Psalm 147 v3: The bread of heaven

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Verse 3 of Psalm 147 continues the list of reasons why we should praise God, adding the gift of peace and prosperity to verse 2's thanks for strengthening the gates and blessing those protected within them.

There is, in this verse, a lot of imagery redolent of the late days of summer, when the harvest is in, and all is calm and well, and that is important, for later verses in the psalm tell us that to get there, we have to endure the hardships of winter first.

Looking at the Latin

3	V	Qui posuit fines tuos pacem: * et adipe frumenti satiat te.
	JH	Qui ponit fines tuos pacem et adipe frumenti satiat te.
		ὁ τιθεὶς τὰ ὅριά σου εἰρήνην καὶ στέαρ πυροῦ ἐμπιπλῶν σε

Word by word

 Qui (who) pósuit (sets/places) fines (the borders/boundaries/limits) tuos (your) pacem (peace): et (and) ádipe (with the fat) fruménti (of wheat/grains) sátiat (he satisfies/fills) te (you).

Notes

Frumentum is a generic word for corn or grains of any kind, hence the variety of English translations for it.

The word adipe comes from adeps, and normally means fat or marrow, but in this context seems best translated as 'full ears of wheat' (as Knox does), or the best, finest, or choicest of grains.

Key vocab

pono, posui, itum, ere 3,  to put, place, lay, set.

finis, is, m., a boundary, limit, border; territory.  usque in finem =  utterly, altogether; or, always, forever

adeps, ipis, c. fat, marrow;

satio, avi, atum, are, to fill, sate, satisfy

frumentum, i, n.  corn, i.e., wheat, rye, barley, etc.

DR	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
Brenton	He makes thy borders peaceful, and fills thee with the flour of wheat.
MD	He hath made peace in thy borders, He hath filled thee with the fat of wheat
RSV	He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
Cover	He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.
Knox	That makes thy land a land of peace, and gives thee full ears of wheat to sustain thee.

The promises of heaven

This verse can be interpreted on two levels: first, as describing the nature of the heavenly Jerusalem that is promised to those who persevere to the end; and secondly in terms of the here and now.

St Robert Bellarmine argues that the promise of peace and prosperity set out in this verse ultimately only applies in full to heaven:

All this applies to our heavenly country in the strict sense of the words, for there alone will our inferior be in strict peace with our superior parts, and our superior parts with God; and there, too, will be strict peace between the citizens of all grades, high and low; for there will be one heart, one soul, and as the Lord expresses it, "Made perfect in one." 

In heaven, he suggests, we will be filled with the best of corn, that is, truth and wisdom as the food of the soul: 

There, too, "will all be filled with the fat of com," for truth and wisdom being the food of the soul, they will have actual truth as it is in itself, and not in fig­ures or enigmas, and they will taste of the sweetness of the Word Eternal without being enveloped by the sacraments or the Scriptures; they will drink of the fountain of wisdom, instead of applying to the streams that flow from it, or to the "showers falling gently upon the earth." They will be so filled that they will never again hunger nor thirst for all eternity. 

Prosperity and the bread of life

But these promises are also fulfilled in shadow form in the Church militant, he argues.

He points out that virtually all of the Fathers argue that the best of wheat should be interpreted spiritually as meaning both Christ and the Eucharist.

St Jerome explained the symbolism of wheat as meaning Christ by reference to John 12:24:

'Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains alone, but if it die it brings about the salvation of many.'  Our Lord, the grain of wheat, has fallen into the ground and has multiplied us. This grain of wheat is very fertile, full of marrow, rich, fruitful. 'With the best of wheat he fills you.' Happy the man who perceives the richness of this grain. 

But it also, he argues, refers to both the Eucharist and the Gospel:

We have read the Sacred Scriptures. I think the Gospel is the body of Christ; Holy Writ, His teaching. When He says: 'He who does not eat my flesh and drink my blood,' although the words may be understood in their mystical sense, nevertheless, I say the word of Scripture is truly the body of Christ and His blood; it is divine doctrine. 

It follows that we must treat both with reverence: 

If at any time we approach the Sacrament - the faithful understand what I mean - and a tiny crumb should fall, we are appalled. Even so, if at any time we hear the word of God, through which the body and blood of Christ is being poured into our ears, and we yield carelessly to distraction, how responsible are we not for our failing? 

