Showing posts with label lectio notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lectio notes. Show all posts

Sunday, September 4, 2011

A psalm for Sunday...Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost


Conti (c18th), The parable of the Good Samaritan

Today's (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost) Introit in the Extraordinary Form is verses from Psalm 69, but the sentiments and phrases are actually ones used in several other psalms as well.  Psalm 69 actually more or less duplicates the second half of Psalm 39, and its sentiments appear in several other places as well:

Deus, in adjutórium meum inténde: Dómine, ad adjuvándum me festína: confundántur et revereántur inimíci mei, qui quærunt ánimam meam. Avertántur retrórsum et erubéscant: qui cógitant mihi mala.

or:

Incline unto my aid, O God: O Lord, make haste to help me: let my enemies be confounded and ashamed, who seek my soul.  Let them be turned backward and blush for shame, who desire evils to me.

Let my enemies be confounded and ashamed!

The first verse of the Introit here is the familiar call for God's aid, a call that expresses our dependence on God in all circumstances.  It is used at the start of each hour of the Office and in the Mass as a constant reminder that we can do nothing without God, and that nothing happens without God willing it or allowing it.

But the next sets of words are equally important to the Christian, for they are restatements of the prophecies of the Incarnation and of God's promises to us included especially in the Benedictus and Magnificat: of God's help to us in times of temptation, and his commitment that we will never be tempted beyond our ability to resist; of the final victory over the devil; and of the ultimate triumph of the poor in spirit over the proud and powerful.

On the one hand they are a restatement of Our Lord's victory over death and ultimate triumph over the devil; on the other hand they are an invitation to us: to be confounded but the realization of our sinful state, and thus to be ashamed; and to be converted.  Only once we have come to this realization can we truly be said to be putting our trust in God's help.

In the Benedictine Office, these sentiments feature heavily in the psalms set for Monday (with Psalm 39), with similar phrases turning up not only at several psalms of Matins, but also closing off Prime (in Psalm 6) and Vespers (in Psalm 128).

But the sentiments are also a good fit to the themes of Wednesday Matins, where this version of the psalm appears, since that day deals with man's betrayal of God, and the election of the gentiles, for in the Gospel for this twelfth Sunday, with the story of the Good Samaritan.   The Jews who would have walked past the man who had been robbed and beaten without helping him; but we are invited to be ashamed, repent, and help.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Lectio notes on the Propers: Psalm 24 (25), Offertory



St Albans Psalter, c12th

Today's meditation notes focus on the Offertory for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Ad te Domine levavi.

This text actually gets several runs at Mass during the liturgical year: as an Offertory it is also used on the first Sunday of Advent, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, on Wednesday during the second week of Lent; the text also gets a few runs as an Introit and in a tract.

A paradoxical text

The opening verse of the Offertory, 'Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam', or 'To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul', actually seems at first blush an odd choice to go with a Gospel that honours keeping one's eyes looking at the ground, as St Benedict instructs in his Rule, to show one's humility, in contrast to the over-bold Pharisee.

But in fact the line reflects the idea that the just man lifts up his soul, conscious of his sinfulness, rather than thinking, as some protestant sects do, that once saved always saved!

The text then goes on to make the connection to the Gospel clearer, pointing to the fact that though the Pharisee may sneer at the publican now, in the future, when our hope is realized in heaven things will be different: 'Deus meus, in te confido' (My God, I put my trust), non erubescam, neque irrideant me inimici mei (let me not be ashamed, neither let my enemies laugh at me), etenim universi, qui te expectant non confundentur (for none of them that wait on you will be confounded). Our faith, in other words, may bring forth derision now, but we must persevere in the hope of ultimate vindication.

The verses of the Offertory point to the whole psalm...

The longer setting of the Offertory in the Offertoriale Triplex offers a few extra thoughts to consider: first a plea for God to direct us in truth and teach us (Dírige me in veritáte tua, et doce me: quia tu es, Deus, salutaris meus, et te sustínui tota die), and secondly to look down upon us and have mercy (réspice in me, et miserére mei Domine...).

The really key verse of this psalm though in the context of today's Gospel is one not actually included in the chant setting, namely, 'Vide humilitátem meam, et labórem meum: et dimítte univérsa delícta mea', or 'See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins'.

The message of today's Gospel, and of this psalm, is that the difference between the just and unjust man is acknowledgement of our continuing sinful state, and willingness to keep trying to do better. St Robert Bellarmine commented:
"...For, though a soul fearing God may be grievously afflicted, and take great pains in resisting concupiscence, still the just man falls seven times; and yet, from his fall, he may be proved to be just; because, at once, by his tears, his prayers, and his contrition, he quickly wipes away the filth and dirt into which he had incautiously fallen..."

