Introduction to Psalm 30

Alsace, Haut-Rhin, Église Saint Jean Baptiste de Buhl
© Ralph Hammann - Wikimedia Commons

The third and final psalm I want to look at in this Lenten series on the repeated psalms of the Office is  the first six verses of Psalm 30.

Psalm 30 in the liturgy

Psalm 30 as a whole is particularly appropriate for Lent, and especially Passiontide because it is one of the 'suffering servant' psalms:

Psalm 30

In te, Dómine, sperávi non confúndar in ætérnum: * in iustítia tua líbera me.	In you, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in your justice.
Inclína ad me aurem tuam, * accélera ut éruas me.	Bow down your ear to me: make haste to deliver me.
Esto mihi in Deum protectórem, et in domum refúgii: * ut salvum me fácias.	Be unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.
Quóniam fortitúdo mea, et refúgium meum es tu: * et propter nomen tuum dedúces me, et enútries me.	For you are my strength and my refuge; and for your name's sake you will lead me, and nourish me.
Edúces me de láqueo hoc, quem abscondérunt mihi: * quóniam tu es protéctor meus.	You will bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for you are my protector.
In manus tuas comméndo spíritum meum: * redemísti me, Dómine, Deus veritátis.	Into your hands I commend my spirit: you have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
Odísti observántes vanitátes, * supervácue.	You have hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose.
Ego autem in Dómino sperávi: * exsultábo, et lætábor in misericórdia tua.	But I have hoped in the Lord: I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy.
Quóniam respexísti humilitátem meam, * salvásti de necessitátibus ánimam meam.	For you have regarded my humility, you have saved my soul out of distresses.
Nec conclusísti me in mánibus inimíci: * statuísti in loco spatióso pedes meos.	And you have not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: you have set my feet in a spacious place.
Miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam tríbulor: † conturbátus est in ira óculus meus, * ánima mea, et venter meus:	Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:
Quóniam defécit in dolóre vita mea: * et anni mei in gemítibus.	For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs.
Infirmáta est in paupertáte virtus mea: * et ossa mea conturbáta sunt.	My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.
Super omnes inimícos meos factus sum oppróbrium et vicínis meis valde: * et timor notis meis.	I have become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance.
Qui vidébant me, foras fugérunt a me: * oblivióni datus sum, tamquam mórtuus a corde.	They that saw me without fled from me. I am forgotten as one dead from the heart.
Factus sum tamquam vas pérditum: * quóniam audívi vituperatiónem multórum commorántium in circúitu.	I have become as a vessel that is destroyed. For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about.
In eo dum convenírent simul advérsum me, * accípere ánimam meam consiliáti sunt.	While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.
Ego autem in te sperávi, Dómine: † dixi: Deus meus es tu: * in mánibus tuis sortes meæ.	But I have put my trust in you, O Lord: I said: You are my God. My lots are in your hands.
Eripe me de manu inimicórum meórum, * et a persequéntibus me.	Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.
Illústra fáciem tuam super servum tuum, † salvum me fac in misericórdia tua: * Dómine, non confúndar, quóniam invocávi te.	Make your face to shine upon your servant; save me in your mercy. Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon you.
Erubéscant ímpii, et deducántur in inférnum: * muta fiant lábia dolósa.	Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.
Quæ loquúntur advérsus iustum iniquitátem: * in supérbia, et in abusióne.	Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.
Quam magna multitúdo dulcédinis tuæ, Dómine, * quam abscondísti timéntibus te.	O how great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for them that fear you!
Perfecísti eis, qui sperant in te, * in conspéctu filiórum hóminum.	Which you have wrought for them that hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men.
Abscóndes eos in abscóndito faciéi tuæ * a conturbatióne hóminum.	You shall hide them in the secret of your face, from the disturbance of men.
Próteges eos in tabernáculo tuo * a contradictióne linguárum.	You shall protect them in your tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
Benedíctus Dóminus: * quóniam mirificávit misericórdiam suam mihi in civitáte muníta.	Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.
Ego autem dixi in excéssu mentis meæ: * Proiéctus sum a fácie oculórum tuórum.	But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before your eyes.
Ideo exaudísti vocem oratiónis meæ, * dum clamárem ad te.	Therefore you have heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to you.
Dilígite Dóminum omnes sancti eius: † quóniam veritátem requíret Dóminus, * et retríbuet abundánter faciéntibus supérbiam.	O love the Lord, all you his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.
Viríliter ágite, et confortétur cor vestrum, * omnes, qui sperátis in Dómino.	Do manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you that hope in the Lord.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

