Psalm 66 v3-4 - Let the nations rejoice and be glad

Verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 66 turn the focus to the salvation of the whole world.

3	V/NV/JH	Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus:  confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes.
		ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι λαοί ὁ θεός ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι λαοὶ πάντες

Confiteántur (let them give thanks/praise)  tibi (to you) pópuli (the peoples), Deus (God) confiteántur (let them give thanks) tibi (to you) pópuli (the peoples) omnes (all)

confiteor, fessus sum, eri 2  to praise, give thanks; to confess, acknowledge one's guilt.

populus, i, people, the chosen people.

DR	Let the nations, O God, give thanks to thee; let all the nations give thanks to thee.
Brenton	Let the peoples, O God, give thanks to thee; let all the peoples give thanks to thee.
MD	Let the nations praise Thee O God, let all the nations praise Thee
Cover	Let the people praise thee, O God; yea, let all the people praise thee.

Bellarmine explains the missionary imperative:

"The Prophet's desires being in accordance with true charity, he wished that Christ should come upon earth; first, for the glory of God, then, for the benefit of mankind; and in this verse therefore, he prays that all manner of people should praise, thank, and glorify him for so great and so universal a favor; that all worship and veneration of false gods should cease, and the true God alone be acknowledged by all."

4	V/NV	Læténtur et exsúltent gentes: * quóniam júdicas pópulos in æquitáte, et gentes in terra dírigis.
	JH	Laetentur et laudent gentes, quoniam iudicas populos in aequitate, et gentium quae in terra sunt ductor es sempiternus.
		εὐφρανθήτωσαν καὶ ἀγαλλιάσθωσαν ἔθνη ὅτι κρινεῖς λαοὺς ἐν εὐθύτητι καὶ ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γῇ ὁδηγήσεις διάψαλμα

Læténtur (let them rejoice) et (and) exsúltent (let them exsult) gentes (the nations) quóniam (because) júdicas (you judge) pópulos (the peoples) in æquitáte (with fairness) et (and) gentes (the nations) in terra (on the earth) dírigis (you direct)

laetor, atus sum, ari,  to rejoice, be joyful, take delight in

exsulto, avi, atum, are  to spring, leap, or jump up; to exult, to rejoice exceedingly

quoniam, conj.,  for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.

aequitas, atis,   justice, fairness, uprightness, goodness

dirigo, rexi, rectum, ere 3 to direct, guide, set aright; to prosper, to be established.

DR	Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for you judge the people with justice, and direct the nations upon earth.
Brenton	Let the nations rejoice and exult, for thou shalt judge the peoples in justice, and shalt guide the nations on the earth.
MD	Let the tribes be glad and rejoice, for Thou judgest the people rightly, Thou guidest the nations upon the earth.
Cover	O let the nations rejoice and be glad; for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

As Bellarmine explains, this verse goes to the social reign of Christ:

"Next to the glory of God, let the benefit of mankind be acknowledged; and, therefore, "let the nations be glad and rejoice;" let all manner of people rejoice; "for thou," through Christ, "judgest the people with justice;" you have destroyed the power of the tyrannical prince of darkness, and established the just authority of the Church in its stead. "And directest the nations upon earth;" governing and guiding them, by your most wholesome laws, to the harbor of life everlasting."

Psalm 66: Deus misereátur nostri

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in hymnis. Psalmus cantici David.	Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.
1 Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.	May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he   cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
2  Ut cognoscámus in terra viam tuam, * in ómnibus Géntibus salutáre tuum.	3 That we may know your way upon earth: your salvation in all nations.
3  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus: * confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes.	4 Let people confess to you, O God: let all people give praise to you.
4  Læténtur et exsúltent Gentes: * quóniam júdicas pópulos in æquitáte, et Gentes in terra dírigis.	5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for you judge the people with justice, and direct the nations upon earth.
5  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.	6 Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you: 7 The earth has yielded her fruit.
6  Benedícat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedícat nos Deus: * et métuant eum omnes fines terræ.	8 may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him

And you can find the final set of notes on this psalm here.

