Masterpost: The Psalms of Compline - Into Great Silence

Compline is the only hour in the Benedictine (and Carthusian!) Office that remains the same every day (the Marian antiphon aside).  

In the darkness

Said last thing in the evening, it is often said literally in the dark in monasteries, from memory, and thus teaches us how to deal with the darkness that inevitably surrounds us in this world, as well as the darkness and dangers of the literal night itself.

The structure of Compline is described in St Benedict’s Rule in Chapters 17 and 18, however it has evolved over time, with the addition at the beginning of a new ‘opening section’ that includes a short reading warning of the dangers of the night and an examination of conscience and confession of sins; at the end with a Marian antiphon and prayer.   

The psalms of the hour

The three psalms set for it are Psalms 4, 90 and 133.  

Psalm 4

Like Psalm 3 that opens the day, Psalm 4 contains verses that makes it particularly appropriate to the hour, indeed one that is in effect response to the verse on rising from sleep in Psalm 3:

9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

The psalm calls upon us to repent of the sins of the day; asks God to grant us forgiveness and the grace to do better in future; and asks for God’s blessing on our sleep.  

Psalm 90

Psalm 90 is most commonly associated with Our Lord's temptation in the desert in the Gospels, and provides reassurance of God’s protection of the just against all the dangers that can arise.  The first section of the psalm sets out the promise of divine protection that God grants to the faithful.  It closes with words put in the mouth of God.  

One particular reason its use may have appealed to St Benedict is the allusion to God as our 'susceptor' or sustainer, upholder, a word (which also appears in Psalm 3) that was particularly important in the monastic tradition, not least for its associations with the Suscipe verse (Psalm 118:116) used in the monastic profession ceremony.

He may also have liked the symmetry involved in the seventh verses of Psalm 3 (first thing in the day) and Psalm 90, both of which refer to standing firm even though surrounded by thousands:

Psalm 3:7  Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me: * exsúrge, Dómine, salvum me fac, Deus meus.

I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.

Psalm 90:7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.

A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.

Psalm 133

The last psalm of the each day, Psalm 133 is also the last of the Gradual psalms, said in ancient times liturgically when the priests stood on the highest of the steps on the Temple, symbolising the entrant to heaven.

At the literal level, this psalm is a summons to worship at night, to give God thanks for the blessings of the day.  Spiritually though, it points to our ultimate destination in heaven, where the worship of God never ends.   It concludes by requesting a blessing from God on us. 

In a monastery, the hour is traditionally followed by the abbot or abbess sprinkling the monks or nuns with holy water, usually while verses of Psalm 50 (from ‘Asperges me…’) are chanted.  

And then the Great Silence falls, lasting until the first words of Matins, which ask God to open our lips that we might sing his praise.

Posts on the psalms of Compline

1.  Verse by verse notes

Introduction to Psalm 133
Psalm 133 verse1
Psalm 133 verse 2
Psalm 133 verse 3

Psalm 133 verse 4


2.  Short summaries from the Fathers and other commentators

Psalm 4
Psalm 90
Psalm 133

3. The psalms of Compline in other contexts

Psalm 4 in Tenebrae of holy Saturday

Psalms of Compline (Short summaries)/3 - Psalm 133

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum	A gradual canticle
1 Ecce nunc benedícite Dóminum, * omnes servi Dómini	Behold now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
2 Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus   Dei nostri.	Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God
3 In nóctibus extóllite manus vestras in sancta, * et benedícite Dóminum.	In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless the Lord.
4 Benedícat te Dóminus ex sion, * qui fecit cælum et terram.	May the Lord out of Sion bless you, he that made heaven and earth.

Pronouncing the words

You can heard the psalm read aloud slowly in Latin over at the Boston Catholic Journal.

Once you are confident of the pronunciation, try singing it with the monks - the videos below are one option, alternatively, listen to one of the archived audio files of Compline sung by the monks of Le Barroux.

Summaries of the Psalm


Pick the summary of your choice and learn it, or copy it to create a cheat sheet to have handy for when you say the Office.   Psalm 133 is the last of the 'Songs of the Ascent, or fifteen Gradual Psalms', which were sung on major feasts as the priests walked up the fifteen steps in the Temple.

St Alphonsus summarises it as follows:

The prophet here exhorts the priests and levites to praise the Lord and to pray for the people.

An alternative version summary by Fr Pius Pasch:

Night watch - This psalm is a sort of liturgical formula for changing the night watch of the temple guard.  As children of God, we are really temple watchmen; Holy Mother Church is sending us to keep the vigil. 