Seek after peace and pursue it

Indeed, it is these two gifts, the Eucharist and the Gospel, gifts that enable us to contemplate the Godhead, that are the path to achieving that most Benedictine of virtues, peace, as St Cassiodorus explained:

Next comes the explanation of how this peace emerges, when the faithful are filled with contemplation of the Lord Christ, for the fat of corn denotes the vision of the Godhead, by which the thoughts of the just are refreshed in such a way as clearly to transcend all possible satiety, since He is the true Bread which came down from heaven. 

There is a paradox involved here though, for achieving peace in this life involves a struggle: we must wage war with the world in order to achieve peace.

This is challenging: in the face of anger, in the face of those who hate peace, we have to strive to make the conflict theirs, not ours.

Vivladi

Psalm 147 – Lauda Jerusalem 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
2  Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
3  Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
4  Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.	Who sends forth his speech to the earth: his word runs swiftly.
5  Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.	Who gives snow like wool: scatters mists like ashes.
6  Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?	He sends his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?
7  Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.	He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
8  Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.	Who declares his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel
9  Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.	He has not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he has not made manifest to them. Alleluia.

Psalm 147: Verse 2 - Rebuilding the walls and strengthening the gate

Speculum humanae salvationis c1450

The second verse of Psalm 147 is the first of a list of reasons why we should praise God.

  Notes on the text of the psalm

2	V	Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
		ὅτι ἐνίσχυσεν τοὺς μοχλοὺς τῶν πυλῶν σου εὐλόγησεν τοὺς υἱούς σου ἐν σοί

The two key words here are conforto (avi, atum), to strengthen, make strong; to prevail; and sera (ae) a bar or bolt for fastening doors. 

Here is a word by word translation of it, following the Douay-Rheims text:

Quóniam (for) confortávit  (he has strengthened) seras (the bolts) portárum (of the gates) tuárum (your) gates benedíxit (he has blessed) fíliis (the children/sons) tuis(your) in te (within you).

Filiis could also reasonably be translated as inhabitants, I think; the sense is surely of the members of the Church as the children of God.

Selected English translations:

DR	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
Brenton	For he has strengthened the bars of thy gates; he has blessed thy children within thee.
MD	For he hath fastened the bars of thy gates, He hath blessed thy children within thee
RSV	For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you.
Cover	For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates, and hath blessed thy children within thee.

Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem 

The references to strengthening the bolts or bars on the gates here is generally thought to refer, in the literal, historical sense, to the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the return of the Exiles, who lived in fear that their neighbours would once more tear down the city, as described in the book of Ezra (Ezra2:3).

But of course this verse also has several layers of allegorical meanings as well.  

Doctrine and the prophets

The first of these meanings sees the bars of the gates as standing for the prophets that prevent heresy from overcoming the Church:

We have spoken of the prophets as the gates of Sion, so since we know they are called that, let us see what the bars of the gates are. The prophets in truth are the gates of the Church; we cannot enter the Church except through them. Manichaeus tried to enter without the gates and could not. Marcion rejects the Old Testament, but without it, he has not been able to enter the New. We, on the other hand, accept the prophet-gates, and through them make our entrance. (St Jerome)

Similarly, the commentary of Pseudo-Athanasius written in the fifth or sixth centuries suggests that the gates stand for the Churches role as the guardian of orthodoxy:

....he strengthened the bars of the gates of Sion, which are the guardians of its doctrines that give entrance, so that there be no entrance through them for enemies. 

St John Chrysostom provides a more extended explanation of this meaning, explicitly talking about Our Lord's guarantee that the Church will not fall, even if it at times it seems that all is lost:

What is the meaning of he strengthened the bars! He established you in security, he is saying, he made you invincible...So what he means is this: he caused the growth, not of scattered or dispersed people but of those gathered together, even within you…. He fortified it more safely than Jerusalem, you see, se­curing it not with bars and gates but with the Cross and the proc­lamation of its peculiar power, by which he raised its rampart on all sides, saying, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 

In the beginning, at any rate, all the kings and peoples and cities, hordes of demons and the devil's despotic rule itself, and many other things pitted themselves against the Church. Yet they were all brought to nothing and perished, whereas she grew and was raised to such heights that she surpassed the heavens themselves.

The growth of the Church and the closed gates and fortified walls

A second layer of meaning takes its cue from the idea that the barred and locked gates are clearly intended to defend those enclosed within its bounds, something that will not be fully realised until after the final judgment.  

