Ps 140 v7: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us...

 Verse 7 of Psalm 140 is challenging to translate, but that should not deter us, since the Fathers start from the premise that God is giving us something that can be understood, and provide a number of plausible interpretations of it.

 Looking at the Latin

7	V	Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.
	OR	quoniam adhuc est oratio mea in beneplacitis eorum absorti sunt continuati petrae iudices eorum
	NV	quoniam adhuc et oratio mea in malitiis eorum. Deiecti in manus duras iudicum eorum
	JH	quia adhuc et oratio mea pro malitiis eorum. Sublati sunt iuxta petram iudices eorum,
	Sept	ὅτι ἔτι καὶ ἡ προσευχή μου ἐν ταῖς εὐδοκίαις αὐτῶν κατεπόθησαν ἐχόμενα πέτρας οἱ κριταὶ αὐτῶν

 [Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The Neo-Vulgate's decision to omit the word rock altogether seems unfortunate given the word's Christological connotations.

Phrase by phrase 

Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: júdices eórum. absórpti sunt juncti petræ

For my prayer still shall be against  the things with which they are well pleased: Their judges have been swallowed up falling upon the rock

Word by word 

Quóniam (since) adhuc (as yet) et (even/ against) orátio (prayer) mea (my) in (by means of) beneplácitis (pleasing) eórum (them): * absórpti sunt (they have been swallowed up) juncti (united/joined to) petræ (the rocks) júdices (the judges) eórum (of them). 

Key vocabulary 

quoniam, for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.
adhuc, yet, as yet; even yet; even now.
et, conj. And; et = sed, adversative; et = vel; yea, even
in +abl = with, in, on among, by means of
beneplacitus, a, um well-pleasing, agreeable, acceptable
absorbeo, iii, ere 2, to swallow up, gulp down
jungo jungere junxi junctum (3) to join, unite
petra -ae f 1.  Rock,  place of safety
judex, icis, m.  a judge  

DR	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
Brenton	for yet shall my prayer also be in their pleasures. Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock
MD	For my prayer is still against their pleasure: their judges are dashed against the stones.
RSV	for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds. When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
Cover	yea, I will pray yet against their wickedness. Let their judges be overthrown in stony places,
Knox	Their injuries I will still greet with a prayer.  My words have won their hearts, a people that had seen their chieftains hurled down the rock-face,
Grail	Let my prayer be ever against their malice. Their princes were thrown down by the side of the rock;

[Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

A prayer for our conversion or theirs?

The Fathers note that there were a number of text variants of this verse in circulation, in part accounting for slightly different takes on the verse. 

On one side of the spectrum, St Cassiodorus sees it as a prayer of a sinner whose conversion is not yet fully effected:

This short verse is dependent on the earlier sense. He says: The oil of the sinner shall not fatten my head, and follows this by adding: For my prayer is still in the things that please them. When he says that his prayer is still in the things that please them, he suggests that his conversion is not yet perfect, for in his prayer he was longing to attain the things to which they aspired. His entreaty was chat he should become a stranger to all such things, so that he should not anoint his head with the oil of the sinner, that is, with the flattery of evil persuasion. 

The majority of the Fathers, though, saw it as a prayer for the conversion of those committed to sin.

St Jerome, for example, suggested it means something alone the lines of, they continue to be committed to the madness of sin, but I continue to pray for their conversion. 

St John Chrysostom reads it rather more forcefully, saying:

Not only shall I shun their noxious charm, he is saying, and not choose their censure, but I shall take my stand against their desires; I  desist from opting for their mercy to the extent of even praying against their desires...

St Augustine's take on the verse depends on a variant text along the lines of  'For still shall My word be well-pleasing to them', and thus interprets it as a prophesy of a time when they will repent:

Wait awhile: now they revile Me, says Christ. In the early times of the Christians, the Christians were blamed on all sides. Wait as yet; and My word shall be well-pleasing to them. The time shall come when they shall conquer thousands of men, who shall beat their breasts, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Even now, how many remain who blush to beat their breasts? Let them then blame us: let us bear it. Let them blame; let them hate, accuse, detract; still shall My word be well-pleasing to them; the time shall come when My word shall please them....

 Dashing our sins on the rock that is Christ

The key part of the verse though, I would suggest, is the second half.

At the literal level, the reference to the judges being swallowed up after falling on a rock probably  refers to a method of executing criminals, namely throwing them off a high cliff  (see 2 Chron 25:12), a fate Our Lord nearly suffered himself (Luke 4.29). 

