Psalm 134 verses 1-2

The opening verses of Psalm 134 echo those of the previous psalm as they are arranged in Scripture, Psalm 133, which is said daily at Compline (the last of the Gradual psalms).

But whereas Psalm 133 is a call to night prayer, Psalm 134 is a call to continuous prayer.

As these opening verses make clear, it has a deeply liturgical dimension, that stresses the importance of Church buildings as the earthly representation of heaven, our desired destiny.

1	V/NV/JH	Laudáte nomen Dómini, * laudáte, servi Dóminum.
		αἰνεῖτε τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου αἰνεῖτε δοῦλοι κύριον

Laudate (praise) nomen (the name) Domini (of the Lord) laudate (praise), servi (servants), Dominum (the Lord)

DR	Praise the name of the Lord: O you his servants, praise the Lord:
Brenton	Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise the Lord, ye his servants
Cover	O praise the Lord, laud ye the Name of the Lord; praise it, O ye servants of the Lord

The psalm opens with a call to offer the sacrifice of praise.  The previous psalm opens with a very similar line, but restricts its call to night prayer.  This one, on the other hand, can be interpreted as a call to continuous prayer, appropriate for those who have completed their pilgrimage, and reached the heavenly home, or at least who participate in that heavenly liturgy as best we can here on earth. 

Why mention God's servants particularly?  The Fathers note that not everyone can claim to worship God in truth, but rather those who are as St Augustine puts it, the 'obeyers of his command', or, as Cassiodorus elaborates, "you who are committed to Him with steadfast will and believe that you have a Lord whom you do not despise through any superstition." 

2	V	Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus Dei nostri.
		οἱ ἑστῶτες ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου ἐν αὐλαῖς οἴκου θεοῦ ἡμῶν

qui (who) statis (you stand) in domo (in the house) Domini (of the Lord), in atriis (in the courts) domus (of the house) Dei (of God) nostri (our).

cf Psalm 133

atrium, ii, n., a court, often pi., courts; esp. the open courts surrounding the Tabernacle and Temple

DR	You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
Brenton	who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God
Cover	ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

The setting is clearly the Temple, or for us, the Church.  As Pope Benedict XVI puts it:

"Therefore, we find ourselves in the living atmosphere of worship that unfolds in the temple, the preferred and communal place of prayer."

Indeed, St Chrysostom points out that the Old Testament contains numerous injunctions against worshipping anywhere other than the Temple, for the regulation of worship in the temple or church is intended to offer protection against erroneous ideas, impiety and idolatry.  To be able to stand in the house of God, St Augustine comments, is not a small thing, but rather a great favour God has granted us, something meant to symbolise, as St Bellarmine explains that though we ourselves have not yet arrived at our final home, we count ourselves nonetheless, as being amongst "those who, in hope and desire, have begun to dwell in that house above; such as those who, with the apostle, can say, 'But our conversation is in heaven.'"

