Psalm 138 verses 6-7

Verses 6&7 of Psalm 138 points us to the Holy Ghost.

 

6	Vulgate/ NeoVulgate/ Jerome’s from the Hebrew	Quo ibo a spíritu tuo? * et quo a fácie tua fúgiam?
	Septuagint	ποῦ πορευθῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός σου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου ποῦ φύγω

 

Quo (so that) ibo (there) a spiritu (from the spirit) tuo (your)?  et (and) quo (in order that) a facie (from the face) tua (your) fugiam (I will flee)?

quo that, so that, in the end that, in order that

ibi, adv.  there, in that place. then

spiritus, us, m.  breath;  wind;  breath of life, vital spirit; the soul; spirit, disposition; Divine assistance, grace

facies, ei, f. face, countenance, appearance;  presence.

fugio, fugi, fugitum, ere 3  to flee, take to flight, run away; With  a facie,  from, from before, from the presence of.

DR	Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?
Brenton	Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from my presence?
MD	Whither could I go before Thy spirit, or whither flee before Thy face?
Cover	Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit? or whither shall I go then from thy presence?
Knox	Where can I go, then, to take refuge from thy spirit, to hide from thy view?
Grail	O where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face?

Verses 6&7 take us back to the attributes of God, and particularly point to the person of the Holy Ghost.  They assert that he is infinite, present everywhere and in everything.  As Chrysostom puts it, they tell us that:

You fill everything, you are present to everyone - not in part, bit wholly to everyone.  By mentioning what is above and what below, length and breadth, height and depth, he indicates he is present everywhere...

The result, as Cassiodorus explains, is that we can never hope to evade God:

...in which He reveals in mystical sequence that no creature can escape God's presence.  Since He is most fully and entirely present everywhere, where can a person hide himself if he thinks he can evade Him?...But since we realise through such preaching that the Holy Spirit is everywhere, there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is seen to be coeternal and coequal with the Father and the Son; only the Trinity can be everywhere in its entirety....Let us return to that saving remedy; Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the almighty Creator, the one God beyond understanding. We speak of His face by metaphor for His presence, for just as our human face possesses mere vision, so the whole of the Lord's substance knows all things with an acuteness of vision beyond description, embracing, penetrating, observing everything.

That presence is necessary of course, for God is not only the creator but also the sustainer of the universe, as Bellarmine points out:

He now adduces another argument to prove that no one can escape God's ken, inasmuch as God is everywhere, penetrating everything...without God's help we cannot stir, nor can we go along but as he carries us, for "in him we live, move, and have our being."

7	V/NV	Si ascéndero in cælum, tu illic es: * si descéndero in inférnum, ades.
	JH	Si ascendero in caelum, ibi es tu ; si iacuero in inferno, ades.
		ἐὰν ἀναβῶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν σὺ εἶ ἐκεῖ ἐὰν καταβῶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην πάρει

Si (if) ascendero (I will ascend/go up) in cælum (into heaven), tu (you) illic (there) es (you are) si (if) descendero (I will descend/go down) in infernum (into hell), ades (you are present)

ascendo, scendi, scensum, ere 3  to go up, ascend. to mount a horse, chariot, etc., to ride.

caelum, i, n., or caeli, orum, m.  heaven, the abode of God; the heavens as opposed to the earth; the air;

illic, adv.  Of place: there, in that place; Of time: then

descendo, scendi, scensum, ere 3  to descend, to come or go down.

infernus, i, m. Sheol; the nether world, the underworld, the grave, the kingdom of the dead, hell 

adsum adesse affui to be present

DR	If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present.
Brenton	If I should go up to heaven, thou art there: if I should go down to hell, thou art present.
MD	If I ascend into heaven Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art present
Cover	If I climb up into heaven, thou art there; if I go down to hell, thou art there also.