St Augustine interprets the rock as meaning Christ (an explanation relevant to a number of other psalms most notably Psalm 136):

What is, swallowed up beside the Rock? That Rock was Christ. They have been swallowed up beside the Rock. Beside, that is, compared, as judges, as mighty, powerful, learned: they are called their judges, as judging about morals, and laying down their opinions...  Set them beside the Rock, compare their authority to the authority of the Gospel, compare the proud to the Crucified. Say we to them You have written your words in the hearts of the proud; He has planted His Cross in the hearts of kings: finally, He died, and rose again; you are dead, and I will not ask how ye rise again. 

In short, St John Chrysostom, suggests, 'the influential, the shakers and the movers will all perish'.

St Augustine saw the text as applying to us as well, since no matter how committed a Christian we may be, we will inevitably fall, and thus must heed the message of this psalm, dash our sins on the rock that is Christ, and pray for his forgiveness:

For all these daily sins then what is our hope, save to say with humble heart in the Lord's Prayer, while we defend not our sins, but confess them, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; Matthew and to have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that he may be the propitiation for our sins? 

In the context of the events of the Passion alluded to earlier in the psalms though, one could, perhaps also see this verse as a prophesy of the ultimate fate of the Jewish authorities who condemned Christ, in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem that followed forty years later.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

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

Psalm 140 v6: On fraternal correction

St Alphonsus Liguori summarises  Verse 6 of Psalm 140 as saying 'I prefer the charitable corrections and reproaches of the just to the flatteries of the wicked.'

 Looking at the Latin

6	V	Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.
	NV	Percutiat me iustus in misericordia et increpet me; oleum autem peccatoris non impinguet caput meum,
	JH	Corripiat me iustus in misericordia, et arguat me; oleum amaritudinis non inpinguet caput meum
	Sept	παιδεύσει με δίκαιος ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ἐλέγξει με ἔλαιον δὲ ἁμαρτωλοῦ μὴ λιπανάτω τὴν κεφαλήν μου

 [Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

 The Greek/Vulgate text tradition here makes the second phrase a rejection of the tokens of respect, such as pouring of ointment on the head for honoured guests, when offered by sinners, continuing the theme of the rejection of association with sinners and its concomitant peer pressure, as a path to sin.  

The Masoretic Text however makes it 'oil of the head I will not reject'.  

On the face of it, the Septuagint version is more consistent with the context, perhaps explaining why St Jerome's version sits closer to the Septuagint, talking about not letting the 'oil of bitterness' touch the psalmist.

Phrase by phrase 

Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.

The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.

 Word by word 

Corrípiet (he may/let him correct) me justus (the just man) in misericordia (in mercy), et (and) increpábit (he will rebuke) me: * óleum (the oil) autem (but) peccatóris (of sinners) non (not) impínguet (it may/let it anoint) caput (head) meum (my). 

Key vocabulary 

corripio, ripui, reptum, ere 3 to chastize, chasten; reprove, rebuke.
increpo, avi or iii, atum, are,  to chide, rebuke, reprove; to correct, instruct
oleum, ii, n.  oil, esp., olive-oil
impinguo, avi, atum, are  to anoint; fatten, grow thick
caput, itis, n. the head 

Selected English translations:

DR	The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
Brenton	The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head:
MD	The just man shall correct me in mercy and reproach me, but the oil of the sinner shall not anoint my head.
RSV	Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness, but let the oil of the wicked never anoint my head;
Cover	Let the righteous rather smite me friendly, and reprove me. But let not their precious balms break my head;
Knox	Rather let some just man deal me heavy blows; this shall be his kindness to me; reprove me, and it shall be balm poured over me; such unction never will this head refuse.
Grail	If a just man strikes or reproves me it is kindness but let the oil of the wicked not anoint my head.

 [Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

On the need for external scrutiny

One of the great dangers of the spiritual life is allowing ourselves to be deceived.

It is difficult to assess our own thoughts and actions objectively, and even harder if we are surrounded by those who flatter and fête us.

The story of King David arranging for the death of Bathsheba's husband in battle so he could marry her, for example, chronicled in the book of Kings, is a salutary warning that even the greatest of saints can at time act like the most deluded of sinners, persuading themselves that serious sins are not sins at all.

Accordingly, St Robert Bellarmine suggests, having good friends who will tell us the truth about ourselves, is one of greatest graces of all:

...one of the greatest blessings from God is to meet faithful friends, to tell us the truth in regard of ourselves, and also to give us the grace to heal them willingly, and to be thankful to them.

To keep such friends, we need to actively seek out and welcome correction from those we can trust, so we can confess our sins and amend our ways:

 “The just man shall correct me in mercy;” he will reprove me with a view to my correction, in order to heal me...he will do it “in mercy,” that is to say, in charity, from a feeling for my wretched state; and not in anger or bitterness, from a desire of revenge. 

The dangers of 'fraternal' correction

That said, there are obvious problems with people taking it on themselves to offer 'fraternal correction'. 