Psalm 66: verses 1-2 - God the farmer of our souls

The opening verses of Psalm 66 invoke God's blessing on us.

1	V	Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.
	NV	Deus misereatur nostri et benedicat nobis; illuminet vultum suum super nos
	JH	Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis; inlustret faciem suam super nos.
		ὁ θεὸς οἰκτιρήσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ εὐλογήσαι ἡμᾶς ἐπιφάναι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς διάψαλμα

  

Deus (God) misereátur (he may be merciful/let him be merciful)  nostri (to us) et (and) benedícat (he may bless)  nobis (us) illúminet (he may shine) vultum (the face) suum (his) super (over) nos (us)

et (and) misereátur (he may be merciful) nostri (to us)

misereor, sertus sum, eri 2 to pity, have mercy on.

benedico, dixi, dictum, ere 3  to bless, to praise, bless, give thanks to (God);  to be well pleased with, to take pleasure in (with acc or dat)

illumino, avi, atum, are , to make or cause to shine, to enlighten, illuminate. to shine forth, to shine.

vultus, us, m., the face, countenance;

super, with, on, upon, for, because of.

nos we

DR	May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
Brenton	God be merciful to us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us.
MD	May God show us grace and blessing, may His face shine upon us and He be gracious to us
RSV	May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,
Cover	God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and show us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us,

St Augustine's commentary on this psalm starts from the idea that this is a harvest thanksgiving song, but points to God's work in our souls as analogous to that of a farmer:

"When God blesses us, we grow, and when we bless the Lord, we grow, to us both are profitable. He is not increased by our blessing, nor is He lessened by our cursing. He that curses the Lord, is himself lessened: he that blesses the Lord, is himself increased. First, there is in us the blessing of the Lord, and the consequence is that we also bless the Lord. That is the rain, this the fruit. Therefore there is rendered as it were fruit to God the Husbandman, raining upon and tilling us. Let us chant these words with no barren devotion, with no empty voice, but with true heart. For most evidently God the Father has been called a Husbandman (John 15:1). The Apostle says, God's husbandry you are, God's building you are (1 Corinthians 3:9). In things visible of this world, the vine is not a building, and a building is not a vineyard: but we are the vineyard of the Lord, because He tills us for fruit; the building of God we are, since He who tills us, dwells in us. And what says the same Apostle? I have planted, Apollos has watered, but the increase God has given. Therefore neither he that plants is anything, nor he that waters, but He that gives the increase, even God (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)." 

2	V	Ut cognoscámus in terra viam tuam, * in ómnibus géntibus salutáre tuum.
	NV	ut cognoscatur in terra via tua, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum.
	JH	Ut nota fiat in terra uia tua, in uniuersis gentibus salus tua.
		τοῦ γνῶναι ἐν τῇ γῇ τὴν ὁδόν σου ἐν πᾶσιν ἔθνεσιν τὸ σωτήριόν σου

The Neo-Vulgate follows the Masoretic text in changing the cognoscamus to the third person ‘That your way be known…’

Ut (that) cognoscámus (we may know) in terra (on the earth) viam (the way/path) tuam (your) in ómnibus (amongst all) géntibus (the peoples/nations) salutáre (salvation) tuum (your)

cognosco, gnovi, gnitum, ere 3, to know, see, learn, perceive, be come acquainted with.

terra, ae,   the earth,

via, ae, a way, road, path, street. God's way, God's policy, way of life

omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything

gens, gentis,sing., people, nation, the chosen

salutaris, e  a Savior, Helper, used of God;  help, saving help, rescue, salvation,

DR	That we may know your way upon earth: your salvation in all nations
Brenton	That men may know thy way on the earth, thy salvation among all nations
MD	That we may know Thy way upon the earth, Thy saving power among all nations.
RSV	that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving power among all nations.
Cover	that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

St Robert Bellarmine draws out the Christological significance of this verse:

"The reason why he so ardently longs for the light of God countenance is, that through that divine light we may, in the land of darkness know the way to God, to our country from which we have been so long exiled in darkness and the shadow of death; which way most undoubtedly is Christ himself, who says, "I am the way;" and not only the way, but the light through which it is to be known, of which Isaias 9, says, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: to the that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death light is risen." "Thy salvation in all nations" explains the first part of the verse, that the Savior may be known among all nations."