Verse 7 takes us back to the Christological meaning of this psalm, for as Cassiodorus point out, it can be seen as pointing to the descent into hell and Christ's ascension into heaven:

...In his capacity as Man He says...that is, the place where He was to be set at the Father's right hand....(descent to hell) This was what happened by the law of His humanity, that when His body was crucified He descended to break the bonds of those in hell, and as the most devoted Redeemer to aid the human race in its toils.  He added: Thou art present, for He rose speedily on the third day.

It is important to note that hell in this context means 'the limbo of the fathers', where the souls waited to be allowed to enter heaven before the coming of Christ.

Psalm 138/1 – Domine probasti me

Vulgate (Numbering follows psalmody)	Douay-Rheims (numbering follows DR)
In finem, psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
Dómine, probásti me, et cognovísti me: * tu cognovísti sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam.	1 Lord, you have proved me, and known me: 2 You have known my sitting down, and my rising up.
2  Intellexísti cogitatiónes meas de longe: * sémitam meam, et funículum meum investigásti.	You have understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line you have searched out.
3  Et omnes vias meas prævidísti: * quia non est sermo in lingua mea.	4 And you have foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.
4  Ecce, Dómine, tu cognovísti ómnia novíssima, et antíqua: * tu formásti me, et posuísti super me manum tuam.	5 Behold, O Lord, you have known all things, the last and those of old: you have formed me, and have laid your hand upon me.
5  Mirábilis facta est sciéntia tua ex me: * confortáta est, et non pótero ad eam.	6 Your knowledge has become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it
6  Quo ibo a spíritu tuo? * et quo a fácie tua fúgiam?	7 Whither shall I go from your spirit? Or whither shall I flee from your face?
7  Si ascéndero in cælum, tu illic es: * si descéndero in inférnum, ades.	8 If I ascend into heaven, you are there: if I descend into hell, you are present.
8  Si súmpsero pennas meas dilúculo, * et habitávero in extrémis maris.	9 If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
9  Etenim illuc manus tua dedúcet me: * et tenébit me déxtera tua.	10 Even there also shall your hand lead me: and your right hand shall hold me.

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

Psalm 138 verse 5

Verse 5 marks the mid-point in this half of Psalm 138, and in it the speaker acknowledges that although God knows everything about him, he cannot know everything about God.

5	V	Mirábilis facta est sciéntia tua ex me: * confortáta est, et non pótero ad eam.
	NV	Mirabilis nimis facta est scientia tua super me, sublimis, et non attingam eam.
	JH	Super me est scientia,et excelsior est : non potero ad eam.
		ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἐκραταιώθη οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν

[Key: V=Vulgate; NV=Neo-vulgate; JH=St Jerome from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint].

Mirabilis (wonderful/marvellous) facta est (it is made/become) scientia (the knowledge) tua (your) ex (from/for) me (me): confortata est (it is powerful/great) et (and) non (not) potero (I will be able) ad (to/towards) eam (it)

mirabilis, e wonderful, marvelous;  subst., mirabilia, mm, wonders, wonderful works, marvellous things.

scientia, ae, f  knowledge.

conforto, avi, atum, are to strengthen, make strong; to prevail; , to be strengthened, to be powerful, great, mighty.

possum, potui, posse   to be able, to have power

DR	Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it.
Brenton	The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot attain to it.
MD	Thy knowledge is become to wonderful for me, too high and I cannot reach it
Cover	Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me; I cannot attain unto it.
Knox	Such wisdom as thine is far beyond my reach, no thought of mine can attain it.
Grail	Too wonderful for me this knowledge, too high, beyond my reach.

[Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; Cover=Coverdale]

This verse goes to the limitations of human nature.  The previous verses tell us that God knows everything about us, including all that we have done and thought, and all we will do.  We on the other hand, can only see God as if in a glass darkly.  In our mouth the verse is an acknowledgment of our respective positions in the universe, a counsel against false pride, for, as Bellarmine puts it:

"...lest anyone should suppose that we have, in consequence, come to complete and just notions of God's knowledge, he adds the prevent verse, that we may understand that, however satisfied we may be of God's knowledge being supreme, and extending to all things, still, that we are quite in the dark - that, in fact, we know nothing at all about it in detail; that is to say, that it is perfectly incomprehensible how God can foresee what is to happen...The same applies to the essence and attributes of God.  We know that he exists, that he is powerful, wise, good, just, and merciful; but who knows or who can explain his essence, or how, with so many attributes, he can be essentially one?...