St Benedict's contemporary Cassiodorus provides a slightly longer summary:

A canticle of steps. Let us observe closely with the heart's eye how the prophet has topped the steps, and mounted to the highest traces of the virtues; for he addresses he addresses the rest of his wholesome persuasion to the blessed brotherhood which he had bidden to gather in unity, urging that their blessed harmony be roused to praises of the Lord with the most burning eagerness of love, so that they may attain the crown of their activity, and may in this life imitate the sweetness which we believe will abide in holy minds in that native land of the future. It is right that a blessing be bestowed on Him to whom they have undoubtedly ascended with the greatest zeal.

My own summary:

At the literal level, this psalm is a summons to worship at night, to  give God thanks for the blessings of the day.  It concludes by requesting a blessing from God on us.  Spiritually, it reminds us each night of our proper objective in life, set out most fully in Chapter 7 of the Benedictine Rule: we must climb the ladder of humility to heaven, in order to rest forever in perfect union with God.

Psalms of Compline (Short summaries)/2 - Psalm 90, Qui habitat

Temptation of Christ, St Alban's Psalter

 Psalm 90: Qui habitat

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

Pronouncing the words

You can heard the psalm read aloud slowly in Latin over at the Boston Catholic Journal.

Once you are confident of the pronunciation, try singing it with the monks - the videos below are one option, alternatively, listen to one of the archived audio files of Compline sung by the monks of Le Barroux, since Psalm 90 is used in the Benedictine Office at Compline each night.



But it also features in the (traditional) mass as the longest of the Tracts, sung on the first Sunday of Lent, so I've included a wonderful old Roman Chant version of the Tract below so you can get a taster.

Short summaries of Psalm 90

Pick the summary of your choice and learn it, or copy it to create a cheat sheet to have handy for when you say the Office.

St Augustine:

This Psalm is that from which the Devil dared to tempt our Lord Jesus Christ: let us therefore attend to it, that thus armed, we may be enabled to resist the tempter, not presuming in ourselves, but in Him who before us was tempted, that we might not be overcome when tempted... 

Cassiodorus:

Verses 11 and 12 are directed at the Lord Saviour Himself by the devil after he has tempted Him. We always confront demons with this psalm in devoted trust, so that they may be overcome by us by the same means by which they sought craftily to make observations against their Creator.  In the first part David claims that every person of high fidelity is enclosed by divine protection. The second part hymns praise to the Lord Saviour. The third consists of words spoken by the Father to all faithful individuals, who as He knows hope in Him with the greatest devotion. He promises them protection in this world and rewards in the next… 

This psalm has marvellous power, and routs impure spirits. The devil retires vanquished from us through the very means by which he sought to tempt us, for that wicked spirit is mindful of his own presumption and of God's victory. Christ by His own power overcame the devil in His own regard, and likewise conquers him in ours. So this psalm should be recited by us when night sets in after all the actions of the day; the devil must realise that we belong to Him to whom he remembers that he himself yielded. 

St Alphonsus Liguori:

The psalmist here exhorts those that have put all their hope in God to fear no danger. This psalm is somewhat in the form of a dialogue; for the psalmist, the just man, and God himself speak successively. The prophet, v. i, announces his proposition, and says, v. 2, part first, how one enters this asylum of divine protection. The just man, v. 2, 3, declares that he is in this disposition. Then, v. 4 to 13, the prophet describes to him the favors that he will enjoy. Finally, God confirms and completes this picture by magnificent promises.

Fr Pius Pasch:

Safely sheltered - This psalm breathes a spirit of perfect confidence in God through the perils of life.  The image is of a battlefield where the soul of the just man is facing his enemies.

My summary in the context of the Benedictine office:

A psalm speaking of God’s protection of the just against all the dangers that can arise.  The first section of the psalm sets out the promise of divine protection that God grants to the faithful.  It closes with words put in the mouth of God.  In the Benedictine Office it can be seen as a prayer for and assurance of God’s protection of us against the power of the dark forces symbolized by the darkness of the night.  Verse 7 has a particular poignancy in the context of the Office as it echoes and responds to the other psalm of the spiritual warfare said each day in the Office, the first psalm of the day at Matins, Psalm 3, which says, also in (the sacred number of) verse 7: I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.

Psalms of Compline (Short summaries)/1 - Psalm 4

 Psalm 4 - Cum invocarem

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: *  in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.	When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.	Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? *  ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?	O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.	Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?	Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: *  dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.	The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.	By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest
9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

Pronouncing the words

You can heard the psalm read aloud slowly in Latin over at the Boston Catholic Journal.

Once you are confident of the pronunciation, try singing it with the monks - the videos below are one option, alternatively, listen to one of the archived audio files of Compline sung by the monks of Le Barroux..