Psalm 134 (135) – Laudate nomen Domini

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Alleluja.	Alleluia
1 Laudáte nomen Dómini, * laudáte, servi Dóminum.	Praise the name of the Lord: O you his servants, praise the Lord:
2  Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus Dei nostri.	2 You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
3  Laudáte Dóminum, quia bonus Dóminus: * psállite nómini ejus, quóniam suáve.	3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good: sing to his name, for it is sweet.
4  Quóniam Jacob elégit sibi Dóminus, * Israël in possessiónem sibi.	4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself: Israel for his own possession.
5  Quia ego cognóvi quod magnus est Dóminus, * et Deus noster præ ómnibus diis.	5 For I have known that the Lord is great, and our God is above all gods.
6  Omnia quæcúmque vóluit, Dóminus fecit in cælo, et in terra, * in mari, et in ómnibus abyssis.	6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased he has done, in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps.
7  Edúcens nubes ab extrémo terræ: * fúlgura in plúviam fecit.	7 He brings up clouds from the end of the earth: he has made lightnings for the rain. He brings forth winds out of his stores:
8  Qui prodúcit ventos de thesáuris suis: * qui percússit primogénita Ægypti ab hómine usque ad pecus.	8 He slew the firstborn of Egypt from man even unto beast.
9  Et misit signa, et prodígia in médio tui, Ægypte: * in Pharaónem, et in omnes servos ejus.	9 He sent forth signs and wonders in the midst of you, O Egypt: upon Pharao, and upon all his servants.
10  Qui percússit gentes multas: * et occídit reges fortes:	10 He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11  Sehon, regem Amorrhæórum, et Og, regem Basan, * et ómnia regna Chánaan.	11 Sehon king of the Amorrhites, and Og king of Basan, and all the kingdoms of Chanaan.
12  Et dedit terram eórum hereditátem, * hereditátem Israël, pópulo suo.	12 And gave their land for an inheritance, for an inheritance to his people Israel.
13  Dómine, nomen tuum in ætérnum: * Dómine, memoriále tuum in generatiónem et generatiónem.	13 Your name, O Lord, is for ever: your memorial, O Lord, unto all generations.
14  Quia judicábit Dóminus pópulum suum: * et in servis suis deprecábitur	14 For the Lord will judge his people, and will be entreated in favour of his servants.
15  Simulácra Géntium argéntum et aurum: * ópera mánuum hóminum.	15 The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of men's hands.
16  Os habent, et non loquéntur: * óculos habent, et non vidébunt.	16 They have a mouth, but they speak not: they have eyes, but they see not.
17  Aures habent, et non áudient: * neque enim est spíritus in ore ipsórum.	17 They have ears, but they hear not: neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18  Símiles illis fiant qui fáciunt ea: * et omnes qui confídunt in eis.	18 Let them that make them be like to them: and every one that trusts in them.
19  Domus Israël,  benedícite Dómino: * domus Aaron, benedícite Dómino.	19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
20  Domus Levi, benedícite Dómino: * qui timétis Dóminum, benedícite Dómino.	20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: you that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21  Benedíctus Dóminus ex Sion, * qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	21 Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwells in Jerusalem.

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

Introduction to Psalm 134

Moses views the Promised Land
Gerard Jollain, 1670

The opening psalm of Vespers on Wednesday in the Benedictine Office is Psalm 134, Laudate Nomen Domini.

First take a look at the text.

Psalm 134 (135) – Laudate nomen Domini 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Alleluja.	Alleluia
1 Laudáte nomen Dómini, * laudáte, servi Dóminum.	Praise the name of the Lord: O you his servants, praise the Lord:
2  Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus Dei nostri.	2 You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
3  Laudáte Dóminum, quia bonus Dóminus: * psállite nómini ejus, quóniam suáve.	3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good: sing to his name, for it is sweet.
4  Quóniam Jacob elégit sibi Dóminus, * Israël in possessiónem sibi.	4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself: Israel for his own possession.
5  Quia ego cognóvi quod magnus est Dóminus, * et Deus noster præ ómnibus diis.	5 For I have known that the Lord is great, and our God is above all gods.
6  Omnia quæcúmque vóluit, Dóminus fecit in cælo, et in terra, * in mari, et in ómnibus abyssis.	6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased he has done, in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps.
7  Edúcens nubes ab extrémo terræ: * fúlgura in plúviam fecit.	7 He brings up clouds from the end of the earth: he has made lightnings for the rain. He brings forth winds out of his stores:
8  Qui prodúcit ventos de thesáuris suis: * qui percússit primogénita Ægypti ab hómine usque ad pecus.	8 He slew the firstborn of Egypt from man even unto beast.
9  Et misit signa, et prodígia in médio tui, Ægypte: * in Pharaónem, et in omnes servos ejus.	9 He sent forth signs and wonders in the midst of you, O Egypt: upon Pharao, and upon all his servants.
10  Qui percússit gentes multas: * et occídit reges fortes:	10 He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11  Sehon, regem Amorrhæórum, et Og, regem Basan, * et ómnia regna Chánaan.	11 Sehon king of the Amorrhites, and Og king of Basan, and all the kingdoms of Chanaan.
12  Et dedit terram eórum hereditátem, * hereditátem Israël, pópulo suo.	12 And gave their land for an inheritance, for an inheritance to his people Israel.
13  Dómine, nomen tuum in ætérnum: * Dómine, memoriále tuum in generatiónem et generatiónem.	13 Your name, O Lord, is for ever: your memorial, O Lord, unto all generations.
14  Quia judicábit Dóminus pópulum suum: * et in servis suis deprecábitur	14 For the Lord will judge his people, and will be entreated in favour of his servants.
15  Simulácra Géntium argéntum et aurum: * ópera mánuum hóminum.	15 The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of men's hands.
16  Os habent, et non loquéntur: * óculos habent, et non vidébunt.	16 They have a mouth, but they speak not: they have eyes, but they see not.
17  Aures habent, et non áudient: * neque enim est spíritus in ore ipsórum.	17 They have ears, but they hear not: neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18  Símiles illis fiant qui fáciunt ea: * et omnes qui confídunt in eis.	18 Let them that make them be like to them: and every one that trusts in them.
19  Domus Israël,  benedícite Dómino: * domus Aaron, benedícite Dómino.	19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
20  Domus Levi, benedícite Dómino: * qui timétis Dóminum, benedícite Dómino.	20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: you that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21  Benedíctus Dóminus ex Sion, * qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	21 Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwells in Jerusalem.