First, the person being corrected has to be genuinely open to correction, lest the situation be made worse, as Proverbs 9:7-9 warns:

Rash souls there are, godless souls, that will not be taught or trained; who makes the attempt, gets only injury and abuse for his thanks. With a rash fool never remonstrate; it will make him thy enemy; only the wise are grateful for a remonstrance. Ever the wise profit by the opportunity to become wiser yet; ever the godly are the best learners. (Knox translation).

Secondly, the person offering correction needs to truly be a 'just man', intending to genuinely help, not someone simply out to destroy out of anger, pride, the desire to blame others for their faults, or to protect their own sinful state.

Thirdly, fraternal correction needs to be done carefully, as St John Chrysostom points out, not just tearing down, but also helping to heal:

Consider how the apostolic advice reflects this, "Convince, rebuke, encourage." That is what the censure by holy people, too, is like; that is also what surgeons do: they not only cut but stitch as well...You see, the person delivering the censure needs to give careful thought so that the censure prove acceptable, and the one applying the remedy has need of great sensitivity; rather, the one delivering the censure requires greater sensitivity than the one cutting the body. How come? Because in the latter case the one cutting and the one feeling the pain are different, whereas in the former case the one cutting and the one bearing the pain are the same. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

You can find the next set of notes on Psalm 140 here.

The feast of the Annunciation

 

                            Bibliothèque-médiathèque de Nancy, Manuscrit 305 (fol. 54). 

In his introduction to Psalm 138, St Cassiodorus comments:

So this entire psalm — and this is also the view of the most learned father Hilary — is to be recited by the mouth of the Lord Christ. His lowliness must not however trouble or disturb anyone; to avoid this, each must have recourse to the canon of Catholic teaching, to remember that there are two natures united and perfected in the Lord Christ. 

The first is that by which He is God, coeternal with the Father; the second that by which He was born of the virgin Mary, and as one and the same Person deigned in time to become Man for our salvation. So the fact that He speaks in humble tones must not be a reflection on His divinity, but is to be understood in accordance with the mystery of the holy incarnation. 

Once we have considered this reasoning, we can acknowledge the divine mysteries without stumbling... He expounds the power of the Father's divinity, for in so far as He Himself is a man He cannot conceal Himself from the Father's observation in any place or at any distance. He adds that by His glorious sanctity He has overcome the world's vices, and has been preserved in the sheltering womb of His mother. 

Psalm 140 v5: Treasure in heaven

 Verse 5 of Psalm 140 is a prayer for help against the temptations offered by the world we live in. 

5	V	Cum hominibus operantibus iniquitatem: et non communicabo cum electis eorum.
	OR	cum hominibus operantibus iniquitatem et non conbinabor cum electis eorum
	NV	cum hominibus operantibus iniquitatem; et non comedam ex deliciis eorum.
	JH	cum uiris operantibus iniquitatem comedere in deliciis eorum.
	Sept	ἀνθρώποις ἐργαζομένοις ἀνομίαν καὶ οὐ μὴ συνδυάσωμετὰ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτῶν

 [Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

Phrase by phrase 

Cum hominibus operantibus iniquitatem: et non communicabo cum electis eorum.

With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them.

Word by word 

Cum (with) hominibus (men) operantibus (having worked) iniquitatem (wickedness): et (and) non (not) communicabo ( will share/participate) cum (with) electis (the delights/pleasures) eorum (of them/their). 

The Douay-Rheims notwithstanding, this verse is a somewhat ambiguous, and can have two meanings at the literal level: 'electis' could be a reference to the 'elect' of the band of evildoers; alternatively it can be read as concerning attending their gatherings and participating in their particular pursuits.

Key vocabulary 

homo, inis, m  man, a human being; mortal man as compared with God; person, individual.
opero are avi atum – form of operor, to work; operantium= participle
iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.
communico are avi atum to partake, share, participate in
electa orum f; chosen, elect; dainties, choice bits, pleasures 

Selected translations 

DR	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them.
Brenton	with me who work iniquity: and let me not unite with their choice ones.
MD	With men that work iniquity: I will not partake of their delights.
RSV	deeds in company with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties!
Cover	let me not be occupied in ungodly works with the men that work wickedness, lest I eat of such things as please them.
Knox	never let me take part with the wrong-doers, and share the banquet with them.
Grail	Never allow me to share in their feasting.

[Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

The dangers of peer pressure 

Although often unavoidable, and even sometimes commendable (when done for example, for the purpose of converting them), associating with those committed to doing evil has obvious dangers. 

St Jerome commented that 'just as the Lord has His chosen saints, so does the devil have his elect'. 

It is all too easy to be seduced by pleasures and sins, the Fathers consistently suggest, if we freely associate with those who carry them out without any sign of repentance.