For this reason it features frequently in the New Testament, and is used extensively in the Masses of Lent and Passiontide, as the tables below illustrate.

NT Refs	Lk 23:46; Acts 7:59 (6); Jn 12:27 (11); Titus 3:3-7 (21); Rev 7 15-16 (25-26); 1 Cor 16:13  (24)
RB cursus	Sunday Matins II, 5[+AN 3300 in Lent]
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	All Saints
Roman pre 1911	Monday Matins Short responsory (v6)’ AN 3254, 4585,(6); 4619 (8), 2235 (24)
Responsories	6912 (6), Monday in Epiphanytide 7459 (20)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Sext
Mass propers (EF)	Septuagesima Sun CO (17, 18) Quinquagesima Sun IN (2, 4) Tuesday Lent I OF (18); Wednesday Lent III, IN (1, 7-8); Lent 4 Monday, GR (3); Passion Friday IN (1, 16, 19, 20); PP 6 AL (1-2); PP 7, CO (3); PP 8 GR (3); PP13, OF (18) PP16 IN (=[2, 10, 16, 18) St Gabriel of Our Lady of the Sorrows (Feb 27) GR (20) S Frances Caracciolo June 4 CO (20)

The psalm as a whole ends on an upbeat note, with the Resurrection, and so is said at Matins on Sundays in the Benedictine Office.

The psalms on the cross

In this series though, I want to focus just on the first six verses, which were said daily at Compline in the pre-1911 version of the Roman (but not the Benedictine) Office.

Verse 6 of the psalm, however, marks the end of the set of psalms Our Lord is traditionally held to have recited while on the Cross, as St Luke attests:

And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus crying with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost. (Lk 23:44-46):

Its inclusion in Compline then, presumably reflects the idea that night is the type of death,and so Our Lord's last words before death are appropriate for us too.

The Benedictine hour

So why didn't St Benedict include it in his version of Compline?

My own theory is that although the Benedictine version of Compline certainly reflects the idea of preparing for sleep as a preparation for death, St Benedict puts much more emphasis on the Resurrection than the crucifixion; much more emphasis on extending our lives so we can increase in perfection rather than acceptance of what we are now.

