, as well as all other good works, needs the sun of divine grace, and the showers of the blood of the Mediator; that is, in order to become meritorious, they must spring from the grace of God, that has its source in the blood of Christ; for then a matter of the greatest insignificance becomes one of the greatest value, by reason of the stamp impressed upon it by grace; and thus merits, not only as a favor, but as a right, the grace of life everlasting...alms, when given with a proper intention, is always safe; for it is stored up in heaven, where neither moths, nor flies, nor thieves can come near it.  

Almsgiving as the key to the spiritual ascent

St Augustine provides a short exposition on how almsgiving and the works of mercy relate to making our spiritual ascent that is worth meditating on:

 In this Psalm we have chiefly exhorted you to do deeds of alms, because it is thence that we ascend; and you see that he who ascends, sings the song of steps. Remember: do not love to descend, instead of to ascend, but reflect upon your ascent: because he who descended from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves...The Samaritan as He passed by slighted us not: He healed us, He raised us upon His beast, upon His flesh; He led us to the inn, that is, the Church; He entrusted us to the host, that is, to the Apostle; He gave two pence, whereby we might be healed, the love of God, and the love of our neighbour. ... All this has already happened: if we have descended, and have been wounded; let us ascend, let us sing, and make progress, in order that we may arrive.

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 you can find the final set of notes on Psalm 127 here.

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.