In the mouth of Christ, the verse can be interpreted as a reflection on Christ's mission and two natures, as Cassiodorus explains:

"He speaks of the Father's knowledge which has been proclaimed through Him all over the world.  It was strengthened in human hearts whereas previously men doubted it in the uncertainty of their belief.  This meaning He declares in the gospel: Father, I have manifested thy name to men.  For it was by His revelation that the venerable unity of the holy Trinity could be made plain, and knowledge of the Father became wonderful through Jesus Christ when the mysteries of the sacred law were recounted to those born of earth.  Then, so that the truth of the human condition could be made plain, He added: And I shall not be able to attain it, for the human nature which he deigned to assume could not attain equality with the divine substance.    This what the gospel makes clear with the works: The Father is greater than I, and again: The Son cannot do anything but what he sees the Father doing..."

Psalm 138/1 – Domine probasti me

Vulgate (Numbering follows psalmody)	Douay-Rheims (numbering follows DR)
In finem, psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
Dómine, probásti me, et cognovísti me: * tu cognovísti sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam.	1 Lord, you have proved me, and known me: 2 You have known my sitting down, and my rising up.
2  Intellexísti cogitatiónes meas de longe: * sémitam meam, et funículum meum investigásti.	You have understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line you have searched out.
3  Et omnes vias meas prævidísti: * quia non est sermo in lingua mea.	4 And you have foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.
4  Ecce, Dómine, tu cognovísti ómnia novíssima, et antíqua: * tu formásti me, et posuísti super me manum tuam.	5 Behold, O Lord, you have known all things, the last and those of old: you have formed me, and have laid your hand upon me.
5  Mirábilis facta est sciéntia tua ex me: * confortáta est, et non pótero ad eam.	6 Your knowledge has become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it
6  Quo ibo a spíritu tuo? * et quo a fácie tua fúgiam?	7 Whither shall I go from your spirit? Or whither shall I flee from your face?
7  Si ascéndero in cælum, tu illic es: * si descéndero in inférnum, ades.	8 If I ascend into heaven, you are there: if I descend into hell, you are present.
8  Si súmpsero pennas meas dilúculo, * et habitávero in extrémis maris.	9 If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
9  Etenim illuc manus tua dedúcet me: * et tenébit me déxtera tua.	10 Even there also shall your hand lead me: and your right hand shall hold me.

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

Psalm 138 verses 1-4

Psalm 138 opens with an acknowledgment of God's omnipotence.

 

1	V	Dómine, probásti me, et cognovísti me: * tu cognovísti sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam.
	NV	Domine, scrutatus es et cognovisti me, tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam.
	JH	Domine, inuestigasti me, et cognouisti. Tu cognouisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam,
	Sept	κύριε ἐδοκίμασάς με καὶ ἔγνως με σὺ ἔγνως τὴν καθέδραν μου καὶ τὴν ἔγερσίν μου

 [Key: V=Vulgate; NV=Neo-vulgate; JH=St Jerome from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint].

Domine (O Lord) probasti (you have examined)  me (me) et (and) cognovisti (you have known) me (me) tu (you) cognovisti (you have known) sessionem (the sitting) meam (my) et (and) resurrectionem meam.