Other Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references
Lk 6:35(9); Mt 22:16 (10); Lk 18:13 (12); Jn 1:17(11); Jn 6:45 (15)
RB cursus
Sunday Matins
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc
All Souls/Office of Dead, II, 2;
Roman pre 1911
Sunday Matins (post Tridentine, Prime Tuesday)
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Prime Tuesday.
Mass propers (EF)
Advent I, OF (1-2);
Thurs after Ash Wed, OF (1-2);
Lent Ember Wed IN (1-2, 6, 23), GR (18-19); TR (18-19, 1-3);
Lent Ember Friday, IN (18-19,1);
Lent 2 Wednesday, OF (1-2),
Lent 3 Sunday, IN (1, 16-17);
Passion Tuesday, CO (23);
Sacred Heart, GR (9-10);
PP3, IN (17-18, 1);
PP10, OF (1-2)


Psalm 24


Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.

Ad te, Dómine, levávi ánimam meam: * Deus meus, in te confído, non erubéscam.
O you, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In you, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.
Neque irrídeant me inimíci mei: *  étenim univérsi, qui sústinent te, non confundentur.
Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on you shall be confounded.
Confundántur omnes iníqua agéntes * supervácue.
Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause.
Vias tuas, Dómine, demónstra mihi * et sémitas tuas édoce me.
Show, O Lord, your ways to me, and teach me your paths.
Dírige me in veritáte tua, et doce me: * quia tu es, Deus, Salvátor meus, et te sustínui tota die.
Direct me in your truth, and teach me; for you are God my Saviour; and on you have I waited all the day long
Reminíscere miseratiónum tuárum, Dómine, * et misericordiárum tuárum, quæ a sæculo sunt.
Remember, O Lord, your bowels of compassion; and your mercies that are from the beginning of the world.
Delícta juventútis meæ, * et ignorántias meas ne memíneris.
The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember.
Secúndum misericórdiam tuam meménto mei tu, * propter bonitátem tuam, Dómine.
According to your mercy remember me: for your goodness' sake, O Lord.
Dulcis et rectus Dóminus: * propter hoc legem dabit delinquéntibus in via.
The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.
10Diriget mansuétos in judício: * docébit mites vias suas.
He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.
Univérsæ viæ Dómini, misericórdia et véritas, * requiréntibus testaméntum ejus et testimónia ejus.
All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies.
Propter nomen tuum, Dómine, propitiáberis peccáto meo: * multum est enim.
For your name's sake, O Lord, you will pardon my sin: for it is great.
Quis est homo qui timet Dóminum? * legem státuit ei in via, quam elégit.
Who is the man that fears the Lord? He has appointed him a law in the way he has chosen.
Anima ejus in bonis demorábitur: * et semen ejus hereditábit terram.
His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land
Firmaméntum est Dóminus timéntibus eum: * et testaméntum ipsíus ut manifestétur illis.
The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.
Oculi mei semper ad Dóminum: * quóniam ipse evéllet de láqueo pedes meos.
My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare.
Réspice in me, et miserére mei: * quia únicus et pauper sum ego.
Look upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor.
Tribulatiónes cordis mei multiplicátæ sunt: * de necessitátibus meis érue me.
The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deliver me from my necessities.
Vide humilitátem meam, et labórem meum: * et dimítte univérsa delícta mea.
See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins.
Réspice inimícos meos quóniam multiplicáti sunt: * et ódio iníquo odérunt me.
Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unjust hatred.
Custódi ánimam meam, et érue me: * non erubéscam quóniam sperávi in te.
Deepen my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I have hoped in you.
Innocéntes et recti adhæsérunt mihi: * quia sustínui te.
The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have waited on you.
Líbera, Deus, Israël: * ex ómnibus tribulatiónibus suis.
Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Lectio notes on the Propers, Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - Introit (Psalm 53)



The Introit for this week is from Psalm 53 (54), Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac.  The text of the Introit in the order that we hear it as Mass is as follows: 

Ecce Deus ádjuvat me (Behold, God is my helper), et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ (and the Lord has sustained my soul): avérte mala inimícis meis (turn back the evil on my enemies), et in veritáte tua dispérde illos (and in your truth disperse them), protéctor meus, Dómine (O Lord my protector). Deus in nómine tuo (O God by your name) salvum me fac (save me): et in virtúte tua (and in your strength) líbera me (deliver me).

Context

This psalm is given a particular historical context by its title (noting that the titles of the psalms preserved in the Septuagint/Vulgate are very ancient indeed), namely the warning to David that the Philistines with whom he had taken refuge planned to betray him to Saul, causing him to flee once more to the wilderness (1 Samuel 23).

