Psalm 114/5: When shipwrecked, call for help...

Joseph Vernet 1763

Continuing on with this study of Psalm 114 (116), the first psalm of Vespers in the Office of the Dead (and otherwise said at Monday Vespers), here is the complete psalm again with today’s verse highlighted:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.

Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Because he has inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him.

Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me.

Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum.

Looking at the Latin

The Douay-Rheims translates ‘Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi’ as 'I met with trouble and sorrow: And I called upon the name of the Lord'.

Breaking down the Latin:

Tribulatiónem =anguish/trouble/distress (accusative)

et dolórem =and sorrow

invéni = I have found

et nomen Dómini = and the name of the Lord

invocávi = I have invoked

A slightly looser translation from the Revised Standard Version makes it ‘I suffered distress and anguish: then I called upon the name of the Lord’.

Here is the key vocab:

tribulatio, onis, /. , trouble, distress, anguish, affliction, tribulation
dolor, oris, m. , pain whether of body or of mind, grief, sorrow, affliction, sin
invenio, veni, ventum, ire, to find
invoco, avi, atum, are, to invoke, call upon (God); to put trust in
nomen, mis, n. name

In suffering and trouble we should flee to God

St John Chrysostom uses this verse to offer a brief sermon on why God allows us to be subject to distress at times in order to encourage us to look for him, and on the right dispositions needs to have our prayers heard:

“Now, what he means is this: For me it sufficed for freedom from the encircling evils to call on God. Why, then, does it often occur that we call and are not freed from problems? Because we do not call as we ought call. I mean, for proof that he is always ready to provide, listen to what he says in the Gospels: "Surely there is no one of you who, if their son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

Now, if you, wicked as you are, know how to give good gifts to those who ask you, much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those asking him." Do you see how great is his goodness, when our wickedness is brought to light in comparison with it? Since, then, our Lord is like that, let us have recourse to him and call upon him alone as our helper, and we shall find him ready to save.

After all, if those who fall victim to shipwreck and cling to a plank immediately call upon people at a distance and persuade them to treat them with humanity, though admittedly having nothing in common with them but simply apprised of their calamity, much more will the loving God, whose goodness is natural to him, rescue those in trouble if only they are prepared to have recourse to him and call upon him with a sincere intention, forsaking human hopes.

Accordingly, whenever you fall into some unexpected trouble, do not despair, but at once lift your spirits, and direct your journey to that storm-free haven, that unassailable tower, help from God. This was the reason, you see, that he allowed you to fall victim, that you might call upon him. But that is particularly the time for most people to become despondent and lose their customary reverence, when they should do the opposite: it is because he loves us deeply that he allows us to suffer distress, so that we may be united to him more diligently. For mothers, too, induce their recalcitrant children to fly to their arms by frightening them with various masks, not wanting to cause them pain, but devising these means of encouraging their approach. God, too, in like manner, always anxious to unite us with himself, like some ardent lover - or, rather, being more ardent than any lover - allows you to be brought to such states of need so as to be exercised constantly in prayer, constantly call on him and be concerned with his affairs by letting go of the others.” (St John Chrysostom Commentary on the Psalms Volume 2,  trans Robert Charles Hill, Holy Cross Orthodox Press, MA 1998, pp94).

You can find notes on the next verse here

Psalms verse by verse - Psalm 114/4 - The pains of death

Today at look at verse 3 of Psalm 114 (116), which tells us that the speaker is in peril of his life, suffering from the pain of dying.

Here are the verses we have looked at so far, plus today’s:

1. Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet Dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.

2. Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Because he has inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him.

3. Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me

The sentiments are very similar to those of Psalm 17:5-7, which says:

The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.
The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me
In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God

Phrase by phrase

First a look at the Latin:

circumdedérunt me = They have surround/compass me

dolóres mortis = the pains/sorrows of death

The neo-Vulgate changes this to 'the cords of death’ (funes mortis), giving the image of someone being pulled down to hell.

et perícula inférni = the perils/dangers of hell

Again the neo-Vulgate makes a change here, from pericula (dangers or perils) to angustia (want, scarcity or distress).

invenérunt me = they have found me/seized upon me/overtaken me

In other words, ‘The sorrows of death have surrounded me: and the dangers of hell have found me’. Perhaps the most vivid translation of this verse remains that of Coverdale:

“The snares of death compassed me round about, and the pains of hell got hold upon me.”

