Psalm 28: Overview

I'm planning on filling in the gaps in my psalm coverage over the next little while with some brief posts to mark the spot as it were!

Today, Psalm 28, which is used at Sunday Matins in the Benedictine Office, as well as (inter alia) in the Common for the Dedication of a Church, and hence the Dedication of  St John Lateran on November 9.

Psalm 28

First the text of the psalm (including the psalm title, not used in the liturgy).

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, in consummatione tabernaculi.	A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle

Afférte Dómino, fílii Dei: * afférte Dómino fílios aríetum	Bring to the Lord, O you children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.
Afférte Dómino glóriam et honórem, † afférte Dómino glóriam nómini eius: * adoráte Dóminum in átrio sancto eius.	Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore the Lord in his holy court.
Vox Dómini super aquas, † Deus maiestátis intónuit: * Dóminus super aquas multas.	The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty has thundered, The Lord is upon many waters
Vox Dómini in virtúte: * vox Dómini in magnificéntia.	The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence.
Vox Dómini confringéntis cedros: * et confrínget Dóminus cedros Líbani.	The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus.
Et commínuet eas tamquam vítulum Líbani: * et diléctus quemádmodum fílius unicórnium.	And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns.
Vox Dómini intercidéntis flammam ignis: † vox Dómini concutiéntis desértum: * et commovébit Dóminus desértum Cades.	The voice of the Lord divides the flame of fire: The voice of the Lord shakes the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades.
Vox Dómini præparántis cervos, et revelábit condénsa: * et in templo eius omnes dicent glóriam.	The voice of the Lord prepares the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory.
Dóminus dilúvium inhabitáre facit: * et sedébit Dóminus Rex in ætérnum.	The Lord makes the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king forever.
Dóminus virtútem pópulo suo dabit: * Dóminus benedícet pópulo suo in pace.	The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

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

The dedication of the Temple

At Matins on Sunday, the psalm readily fits with both the first day of the week (creation - 'In the beginning God created heaven, and earth'.) the eighth day/Resurrection theme of that hour.

The use of this psalm in the Common for the dedication of a church, though, is above all explained by the title, which suggests that it was composed by King David at the time of the completion of the first Temple.  It was certainly used annually on the feast of the rededication of the temple, Hanukkah, (cf 1 Macc 1-4).

The  commentaries of the Fathers, though, make clear that it is not just the physical temple that is referred to in it, but rather the mystical temple, heaven, of which the physical temple is a microcosm.  It represents the temple of the world and its creation by God (St Basil); Christ as the true temple, completed in the Resurrection; the creation of the Church (St Augustine); and the end of the world (Arnobius).  For this reason it is used also on various other major feasts, including Epiphany, Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity and the Transfiguration.

The table below summarises some of the liturgical uses of the psalm:

NT references	Rev 10:3 (4)
RB cursus	Sunday II, 3
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Epiphany, Pentecost, Trinity, Transfiguration, Christ the King; Dedication of a Church
Roman pre 1911	Monday Matins
Ambrosian
Brigittine	Monday Matins
Maurist	Thursday
Thesauris schemas	A: ; B: Monday Matins (Invitatory); C: ; D:
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Lauds . 1970: Monday Lauds wk 1
Mass propers (EF)	Christ the King CO (9)

Overviews of the psalm from the Fathers and Doctors

St Augustine:

A psalm of David himself, of the consummation of the tabernacle.  A Psalm of the Mediator Himself, strong of hand, of the perfection of the Church in this world, where she wars in time against the devil.