(and for those who can't access this video, see below)

The sense of the psalm

Pick the summary of your choice and learn it, or copy it to create a cheat sheet to have handy for when you say the Office:

St Alphonsus Liguori:

According to interpreters this psalm was composed by David, happy to see himself delivered from the hands of Saul, or of Absalom. In a mystical sense it is applied to Jesus Christ inasmuch as he is the end of the law and of the prophets. Jesus Christ, of whom David was a figure, is properly the Saint of God, the Saint by eminence, he whom God has glorified above everyone else in a wonderful manner, v. 4; our Master and our Model, he reminds us at first of the efficacy of prayer: then he exhorts us to detach ourselves from the goods of this world, to flee from sin, to practise virtue, and to seek only justice, sanctity, by putting our whole confidence in God.

Fr Pius Pasch:

Trustful evening prayer. To oppose the allurements of the world, this psalm makes us aware of the good fortune of union with God.  It was a favorite with St. Augustine.  We ought to pray it, he observes, "trembling with fear, and yet all aglow with hope and exultation at God's mercy."

 Cassiodorus:

End does not mean here the decline of some object but the perfection of rungs of the spirit; as Paul says: The end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone that believeth? Christ is the glorious perfection of all good things. So the words, Unto the end, remind us that they are to be related to the Lord Christ, or as some prefer, we are to believe that they refer to us...Throughout the psalm the words are spoken by holy mother Church...  In the first section she asks that her prayer be heard, and rebukes the faithless for worshipping false gods and ne­glecting worship of the true God. In the second part she warns the world at large that it must abandon deceitful superstition, and offer the sacrifice of justice. Then in her attempt to win over the minds of pagans by the promise she has made, she relates that the Lord has bestowed great gifts on Christians…

My summary (in the context of the Benedictine Office): 

Psalm 4 recapitulates some of the key themes of the Benedictine Office (and Rule): the Benedictine day starts with an allusion to the call to praise God, to offer up the sacrifice of justice in verse 16 of Psalm 50 at Matins; here again in this psalm the Office recalls this sacrificial dimension of our prayer (v6).   In Psalm 94 at Matins we are called not to harden our hearts lest we be lost; so here again, God asks how long we will fail to heed his call to conversion (v3).  Just as Lauds we celebrate the rising sun, and the light of Christ, so here we are reminded that his is the light that shines in the darkness (v7), the grace that enlarges our hearts through grace (v1, 4) so that we can run 'with the unspeakable sweetness of love' (RB Prologue).  Above all the psalms calls on us to repent and asks God to grant us forgiveness and the grace to do better in future; and asks for God’s blessing on our sleep (v5), so that we can rise up again with him on the morrow (Ps 3).  

Short psalm summaries

Over the next few weeks I plan on posting a series of short summaries of the psalms by various authors, starting with the psalms of Compline and Prime.

These aren't meant to be substitutes for the in depth study of the psalms.

Rather they are meant to provide a 'first look' view to help people learn what the psalms are about in a general sense (particularly focusing on the spiritual and Christological meanings of the psalms) as they start praying the Office.

I'll try and provide a couple fo different summaries - pick the one's that most appeal to you!

Augustine on Christ in the psalms

In the City of God St Augustine provides commentaries on several psalms, explaining that they are prophesies relating to Christ and the Church.  Here is a key extract summarising his position:

Now David was a man skilled in songs, who dearly loved musical harmony, not with a vulgar delight, but with a believing disposition, and by it served his God, who is the true God, by the mystical representation of a great thing. For the rational and well-ordered concord of diverse sounds in harmonious variety suggests the compact unity of the well-ordered city...

... Let him then who will, or can, read these volumes, and he will find out how many and great things David, at once king and prophet, has prophesied concerning Christ and His Church, to wit, concerning the King and the city which He has built.

In his commentaries on individual psalms (the Enarrations), he makes this connection even more explicit.  On the first line of Psalm 1, Blessed is the man that has not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, for example, he says:

This is to be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Man. 

Blessed is the man that has not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, as the man of earth did, who consented to his wife deceived by the serpent, to the transgressing the commandment of God. 

Nor stood in the way of sinners. For He came indeed in the way of sinners, by being born as sinners are; but He stood not therein, for that the enticements of the world held Him not. 

And has not sat in the seat of pestilence. He willed not an earthly kingdom, with pride, which is well taken for the seat of pestilence; for that there is hardly any one who is free from the love of rule, and craves not human glory. For a pestilence is disease widely spread, and involving all or nearly all. Yet the seat of pestilence may be more appropriately understood of hurtful doctrine; whose word spreads as a canker...

