Psalm 90 v13 - Trampling down the devil

Ravenna, c6th
Picture credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro (Wiki Commons)

Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.

You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.

Verse 13 of Psalm 90 is particularly important, since, as St John Cassian pointed out, it is the one the devil deliberately omits in his debate with Christ in the desert:

For so the devil in the gospel when tempting the Lord said: If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down. For it is written that He shall give His angels charge concerning You to keep You in all Your ways. And when he had said this, he left out the context and what belongs to it; viz., You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon. Surely he cunningly quoted the previous verse and left out the latter: for he quoted the one to deceive Him: he held his tongue about the latter to avoid condemning himself. For he knew that he himself was signified by the asp and basilisk, the lion and dragon in the Prophet's words.  On the Incarnation, ch 16

Looking at the Latin

Key vocab:

aspis, idis, f a kind of small, venomous serpent, an asp, adder, viper.

basiliscus, i, m.  a basilisk, a kind of venomous serpent.

ambulo, avi, atum, are to walk, the manner in which one orders one's life

conculco, avi, atum, are  to trample upon, tread under foot; fig., to despise, treat with contempt.

leo, leonis, m. a lion; fig., a man of a cruel, bloodthirsty, or malevolent disposition

draco, onis, m. dragon

A word by word translation crib for the Vulgate is:

 Super (on/upon/over) áspidem (the asp) et (and) basilíscum (the basilisk) ambulábis (you shall walk): et (and) conculcábis (you shall trample/tread underfoot) leónem (the lion) et (and) dracónem (the dragon).

An asp (aspidem) is a small venomous serpent; a basilisk (basiliscum) another type of snake.  The Pian translation (and the Monastic Diurnal), makes it instead an asp and adder.

13	V/NV	Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.
	Pian	Super aspidem et viperam gradieris, Conculcabis leonem et draconem.
	JH	Super aspidem et basiliscum calcabis : conculcabis leonem et draconem.
		ὅτι ἐμὲ ἤλπισεν καὶ ῥύσομαι αὐτόν σκεπάσω αὐτόν ὅτι ἔγνω τὸ ὄνομά μου

There are also considerable variances in the English translations:

DR	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
MD	Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the adder, the lion and the dragon shalt though trample under foot.
Brenton	Thou shalt tread on the asp and basilisk: and thou shalt trample on the lion and dragon.
RSV	You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Coverdale	Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
Knox	Thou shalt tread safely on asp and adder, crush lion and serpent under thy feet.
Grail	On the lion and the viper you will tread and trample the young lion and the dragon.

The many faces of the devil

Whatever the selection though, asps, adders, basilisks, lions and dragons are all are used to designate the devil in various places of Scripture. 

The Fathers and Theologians offer an interesting variety of just which threats and dimensions of the devil they are intended to represent.

St Augustine, for example, saw the serpent references as to the attacks of the devil on the church collectively: the lion represents open attacks from outside the Church; the dragon the secret subversion attack of heresy within.

St Alphonsus Liguori, by contrast, pointed to various spiritual dangers to the individual:

In a spiritual sense, by the asp is understood the demon who inspires despair; by the basilisk, the demon who inspires presumption; by the lion, pride; and by the dragon, attachment to earthly goods.

Others, though, pointed to the various beasts as symbolizing the type of attack.  St Cassiodorus, for example, argued that:

He is the asp when he strikes covertly; the basilisk when he openly spreads poison; the lion when he attacks the innocent; the dragon when he devours with wicked greed those who are off their guard.

Similarly St Robert Bellarmine suggested that:

He calls Satan a serpent, by reason of his cunning, and a lion, by reason of his ferocity; and, as there are various sorts of serpents, he calls him an asp, a basilisk, and a dragon, for to the cunning that is common to all serpents, the asp unites obstinacy, the basilisk cruelty, and the dragon great strength and power, for all of which Satan is remarkable…

Christ trampling down the serpents and beasts

Whatever the form of the attack though, the key point of the verse is that Christ will overcome it, and there are obvious resonances with both Genesis and Revelation (see esp 20:2) in it.  One of the key allusions though is to Isaiah 11:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root….The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk.