The place of Psalm 134 in the Office

In his book Christ in the Psalms, Patrick Reardon suggests that the placement of Psalm 134 (and Psalm 135) in the Benedictine Office is, in contrast to the more deliberate Orthodox use of the psalm, simply a matter of how the psalms happen to fall out.

I'd like, though, to take a different view, for I think that the placement of these two psalms is a very deliberate choice indeed, and one whose theological implications are worth meditating on.

Part of the genius of St Benedict's psalter, I think, are the deliberate patterns he engineers into his Office, patterns that help shape our thinking mostly at the subconscious level, shaping our implicit knowledge of the faith.  What is implicit though, can be made explicit and appropriated more actively as our own through study and meditation, and in part this is surely why the saint in his Rule explicitly bids us to meditate on the psalms.

If you look at Vespers for example, it is clear that St Benedict has undertaken some extensive engineering of the hour compared to the Roman version of the Office from which he started.  He shifts nine psalms (Psalms 119-127) out of the hour altogether, and makes extensive use of divisions and amalgamations of psalms in order to shape each day's Office to his agenda.

That agenda, it seems to me, often runs both horizontally and vertically, something akin to a crossword puzzle.

In my overview posts for the psalms of the day, I've talked about his 'vertical' agenda, based around the life of Christ, and I'll come back to how this psalm fits into that schema below.

But there is often also a horizontal logic to the psalm choices as well, both within the hours for a particular day, and across the sequences set for particular hours.  In the case of Vespers, for example, I would suggest that all of the opening psalms have something important to say about the nature of God, with Monday to Wednesday focusing above all on God's providential interventions in salvation history.

A Redemption triptych?

Consider first of all that Psalm 134 on Wednesday takes us back to many of the themes of Psalm 113 on Monday.

Psalm 113's verses on the impotence of false idols are repeated here, in a slightly cut down version.

Both psalms take us to the miracles associated with the exodus from Egypt, and entry into the Promised Land.

And both end with a call to action on the part of the Houses of Israel, Aaron and all those who fear the Lord.

I would argue that St Benedict has deliberately created something of a triptych here for us, in the first psalms of Vespers on the first three days of the week.  The left-hand panel, Monday, focuses on those parting of the waters that prefigures our baptism.  In the middle stands Psalm 129's promise of the redemption of Israel.  And in Wednesday's right-hand panel of the picture we are presented with the opening of the covenant to the gentiles and the Church as the New Israel.

The election of the gentiles

As I noted above there is, in my view, a weekly programmatic cycle to St Benedict's design that gives a unity to each particular day in the Office.

I've suggested previously that the Lauds ferial canticles are the interpretative key for this.  Today's canticle, the The Canticle of Hannah, has long been interpreted, particularly in the monastic tradition, as being about God's election of Israel - the Church - as his people.  That's a key theme in this psalm, and an important one in these confused times when some see pretty much any religion as offering the potential for redeeming grace to flow.

Both this psalm and the next take us through key events in salvation history, emphasizing that God made a deliberate choice of the people of Israel (verse 4) as his people, and then guided history to lead them into the promised land, dispossessing their enemies to do so (verses 8-12).  And it is to him alone, and not to any false gods, that we are urged to put our trust in, and praise.