Seeing Christ in the Psalms 1: Athanasius

The Fathers take a range of views about the extent to which Christ can be seen in the psalms, ranging from seeing him prophesied in a few individual psalms, to him being the main subject of the entire psalter.  To illustrate this, I want to start with St Athanasius, again from his famous letter to Marcellinus:

And, so far from being ignorant of the coming of Messiah, he makes mention of it first and foremost in Psalm 44, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, a scepter of justice is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou has loved righteousness and hated lawlessness: wherefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 

Further, lest any one should think this coming was in appearance only, Psalm 86 shows that He Who was to come should both come as man and at the same time be He by Whom all things were made. Mother Sion shall say, A man, a man indeed is born in her: and He himself, the Most Highest, founded her, it says; and that is equivalent to saying The Word was God, all things were made by Him, and the Word became flesh. 

Neither is the Psalmist silent about the fact that He should be born of a virgin - no, he underlines it straight away in 44, which we were quoting, but a moment since. Harken, O daughter, he says, and see and incline thine ear, and forget thine own people and thy fathers's house. For the King has desired thy beauty, and He is thy Lord. Is not this like what Gabriel said, Hail, thou that art full of grace, the Lord is with thee?  For the Psalmist, having called Him the Anointed One, that is Messiah or Christ, forthwith declares His human birth by saying, Harken, O daughter, and see; the only difference being that Gabriel addresses Mary by an epithet, because he is of another race from her, while David fitly calls her his own daughter, because it was from him that she should spring.

Having thus shown that Christ should come in human form, the Psalter goes on to show that He can suffer in the flesh He has assumed. It is as foreseeing how the Jews would plot against Him that Psalm 2 sings, Why do the heathen rage and peoples meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up and their rulers took counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ. 

And Psalm 21, speaking in the Saviour's own person, describes the manner of His death. Thou has brought me into the dust of death, for many dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have laid siege to me. They peirced my hands and my feet, they numbered all my bones, they gazed and stared at me, they parted my garments among them and cast lots for my vesture. They pierced my hands and my feet- what else can that mean except the cross? and Psalms 87 and 68, again speaking in the Lord's own person, tell us further that He suffered these things, not for His own sake but for ours. Thou has made Thy wrath to rest upon me, says the one; and the other adds, I paid them things I never took. For He did not die as being Himself liable to death: He suffered for us, and bore in Himself the wrath that was the penalty of our transgression, even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses. So in Psalm 137 we say, The Lord will make requital for me; and in the 71st the Spirit says, He shall save the children of the poor and bring the slanderer low, for from the hand of the mighty He has set the poor man free, the needy man whom there was none to help.

Nor is this all. The Psalter further indicates beforehand the bodily Ascension of the Saviour into heaven, saying in Psalm 23, Lift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in! And again in 46, God is gone up with a merry noise, the Lord with the voice of the trumpet. 

The Session also it proclaims, saying in Psalm 109, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.And Psalm 8 mentions also the coming destruction of the devil, crying, Thou satest on Thy throne, Thou that judgest righteousness, Thou hast rebuked the heathen and the wicked one is destroyed. And that He should receive all judgement from the Father, this also the Psalter does not hide from us, but foreshows Him as coming to be the judge of all in 71, Give the King Thy judgements, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the King's Son, that He may judge Thy people in righteousness and Thy poor with justice. In Psalm 49 too we read, He shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that He may judge His people. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, that God is judge indeed. The 81st like-wise says, God standeth in the assembly of gods, in the midst He judges gods. The calling of the Gentiles also is to be learnt from many passages in this same book, especially in these words of Psalm 46, O clap your hands together, all ye Gentiles, shout unto God with the voice of triumph; and again in the 71st, The Ethiopians shall fall down before Him, His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarsis and of the islands shall bring presents, the kings of Arabia and Saba shall offer gifts. All these things are sung of in the Psalter; and they are shown forth separately in the other books as well.

My old friend made rather a point of this, that the things we find in the Psalms about the Saviour are stated in the other books of Scripture too; he stressed the fact that one interpretation is common to them all, and that they have but one voice in the Holy Spirit.

St Ephraim: Protecting the vineyard of your life with psalms

Get ready to go forth to thy work, and gird thyself to cultivate thy field.

The field is your present life, and for a hoe take with you the Old together with the New Testament.

Put a hedge of thorns about your field and your soil, by prayer and fasting together with instruction.

If you are protected by this enclosure, the wild beast shall not invade thee, by which I mean the devil.

Tend thy soul after the manner of a beautiful vineyard.