Here are the key words used in the verse:

circumdo, dedi, datum, are, to surround, beset, encompass with a hostile intent; to gather round
dolor, oris, m. , pain whether of body or of mind, grief, sorrow, affliction. Sin
mors, mortis, f., death
periculum, i, n., peril, danger.
infernus, i, m. hell, the nether world, the underworld, the grave, the kingdom of the dead,
invenio, veni, ventum, ire, to find

Death is not easy!

These days, many people feel that the best kind of death happens suddenly, quietly in our sleep. Indeed, we do our best to avoid pain of any kind, if necessary drugging someone to death to avoid the realities of death. This verse, though, does not shirk from seeing some nobility in suffering, as St Basil the Great points out:

“…the name of these pains to those which besiege the animal in the division of soul and body at death. He says that he has suffered nothing moderately, but that he has been tried even to the sorrows of death and has arrived at the peril of the descent into hell. Now, did he endure only these things for which he is exalted, or did he endure these things frequently and unwillingly? Nothing that is forced is praiseworthy. But, look at the nobility of nature of the athlete. When 'the sorrows of death compassed me, and the perils of hell found me’ I was so far from succumbing to these trials that I willingly proposed to myself even much greater trials than these.”

The dangers of death though, are not just physical but even more importantly, spiritual as St Robert Bellarmine argues:

“He now tells us on what his prayers turned; on the dangers and temptations in regard of his eternal salvation, the only subject worth the notice of a soul that truly loves God…When he says, then "The sorrows of death have compassed me," he means, I am tormented with such dreadful temptations that I am compelled to cry out with the apostle, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He explains it more fully, when he adds, "The perils of hell have found me," for it is through fear of that peril the greatest of all perils, that those near death conceive the greatest fear and alarm. In the Hebrew the expression is, "The narrow ways of hell," giving us the idea of one walking on the edge of a precipice, in danger every moment of falling, and of being dashed to pieces, unless they tread with the greatest care and caution; and such is the way of salvation, difficult and narrow, so that they who walk without extreme caution run every risk of being precipitated into hell.”

Psalm 114

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum.

This mini-series on Psalm 114 continues here.

Psalm 114/3: God hears our prayers

Folio 66v, Belles Heures of Jean de France
Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Today’s verse of Psalm 114 (116) features one of those delightful anthropomorphisms, with the psalmist giving us an image of God as an old man, bending towards us in order to hear what we are saying:

Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Because he has inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him.

St Basil the Great points out that this is an image for our benefit, not to be taken too literally:

“He inclined, he said, not that you might take some corporeal notion about God having ears and inclining them to a gentle voice, as we do, putting our ear close to those who speak low, so that by the nearness we may perceive what is said, but he said, 'He inclined’ in order that he might point out to us his own weakness. Because through kindness He came down to me while I was lying on the ground, as if, when some sick man is not able to speak clearly because of his great weakness, a kind physician, bringing his ear close, should learn through the nearness what was necessary for the sick man. Therefore, 'He hath inclined his ear unto me’. The divine ear, indeed, does not need a voice for perception; it knows how to recognize in the movements of the heart what is sought.”