 Psalm 66: Deus misereátur nostri

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in hymnis. Psalmus cantici David.	Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.
1 Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.	May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he   cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
2  Ut cognoscámus in terra viam tuam, * in ómnibus Géntibus salutáre tuum.	3 That we may know your way upon earth: your salvation in all nations.
3  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus: * confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes.	4 Let people confess to you, O God: let all people give praise to you.
4  Læténtur et exsúltent Gentes: * quóniam júdicas pópulos in æquitáte, et Gentes in terra dírigis.	5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for you judge the people with justice, and direct the nations upon earth.
5  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.	6 Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you: 7 The earth has yielded her fruit.
6  Benedícat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedícat nos Deus: * et métuant eum omnes fines terræ.	8 may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him

You can find the next set of notes in this series here.

Introduction to Psalm 66

I want to turn now, in this series on the repeated psalms of the Benedictine Office, to the psalms of Lauds.  In both the older form of the Roman Office and the Benedictine Rite, Psalm 66 is said daily at Lauds by way of an invitatory psalm.

The first point to note is that there is a certain symmetry in the opening and closing psalms of Lauds: the three closing psalms are calls to us, to praise and sing to God.  The two opening psalms, though, Psalm 66 and 50, thrice ask God to have pity, or mercy, on us (misereatur, miserere).  

That is not to suggest though, that this is a dark or penitential psalm; far from it.

 Psalm 66: Deus misereátur nostri

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in hymnis. Psalmus cantici David.	Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.
1 Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.	May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
2  Ut cognoscámus in terra viam tuam, * in ómnibus Géntibus salutáre tuum.	3 That we may know your way upon earth: your salvation in all nations.
3  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus: * confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes.	4 Let people confess to you, O God: let all people give praise to you.
4  Læténtur et exsúltent Gentes: * quóniam júdicas pópulos in æquitáte, et Gentes in terra dírigis.	5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for you judge the people with justice, and direct the nations upon earth.
5  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.	6 Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you: 7 The earth has yielded her fruit.
6  Benedícat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedícat nos Deus: * et métuant eum omnes fines terræ.	8 may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him

Light in the darkness

The use of the use of psalm as a Lauds invitatory  is surely due to the image it provides, in verse 1, of Christ as the light of the world, making it particularly appropriate to this hour said at daybreak. 

Indeed,  the first two verses take us straight to what is surely the core of this psalm's message, presenting Christ as the saviour of all nations,  foreshadowing the words of the Nunc Dimittis Canticle (Luke 2:30-32): "Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:  A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." 

Psalm 66 is surely the quintessential psalm of the Church’s mission, and Acts 28: 28 quotes verse 2 in just this context, as the conclusion of St Paul's last mission speech, saying ' Be it known therefore to you, that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it'. 

The Benedictine Office is of course primarily an office for monks, but monks are not of course exempt from the Gospel imperative of mission. Rather, both their prayers and witness is vital to it.  Contemplative prayer, the Church teaches us, is a vital element of evangelisation. 

But so too is practical action, and it is of course no accident that monks have so often been missionaries.  St Benedict himself, St Gregory the Great tells us, converted the shepherds who came across him in the wilds of Subiaco, and on his arrival at Monte Cassino converted the pagans who had worshipped there.  This psalm, then, is a daily reminder of the connection we all have to the mission of the Church to the world.

The blessing

Psalm 66 is above all a joyous and uplifting hymn of praise. 