St Cassiodorus:

A psalm of David at the finishing of the tabernacle. Since the first words are now familiar, it remains for us to investigate rather more carefully the words: The finishing of the tabernacle. The phrase con­notes the perfection of the Catholic Church, now known to be established throughout the whole world. By the term tabernacle the Church is said to have been founded in the world; as it wages war on the vices of the flesh, it has deservedly won the title of "expedition-dwelling."' So the prophet sings this psalm, so rich in the glory of Christian teaching, in praise of the holy Spirit, once he has hymned the perfection of the Church as a whole; since so important a subject as the Church's perfection has been fulfilled by prophets and  apostles  in their blessed teaching, he wants it to be adorned fittingly with the Spirit's praises. The whole psalm is teeming with the promise of the holy Spirit, and by various allusions it issues proclamations of His majesty. This is what orators call the demonstrative type, when someone is revealed and acknowledged by description of this kind. But what could anyone say appropriately about Him, except what He deigns to utter about Himself?

The blessed David realised that the territories of the whole world were to be drawn to the Catholic faith by prophets and apostles through the gift of the holy Spirit. In Peter's words: For prophecy was brought not by the will of men at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the holy Ghost.  So first he addresses the whole Church, bidding them perform sacrifices to Him with committed mind. Sec­ondly he recounts in sevenfold narration the powers of the holy Spirit by various allusions in mighty praise, which in numerous pas­ sages is said to be especially appropriate to Him. But to ensure that you realise that the power of Father, Son, and holy Spirit is one, he says in the third section that the Trinity dwells in baptism, and that the Lord gives strength and a blessing to the Christian people reborn in it.

Pseudo Bede:

The completion of the Tabernacle signifies the perfection of the Church; which, since it wageth wars against carnal vices, hath rightly received the name of a military tent. The Prophet, foreseeing that the ends of the world would be brought to the faith, first addresses all the nations, commanding them to bring sacrifices to GOD. Next, in a sevenfold series, by various allusions, he enumerates the graces of the HOLY GHOST: The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. But that he may show that the power of the FATHER and of the HOLY GHOST is one, he telleth, thirdly, how the Holy Trinity effectuates Baptism, and how the LORD giveth virtue and benediction to him who is regenerate from it: The Lord maketh the water-flood to be inhabited, &c.

St Thomas Aquinas:

In other psalms, the psalmist has recounted the trust that he has from God; here, however, like a man set free, he gives thanks: and first, psalms suitable for thanksgiving are set forth: second, he recounts outstanding favours, as he says, (Psalm 30) In you, O Lord, have I hoped. About the first issue, he makes two points. First, he asks others to give thanks; second, he himself gives thanks, as he says (Psalm 29) I shall exalt you. The title: a psalm of David upon the completion of the tabernacle. It is written in the history of 1 Kings 4 where the children of Israel in the time of Eli fought against the Philistines, and the Ark of God was captured and was in that land for six months. Finally, because of a plague, they sent it back to Gilboa (?). And upon the death of Saul, David took it and brought it to Jerusalem and made a tabernacle for it and played before it, as we have it in 2 Kings 6. And it appears that this psalm was composed then. Mystically, by tabernacle the holy Church is designated. Apocalypse 21: Behold the tabernacle of God is with men. This tabernacle, that is, the Church, was torn from the hands of the Philistines, that is, from demons. And what is said in this psalm pertains to the gifts of the Holy Ghost, through which this tabernacle is perfected. It is divided therefore into two parts. In the first, he invites others to make an offering to God by way of thanksgiving; in the second, he recounts favours, as he says The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.

St Alphonsus Liguori:

The prophet here invites the people to come to adore God in his Temple.  Title of the psalm: Psalmus David, in consummations Tabernaculi. St. Jerome thence infers that David composed this psalm when he caused the Ark of the Covenant to be placed in the tabernacle erected on Mount Sion (2 Kings, vi. 17). This tabernacle being a figure of the Church, the prophet raises his thoughts from the figure to the reality, and announces the preaching of the Gospel by the Voice of the Lord, which nothing can resist. Under this figure the Gentiles are invited to receive the Gospel, which had to be preached in the midst of persecutions, here represented by the winds, the tempests, and the thunders, which are mentioned in this psalm.