St John Chrysostom points us to the opening words of the first psalm of the book of psalms as the proper model to follow: Blessed is the man who has not lived by the counsel of the godless, or stood in the path of sinners, and has not sat on the seat of pestilent people.

We should therefore, he argues, avoid eating with sinners, avoid parties and gatherings lest we be lead astray:

Here he gives the apostolic advice, that their luxuries and parties are to be shunned, where the practice of sin is especially on the increase, where incaution waxes strong. Now, this is no little sign of virtue, no insignificant path to correction, shunning such parties and gatherings, not being beholden to friendship, not diminishing the strength of the spirit through becoming a slave to the belly and thus weakening the quality of our sound values. That is the way that many people, being beholden to friendship, were cast headlong into the billows of drunkenness, that is the way they fell victim to immorality, and kindled the fire of pleasure, chasing parties and spectacles characterised by extreme iniquity.

 

Treasure in heaven

Who, then, are the workers of iniquity referred to here? 

The Fathers offer a number of possibilities, and it is not hard to come up with a long list!

But the worst group, St Augustine argues, is who believe only in their own righteousness, and despise others, and thus refuse to help the poor.  

Yet our alms, he notes, drawing on Scripture, are translated directly to the treasure house of heaven: 'we cleanse thereby that bread, and transmit it into the treasure-house of the heavens'.  

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

You can find notes on verse 6 of Psalm 140 here.

St Benedict's psalm cursus and the design of Thursday Vespers Part 3b - The Life of Christ in a week

In the last post in this sub-series on the design of the Benedictine Office, I pointed to the development of a connection between key events in the life of Christ and days of the week in the early Church, which was then appropriated into the liturgy in various ways, such as the Roman traditions around fasting practices.

Today I want to draw out a little some particular links between these weekly schemas and the Benedictine Office at Thursday Vespers.

Weekly schemas around the life of Christ

While the various life of Christ in seven days schemas offered by the Fathers differed, Rome was not certainly not alone in viewing seven as a 'sacred number' (see RB 16) and seeing it as an organising principle for viewing the life of Christ, sometimes linking this to the seven seals of the book of Revelation.  

Hilary of Poitiers gave such a list in his commentary on the psalms, for example, while the commentary of St Benedict's contemporary Aspringius may have been influenced by the Mozarabic practice of dividing the consecrated host into seven pieces, each of which piece of which was associated with an event in the life of Christ.

St Benedict then, would have a rich Patristic and liturgical tradition on which to draw if he did use the life of Christ as a thematic principle for his organisation of the psalter.

Exodus 15

I noted earlier in this series that on Thursdays, the Lauds canticle is from Exodus 15, and is the song of victory after safely crossing the Red Sea.

The Carolingian Benedictine commentator Rabanus Maurus provided a brief summary of its relevance to the Office on Thursday, saying:

For on Thursday justly is sung the song of the Israelites, which they sung after the Pasch celebrating being freed from Egypt and conveyed through the Red Sea dry foot.  For on the same day our Saviour figuratively celebrating the Pasch with his disciples, he offered the paschal mystery continuing in the sacrament of his body and blood and in this immolation of the lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.  

There are, I think, some obvious connections between the canticle - and Maurus's summation of it - and the psalms of Thursday Vespers.

First, at the very literal level, the idea that the wicked will not just let the good person alone, but will pursue them and try and drag them back to 'Egypt', or idle and dangerous pursuits, runs through Psalms 139 and 140. 

Secondly, I've noted that Psalm 138 was frequently viewed as the quintessential prayer of the agony in the Garden, and is fundamentally about not just the omnipotence and omniscience of God, but also the two natures of Christ.

Thirdly, I noted that the interpretation of the pure evening prayer of Psalm 140 as speaking of Christ's institution of the Eucharist and Passion, of which the paschal sacrifice offered by the Jews before they fled Egypt is a type.

Circumcision of the heart

Perhaps the key thread connecting all three of the psalms of Benedictine Vespers on Thursday, though, is, I think, the idea of the old circumcision of the flesh being replaced, because those who practiced it did not translate it into a spiritual practice (Psalms 138 and 139), by the new covenant of grace, with some of its key petitions being those asking for various graces in Psalm 140.

In this light, it is intriguing, I think, to read the comments of another of St Benedict's contemporaries, Cassiodorus, on the interpretation of Psalm 138, employing a number symbolism of a kind that St Benedict seems also to have been deeply attached to:

Observe here shining before us the eighth psalm which presents the two natures [of Christ]; these eight beat off the arrogant infidelity of those in error. 

They should at any rate be healed by the precedent of circumcision. 

Just as the Jews surrendered their foreskins on the eighth day, so those in error should be schooled by this eighth psalm and abandon their idle obduracy. 

As has been mentioned earlier, Psalms 2, 8, 20, 71, 81, 107, 109, and here 138 discuss this matter....

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