St John Chrysostom, for example, explained that the blessing of the children referred to in the second part of the verse is the growth of the Church, effected through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and the grace he pours out on the world:  

As he said in the beginning, "In­crease, multiply and fill the earth," and the word traveled through all the earth, so later "Go, make disciples of all the nations," and "the Gospel will be preached in the whole world," and the com­mand took possession of the very ends of the world in a brief mo­ment of time. Hence he also said, "Unless the grain of wheat that falls onto the ground dies, it remains a single grain, whereas if it dies, it bears much fruit;" and again, "When I am lifted up, I shall draw all people to myself." In the beginning, then, from one they became many as the numbers increased by the law of nature, and so development occurred at a leisurely pace, whereas in the case of the apostles the numbers increased not by the law of nature but by grace. 

At times, the Church rightly closes its gates, and takes action against the enemy forces.

But at this stage of the Churches development, the gates will normally still be left open to many who will not pass the final test, as St Augustine explained: 

Observe, beloved. He bids Jerusalem when closed in to praise the Lord. We praise in unison now, we praise now; but it is amid offenses. Many where we wish not, enter in: many though we wish it not, go out: therefore offenses are frequent. And because iniquity has abounded, says the Truth, the love of many waxes cold because men come in whom we cannot discern, because men go out whom we cannot retain. 

Wherefore is this? Because not yet is there perfection, not yet is there the bliss that shall be. Wherefore is this? Because as yet it is the threshing-floor, not yet the garner.

Our challenge then, is to ensure we are amongst those permitted to dwell within forever, like the wise virgins (Mt 25:1-13), equipped with enough oil to last until the Lord comes again. 

The bolts of the gates are faith, hope and charity...

How then do we achieve this?  Arnobius Junior's commentary suggests that each individual can also be viewed as the city of Jerusalem, guarded by grace, provided we cultivate the virtues of faith, hope and charity:

He says: Praise him, because he strengthened the locks of your gates. You see then that, as we said above, it is our duty to lock the gates of the enemy those who make the attack, but it is for the Lord to strengthen the locks of the gates of Jerusalem. It is therefore a city Jerusalem, in which the prophets dwell, in which Christ preaches and exercises various virtues, in by which he suffers the cross; in which all kinds of accomplished virtue are. Who, therefore, has all these things within his soul day and night he meditates, having within him the prophets, Christ, and the apostles, he becomes a city of Jerusalem and closes it the gates of the enemy and his angels, and it is necessary to send the locks of faith closed at the entrances. For faith, hope, charity are three evenings sent against the devil, but faith fails and hope softens and charity grows cold, unless the holy spirits have been strengthened by the gift. 

 

Psalm 147 – Lauda Jerusalem 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
2  Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
3  Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
4  Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.	Who sends forth his speech to the earth: his word runs swiftly.
5  Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.	Who gives snow like wool: scatters mists like ashes.
6  Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?	He sends his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?
7  Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.	He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
8  Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.	Who declares his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel
9  Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.	He has not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he has not made manifest to them. Alleluia.

Psalm 147: verse 1 - Jerusalem, the city of peace

Nuremberg Chronicle

The first verse of Psalm 147 is a call to praise God, our first and most important duty, something wonderfully captured by Monteverdi's setting of it for Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which you can find below.

 Notes on the text

Latin and Greek translations:

1	V	Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
	NV	Lauda, Ierusalem, Dominum; collauda Deum tuum, Sion.
	JH	Lauda, Hierusalem, Dominum: cane Deum tuum, Sion.
		Αγγαιου καὶ Ζαχαριου ἐπαίνει Ιερουσαλημ τὸν κύριον αἴνει τὸν θεόν σου Σιων

(V=Vulgate; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH+Jerome's translation from the Hebrew)

Word by word:

The Latin of this verse is very straightforward, with two repetitions of the word 'lauda', the imperative case of the verb laudare:

Lauda (praise), Jerúsalem, Dóminum (the Lord): lauda (praise) Deum (God) tuum (your).

The variants in St Jerome's version from the Hebrew (cane) and the Neo-Vulgate (collauda) reflect that in the Maseoretic Text, the verb in the second part of the verse is not the same as in the first (šāḇaḥ vs hālal). though the meanings are similar.

Selected English translations

DR	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
Brenton	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Sion.
MD	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise Thy God O Sion
RSV	Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
Cover	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Sion.

 Sion and Jerusalem as heaven and the Church

Sion and Jerusalem are references to the same place, and stand not only for the physical city of Jerusalem, which is just a shadow of its heavenly counterpart, but also the true Jerusalem above.  