Dom Gueranger's commentary on the day in his Liturgical Year, however, puts it in the context of today's Gospel, Our Lord weeping for the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the cleansing of the Temple:

"Israel had made himself the enemy of the Church; and God, as He had warned him, punishes and disperses his children.  The Church takes occasion, from the fulfilment of the divine judgments, to profess the humble confidence she has in her Spouse's aid."

The virtue of justice

This psalm, like many, asks for deliverance from enemies, and asks for them to be punished.  In the version used in the liturgy, the final plea is to be freed from his enemies; in the Vulgate, the word 'judge' is used instead of 'deliver' or 'free' me.  They come to the same thing, as St Robert Bellarmine observes in his commentary on the Psalm: "...that is, be my judge, defend me as I deserve, and avenge me of my enemy.."

Over and over Scripture tells us that the righteous man can call on God and be confident of his help, while the unjust man's pleas will go unheeded.  Over and over we are told that what we do now will either store up for us treasure in heaven, or punishment in hell.

Yet this basic concept of justice - the idea that sooner or later there will be consequences for our actions - is one we tend to shy away from these days, to the destruction of society, as is seen in the English riots. Modern theologians promote the idea of an empty hell (an idea completely at odds with the repeated warnings of Our Lord); too often the punishments meted out by the courts fall well short of fitting the crime; and in too many countries the State works to undermine the authority and bonds of the family rather than promote it.

Today's Gospel (St Luke 19) tells us that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a punishment for the failure of the failure of the Jewish people to recognise their Messiah.  

What then should the punishment be for a society that has turned its back on God and worships pleasure instead; that rejects even the gift of life, slaughtering its unborn innocents?  No wonder we have global warming, a financial crisis, and a society losing all cohesion....

How then, can we personally work to restore the concept of justice in our faith and society?  A worthy topic for meditation, contemplation and action.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Propers for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost/1

You can find a listing of readings for this Sunday in the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form, together with links to useful resources on them over at the Divine Lamp.  For Sunday the psalms set down are:

Ordinary Form: Psalm 66 (67)

In the Ordinary Form, the Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 66, which will be extremely familar to those who say the Benedictine version of the Office since it is said daily at Lauds.  This joyful and uplifting psalm starts and ends by requesting God’s blessing on us. It is the quintessential psalm of the Church’s mission though: it asks for and points to God’s guidance for Governments, and for the spread of God’s word and praise across the whole world:

Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.
2 Ut cognoscámus in terra viam tuam, * in ómnibus Géntibus salutáre tuum.
3 Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus: * confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes.
4 Læténtur et exsúltent Gentes: * quóniam júdicas pópulos in æquitáte, et Gentes in terra dírigis.
5 Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.
6 Benedícat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedícat nos Deus: * et métuant eum omnes fines terræ.

The Douay-Rheims translates this as:

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.
3 That we may know your way upon earth: your salvation in all nations.
4 Let people confess to you, O God: let all people give praise to you.
5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for you judge the people with justice, and direct the nations upon earth.
6 Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you:
7 The earth has yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,
8 may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him

Extraordinary Form

The Epistle this Sunday is 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 (against idolatry, fornication, temptation of God, and murmuring); the Gospel is St Luke 19:41-47, the cleansing of the Temple and prophesy of the destruction of Jerusalem by Our Lord. This week's psalm propers in the Extraordinary Form are from:

Psalm 53:3, 6-7 (Introit)


6  Ecce Deus ádjuvat me, et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ:
7. avérte mala inimícis meis, et in veritáte tua dispérde illos, protéctor meus, Dómine.
3. Deus in nómine tuo salvum me fac: et in virtúte tua líbera me.

Or:

For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.


Psalm 8:2 (Gradual)

Dómine, Dóminus noster, quam admirábile est nomen tuum in univérsa terra! Quóniam eleváta est magnificéntia tua super cælos.

O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!

Psalm 58:2 (Alleluia)

Erípe me de inimícis meis, Deus meus: et ab insurgéntibus in me líbera me.

or

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; and defend me from them that rise up against me.

Psalm 18:9-12 (Offertory)

Justitiæ Dómini rectæ, lætificántes corda, et judícia ejus dulcióra super mel et favum: nam et servus tuus custódit ea.

or

The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts: and his justice is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb: for your servant keeps them.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Gentle Jesus meek and mild? St John Chrysostom on tough love

I gave a little background yesterday on the great doctor of the Church St John Chrysostom and his commentaries on the psalms. 

Today I want to give a little taster of his commentary, using as an example his discussion of an issue that is important for us today, namely the nature of meekness, drawing from his introduction to Psalm 131 (132), 'O Lord remember David, and all his meekness'.

The sanatisation of Our Lord

One of the biggest problems in modern Catholicism is the highly selective, highly sanitised picture often presented of Our Lord and his teaching: the faux-version that emphasizes that Jesus associated with sinners but omits to mention his insistence that they sin no more; a version that emphasizes turning the other cheek and praying for enemies, but forgets about his driving the money-lenders from the Temple and taking the pharisees and others to task for hypocrisy; the version that altogether omits some of the 'hard sayings' on doctrine Our Lord taught, such as the nature of the Eucharist, the prohibition on divorce, and much more. 