Britt suggests that sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam can be interpreted as 'my every act, my whole life'.

probo, avi, atum, are to try, to test, prove, examine; to search, prove

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

sessio  onis f a sitting, the act of sitting

resurrectio onis f  resurrection, rising again from the dead

 

DR	Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me:  Thou hast know my sitting down, and my rising up
Brenton	O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising
MD	O Lord thou searchest me through and through and knowest me, Thou knowest my sitting down and my rising up
Cover	Lord, thou hast searched me out, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine up-rising
Knox	Lord, I lie open to thy scrutiny; thou knowest me, knowest when sit down and when I rise up again,
Grail	O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising,

[Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; Cover=Coverdale]

This verse can be interpreted both as Christ's words, and in our own voice.  As a reference to Christ, the second half of the verse plainly refers to the Passion and Resurrection, and is used as such in the Introit for the Mass of Easter Sunday.  Cassiodorus explains the first half of the verse as follows:

With the invocation Lord, Christ Jesus cries to the Father in His role as servant. The Father proved Him in the sense that He made manifest His humility, when He consented to be baptized by John though He was without sin. He was not a sinner; rather He undertook the healing of sinners. As the prophet says: He has borne our sins and carried our infirmities. The Father has known Him, in other words, made Him plain when He said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.  He means "Hear Him saying I and the Father are one".

As for us, Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 

2	V	Intellexísti cogitatiónes meas de longe: * sémitam meam, et funículum meum investigásti.
	NV	Intellexisti cogitationes meas de longe, semitam meam et accubitum meum investigasti.
	Old Roman	intellexisti cogitationes meas a longe semitam meam et directionem meam investigasti
	JH	intellexisti malum meum de longe.  Semitam meam et accubitionem meam euentilasti,
		σὺ συνῆκας τοὺς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπὸ μακρόθεν τὴν τρίβον μου καὶ τὴν σχοῖνόν μου σὺ ἐξιχνίασας

Intellexisti (you have understood) cogitationes (the thoughts) meas (my) de (from) longe  (far off) semitam (the path) meam (my) et (and) funiculum (the cord) meum (my) investigasti (you have searced out)

Funiculus is obscure. Lewis and Short give its meaning as 'a slender rope, a cord', and as well as classical sources, cite Exodus 35: 18.  Britt suggests that by meton the word is sometimes used to refer to what is measured out by the cord, and consistent with this, the New English Translation from the Septuagint renders the Greek as 'my path and my miles you tracked', ie 'the miles I travelled'.  However, a number of Latin alternatives to funiculum exist in various translations: St Augustine uses limitem (limit), to render the phrase ' You have tracked out my path and my limit'; while the old Roman text uses directionem.  Other translations (even those purporting to translate the Vulgate) simply follow the Hebrew (reflected in the neo-Vulgate accubitum) here.

intelligo, lexi, lectum, ere 3  understand, give heed to something, to consider

cogitatio, onis, f. thoughts, plans, designs; evil plans or devices; the deep plans or thoughts of God.

longe, adv. far off, at a distance; as a substantive with a and de, afar off, from afar.

semita, ae, f, a path, way; course of life, action, conduct, or procedure.

funiculus i m 1.  measuring line or cord; by meton, estate, inheritance; 2. [following the Hebrew] bed, resting place

investigo are avi atum go, search out

DR	Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out.
Brenton	thou understandest my thoughts long before. Thou hast traced my path and my bed,
MD	Thou understandest my thoughts from afar Thou observest my going and my resting
RSV	thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
Cover	thou understandest my thoughts long before. Thou art about my path, and about my bed,
Knox	canst read my thoughts from far away. Walk I or sleep I, thou canst tell;
Grail	you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you.

St Benedict uses this verse to explain the first degree of humility:

The first degree of humility, then, is that a person keep the fear of God before his eyes and beware of ever forgetting it...This is what the Prophet shows us when he represents God as ever present within our thoughts, in the words "Searcher of minds and hearts is God" and again in the words "The Lord knows the thoughts of men". Again he says, "You have read my thoughts from afar" and "The thoughts of people will confess to You".

3	V	Et omnes vias meas prævidísti: * quia non est sermo in lingua mea.
	NV	Et omnes vias meas perspexisti, quia nondum est sermo in lingua mea,.
	JH	et omnes uias meas intellexisti :  quia non est eloquium in lingua mea.
		καὶ πάσας τὰς ὁδούς μου προεῖδες ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν λόγος ἐν γλώσσῃ μου

et (and) omnes (all) vias (the ways) meas (my) prævidisti (you have foreseen) quia (for/because) non (not) est (he is) sermo (the word/speech)  in (on) lingua (the tongue) mea (my).