And as the guardians of the vineyard strike at the thieves with their fists, and call out to them with warnings, and keep them at a distance with stones, so you cry out in prayer, and shout with the song of psalmody, and put to flight the thieving fox, that is the devil of whom Scripture says: catch the little foxes that destroy the vines (Cant ii15).

(St Ephraim: On Patience, the Second Coming and the Last Judgment, Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, vol 1, Advent 1).

Athanasius/4 - Why we should sing the psalms

Athanasius insists that the psalms be sung, not said:

But we must not omit to explain the reason why words of this kind should be not merely said, but rendered with melody and song; for there are actually some simple folk among us who, though they believe the words to be inspired, yet think the reason for singing them is just to make them more pleasing to the ear! 

This is by no means so; Holy Scripture is not designed to tickle the aesthetic palate, and it is rather for the soul's own profit that the Psalms are sung. This is so chiefly for two reasons. In the first place, it is fitting that the sacred writings should praise God in poetry as well as prose, because the freer, less restricted form of verse, in which the Psalms, together with the Canticles and Odes, are cast, ensures that by them men should express their love to God with all the strength and power they possess. And, secondly, the reason lies in the unifying effect which chanting the Psalms has upon the singer. 

For to sing the Psalms demands such concentration of a man's whole being on them that, in doing it, his usual disharmony of mind and corresponding bodily confusion is resolved, just as the notes of several flutes are brought by harmony to one effect; and he is thus no longer to be found thinking good and doing evil, as Pilate did when, though saying I find no crime in Him, he yet allowed the Jews to have their way; nor desiring evil though unable to achieve it, as did the elders in their sin against Susanna - or, for that matter, as does any man who abstains from one sin and yet desires another every bit as bad. And it is in order that the melody may thus express our inner spiritual harmony, just as the words voice our thoughts, that the Lord Himself has ordained that the Psalms be sung and recited to a chant.

Moreover, to do this beautifully is the heart's desire and joy, as it is written, Is any among you happy? Let him sing!  And if there is in the words anything harsh, irregular or rough, the tune will smoothe it out, as in our own souls also sadness is lightened as we chant, Why then art thou so heavy, O my soul, why dost thou trouble me? and failure is acknowledged as one sings, My feet were almost gone, and fear is braced by hope in singing, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do to me.

Well, then, they who do not read the Scriptures in this way, that is to say, who do not chant the divine Songs intelligently but simply please themselves, most surely are to blame, for praise is not befitting in a sinner's mouth.  But those who do sing as I have indicated, so that the melody of the words springs naturally from the rhythm of the soul and her own union with the Spirit, they sing with the tongue and with the understanding also, and greatly benefit not themselves alone but also those who want to listen to them. So was it with the blessed David when he played to Saul: he pleased God and, at the same time, he drove from Saul his madness and his anger and gave back peace to his distracted spirit. In like manner, the priests by their singing contributed towards the calming of the people's spirits and helped to unite them with those who lead the heavenly choir. 

When, therefore, the Psalms are chanted, it is not from any mere desire for sweet music but as the outward expression of the inward harmony obtaining in the soul, because such harmonious recitation is in itself the index of a peaceful and well-ordered heart. To praise God tunefully upon an instrument, such as well-tuned cymbals, cithara, or ten-stringed psaltery, is, as we know, an outward token that the members of the body and the thoughts of the heart are, like the instruments themselves, in proper order and control, all of them together living and moving by the Spirit's cry and breath. 

And similarly, as it is written that By the Spirit a man lives and mortifies his bodily actions, so he who sings well puts his soul in tune, correcting by degrees its faulty rhythm so that at last, being truly natural and integrated, it has fear of nothing, but in peaceful freedom from all vain imaginings may apply itself with greater longing to the good things to come. For a soul rightly ordered by chanting the sacred words forgets its own afflictions and contemplates with joy the things of Christ alone.

St Athansius/ 3: The psalms as a mirror of the soul

Athanasius' letter to Marvellinus continues:

And herein is yet another strange thing about the Psalms. In the other books of Scripture we read or hear the words of holy men as belonging only to those who spoke them, not at all as though they were our own; and in the same way the doings there narrated are to us material for wonder and examples to be followed, but not in any sense things we have done ourselves. 