Psalms 113, 134 and 135 all witness to God's wonderful interventions in history.  They praise him not just for himself (though they have a lot to say on that subject as well), but also for his work of creation and redemption. He is, this psalm tells us, the God who deposed Pharaoh and caused the first-born of Egypt to be killed in retaliation for Pharaoh's refusal to release the Hebrew slaves.  He is the God who deposed great kings because of their evil deeds, and gave their lands to the Israelites instead.

Unsurprisingly, the Fathers have long applied this dispossession to the Jews: for the majority of the original people of Israel rejected their Messiah.  Because they rejected their God when he walked on the earth and preached the good news to them, choosing instead to make idols of the law itself and ultimately to kill him on the cross, now they too have been dispossessed, the old covenant closed off in favour of the new (and for those who dispute this and prefer  an entirely 'two covenants theory', please do read Fr Hunwick's useful analysis of Vatican II on this subject).  The chosen people, Israel, are no longer the Jewish people, but rather the Church which is open to Jews and gentiles alike, indeed all those who truly seek to become his servants; the earthly Jerusalem is no longer God's special dwelling, instead we focus on heaven.

Appropriating salvation

In reality of course, this dispossession applies equally  to all who would betray the living, personal God, 'the Lord of the universe and of history', as Pope Benedict XVI puts it, in favour of creating a false religion borne of our own desires.

We can, then, apply the warning in verses 14-18 of Psalm 134, about coming judgment and the uselessness of the false idols we make for ourselves, that is power, pride, money and pleasure, to Judas and all those who plotted to kill Jesus.  And of course to all those today who would follow their path.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT references	Rev 19:5 (1) Heb 10:30 (v14); Rev 9:20 (v15)
RB cursus	Wed Vespers+AN 4139
Monastic feasts etc	AN 3588
Roman pre 1911	Thursday Vespers
Responsories	several martyrs in paschaltide, In servis suis, 6936 (14)
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Tues Lauds . 1970: Evening Prayer - Friday of Week Three
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 4 Sunday, OF (3, 6)

And you can find verse by verse notes on this psalm starting here.

Canticle for Our Lady: Sirach 39:17-21

la Vierge au buisson de roses Schongauer,
Gardner Museum

Over the last few Sundays I've been looking at the canticle used at Matins in the Benedictine Office.

Today being the feast of the Purification, the 1962 Monastic Breviary specifies the use of the Common of Our Lady.

Accordingly, the three canticles of the day are Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 39:17-21; Isaiah 61:1011, 62:1-3; and Isaiah 62:4-7.

Here is the text of the first one, from Sirach, with versification as used in the liturgy.

Common of Our Lady Canticle 1: Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 39:17-21

Canticum Ecclesiastici (39:17-21)

Obaudíte me, divíni fructus, * et quasi rosa plantáta super rivos aquárum fructificáte.	Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.
Quasi Líbanus * odórem suavitátis habéte.	Give ye a sweet odour as frankincense.
Floréte flores, quasi lílium, et date odórem, † et frondéte in grátiam; et collaudáte cánticum, * et benedícite Dóminum in opéribus suis.	Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works.
Date nómini eius magnificéntiam, † et confitémini illi in voce labiórum vestrórum, * et in cánticis labiórum, et cítharis;	Magnify his name, and give glory to him with the voice of your lips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and with harps;
Et sic dicétis in confessióne: * Opera Dómini univérsa bona valde.	And in praising him, you shall say in this manner: All the works of the Lord are exceeding good.
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.

The imagery of roses and lilies (verses 1-3) have long been associated with Our Lady in iconography, presenting Our Lady as the fulfillment of this injunction.  Verses 4-5 clearly presage the Magnificat.

More generally, these verses can perhaps be seen as a call to imitate Our Lady in holiness and thanksgiving to God for his works of creation and salvation, hence its use for female saints more generally. Challoner for example comments that: "He speaks to the children of Israel, the people of God: whom he exhorts to bud forth and flourish with virtue."

Introduction to Psalm 11

The final psalm of Prime on Wednesday is Psalm 11 (12).