It begins and ends with a request that God bless us, using a blessing formula echoes that of Numbers 6:24-26.  The blessing in Numbers though, is for the people of Israel alone:

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Say to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord shew his face to thee, and have mercy on thee. The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.  And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

In Psalm 66 though, the blessing is requested not just for us, but for all people's that they may come to know and worship God.  Twice it asks for God to have mercy and loving kindness: a reminder that our own merits could never win us anything; everything depends on God.  Between these two pleas for mercy, we ask for the blessing of the sense of God's presence and approval (the light of his countenance).  God of course is always present, always aware of us; we however need prompts to practice our awareness of the presence of God.

The psalm  asks God to guide us, and all the nations in his ways.  And it ends with a warning: God's reach extends everywhere, and we should fear him, albeit out of filial devotion.

Some commentators argue that this was originally a harvest song.  Perhaps, but if so, the harvest in question is surely primarily a spiritual one, for the psalm asks us to pray for the salvation of all the world.

You can find the first set of verse by verse notes on this psalm here.

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Lk 2:30-32, 3:6; Act 28:28 (2)
RB cursus	Lauds daily
Monastic feasts etc	AN 1253, 1254, 2169, 4973, 2170, 3294, 4924, 3557, 4919,  3252, 3846, 1272, 3725, 3408
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Tuesday Lauds
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Lauds daily . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	-

 

Deus in adjutorium...(Psalm 69:1)

In this series on the repeated psalms of the Benedictine Office, I thought it might be useful also to give some mention to the repeated verses of the Office, and since the Deus in adjutorium verse from (Psalm 69) opens each of the day hours which I'll start on in the next post, I thought this might be an appropriate point to look at it.

I want to suggest that there are actually three reasons why St Benedict may have so favoured it:first as a prayer asking for God to perfect our work of the Office, and aid us at all times; secondly to make clear the Christological nature of the Office; and finally as a prayer for perseverance.

Psalm 69

First lines of psalms, in Scripture at least, are traditionally regarded as pointing us to the consideration of the entire psalm, and I think that is particularly worthwhile in this case.  Accordingly, here is the text of the full psalm:

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David in rememorationem, quod salvum fecerit eum Dominus	Unto the end, a psalm for David, to bring to remembrance that the Lord saved him.
1 Deus, in adjutórium meum inténde : * Dómine ad adjuvándum me festína.	O God come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.
2  Confundántur et revereántur, * qui quærunt ánimam meam.	3 Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul:
3  Avertántur retrórsum, et erubéscant, * qui volunt mihi mala.	4 Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire evils to me:
4  Avertántur statim erubescéntes, * qui dicunt mihi : Euge, euge.	Let them be presently turned away blushing for shame that say to me: 'Tis well, 'tis well.
5  Exsúltent et læténtur in te omnes qui quærunt te, * et dicant semper : Magnificétur Dóminus : qui díligunt salutáre tuum.	5 Let all that seek you rejoice and be glad in you; and let such as love your salvation say always: The Lord be magnified.
6  Ego vero egénus, et pauper sum : * Deus, ádjuva me.	6 But I am needy and poor; O God, help me.
7  Adjútor meus, et liberátor meus es tu : * Dómine, ne moreris.	You are my helper and my deliverer: O lord, make no delay.

Perfect our prayer

St Benedict, in the opening to his Rule, instructs that whatever good work we undertake, to start with a prayer asking God to perfect it.  This verse, I think, provides a built in means of doing this each time we pray the Office, that ultimate 'good work'.

The origin of the use of the verse has generally been attributed to Cassian, for in Conference 10, chapter 10, he provides an extended dissertation instructing the monk to employ this verse in all times and circumstances.  There is an excellent audio conference on this that you can listen to on the Norcia Monastery website, provided by Fr Cassian Folsom OSB.