With this book, however, though one does read the prophecies about the Saviour in that way, with reverence and with awe, in the case of all the other Psalms it is as though it were one's own words that one read; and anyone who hears them is moved at heart, as though they voiced for him his deepest thoughts...the marvel with the Psalter is that, barring those prophecies about the Saviour and some about the Gentiles, the reader takes all its words upon his lips as though they were his own, and each one sings the Psalms as though they had been written for his special benefit, and takes them and recites them, not as though someone else were speaking or another person's feelings being described, but as himself speaking of himself, offering the words to God as his own heart's utterance, just as though he himself had made them up. Not as the words of the patriarchs or of Moses and the other prophets will he reverence these: no, he is bold to take them as his own and written for his very self. Whether he has kept the Law or whether he has broken it, it is his own doings that the Psalms describe; every one is bound to find his very self in them and, be he faithful soul or be he sinner, each reads in them descriptions of himself.

 It seems to me, moreover, that because the Psalms thus serve him who sings them as a mirror, wherein he sees himself and his own soul, he cannot help but render them in such a manner that their words go home with equal force to those who hear him sing, and stir them also to a like reaction. 

Sometimes it is repentance that is generated in this way, as by the conscience-stirring words of Psalm 50; another time, hearing how God helps those who hope and trust in Him, the listener too rejoices and begins to render thanks, as though that gracious help already were his own. Psalm 3, to take another instance, a man will sing, bearing his own afflictions in his mind; Psalms 10 and 11 he will use as the expression of his own faith and prayer; and singing the 53th, the 55th, the 56th, and the 141nd, it is not as though someone else were being persecuted but out of his own experience that he renders praise to God. 

And every other Psalm is spoken and composed by the Spirit in the selfsame way: just as in a mirror, the movements of our own souls are reflected in them and the words are indeed our very own, given us to serve both as a reminder of our changes of condition and as a pattern and model for the amendment of our lives.

St Athanasius/2 - the psalms as spiritual formation

More from St Athanasius' famous letter to Marcellins, this time on the psalms as a source of spiritual formation:

...among all the books [of the Bible], the Psalter has certainly a very special grace, a choiceness of quality well worthy to be pondered; for, besides the characteristics which it shares with others, it has this peculiar marvel of its own, that within it are represented and portrayed in all their great variety the movements of the human soul. It is like a picture, in which you see yourself portrayed, and seeing, may understand and consequently form yourself upon the pattern given. 

Elsewhere in the Bible you read only that the Law commands this or that to be done, you listen to the Prophets to learn about the Saviour's coming, or you turn to the historical books to learn the doings of the kings and holy men; but in the Psalter, besides all these things, you learn about yourself. You find depicted in it all the movements of your soul, all its changes, its ups and downs, its failures and recoveries.

Moreover, whatever your particular need or trouble, from this same book you can select a form of words to fit it, so that you do not merely hear and then pass on, but learn the way to remedy your ill. 

Prohibitions of evil-doing are plentiful in Scripture, but only the Psalter tells you how to obey these orders and abstain from sin. Repentance, for example, is enjoined repeatedly; but to repent means to leave off sinning, and it is the Psalms that show you how to set about repenting and with what words your penitence may be expressed. 

Again, Saint Paul says, Tribulation worketh endurance, and endurance experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed [Rom 5:3, 5]; but it is in the Psalms that we find written and described how afflictions should be borne, and what the afflicted ought to say, both at the time and when his troubles cease: the whole process of his testing is set forth in them and we are shown exactly with what words to voice our hope in God. 

Or take the commandment, In everything give thanks.  The Psalms not only exhort us to be thankful, they also provide us with fitting words to say. 

We are told, too, by other writers that all who would live godly in Christ must suffer persecution; and here again the Psalms supply words with which both those who flee persecution and those who suffer under it may suitably address themselves to God, and it does the same for those who have been rescued from it. 

We are bidden elsewhere in the Bible also to bless the Lord and to acknowledge Him: here in the Psalms we are shown the way to do it, and with what sort of words His majesty may meetly be confessed. In fact, under all the circumstances of life, we shall find that these divine songs suit ourselves and meet our own souls' need at every turn.

St Athanasius and the garden of delight

The introduction to St Athanasius' letter to Marcellinus points to the re-eminence of the book of Psalms in Scripture:

SON, all the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction, as it is written; but to those who really study it the Psalter yields especial treasure.

Each book of the Bible has, of course, its own particular message: the Pentateuch, for example, tells of the beginning of the world, the doings of the patriarchs, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the Law, and the ordering of the tabernacle and the priesthood; The Triteuch [Joshua, Judges, and Ruth] describes the division of the inheritance, the acts of the judges, and the ancestry of David; Kings and Chronicles record the doings of the kings, Esdras [Ezra] the deliverance from exile, the return of the people, and the building of the temple and the city; the Prophets foretell the coming of the Saviour, put us in mind of the commandments, reprove transgressors, and for the Gentiles also have a special word.