Psalm 11: Salvum me fac, Dómine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro octava. Psalmus David.	Unto the end: for the octave, a psalm for David
Salvum me fac, Dómine, quóniam defécit sanctus: * quóniam diminútæ sunt veritátes a fíliis hóminum.	Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint: truths are decayed from among the children of men.
2  Vana locúti sunt unusquísque ad próximum suum : * lábia dolósa, in corde et corde locúti sunt.	They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbour: with deceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken
3  Dispérdat Dóminus univérsa lábia dolósa, * et linguam magníloquam.	May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things.
4  Qui dixérunt : Linguam nostram magnificábimus, lábia nostra a nobis sunt, * quis noster Dóminus est?	Who have said: We will magnify our tongue: our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?
5 Propter misériam ínopum, et gémitum páuperum, * nunc exsúrgam, dicit Dóminus.	By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, says the Lord
6  Ponam in salutári : * fiduciáliter agam in eo.	I will set him in safety: I will deal confidently in his regard.
7  Elóquia Dómini, elóquia casta : * argéntum igne examinátum, probátum terræ purgátum séptuplum.	The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.
8 Tu, Dómine, servábis nos : et custódies nos * a generatióne hac in ætérnum.	You, O Lord, will preserve us: and keep us from this generation for ever.
9  In circúitu ímpii ámbulant : * secúndum altitúdinem tuam multiplicásti fílios hóminum.	The wicked walk round about: according to your highness, you have multiplied the children of men.

An evil and perverse generation?

The three psalms of Wednesday Prime all plead with God for help in the face of the evil men, and this psalm continues that song of complaint, painting a picture of the evil and perverse generation that Jesus accused those of his time who rejected him of being.  In fact St Thomas Aquinas' commentary on the psalm offers an interpretation of it that neatly fits with my hypothesis on the programmatic nature of the Benedictine Office.  He says:

"In the first decade the Psalmist treats of the beating that he suffered from his son Absalom, by which the persecution which Christ was to suffer from Juda was figured; but, in the second decade, just as is apparent from the title of some of its Psalms, he speaks of the persecution that he suffered from Saul, by which the persecution that Christ was to suffer by the High Priests was figured...".

Now will I arise, says the Lord

This psalm though, unlike the previous two, finally provides God's response.

Psalm 9 pleaded with God to arise and ensure that evil men did not prevail. Psalm 11 provides the reply: "Now I will arise, says the Lord, I will set him in safety'.

What is the safety he offers?  The Fathers and Theologians interpreted this, particularly in the light of the reference in its title to the Octave (Eighth Day), as a reference to the Resurrection.  Cassiodorus, for example, says:

"After the psalmist has condemned those who proposed shedding the Lord's blood, he comes to the second section in which he promises the Lord Saviour's resurrection in the prophetic voice of the Father..."

The next few verses then extol the trustworthiness of God's promises, and the promise of salvation.

The psalm ends though on a rather negative note, lamenting that the number of the wicked circling around him actually seems to have increased.  In the context of the Benedictine Office at least, it is a reminder that we are indeed at Spy Wednesday, not yet at Sunday.

Understanding the text

The language of Psalm 11 is, I think, quite hard to penetrate, and this is one of those rare occasions where I think a less literal translation is helpful to look at:

Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished; truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another, with lying lips, with a false heart.
May the Lord destroy all lying lips, the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,
those who say: "Our tongue is our strength; our lips are our own, who is our master?"
"For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan I myself will arise," says the Lord,
"I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst."
The words of the Lord are words without alloy, silver from the furnace, seven times refined.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care and protect us for ever from this generation.
See how the wicked prowl on every side, while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men. (Grail Psalter)

I just want to pick out a few key phrases here.

First, the Latin, in verse 2 says in 'corde et corde', which most older translations render as a double-heart.  But what it is trying to convey is a deceitfulness, or falsity in a person.  

Secondly consider that phrase 'quis noster Dóminus est?' (verse 4), which the Grail Psalter translates as 'Who is our master?'.  It is surely the devil who is speaking here.

Finally, unalloyed silver from the furnace, seven times refined (verse 7), plays on the ideas of the number seven as a symbol of purity and perfection.  St Augustine uses this idea extensively in his analysis of the Sermon on the Mount linking this allusion to the beatitudes (the eighth he argues is a restatement of the first), the seven fold operation of the Holy Ghost, and the seven petitions of the Our Father.

Introduction to Psalm 10

Psalm 10 (11 in most modern Bibles), is the second psalm said at Prime on Wednesday in the Benedictine Office, and is an exhortation to spiritual heroism.