As a result, Christ in triumph trampling down the beasts and serpents was a frequent subject of early iconography, as the picture above illustrates.  

The previous verse tells of the help of the good angels; this verse promises us that we – through the victory of Christ - will ultimately triumph over evil, and the fallen angels including Satan. 

St Iraenaeus of Lyon, for example, expounded the verse as follows:

But He set a bound to his [state of] sin, by interposing death, and thus causing sin to cease, putting an end to it by the dissolution of the flesh, which should take place in the earth, so that man, ceasing at length to live to sin, and dying to it, might begin to live to God. For this end did He put enmity between the serpent and the woman and her seed, they keeping it up mutually: He, the sole of whose foot should be bitten, having power also to tread upon the enemy’s head; but the other biting, killing, and impeding the steps of man, until the seed did come appointed to tread down his head, - which was born of Mary, of whom the prophet speaks: “Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the basilisk; thou shalt trample down the lion and the dragon;” - indicating that sin, which was set up and spread out against man, and which rendered him subject to death, should be deprived of its power, along with death, which rules [over men]; and that the lion, that is, antichrist, rampant against mankind in the latter days, should be trampled down by Him; and that He should bind “the dragon, that old serpent” and subject him to the power of man, who had been conquered so that all his might should be trodden down. Now Adam had been conquered, all life having been taken away from him: wherefore, when the foe was conquered in his turn, Adam received new life; and the last enemy, death, is destroyed, which at the first had taken possession of man. Against Heresies, 3.23.7 c180

   

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

You can find the next post in this series here.

Psalm 90 v12 - Tripping over stones

Mosaic in basilica di San Marco, c12th
Source: Wiki Commons

In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.

In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.

This verse, along with the one that precedes it, remind us to pray to and honour the angels in general, and our guardian angel in particular.

Looking at the Latin

The key vocabulary for this verse is:

in+abl with, in, on among, by means of

manus, us,  hand

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

forte, perhaps, perchance.

offendo, fendi, fensum, ere 3, to hit, strike, knock, or dash against.

ad+acc to, toward

lapis, idis, m. a stone

pes, pedis, m, the foot.

Word by word:

In (in) manibus (the hands) portábunt (they will carry/bear) te (you): ne (not/lest) forte (perhaps) offéndas (you may hit/trip over) ad (at, towards) lápidem (the stone) pedem (foot) tuum (your).

The ministry of the angels to Christ and us

This verse, like the previous one, was used by the devil in his temptation of Christ in the desert; though he rejects the temptation in question, the Gospel account does go onto to attest to the ministry of the angels to Christ following his forty day fast. 

St Augustine pointed out that this was not out of necessity, for Christ had no need of their aid in his divinity.

Instead, the purpose is to show to us their role, and to attest to his kingship:

…in this Psalm we may understand it of the service of the Angels: it does not pertain to any infirmity in our Lord, but to the honour they pay, and to their service....

What then, is the aid our guardian angels can offer to us?

Theodoret of Cyr suggests that the answer is that:

they will guide, lead, offer all kinds of assistance.

Allegorical

Most of the Fathers and Theologians give considerable weight to an allegorical interpretation of this verse.

St Alphonsus Liguori summarized these as follows:

The hands of the angels are their intelligence and will; the stones are the difficulties to be met with in the course of life, as scandals, temptations, persecutions, etc; the feet are, with St. Augustine and St. Bernard, human affections, especially love and fear.

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.

Psalm 90 v 11 - Our guardian angels

Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.

For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.