Each of these books, you see, is like a garden which grows one special kind of fruit; by contrast, the Psalter is a garden which, besides its special fruit, grows also some those of all the rest.

Psalms of the day in the liturgy of the Temple

One of the ongoing debates is the extent to which the Divine Office (and the liturgy more generally) represents a continuation of ancient Jewish practice.   Unfortunately, while there are passing references to the liturgy in the Old Testaments (such as King David's instigation of choirs of priests singing in the first temple) very little concrete evidence survives.

Still, those crumbs that do survive are interesting.  Consider this rationale for one of the psalms set for use each day, tied to the days of creation, an idea reflected in our Office today in the Vespers hymns (and arguably in certain other psalms set for the Benedictine Office at least).

The source for this daily service in the Temple  is theTamid, sect. vii, and Maimonides in Tamid:

On the first day of the week they sang Psalm 23, 'The earth is the Lord's,' etc., in commemoration of the first day of creation, when 'God possessed the world, and ruled in it.'

On the second day they sang Psalm 47, 'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,' etc., because on the second day of creation 'the Lord divided His works, and reigned over them.'

On the third day they sang Psalm 81, 'God standeth in the congregation of the mighty,' etc., 'because on that day the earth appeared, on which are the Judge and the judged.'

On the fourth day Psalm 93 was sung, 'O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth,' etc., 'because on the fourth day God made the sun, moon, and stars, and will be avenged on those that worship them.'

On the fifth day they sang Psalm 80, 'Sing aloud unto God our strength,' etc., 'because of the variety of creatures made that day to praise His name.'

On the sixth day Psalm 92 was sung, 'The Lord reigneth,' etc., 'because on that day God finished His works and made man, and the Lord ruled over all His works.'

Lastly, on the Sabbath day they sang Psalm 91, 'It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,' etc., 'because the Sabbath was symbolical of the millennial kingdom at the end of the six thousand years' dispensation, when the Lord would reign over all, and His glory and service fill the earth with thanksgiving.'

On the power of Psalm 1

From the History of the Monks in Egypt:

"Before us there was this splendid man, our Father Mutius by name. He was the first monk in this place and was the first to teach the way of salvation to all of us in this desert. He was a pagan (gentilis) at first, a most notorious thief and tomb robber, a connoisseur of every kind of wickedness. His saving moment happened in this way:

"He went one night to the house of a certain consecrated virgin in order to burgle it. He climbed up on to the roof, equipped with a well known type of tool-kit, trying to find a method or an opening by which he could break in. The operation proved too difficult for him, and he spent the greater part of the night on the roof to no avail.

 Frustrated by the failure of many attempts he felt weary and fell asleep and saw in a vision someone standing by him dressed like a king, who said: 'Desist from all these crimes, and from the spilling of blood. Turn all your efforts towards religious purposes instead of shameful theft, and join the angelic host of heaven. From now on live with virtue in mind, and I will make you the principal leader of this host.'

"He listened to what was being said to him with a great feeling of joy, and was then shown a great army of monks, of which he was bidden to be the leader. As he awoke he saw the virgin standing there, demanding to know who and whence he was and what he was doing there. Like somebody out of his mind all he could say was: 'Please take me to a church.' She realised that some divine operation was working in her, and she took him to the church and introduced him to the priests.

He prostrated himself in front of them and begged to be made a Christian and do penance. The priests knew this man to be the instigator of all kinds of wickednesses and wondered if he were really genuine.

But he persisted, and convinced them he really meant what he was asking for. They warned him that if that was what he wanted he would have to leave off from his former way of life.

He was baptised, and begged to be given some precepts by which he might begin to walk along the way to salvation. they gave him the first three verses of Psalm 1 [Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the waterside, that bringeth forth his fruit in due season, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper] They told him that if he diligently took these verses to heart it would be enough to lead him into the way of salvation and to a growth in holiness (scientia pietatis). He stayed with them for three days and then went off to the desert where he stayed for a long time, persevering day and night in prayers and tears, living off roots and herbs.

"He went back to the church where the priests realised how the three verses of Psalm 1 which they had given him had affected his speech, his actions and his whole way of life...

Prayers for Lent: say some psalms as a Lenten penance

Bruegel: The battle between carnival and Lent

One of St Benedict's recommendations for Lent is to add something by way of prayer for Lent.  Personally, I always think adding in a few extra psalms, and ideally studying them in depth, is a great option.

In past years I've provided a few series to this end, so I thought I'd provide a list of them so you can consider possible options.

The Seven Penitential Psalms

The most traditional psalm offering for Lent are the Seven Penitential Psalms.  An index to my notes on them can be found here.