Phrase by phrase

Quia inclinávit =for he has inclined/bent

quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed;
inclino, avi, atum, are, to bend, incline

aurem suam mihi = his ear to me

auris, is, /. the ear.
suus a um his
me, me, myself

That is to say, ‘For he listened to/heard me’.

et in diébus meis =and in my days [= while I live, or as long as I live]

dies, ei, m. and /.; fem. a day, the natural day

invocábo = I will call [upon him]

invoco, avi, atum, are, to invoke, call upon (God);to put trust in

Keep praying…

The key message of this verse, St Basil argues, is that we must keep praying, every day of our lives:

“If we have prayed on one day, or if in one hour for a brief time we were saddened by our sins, we are carefree as if we had already made some compensation for our wickedness. However, the holy man says that he is disclosing his confession which is measured by the whole time of his life, for he says: 'In all my days I will call upon him.' Then, in order that you may not think that he called upon God because he was fortunate in this life and because all his affairs were successful, he describes in detail the magnitude and difficulty of the circumstances in which, when he was involved, he did not forget the name of God. “

It is St Augustine, though, who perhaps puts this instruction into the context of praying for the dead, reminding us that this life is only an intermediate stage, and we must keep our eyes fastened on the ultimate reality:

“…And what are your days, since you have said, In my days I have called upon Him? Are they those perchance, in which the fullness of time came, and God sent His Son, Galatians 4:4 who had already said, In an acceptable time have I heard you, and in a day of salvation have I helped you? Isaiah 49:8 ...I may rather call my days the days of my misery, the days of my mortality, the days according to Adam, full of toil and sweat, the days according to the ancient corruption….

Psalm 114

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Because he has inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum

Notes on the next verse of the the psalm can be found here.

Psalm 114/2 - I have loved

Jean Fouquet, 1452-60

Today, a look at the first verse of Psalm 114. The literal translation of this verse is very straightforward. Penetrating its true meaning, however, takes a little more work.

The verse is, in the Vulgate:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet Dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.

The Douay-Rheims translates it as ‘I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer’.

So just who is it that the speaker has loved – does he mean God or someone or something else? And does the verse really mean to suggest that this love really dependent on God hearing - and favourably answering - his prayer?

Phrase by phrase

Diléxi = I have loved

Dilexi comes from the verb third conjugation verb, diligo, dilexi, dilectum, diligere 3 to love, to be pleased.

quóniam exáudiet Dóminus = because the Lord will hear

The key words here are:

quoniam, for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.
exaudio, ivi, itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.

The neo-Vulgate actually changes the tense of the verb here, to ‘you have heard’ (exaudit).

vocem oratiónis meæ = the voice of my prayer

vox, vocis, f., the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument, thunder
oratio, onis, f prayer, supplication

I have loved the Lord?

From the breakdown above it can be seen that the Douay-Rheims translates the Latin fairly literally, and in this case that reflects both the Greek and the Latin. The Coverdale translation for example (from the Hebrew) makes it: ‘I am well pleased that the Lord hath heard the voice of my prayer’, while Brenton’s translation from the Greek renders the verse: ‘I am well pleased, because the Lord will hearken to the voice of my supplication’.

A number of other translations, however, give the verse a rather different emphasis, for example :

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications (RSV); and
I love the Lord because He hath heard the voice of my prayer (Collegeville, Monastic Diurnal).

In fact St Basil the Great’s sermon on the psalm suggests that in fact these are legitimate (if less than attentive to the actual text) interpretations.  He says:

“It is not in the power of everyone to say: 'I have loved,' but of him who is already perfect and beyond the fear of slavery, and who has been formed in the spirit of adoption as sons. He does not add to ‘have loved’ the word 'someone’ but we supply in thought 'the God of the universe’. For, that which is properly beloved is God, since they define 'beloved' as that at which all things aim. Now, God is a good, and the first and most perfect of good things. Therefore, I have loved God Himself who is the highest of objects to be desired, and I have received with joy sufferings for His sake.”

Similarly, St Robert Bellarmine comments that:

“His soul burning with desire for the Lord, absolutely says, "I have loved," and does not say whom, taking it for granted that all others are equally in love with one so deserving of love, and, therefore, that they know whom he means. In like manner, when Mary Magdalen, at the sepulchre, was asked, "Whom seekest thou?" she answered, "Sir, if thou hast taken him away, tell me," without saying for whom she was looking, or for whom she was weeping, supposing that everyone shared in her love as well as in her sorrow, and knew the object of both. And, in fact, when we all seek for happiness, which, without any sprinkling of evil, we can find in God alone, as St. John intimates, when he says, "God is light, and in him there is no darkness;" man should absolutely love God alone, and when they hear the expression, "I have loved," they ought to understand it as applying to the love of the supreme good alone.”