St Benedict uses the psalms said on the cross in a context that emphasises their Resurrection dimension for example, and sets Psalm 75 at Lauds on Fridays, a psalm that certainly refers to the crucifixion ('the earth trembled'), also speaks of his return in power, majesty and judgment.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David, pro extasi	Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy
1 In te, Dómine, sperávi non confúndar in ætérnum: * in justítia tua líbera me.	In you, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in your justice.
2  Inclína ad me aurem tuam, * accélera ut éruas me.	3 Bow down your ear to me: make haste to deliver me.
3  Esto mihi in Deum protectórem, et in domum refúgii: * ut salvum me fácias.	Be unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.
4  Quóniam fortitúdo mea, et refúgium meum es tu: * et propter nomen tuum dedúces me, et enútries me.	4 For you are my strength and my refuge; and for your name's sake you will lead me, and nourish me.
5  Edúces me de láqueo hoc, quem abscondérunt mihi: * quóniam tu es protéctor meus.	5 You will bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for you are my protector.
6  In manus tuas comméndo spíritum meum: * redemísti me, Dómine, Deus veritátis.	6 Into your hands I commend my spirit: you have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
7  Odísti observántes vanitátes, * supervácue.	7 You have hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose.
8  Ego autem in Dómino sperávi: * exsultábo, et lætábor in misericórdia tua.	But I have hoped in the Lord: I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy.
9  Quóniam respexísti humilitátem meam, * salvásti de necessitátibus ánimam meam.	For you have regarded my humility, you have saved my soul out of distresses.
10  Nec conclusísti me in mánibus inimíci: * statuísti in loco spatióso pedes meos.	9 And you have not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: you have set my feet in a spacious place.
11  Miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam tríbulor: * conturbátus est in ira óculus meus, ánima mea, et venter meus:	10 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:
12  Quóniam defécit in dolóre vita mea: * et anni mei in gemítibus.	11 For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs.
13  Infirmáta est in paupertáte virtus mea: * et ossa mea conturbáta sunt.	My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.
14  Super omnes inimícos meos factus sum oppróbrium et vicínis meis valde: * et timor notis meis.	12 I have become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance.
15  Qui vidébant me, foras fugérunt a me: * oblivióni datus sum, tamquam mórtuus a corde.	They that saw me without fled from me. 13 I am forgotten as one dead from the heart.
16  Factus sum tamquam vas pérditum: * quóniam audívi vituperatiónem multórum commorántium in circúitu.	I have become as a vessel that is destroyed. 14 For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about.
17  In eo dum convenírent simul advérsum me, * accípere ánimam meam consiliáti sunt.	While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.
18  Ego autem in te sperávi, Dómine: *  dixi: Deus meus es tu : in mánibus tuis sortes meæ.	15 But I have put my trust in you, O Lord: I said: You are my God. 16 My lots are in your hands.
19  Eripe me de manu inimicórum meórum, * et a persequéntibus me.	Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.
20  Illústra fáciem tuam super servum tuum, salvum me fac in misericórdia tua: * Dómine, non confúndar, quóniam invocávi te.	17 Make your face to shine upon your servant; save me in your mercy. 18 Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon you.
21  Erubéscant ímpii, et deducántur in inférnum: * muta fiant lábia dolósa.	Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.
22  Quæ loquúntur advérsus justum iniquitátem: * in supérbia, et in abusióne.	19 Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.
23  Quam magna multitúdo dulcédinis tuæ, Dómine, * quam abscondísti timéntibus te.	20 O how great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for them that fear you!
24  Perfecísti eis, qui sperant in te, * in conspéctu filiórum hóminum.	Which you have wrought for them that hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men.
25  Abscóndes eos in abscóndito faciéi tuæ * a conturbatióne hóminum.	21 You shall hide them in the secret of your face, from the disturbance of men.
26  Próteges eos in tabernáculo tuo * a contradictióne linguárum.	You shall protect them in your tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
27  Benedíctus Dóminus: * quóniam mirificávit misericórdiam suam mihi in civitáte muníta.	22 Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.
28  Ego autem dixi in excéssu mentis meæ: * Projéctus sum a fácie oculórum tuórum.	23 But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before your eyes.
29  Ideo exaudísti vocem oratiónis meæ, * dum clamárem ad te.	Therefore you have heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to you.
30  Dilígite Dóminum omnes sancti ejus: * quóniam veritátem requíret Dóminus, et retríbuet abundánter faciéntibus supérbiam.	24 O love the Lord, all you his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.
31  Viríliter ágite, et confortétur cor vestrum, * omnes, qui sperátis in Dómino.	25 Do manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you that hope in the Lord.

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

Psalm 53 postscript

St Catherine's Monastery,c13th
Source: Wikipedia

At the beginning of this mini-series on Psalm 53 I noted that it is used intensively during the Triduum, said each day at Prime, but also at Tenebrae of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, so I thought I would conclude my notes on the psalm by coming back, briefly, to the reasons for its prominence in the older forms of the Roman Office.