Psalm 118

Another possibility would be to say some or all of Psalm 118 (the longest psalm of the psalter), that great hymn of praise for the law.

There is some tradition behind this too, as a letter attributed to St Benedict's sister, St Scholastica, describes one of her nun's saying it for Lent.

You can find a set of notes, with one part for each day of Lent here.

Holy Week Tenebrae

An alternative might be to say and meditate on the psalms used for the special night Office of Tenebrae during the Sacred Triduum.  You can links to my series on these psalms here.

The Gradual Psalms

Another traditional option is to say the fifteen gradual psalms (Psalms 119-133).  The Gradual Psalms, or Songs of Ascent, have a traditional association with Easter, as they were originally probably pilgrim songs sung as the people traveled to Jerusalem for major feasts such as the Passover, and also have an association with the solemn ascent of the fifteen steps of the Temple at the entry to the feast.

Although fifteen psalms might sound a lot, in fact they are mostly very short (and include two of the shortest psalms in the psalter).  In fact the Gradual Psalms were typically all said before Matins each day in most monasteries from the ninth century onwards, and when this obligation was commuted, it remained obligatory for monks and clerics to say them at a minimum on Wednesdays in Lent for many centuries.  In their devotional arrangement, which you can find here, the first five are offered the dead, the second five for the expiation of our sins, and the final five for our particular intentions.

You can find links to more detailed notes on many of them here.

St Benedict's top ten psalms

Finally, you could add to your daily prayers any of the ten psalms that St Benedict thought important enough to have his monk's say every day that you don't fit in to your own daily Office regime.  If, for example, you use the Monastic Diurnal, but don't say Matins, you could add in Psalms 3 and 94.

Links to notes on all of these psalms except those for Compline can be found here.

May you have a happy and holy Lent!

Happy Christmas

c14th missal

Matins canticles for Advent/3: Isaiah 49:7-13

I've previously provided notes on the first two Third Nocturn canticles used at Matins in the Benedictine Office during Advent:

Isaiah 40:10-17
Isaiah 42:10-16

The third canticle set for Sunday Matins during Advent is from Isaiah 49:

Canticle of Isaiah (49:7-13)

Hæc dicit Dóminus, redémptor Israël, Sanctus eius, † ad contemptíbilem ánimam, ad abominátam gentem, * ad servum dominórum:	Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the soul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers:
Reges vidébunt,et consúrgent príncipes, † et adorábunt propter Dóminum, quia fidélis est, * et Sanctum Israël qui elégit te.	Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord' s sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
Hæc dicit Dóminus: † In témpore plácito exaudívi te, * et in die salútis auxiliátus sum tui:	Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee.
Et servávi te, et dedi te in fœdus pópuli, * ut suscitáres terram, et possidéres hæreditátes dissipátas;	And I have preserved thee, and given thee to be a covenant of the people, that thou mightest raise up the earth, and possess the inheritances that were destroyed:
Ut díceres his qui vincti sunt: Exíte, * et his qui in ténebris: Revelámini.	That thou mightest say to them that are bound: Come forth: and to them that are in darkness: shew yourselves.
Super vias pascéntur, * et in ómnibus planis páscua eórum.	They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in every plain.
Non esúrient neque sítient, † et non percútiet eos æstus et sol, * quia miserátor eórum reget eos, et ad fontes aquárum potábit eos.	They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them: for he that is merciful to them, shall be their shepherd, and at the fountains of waters he shall give them drink.
Et ponam omnes montes meos in viam, * et sémitæ meæ exaltabúntur.	And I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted.
Ecce isti de longe vénient, † et ecce illi ab aquilóne et mari, * et isti de terra austráli.	Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the south country.
Laudáte, cæli, et exsúlta, terra; † iubiláte, montes, laudem: * quia consolátus est Dóminus pópulum suum, et páuperum suórum miserébitur.	Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth, ye mountains, give praise with jubilation: because the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his poor ones.

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.

These verses form part of the 'second servant song' of Isaiah.

St Paul makes it clear that it applies to Jesus in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2:

"And now, to further that work, we entreat you not to offer God’s grace an ineffectual welcome. 2 I have answered thy prayer, he says, in a time of pardon, I have brought thee help in a day of salvation. And here is the time of pardon; the day of salvation has come already."

The verses set out prophesies of the coming of Jesus, his rejection by the Jews, and his mission of freeing mankind, imprisoned by sin.  Above all it talks of his mercy on the people who have fallen away.

While the verses given here talk about the redemption of Israel, the verse immediately preceding it makes it clear that his mission is a universal one:

"...I have appointed thee to be the light of the Gentiles, in thee I will send out my salvation to the furthest corners of the earth."