Because he heard my prayer?

The second part of the verse serves as a reminder of the basic dynamic of the Christian life: God’s love for us calls us to him, encouraging us to respond with our prayers; and in turn, he listens.

It is, first of all, a call for those who are far from God at the moment to return to him, as St Augustine argues:

“Let the soul that is sojourning in absence from the Lord sing thus, let that sheep which had strayed sing thus, let that son who had "died and returned to life," who had "been lost and was found;" let our soul sing thus, brethren, and most beloved sons. Let us be taught, and let us abide, and let us sing thus with the Saints: "I have loved: since the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer."

But it is the assurance that God is with us, is listening, and acting in our best interests (even if those interests might not be apparent to us at the moment) the Fathers argue, that can get us through the trials and tribulations of life. Cassiodorus, for example, comments:

“We know that the Lord's love comes to men under two heads. The first is when He is loved and praised even by the unfaithful for the benefits He has bestowed; as we read of the sinner in another psalm: He will praise thee when thou shall do well to him. The other is the most certain and perfect, when the mind of one devoted to Him is cast down by no adversity caused by the ills befalling him, but in his love of the Lord is ever fired in the course of his miseries by hope of what is to come. As Paul says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or persecution? Or famine? Or nakedness? and the rest. So the prophet later explains the attitude of showing love in the midst of afflictions and hardships, because the tribulations and pains bestowed on him the merit of calling on the Lord. So David joyfully exults not in the breadth of his kingdom, and not in worldly happiness, which he knew would fade; but he rejoices that his prayer uttered in hardship has been heard by the most merciful Lord, and he realised that this was of enduring benefit to him….”

Psalm 114

Here is the complete psalm, with today’s verse highlighted:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino * in regióne vivórum.

Notes on the next verse continue here.

Psalm 114: Latin Study Hints Part A

Yesterday, I provided a short introduction to Psalm 114.  Today, before we start the verse by verse look at it, some notes on it to assist those wishing to learn or refresh their Latin.

First some revision...

Before we start looking at the psalm properly, pick out what you already know.

First, vocabulary.  Don't worry about what the whole thing means, just start by findingt those very frequent words that are important to know, and any others you can work out, and see how much of the psalm you already know. 

I've highlighted some key ones:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem (vox, voice) oratiónis meæ.
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus (days) meis invocábo.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis (death): et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen (name) Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum.

Look out too, for a few of the less common words that you may remember from Psalms 3 and 22 such as circumdare, to surround:

Ps 3: Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me (I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me)
Ps 114: Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.

Secondly, grammar.  My suggestion is that you use each new psalm to revise the grammar paradigms you have already learnt. If you are following the Simplicisimus course (see the link to the course materials in the sidebar):

• Unit 1 covered nouns in the five declensions – work out which case all the occurrences of anima (first declension), Dominus (second declension), vocem (third declension) and dies (fifth declension) are in;
• Unit 2 looked at present tense verbs. There is one that looks like a present tense verb here (sum) but is actually part of another verb, humilio;
• Unit 3 looked at the present indicative passive – there are no examples of this in the psalm;
• Unit 4 looked at adjectives – three useful ones to look out for are justus, a, um, just; parvulus, a, um, small, little; and vivus, a, um alive, living.

New vocab to learn

And here are some more frequently used words that you might want to add to your learning list for this week:

quoniam, conj., for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.
quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed;
oratio, onis, f. prayer, supplication
auris, is, f. the ear.
mors, mortis, f., death
dolor, oris, m. pain, whether of body or of mind, grief, sorrow, affliction;sin

Look out too, for words with common roots to one's you already know - Psalms 3 and 22 both used the verb tribulare, to oppress, afflict or harass.  This week's psalm uses tribulatio, ionis, distress, affliction, or tribulation.

Grammar

Unit 5 of Simplicissimus covers adverbs and prepositions. Examples of the prepositions used in the psalm are highlighted below:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ.
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum.