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

praevideo ere vidi visum, to foresee, foreknow

sermo, onis, m. words; a command, edict word, speech, saying, discourse;  scheme, plan, proposal

lingua, ae, f., the tongue; language, speech, tongue; plan, council

DR	And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.
Brenton	and hast foreseen all my ways. For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue:
MD	And thou forseest all my ways, not even a word is upon my tongue
Cover	and spiest out all my ways. For lo, there is not a word in my tongue,
Grail	Before ever a word is on my tongue you know it, O Lord, through and through.

4	V	Ecce, Dómine, tu cognovísti ómnia novíssima, et antíqua: * tu formásti me, et posuísti super me manum tuam.
	NV	et ecce, Domine, tu novisti omnia A tergo et a fronte coartasti me et posuisti super me manum tuam.
	JH	Ecce, Domine, nosti omnia : retrorsum et ante formasti me,  et posuisti super me manum tuam.
		ἰδού κύριε σὺ ἔγνως πάντα τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα σὺ ἔπλασάς με καὶ ἔθηκας ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν χεῖρά σου

 Ecce (behold), Domine (O Lord) tu (you) cognovisti (you have known) omnia (all) novissima (the newest/the end) et (and) antiqua (old) Tu (you) formasti (you have formed) me (me) et (and) posuisti (you have placed/laid) super (over) me manum (the hand) tuam (your)

The Greek here arguably describes the things God knows as 'the first and the last'; 'novissima' (on the face of it the superlative of novus, or new) works as this meaning, and has to be strained to translate it as 'the last' as the Douay-Rheims does.  The received Hebrew, however, reflected in the neo-Vulgate, is a little different, suggesting 'before and after'.

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

novus, a, um,  new; novissimus a um (substantive) the end, final lot

antiquus, a, um old, ancient

formo are avi atum to give shape to something, to form or fashion

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

manus, us, f, the hand

DR	Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and those of old: thou hast formed me, and hast laid thy hand upon me.
Brenton	behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me.
MD	Behold, O Lord, Thou knowest all, both new and old, thou hast fashioned me and laid Thy hand upon me
RSV	lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
Cover	but thou, O Lord, knowest it altogether. Thou hast fashioned me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Knox	all my thought is known to thee; rearguard and vanguard, thou dost compass me about, thy hand still laid upon me.
Grail	Behind and before you besiege me, your hand ever laid upon me.

Psalm 138/1 – Domine probasti me

Vulgate (Numbering follows psalmody)	Douay-Rheims (numbering follows DR)
In finem, psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
Dómine, probásti me, et cognovísti me: * tu cognovísti sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam.	1 Lord, you have proved me, and known me: 2 You have known my sitting down, and my rising up.
2  Intellexísti cogitatiónes meas de longe: * sémitam meam, et funículum meum investigásti.	You have understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line you have searched out.
3  Et omnes vias meas prævidísti: * quia non est sermo in lingua mea.	4 And you have foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.
4  Ecce, Dómine, tu cognovísti ómnia novíssima, et antíqua: * tu formásti me, et posuísti super me manum tuam.	5 Behold, O Lord, you have known all things, the last and those of old: you have formed me, and have laid your hand upon me.
5  Mirábilis facta est sciéntia tua ex me: * confortáta est, et non pótero ad eam.	6 Your knowledge has become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it
6  Quo ibo a spíritu tuo? * et quo a fácie tua fúgiam?	7 Whither shall I go from your spirit? Or whither shall I flee from your face?
7  Si ascéndero in cælum, tu illic es: * si descéndero in inférnum, ades.	8 If I ascend into heaven, you are there: if I descend into hell, you are present.
8  Si súmpsero pennas meas dilúculo, * et habitávero in extrémis maris.	9 If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
9  Etenim illuc manus tua dedúcet me: * et tenébit me déxtera tua.	10 Even there also shall your hand lead me: and your right hand shall hold me.

You can find the next set of notes on this psalm here.