And it is not just the physical city that is being referred to here, but also those who live in it, that is, all the members of the Church, who are called to praise God.

St John Chrysostom for example explains: 

St Paul is aware of the Jerusalem on high, to which he refers: "The Jerusalem on high, on the other hand, is free, and is our mother," as he is also aware that Sion is the Church when he says, "You have not, after all, come to a mountain that can be touched, that is burning with fire and gloom and darkness and hurricane. You have come instead to Sion, city and church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven."

 The psalm looks forward to that time when through a purified love, we will not struggle to pray, and need to be urged to do so, but rather will do 'as though naturally and by habit' (RB7), as St Augustine explained:

Behold of what character that Jerusalem is to be which he exhorts to praise, or rather foresees will praise. For the praises of that city, when we shall see and love and praise, will not need to be urged on and stirred up by the voice of prophecy; but the Prophets now say this, to drink in as far as while they remain in this flesh they can, the future joys of the blessed, and then giving them forth into our ears, to arouse in us love of that city. Let us burn with longing, let us not be slothful in spirit. Praise your God, O Sion.

Peace and contemplation 

The actual names of the city, though, have particular meanings that have long been held to be important to the interpretation of the psalm. 

In particular, Jerusalem means vision of peace; while Sion means watching, or contemplation.

In the Prologue to the Benedictine Rule, St Benedict urges us to seek after peace, and pursue it, and this psalm is perhaps a key to understanding why he puts such a weight on this.  

St Benedict's contemporary Cassiodorus, for example, explained that true contemplation requires freedom from both external and internal disturbances, and can only truly be attained in the life to come, hence the 'visions' of peace, rather than just peace itself as the meaning of the city:

 As has often been stated, Jerusalem means "vision of peace," which is peculiarly apt for the city which will have no association with vices and scandals. This vision of peace will be contemplation of the Lord Saviour, which will be merited only by the person freed from all mental disturbance. So these two names are deservedly appropriate for that city to come, the bestowal of the reward gained and the lofty title of shepherd.

The Church in exile

Yet this verse is a call for us to devote ourselves to the praise of God now, while still in exile from our true home, even in the face of a Church Militant that is wrought with scandal and disturbance.

We can - and must - start the process for obtaining this peace and perfect contemplation in this world, as St Jerome explained:

Therefore, 0 Church, glorify the Lord; because you have begun to believe in Him and to possess peace, you have also begun to see peace, Jerusalem, the vision of peace. You, who were formerly the slave of idols, have become the servant of God; therefore, glorify your God. Because you are truly in possession of knowledge and have become Sion, citadel of contemplation, praise the Lord...

There is another implication of the word Jerusalem that also needs to be kept in mind: the call to praise God is a call to his Church, as St Jerome goes on to make clear:

In other words, 0 Jerusalem, you give glory; 0 Sion, you give praise; you, 0 ecclesiastical soul, you, 0 Church. 

Psalm 147 – Lauda Jerusalem 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
2  Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
3  Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
4  Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.	Who sends forth his speech to the earth: his word runs swiftly.
5  Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.	Who gives snow like wool: scatters mists like ashes.
6  Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?	He sends his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?
7  Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.	He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
8  Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.	Who declares his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel
9  Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.	He has not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he has not made manifest to them. Alleluia.

Introduction to Psalm 147: Seek after peace

In this series I want to take a look at the last psalm of Saturday Vespers in the Benedictine Office, Psalm 147, so today something of an overview.

It is, I think, one of the more difficult psalms to interpret just by reading the words (in whatever language), but one, I think, that repays a bit of work aimed at penetrating its mysteries as it particularly apt for our times, promising that after we have endured the hard days of winter, God will ensure that there is a thaw, for God has chosen his church.

May that thaw come soon!

The psalm title and text of the psalm

The psalm title is that word excluded, in the Western tradition, from use during Lent so that we can savour it all the more when it returns at Easter, namely, the word Alleluia.

The psalm itself is also fairly short, coming in at only nine verses in the Septuagint/Vulgate version.  

In the Hebrew Masoretic Text version, though, it is actually joined together with Psalm 146.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
2  Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
3  Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
4  Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.	Who sends forth his speech to the earth: his word runs swiftly.
5  Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.	Who gives snow like wool: scatters mists like ashes.
6  Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?	He sends his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?
7  Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.	He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
8  Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.	Who declares his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel
9  Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.	He has not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he has not made manifest to them. Alleluia.