Say it out loud!

Finally, don't forget to work with one or more of the recordings until you can say each verse fluently yourself, and ideally, sing it.:

Introduction to Psalm 114 in the context of Vespers of the Office of the Dead

c15th Maitre de Rohan

I want to focus, over the next few weeks, on the traditional form of the Vespers of the Office of the Dead by way of an offering for the souls in purgatory, and in the hope that I can encourage others to say the Office of the Dead to that end.

Like all of the hours of this Office, Vespers starts without any introductory prayers, with the antiphon for the first psalm, Placebo Dominum (I will please the Lord), which is in fact the last verse of that first psalm, Psalm 114 (116).

Vespers of the Dead consists of five psalms:

• Psalm 114, Dilexi quoniam exaudiet Dominus (I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice);
• Psalm 119, Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi (To the Lord I cry in my distress);
• Psalm 120, Levavi oculos meos in montes (I will lift up my eyes to the hills);
• Psalm 129, De Profundis (Out of the Deep);and
• Psalm 137, Confitebor tibi Domine (I thank thee Lord)

The middle three are all Gradual psalms, while Psalm 129 is also one of the penitential psalms.

So, to start with Psalm 114...

Psalm 114: the text

In the Septuagint (and thus Vulgate), this is a separate psalm. But in the Hebrew Masoretic Text it is joined to Vulgate Psalm 115, and actually constitutes the first nine verses of Psalm 116.

Here it is, first in English (Douay-Rheims), arranged as it is used liturgically:

I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.
Because he has inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him.
The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me.
I met with trouble and sorrow: And I called upon the name of the Lord.
O Lord, deliver my soul. The Lord is merciful and just, and our God shows mercy.
The Lord is the keeper of little ones: I was humbled, and he delivered me.
Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you.
For he has delivered my soul from death: my eyes from tears, my feet from falling.
I will please the Lord in the land of the living.

And in the Latin Vulgate:

Diléxi, quóniam exáudiet dóminus vocem oratiónis meæ
Quia inclinávit aurem suam mihi: et in diébus meis invocábo.
Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: et perícula inférni invenérunt me.
Tribulatiónem et dolórem invéni: et nomen Dómini invocávi.
O Dómine, líbera ánimam meam: miséricors Dóminus, et justus, et Deus noster miserétur.
Custódiens párvulos Dóminus: humiliátus sum, et liberávit me.
Convértere, ánima mea, in réquiem tuam: quia Dóminus benefécit tibi.
Quia erípuit ánimam meam de morte: óculos meos a lácrimis, pedes meos a lapsu.
Placébo Dómino in regióne vivórum.

To aid your learning, don't forget to listen to it being recited aloud, and work with the recording until you can say and sing (on one note) each verse yourself.

Psalm 114: an overview

Psalm 114 has long had two levels of meaning, referring both to our life here and now, and to our future in heaven.

In the context of the Office of the Dead, this first psalm of Vespers in the Office of the Dead is best read as a deathbed prayer of a soul on the point of victory, asking for God to take it up into heaven, the land of the living.

But it can also be read as a more general thanksgiving prayer (and is used as such in Jewish liturgy, sung after the Passover meal and on other major feasts as one of the ‘Hallel’ psalms) for the many times God has rescued us from those who assault us, and has aided us in keeping us on the path of righteousness, so that we can continue to please him. In this context, ‘the land of the living’ is here on earth, where we can still undertake good works to aid those in the land of the dead who can no longer aid themselves.

There is no explicit historical context that can obviously be attributed to the psalm, though St Alphonsus Liguori suggests that it was a thanksgiving psalm following David’s deliverance from persecution by his son Absalom.  The saint continues:

“The royal prophet is here the figure of the Christian soul, which, after suffering many dangerous temptations, finds itself at the approach of death victorious over its enemies and on the point of going to heaven to enjoy its God.”

For verse by verse translation notes and commentary, start here. 

For some suggestions on using the psalm to brush up your Latin,  have a look here.