Verse 11 of Psalm 90 attests to a key doctrine, namely that, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it:

From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their [angels] watchful care and intercession. "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

Looking at the Latin

The key vocabulary is:

quoniam,  for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.

angelus, i, m.an angel, spirit, messenger.

mando, avi, atum, are to enjoin, order,

de +abl from, away from, down from, out of; to indicate the thing with reference to which anything is done, with respect to, concerning (Lewis and Short).

custodio, ivi or ii, itum, ire, to guard, watch, keep, to maintain, to hold steadfastly.

omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything

via, ae f a way, road, path, street. God's way, way of life.

Accordingly a word by word translation is: 

Quóniam (for) angelis (angels) suis (his) mandávit (he has ordered) de (concerning/with respect to) te (you): * ut (in order that) custódiant (they may protect) te (you) in (in) ómnibus (all) viis (the ways/paths) tuis (your).

The English translations use a variety of tenses for the first phrase: For he has/hath given will/shall give his angels charge over you; the Latin is present subjunctive.

Monastic Diurnal	He hath given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Brenton	For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
RSV	For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.
Coverdale	For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Knox	He has given charge to his angels concerning thee, to watch over thee wheresoever thou goest;
Grail	For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in all your ways.

Each of the words of this verse are important, and it is worth drawing out some of the nuances.

The temptation of Jesus in the desert: even the devil can quote Scripture

The word angel is qualified, in the verse, by ‘his’ (God’s). 

This is a reminder that not all angels are good angels! 

Rather, some are demons, who seek to destroy us. 

Indeed, this verse is the classic example of Shakespeare’s axiom that even the devil can quote Scripture: in the Merchant of Venice he says: 

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!”

This particular verse is used by the devil to tempt Our Lord, and thus serves as a warning to us of the danger of presumption: the New Testament tells of how the devil asks Jesus to throw himself down from a high place, knowing that the angles would preserve him. 

Jesus replies, also quoting Scripture, that “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”.  

For us, the temptation is to demand a miracle of God out of personal pride, or perhaps in a situation where God’s providential plan demands another outcome: to demand that God heal a friend or family member for example, or else we will not believe. 

Our guardian angels

A second key message in this verse is that the angels guard us because God commands them to.  St Robert Bellarmine commented that:

“…the reason why the angels take such care of us is, because God ordered them to do so, gave us in charge to them; for, though they guard us with right good will, loving us as they do, and though they have a horror of the evil angels, and wish the heavenly Jerusalem to be renewed as soon as possible; and though they know all this to be most agreeable to their King, Christ our Lord, still God's command is uppermost, is their ruling motive for the whole; for they are conscious of being God's servants, and there is nothing that he requires more strictly from his servants than prompt and implicit obedience.”

Everyone has a guardian angel.  Bellarmine, though, noted that special help is accorded by them to the just:

…God's providence extends to all, and that he has given a guardian angel to each and every human being; but still that he has a peculiar regard for the just, for those that confide in him; and, therefore, that he has given special orders to his angels to look "over thee," the just man, who trusts in his help, "to keep thee;" the charge God gave his angels regarding the just was to preserve him from his enemies, the evil angels; for man, by reason of the flesh that envelops him, can see nothing save through the eyes of the flesh, and, therefore, is no match for the evil spirits, unless he get help from someone more powerful.

The ways of man and God

St Robert Bellarmine argued that the plural of the last phrase is significant, since there is no one path that everyone follows:

for numerous are the ways of man, and in every one of them he needs the help of his guardian angel. The law is the way, according to Psalm 118, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord;" and in the same Psalm, "I have run the way of thy commandments." The way also means the works, as in Prov. 8, "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways before he made anything." Finally, this life is a way to a certain extent. The way of the law is varied, for there are many laws; the way of the works is equally so, for there are many works; the way of life is also varied, for there are many parts, ages, and states of life. We require assistance in every one of them, since we are liable to fall in every law, work, age, and state of our life.

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

For the next part in this series, continue on here.