The praise psalms

Saturday Vespers in the Benedictine Office is essentially 1 Vespers of the Resurrection: indeed, it's design is almost certainly influenced by the ancient Jerusalem weekly Resurrection Vigil, which also seems to have used the same starting point at Vespers.

The first verse puts it clearly within the group of seven psalms that conclude the psalter, all of which open with an injunction to praise God; St Benedict effectively makes it into eight psalms, the number symbolising the Resurrection, by virtue of dividing Psalm 144.

At Benedictine Vespers, the first lines of each psalm at Saturday Vespers between the individual and the collective in the injunctions to praise God:

144/2:  Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, ómnia ópera tua: * et sancti tui benedícant tibi.

Let all your works, O lord, praise you: and let your saints bless you.

145:  Lauda, ánima mea, Dóminum, laudábo Dóminum in vita mea: * psallam Deo meo quámdiu fúero.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be.

146: Laudáte Dóminum quóniam bonus est psalmus: * Deo nostro sit jucúnda, decóraque laudátio.

Praise the Lord, because psalm is good: to our God be joyful and comely praise.

147: Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.

 

There is also something of a logical sequence in these psalms, as Cassiodorus explained in his commentary on the psalm:

So far in the conclusions to the four preceding psalms which have sung the Lord's praises, we have stated the purpose with which they have been framed: all of them seem set up to prepare us for those that follow. The very order of the psalms is seen to denote a marvellous arrangement of topics.

 

It was fitting to begin with the commands of the divine proclamation, to turn next to the world's recalcitrance which we must avoid, and thirdly to speak of the assembly of the Church; fourthly, the psalm now ended has bidden the gathered Jerusalem to hymn the Lord's praises, for it has been delivered from the various dangers of this world, and as we know is established in eternal rest...

The new Jerusalem

Allegorically, of course, the psalm refers both to the Church as the new Jerusalem on earth, and to the ultimate end of our earthly exile, and enjoyment of the peace of heaven.

And it is that focus on the pursuit and attainment of peace that gives it important Benedictine resonances, fitting nicely with the entire set of the last psalms of Vespers, all of which seem to me to have particularly important associations with the monastic vocation often highlighted in the various Patristic commentaries.

The return of the exiles

At the literal, historical level, Psalm 147 can be interpreted as referring to the return of the exiles from Babylon.  The cause of Jerusalem's destruction, as Pope John Paul II explained, was the sins of Israel: 

When Jerusalem had fallen under the assault of King Nebuchadnezzar's army in 586 B.C., the Book of Lamentations presents the Lord himself as the judge of Israel's sin, as he "determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion.... Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars" (Lam 2: 8, 9).

But God had not forgotten his chosen people, and through humility and repentance, as Psalm 50 makes clear, with God's help, the walls can be rebuilt:

Ps 50: 18  Sacrifícium Deo spíritus contribulátus: * cor contrítum, et humiliátum, Deus non despícies.	A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
19  Benígne fac, Dómine, in bona voluntáte tua Sion: * ut ædificéntur muri Jerúsalem.	Deal favourably, O Lord, in your good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.

 Psalm 147 is about the fulfillment of that work, shadowed in history by the return of the exiles to Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of its walls and gates, as described in the books of Esra and Nehemiah, as Pope John Paul II continued to describe: 

Now, instead, the Lord returns as the builder of the Holy City; in the restored temple He blesses his sons and daughters once again. Thus mention is made of the work carried out by Nehemiah (cf. 3: 1-38), who restored the walls of Jerusalem, so that it would become again an oasis of serenity and peace. 

God's promises

The key verses of the psalm set out a series of promises, which Pseudo-Athanasius summarizes nicely as follows:

In this psalm also the apostolic company directs its teaching to the whole church, (v. l) and says that it is right to praise and confess God. (v.2) Firstly, because he strengthened the bars of the gates of Sion, which are the guardians of its doctrines that give entrance, so that there be no entrance through them for enemies. Then because he gave blessing to its sons - clearly a spiritual one. (v.3) Thirdly, because he prepared to set all its borders at peace. Fourthly, because the fat of wheat satisfied it - heavenly bread. (v.4) Fifthly, because he sent his Word to earth - the preaching of the gospel which progressed everywhere. And also because of the magnitude of his deeds and solicitude for us, since those who are stubborn (v.7) he tempers with kindness in order to bring them to the habitation of our pilgrimage by the virtue of their lives. (v.8) And the one who granted all these things to his church is he who also formerly gave laws to Israel, (v.9) in that him (Israel) alone he made worthy of this because of the fathers. 