The five wounds of Christ?

At first glance the five-fold appearance of the psalm during the Triduum might appear to be an accident: the psalm was, after all, said daily at Prime in the traditional version of the Roman Office and it is not altogether unusual for psalms to be said twice in a day in that form of the Office where it is appropriate to the feast or type of feast.

But if that was the case, why isn't it used at Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday, to which it is surely particularly appropriate?

My suggestion is that there is a bit of deliberate crafting here, meant to suggest the five wounds of Christ.

It is worth noting in this regard that St Hilary's commentary on the psalm notes that the psalm has a very deliberate structure, with each of the five key points of prayer matched to a result:

Petition	Result
Save me God by your name	I will give thanks unto Your name, O Lord, for it is good,
Judge me on your strength	And My eye has looked down upon Mine enemies
O God hear my prayer…	Behold God is My helper…
For strangers are risen up against Me and the violent have sought after My soul,	for You have delivered Me out of all affliction and the Lord is the upholder of My soul
they have not set God before their eyes	I will freely sacrifice to you

The Christological interpretation of the psalm

Whether or not the symbolism was deliberate, it is clear that the psalm's use during the Triduum does reflect the Christological interpretation of it suggested by St Hilary amongst others:

The suffering of the Prophet David is, according to the account we have given of the title, a type of the Passion of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. This is why his prayer also corresponds in sense with the prayer of Him Who being the Word was made flesh: in such wise that He Who suffered all things after the manner of man, in everything He said, spoke after the manner of man; and He who bore the infirmities and took on Him the sins of men approached God in prayer with the humility proper to men. 

This interpretation, even though we be unwilling and slow to receive it, is required by the meaning and force of the words, so that there can be no doubt that everything in the Psalm is uttered by David as His mouthpiece. For he says: Save me O God, by Your name. Thus prays in bodily humiliation, using the words of His own Prophet, the Only-begotten Son of God, Who at the same time was claiming again the glory which He had possessed before the ages. He asks to be saved by the Name of God whereby He was called and wherein He was begotten, in order that the Name of God which rightly belonged to His former nature and kind might avail to save Him in that body wherein He had been born.

At Prime

The Psalm use at Prime may also in part reflect this interpretation: Psalm 53 in a sense recapitulates the Triduum, with the psalm that follows, Psalm 118, taking us to the Resurrection, for its opening verse 'Beati immaculati' proclaims that the way to heaven has been reopened.

But the psalm can also be read as encouragement for the daily spiritual battle against those who reject God, in effect a summary of one of the key themes of the Benedictine version of the hour.

St Alphonsus Liguori, for example noted that:

This psalm may serve for all Christians that find themselves assailed by the temptations of the devil.  We may remark with Cardinal Bellarmine that the holy Church wishes to teach us how to arm ourselves with prayer against the tribulations and temptations that may assail us every day.

I want to conclude though with the ninth century commentator Amalarius of Metz, who suggested that:

Singing this Psalm at this point in the day is necessary for requesting divine protection through all the hours of the day against the machinations and subtleties of the devil's deceit, of which the psalmist speaks: "For strangers rise up against us who do not set God before their eyes" and also so that he may remove us from all our tribulations, and that our eye may look down upon our enemies, as David did in his time.

Coming up next

And for the last part of Lent, a quick look at the first six verses of Psalm 30, which was previously said at Compline each night in the (pre-1911) Roman Office, and concludes with the verse Christ used on the Cross, just before dying, when he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit'.

Psalm 53 v 7 - On the downfall of our enemies

Romanesque c1220

The final verse of Psalm 53 reinforces our reasons for praising God, focusing on his his work of rescuing us.

Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: et super inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus.