Psalm 10(11): In Domino confido

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end. A psalm to David.
In Dómino confído : quómodo dícitis ánimæ meæ: * Tránsmigra in montem sicut passer?	In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get you away from hence to the mountain, like a sparrow.
2  Quóniam ecce peccatóres intendérunt arcum, paravérunt sagíttas suas in pháretra, * ut sagíttent in obscúro rectos corde.	For, lo, the wicked have bent their bow: they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.
3  Quóniam quæ perfecísti, destruxérunt: * justus autem quid fecit?	For they have destroyed the things which you have made: but what has the just man done
4  Dóminus in templo sancto suo, * Dóminus in cælo sedes ejus.	The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven
5  Oculi ejus in páuperem respíciunt: * pálpebræ ejus intérrogant fílios hóminum.	His eyes look on the poor man: his eyelids examine the sons of men
6  Dóminus intérrogat justum et ímpium: * qui autem díligit iniquitátem, odit ánimam suam.	The Lord tries the just and the wicked: but he that loves iniquity, hates his own soul
7  Pluet super peccatóres láqueos: * ignis, et sulphur, et spíritus procellárum pars cálicis eórum.	He shall rain snares upon sinners: fire and brimstone, and storms of winds, shall be the portion of their cup.
8  Quóniam justus Dóminus, et justítias diléxit: * æquitátem vidit vultus ejus.	For the Lord is just, and has loved justice: his countenance has beheld righteousness.

When to stand and when to flee?

The original historical context for this psalm is probably David’s time at the court of mad King Saul, when he was constantly under suspicion, and was in fact forced to flee and live in the caves in the mountainous regions several times during this period.  On this particular occasion, however, although anxious friends concerned about his safety urge him to flee, he rejects the advice, confident that God  wishes him to stay.

The first two verses have an obvious Christological application as we ponder the events of Wednesday in Holy Week in today's Office,  for they warn that ‘unless you flee, they will kill you’.  Yet Our Lord, knowing the coming betrayal he faced, chose not to flee, not to shirk the cup.

A society in turmoil

The psalm is also, though, a commentary on the corrupt state of a society in turmoil.  The Fathers and Theologians accordingly read it as being primarily  about the threat posed by heresy.   Cassiodorus, for example, in commenting on the structure of the psalm says:

"In the first section he tells heretics in ambush who strive to seduce Catholics into their own wickedness.  In the second he speaks threateningly of the Lord's judgment, clearly revealing what they are to endure at the time of retribution, so that they may fear the Lord's justice and abandon superstitious falsehoods."

But there is another possible allusion in these verses of particular contemporary relevance, namely to the fate of Sodom, as Pope John Paul II pointed out in his catechesis on it:

The righteous person foresees that, as happened in Sodom (cf. Gn 19: 24), the Lord makes "rain upon the wicked fiery coals and brimstone" (Ps 11[10]: 6), symbols of God's justice that purifies history, condemning evil. The wicked man, struck by this burning rain - a prefiguration of his final destiny - finally experiences that "there is a God who is judge on earth!" (Ps 58[57]: 12). 

The ultimate triumph of justice

In fact the key message of this psalm seems to be that no matter how things may seem at a particular point of time, God is not indifferent, and justice will ultimately prevail.  Pope John  Paul II, for example, commented:

Now, the turning point comes in sight, outlined in the second scene (cf. vv. 4-7). The Lord, seated on the heavenly throne, takes in the entire human horizon with his penetrating gaze. From that transcendent vantage point, sign of the divine omniscience and omnipotence, God is able to search out and examine every person, distinguishing the righteous from the wicked and forcefully condemning injustice (cf. vv. 4-5). 

The image of the divine eye whose pupil is fixed and attentive to our actions is very evocative and consoling. The Lord is not a distant king, closed in his gilded world, but rather is a watchful Presence who sides with goodness and justice. He sees and provides, intervening by word and action. 

Indeed the Pope suggested that:

The spiritual key of the entire psalm is well-expressed in the concluding verse:  "For the Lord is just, he loves just deeds". This is the root of all trust and the source of all hope on the day of darkness and trial. God is not indifferent to right and wrong:  he is a good God and not a dark, incomprehensible, mysterious destiny.