The four seasons

Perhaps the most important structural feature of this psalm though, is its metaphor of the four seasons in shaping and foretelling our destiny.

The depiction of the seasons reminds us both that God is the creator of all, the God that governs nature, and that from his design of nature we can deduce how we should respond and behave.  But it also highlights the other more direct form of divine revelation, that of God to his people, culminating in Christ's Incarnation, earthy mission, Crucifixion and Resurrection. 

The psalm starts by depicting the contentment of late summer: the harvest is in, and all is peaceful and quiet.  But to get to this happy point, the word of God has gone out, spreading like leaves blown forth in the wind; when the message was rejected, we were exposed to the hardships of winter, even the hard pellets of hail; but God had mercy, and sent his thaw, melting our resistance, and bringing forth the spring once again.

And the reason he has done this is that despite all, we are his chosen people, thus guided us, aided us, and blessed us.

This Lent, let us pray as St Jerome suggests, that if we have grown cold, God will send His Word and melt us: 'May the Lord grant that our frigidity, too, may thaw, that this crystal of ice be dissolved and melt'. 

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	2 Thess 3:1 (4); Acts 14:16 (9)
RB cursus	Saturday Vespers+AN 3582 (1)
Monastic feasts etc	Corpus Christi 2nd Vespers; Good Friday Tenebrae Lauds; Vespers for dedication of a church AN 1734 (2); 2884 (7);1882, 4566 (13)
Responsories	6735: Several martyrs TP no 7 (Filiae) v (13) 7390 (Easter 3 no:11; alt v, 13)
Roman pre 1911	Saturday Vespers
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Friday Lauds .
Mass propers (EF)	Palm Sunday procession Votive Mass for peace AL (1), Paschaltide AL (3)

Notes on the notes

The verse by verse notes that follow are also intended to assist those who wish to learn to pray the Office in Latin, particularly since there is no officially approved English version of the traditional Benedictine Office, and the translations that are included for study purposes in editions such as the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal do not always mirror the Latin Vulgate.

In general, the English translations of the psalms themselves (unless otherwise indicated) are from an updated version of the Douay-Rheims (previously on the New Advent site), since this is generally the most literal translation from the Latin Vulgate.  Text comments will often focus on the reasons for variations in the translations most commonly used for reference purposes for those saying the Office, viz Coverdale and the early twentieth century Collegeville translation used in the Farnborough edition of the Monastic Diurnal, as well as variations adopted by the 1979 Neo-Vulgate (used in the Novus Ordo Divine Office).

The vocabulary lists are generally derived from Dom Matthew Britt, A Dictionary of the Psalter (Preserving Christian Publications 2007 reprint of Benziger Brothers, 1928), supplemented by others sources such as Cassell's Latin Dictionary and Lewis and Short.

Where other translations are provided (note that the selection is limited by copyright considerations), the abbreviations used are as follows:

V            =Vulgate (available on the New Advent website)
NV         =Neo-Vulgate (available on the Vatican website)
JH          =St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew

R            =Psalterium Romanum 
Sept       =Septuagint (available on the New Advent website)
DR         =Douay-Rheims (generally the version previously on the New Advent website)
MD        =Monastic Diurnal published by Farnborough Abbey (Collegeville translation)
Brenton  =Sir Lancelot Brenton's translation from the Septuagint
NETS    =New English Translation from the Septuagint, available here
RSV       =Revised Standard Edition
Cover    =Coverdale
Knox      =Ronald Knox's translation available from the New Advent site
Grail      =Grail Psalter

The Hebrew, with links to Strong's Concordance, can be found (along with numerous other translations) at Blue Letter Bible.

The word by word translations, text notes and commentary are my own, but draw heavily on the commentaries of the Fathers and Theologians (on whom overview notes can be found elsewhere on this blog), Magisterial teaching, and other psalm commentaries.  

Quotes from the Fathers and Theologians are taken from their commentaries on the psalms using the translations recommended in my separate posts on these here and here, unless otherwise specified.

As well as these, the text notes draw mainly on the following sources:

TE Bird, A Commentary on the Psalms 2 vols, (London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1927)
Msgr Patrick Boylan, A Study of the Vulgate Psalter in the Light of the Hebrew Text, 2 vols (Dublin: M H Gill and Son, 2nd ed 1921)
David  J Ladouceur, The Latin Psalter Introduction, Selected Text and Commentary (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2005),