The Psalms of Matins for feasts**

Although some have argued otherwise, the special sets of psalms used for feasts - the Commons, and special sets for particular feasts - are in my view, almost certainly a Roman import to the Benedictine Office.

The Roman Office of nine psalms for feasts

St Benedict, after all, insisted that all 150 psalms be said each week, and use of special psalm sets to displace the twelve he set for Matins each day interferes with this principle, as assorted Carolingian commentators noted in the ninth century.

Unlike the Roman Office, the Benedictine, even now, does not use the Sunday psalms for feasts for example.

And it is certainly generally accepted that the two Lauds 'festal psalms' are a Roman import; their adoption into the Benedictine Office was relatively early, but clearly documented as a change.

Moreover the first hard reference we have to the Commons for Matins as far as I am aware actually comes from an eighth century letter from the abbot of Monte Cassino defending a number of romanizations of the Benedictine Office, including maintaining three readings even on summer weekdays (when St Benedict specified only one short reading).  The letter makes clear that no tradition of twelve psalms had been handed down in the Benedictine tradition - instead they divided some of the nine to get to twelve!

Nonetheless, the tradition of special psalms for feasts is well-embedded in the Office now, so I thought it might be interesting to provide a listing of the psalms of the commons and feasts so you can see which are used for most or all feasts; which are identified with a particular type of feasts or saint.

The psalms of the Commons

The 'Commons' for feasts for types of saints/feasts for Matins include an invitatory antiphon, hymn, antiphons, psalms, canticles, versicles, readings and responsories.

All of these elements bar the psalms though, can be displaced for feasts that have come to be more elaborated, with special sets of antiphons and so forth for the feast.  A good example of this is the feast of the Assumption, which retains only the psalms and canticles of the Common.

Table 1 shows the psalms used in the Commons. The bolding indicates psalms unique to that particular Common.

Table 1: Psalms of the Commons

Apostles	BVM/ Female saints	Confessors	One martyr	Several martyrs	Dedication of a Church
		1	1	1
		2	2	2
		4	4
		5	5		5
	8	8	8
		10	10	10	10
		14	14	14
				15
18	18
		20	20
	23	23	23	23	23
					28
				32
33				33
44	44
	45			45	45
46
	47				47
60				60
63			63	63
			64
74
				78
					83
	84
	86				86
					87
					90
			91
95	95	95			95
96	96	96
97	97	97
98	98				98
100

All up there are 34 psalms usd in the Commons, with the most commonly used being Psalm 23, featured in all of the sets except for Apostles

It shows that the Commons of apostles and for the Dedication of a Church have the most unique psalms (three in each case), while the psalms for confessors are all shared with other sets of Commons.

Psalms for other feasts

Table 2 shows the psalms used for other major feasts of the year.  The highlighting indicates the most frequently used psalms. Six of the psalms of the Commons (64, 74, 78, 90, 91 and 100) are not used for any of these feasts.

Nativity	Epiphany	Easter	Ascension	Pentecost	Trinity	All Saints
		1		1		1
2
						4
						5
		8	8	8	8	8
						14
			10	18	18
		15
18			18
			20
23		23	23	23	23	23
				26
		27
	28			28	28
		29	29
						30
						31
				32	32
						33
44
	45		45	45	45
	46		46	46	46
47	47			47	47
						60
		63
	65	65
71	71				71
		75
						83
84
	85
	86
		87
88
95	95		95	95	95
96	96		96		96	96
97	97			97	97
	98		98
			102
		107

Corpus Christi	Sacred heart	Transfiguration	Holy Cross	Christ the king
1			1
			2	2
4			4
			5
		8	8	8
			10
15
		18
19
			20
22			22
				23
				28
	32
	33
	35
	40
41
42
		44		44
		45
	46	46		46
		47		47
	60
				71
		75
80
83		83
84	84
	85
86		86
		88
	93
			95	95
	96	96	96	96
	97		97	97
98			98	98
		103
	107