For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

Looking at the Latin

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

omnis, e, all, each, every

tribulatio, onis, f. , trouble, distress, anguish, affliction, tribulation

eripio, ripui, reptum, ere 3  to snatch away, to rescue, deliver

super +acc=above, upon, over, in, on

despicio, spexi, spectum, ere 3 to look away from, not to look at, to slight; to despise; to look down upon

A word by word translation runs:

Quóniam (For/because) ex (from) omni (all) tribulatióne (trouble) eripuísti (you have rescued me: * et (and) super (upon) inimícos (the enemies) meos (my) despéxit (it/he has looked down upon) óculus (the eye) meus (my).

The second phrase of the verse is the hardest to convey the sense of in English.  The Knox version, ‘Who else has delivered me from all peril, and let me see the downfall of my enemies?’, is probably the best:

DR	For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.
Brenton	For thou hast delivered me out of all affliction, and mine eye has seen my desire upon mine enemies.
RSV	For thou hast delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
Cover	For he hath delivered me out of all my trouble; and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
Knox	who else has delivered me from all peril, and let me see the downfall of my enemies?
College	For you have snatched me from all my affliction, and my eye looks down upon my enemies.
Grail	For you have rescued me from all distress and my eyes have seen the downfall of my foes.

Suffering leads us to love of God

Modern commentaries often implicitly or explicitly reject the need for us to call for help in times of trouble, seeing it as altogether too mercenary.   They insist instead that love of God springs into being spontaneously and instantly.

The Fathers, however, pointed out that our sufferings and tribulations are necessary in order to lead us to God.  St Augustine for example said:

For this cause I have perceived how good a thing is Your name: for if this I were able before tribulations to acknowledge, perchance for me there had been no need of them. But tribulation has been applied for admonition, admonition has redounded to Your praise. For I should not have understood where I was, except of my weakness I had been admonished. Out of all tribulations, therefore, You have delivered me.

Similarly Theodoret of Cyr noted that:

Because you have rescued me from every tribulation, and my eye has looked down on my foes I shall offer you the sacrifice of praise, recounting your favors. This, in fact, is useful to me and pleasing to you (and to all helped by you). It is right for me to do this, freed as I have been from calamities of all kinds and contemplating the ruin of the enemies.

The defeat of our enemies

The more difficult part of this verse is the second: does it really imply we should rejoice over the downfall of our enemies?

St Hilary of Poitiers argued otherwise, applying the verse above all to Christ:

For the Only-begotten Son of God was not cut off by death. It is true that in order to take the whole of our nature upon Him He submitted to death, that is to the apparent severance of soul and body, and made His way even to the realms below, the debt which man must manifestly pay: but He rose again and abides for ever and looks down with an eye that death cannot dim upon His enemies, being exalted unto the glory of God and born once more Son of God after becoming Son of Man, as He had been Son of God when He first became Son of Man, by the glory of His resurrection. 

He looks down upon His enemies to whom He once said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it up. And so, now that this temple of His body has been built again, He surveys from His throne on high those who sought after His soul, and, set far beyond the power of human death, He looks down from heaven upon those who wrought His death, He who suffered death, yet could not die, the God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

That said, there is nothing at all wrong in being glad that we have been delivered from those who seek to harm or kill us.  St Thomas Aquinas for example commented:

 And I will even praise you in regards to my enemies, because My eye hath looked down upon my enemies, because they were not able to kill me, or, Hath looked down, etc., because he disdains their happiness and prosperity; In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus David, 2 cum venissent Ziphæi, et dixissent ad Saul : Nonne David absconditus est apud nos?	Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us?
1 Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.	3 Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
2  Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.	4 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.
3  Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.	5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.
4 Ecce enim Deus ádjuvat me: * et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ.	6 For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
5  Avérte mala inimícis meis: * et in veritáte tua dispérde illos.	7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
6  Voluntárie sacrificábo tibi, * et confitébor nómini tuo, Dómine: quóniam bonum est :	8 I will freely sacrifice to you, and will give praise, O God, to your name: because it is good:
7  Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: * et super inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus.	9 For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

And the concluding post in this series on Psalm 53 can be found here.