The short version though, is that Cassian puts the verse in the context of cultivating a sense of continuous prayer and cultivating a sense of our total dependence on God.  In particular he sees it as the remedy against every kind of danger:

"For it embraces all the feelings which can be implanted in human nature, and can be fitly and satisfactorily adapted to every condition, and all assaults. Since it contains an invocation of God against every danger, it contains humble and pious confession, it contains the watchfulness of anxiety and continual fear, it contains the thought of one's own weakness, confidence in the answer, and the assurance of a present and ever ready help. For one who is constantly calling on his protector, is certain that He is always at hand. It contains the glow of love and charity, it contains a view of the plots, and a dread of the enemies, from which one, who sees himself day and night hemmed in by them, confesses that he cannot be set free without the aid of his defender. This verse is an impregnable wall for all who are labouring under the attacks of demons, as well as impenetrable coat of mail and a strong shield."

 Through his Incarnation and Resurrection

Fr Cassian in his series on continuous prayer notes that St Benedict interprets the Office as 'the work of Christ'.  This psalm fits very nicely with this Christological view of the Office, for the title of the psalm in the view of the Fathers, points us to the Resurrection.  St Augustine, for example, commented on it that:

"Thanks to the Corn of wheat, because He willed to die and to be multiplied: thanks to the only Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who disdained not to undergo our death, in order that He might make us worthy of His life."

That is important to keep in mind, since aside from the first verse, the psalms is essentially a repeat of the second half of Psalm 39, which is primarily focused on the Incarnation, opening a verse about waiting in hope for the coming of the Messiah.  Verses 2-4 in fact reprise a key theme of Monday in the Office, namely the promise that the devil will be defeated through Christ: you can find the words of those verses  repeated in various forms in Psalms 34, 6 and 128 in particular.  The Deus in adjutorium verse, then, can be seen as a plea for Christ's aid in our battle against the temptations that assail us.  And verses 4 and 5 perhaps invite us to draw on  Our Lady's example, for they seem to me at least to contain obvious echoes of the Magnificat.

A prayer for perseverance

The other key reason for use of this psalm though, seems to me to be as a prayer for aid in perseverance.

The final verse essentially echoes the first, but St Augustine's commentary on it puts a nice twist on it.  Rather than focusing on God's seeming delay in responding to our pleas, he puts the blame for any delay back on our poor efforts, and turns the psalm into a prayer for perseverance:

What is, delay not? Because many men say, it is a long time till Christ comes. What then: because we say, delay not, will He come before He has determined to come? What means this prayer, delay not? May not Your coming seem to me to be too long delayed. For to you it seems a long time, to God it seems not long, to whom a thousand years are one day, or the three hours of a watch. 

But if you shall not have had endurance, late for you it will be: and when to you it shall be late, you will be diverted from Him, and will be like those that were wearied in the desert, and hastened to ask of God the pleasant things which He was reserving for them in the Land; and when there were not given on their journey the pleasant things, whereby perchance they would have been corrupted, they murmured against God, and went back in heart unto Egypt: to that place whence in body they had been severed, in heart they went back. 

Do not thou, then, so, do not so: fear the word of the Lord, saying, Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17:32 She too being on the way, but now delivered from the Sodomites, looked back; in the place where she looked back, there she remained: she became a statue of salt, in order to season you. For to you she has been given for an example, in order that you may have sense, may not stop infatuated on the way. Observe her stopping and pass on: observe her looking back, and do thou be reaching forth unto the things before, as Paul was. Philippians 3:13 What is it, not to look back. Of the things behind forgetful, he says. 

Therefore you follow, being called to the heavenly reward, whereof hereafter you will glory. For the same Apostle says, There remains for me a crown of righteousness, which in that day the Lord, the just Judge, shall render to me. 2 Timothy 4:8

I can't help thinking that this particular take on the psalm fits particularly well with St Benedict's spirituality...

Spiritual and liturgical uses of the psalm

 

NT references	1 Peter 5:7 (6)
RB cursus	Matins Wednesday II, 3
Monastic feasts etc	Maundy Thurs Tenebrae, I, 2; AN (2330); 1547 (4);
Responsories	7475 (2) – Passion Sunday no 8
Roman pre 1911	Thursday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Thursday Compline  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 2 Monday GR (2, 7); Lent 2 Thursday, IN (1-3); Lent 4 Thursday, OF (1-3);  PP 12, IN (1-3)