Psalm propers for Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost (EF)

Today's psalm propers feature several verses of the longest psalm in the psalter, Psalm 118, so I thought I would take a brief look at them, particularly focusing mainly on the communio.

Psalm 118

Psalm 118 (119) is the longest psalm in the psalter (by a substantial margin), and is an extended meditation on the law.  It arguably serves both as a summary of the preceding psalms, and a necessary prerequisite for the ascent to heaven symbolised by the Gradual psalms that follow immediately after it.

The psalm is an alphabetical psalm (in the Hebrew), broken up into groups of eight verses probably as an aid to memorization.

In the Roman Office, it was traditionally said everyday, spread out over Prime to None; St Benedict however ditched this arrangement. Instead he had it said more slowly, spreading the psalm over Sunday and Monday only. In the 1911 reordering of the breviary, the repetition of the psalm in the Roman Office was dropped, and it is said on Sunday only. The Liturgy of the Hours uses only selected verses from it.

The Introit verse is the opening verse of the psalm, which summarises the central message of the psalm:

Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini, or in the (updated) Douay-Rheims version, Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.

The Communio

The Communio uses parts of three verses from the psalm, namely 81, 84, and 86, all of which are from ‘caph’ (the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet), said at None on Sunday in the traditional Benedictine Office; Sunday Sext in the 1962 Roman.

First let’s take at how the verses as used in the communion fit into the broader group of eight verses (the Communio verses are bolded):

My soul has fainted after your salvation: and in your word I have very much hoped.
My eyes have failed for your word, saying: When will you comfort me?
For I have become like a bottle in the frost: I have not forgotten your justifications.
How many are the days of your servant: when will you execute judgment on them that persecute me?
The wicked have told me fables: but not as your law.
All your statutes are truth: they have persecuted me unjustly; help me.
They had almost made an end of me upon earth: but I have not forsaken your commandments.
Quicken me according to your mercy: and I shall keep the testimonies of your mouth.

The overall theme, Cassiodorus suggests, is the Church’s longing for Christ’s Second Coming, which fits nicely into the general theme of the readings for this end of the liturgical year series of Masses:

“The pilgrim people on this earth sing the eleventh letter, in which they happily confess their extreme longing for the Lord's coming. They further relate their great sufferings from the persecution of the proud. Finally they ask that by the Lord's gift they may persevere in His commandments.”

The Vulgate text here differs slightly from the ‘vetus latina’ of the Mass texts, and has been adapted slightly to fit the purpose. The Latin of the communion is:

In salutari tua anima mea, in verbum tuum speravit; quando facies de persequentibus me judium? Iniqui persecute sunt me, adjuva me, Domie Deus meus

Phrase by phrase

A phrase by phrase literal translation might go as follows:

In salutari tua = in your salvation
anima mea = my soul
in verbum tuum speravi = in your word I have hoped

=My soul is in your salvation and I have hoped in your word, or more colloquially: My soul has trusted in your salvation and relied on your word.

St Robert Bellamine comments on the full verse of the psalm that:

"My desire of eternal salvation has been so great, that I have nearly fainted in consequence. "And in thy word I have very much hoped;" still your promises held out great hopes to me. Thus, while the delay to one's salvation makes one faint, the hope built on promise strengthens and supports."

quando facies de persequentibus me judium? = When will you make judgement on those persecuting me?

St Augustine suggests on this verse that:

"...these are the words of the Martyrs, and long-suffering is enjoined them until the number of their brethren be fulfilled."

Iniqui persecute sunt me, adjuva me = unjustly have they persecuted me, help me.
Domine Deus meus = O Lord my God

A verse that perhaps reminds us also of the behaviour of the unjust servant of today's Gospel.

A final reflection

Dom Gueranger comments on this text in his Liturgical Year that:

"An unflagging hope ever accompanies the admirable patience of holy Church. Persecutions, be they ever so fierce or long, never interrupt her prayer, for, as the Communio expresses it, she keeps in her heart a faithful recollection of the word of salvation that was give her by God."

21st Sunday after Pentecost: Communion from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.