It leads to a version of Christianity where true catholics are berated for the crime of promoting orthodoxy; where those who campaign against liturgical abuses are denounced as 'temple police'; and where most bishops and priests prefer to stay silent rather than cause 'discomfort' by teaching the truth. 

In his commentary on Psalm 131, St John Chrysostom looks precisely at this issue.

Psalm 131, verse 1

The first line of Psalm 131 in the Vulgate is Meménto, Dómine, David, et omnis mansuetúdinis ejus', or Remember Lord, David and all his meekness.

There is an obvious connection here between the claimed meekness for David, the third beatitude (Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth), and God's promise to David that his descendants would rule Israel forever.


It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the Hebrew Masoretic Text version of this verse (not followed by the neo-Vulgate in this particular case), in what may be a classic piece of anti-Christian text manipulation by the early post-Temple Jewish community, substitutes a word meaning 'hardships' for meekness in this verse

But what does meekness actually mean in this context?

King David, after all, is hardly the popular image of a meek and mild, pacifistic personality: he learnt his slingshot skills as a shepherd defending his flock against lions and other wild beasts, and from his famous encounter with Goliath and throughout his turbulent reign, he was above all, a warrior.

Paris Psalter
Meekness does not mean inaction, quite the contrary!

In order to tackle the question, St John points us to another 'type' of Christ, namely Moses, in order to understand that meekness, or gentleness, does not imply weakness, failure to speak up, or pacifism:

"While in other places they ask to be saved only on the basis of remembrance of the ancestors, here by contrast they cite the reason for the good things - moderation, humility, gentleness, for which Moses too was particularly remarkable. "He was the gen­tlest of all the men on the earth," Scripture says, remember.   But some of the heretics criticize his way of life and what is said of him, asking, "What do you mean? Was that the gentlest of men who struck down the Egyptian and slew him? Who filled the Jews with internecine blood and wars? Who ordered kith and kin to commit murder? Who sundered the earth with a prayer, and drew down thunderbolts from on high, drowning some and incinerat­ing others?"
 
St John's key point is that failure to speak up or take corrective act in the face of sin is not a sign of meekness and humility, but is in fact a vice:

"Ignoring the wronged, not grieving on behalf of the wronged or fuming over the abused is a mark not of virtue but of vice - not of gentleness, to be sure, but of torpor.  And so this very thing demonstrates his gentleness, and the fact that he was so ardent as to spring into action in cases where he saw others being wronged, unable to contain his irritation in de­fence of the righteous..."

In fact, St John argues, the mark of meekness is that Moses - and thus David, foreshadowing Our Lord - was more concerned about the spiritual welfare of the many than about his own fate; and did not consider sparing the rod in the case of the guilty the right course when it could cost the souls of others:

"Should he have ignored the trampling un­derfoot of the priesthood, the overturning of God's laws and the dissolution of all their content - I mean the dignity of the priest­hood, the opening of the sanctuary to all and, out of indifference for the priests, exposing the sacred precincts to the invasion of anyone inclined and letting everything go to the dogs? These things most of all, however, would not have been marks of gentleness but of inhumanity and cruelty, to ignore such an increase in evil and by sparing two hundred to destroy so many tens of thousands. I mean, tell me, when he bade kith and kin to be slain, what should he have done, with God enraged, impiety on the increase, and no one available who could save them from this rage? Should he have let a blow fall from heaven on all the tribes, the race be abandoned to utter ruin, and with that punishment ignore as well the incur­able sin committed? Or with retribution and death of a few mem­bers expunge the sin, avert the rage and render God propitious to those who had committed such awful sins? If you examine the righteous man's behavior in this way, you will acknowledge from this in particular his being most gentle."

Moses and Korah, c15th
Accepting personal suffering with patience

What actually constitutes meekness, St John concludes, is acting for the good, and accepting attacks on ourselves with grace and forbearance:

"If first we distinguish and define what on earth is gentleness and what harshness. I mean, striking is not a mark of harshness pure and simple, nor sparing a mark of gentleness; rather, that person is gentle who is able to bear faults against himself...And so this very thing demonstrates his gentleness, and the fact that he was so ardent as to spring into action in cases where he saw others being wronged, unable to contain his irritation in de­fence of the righteous. At any rate, when he personally was abused, he neither took vengeance nor demanded retribution, but without fail continued faithful to his sound values. Had he been harsh or irascible, on the contrary, he who showed such feeling and ardor for the sake of others would not have been strong enough to ac­cept his own fate, but in that situation would have been much more enraged."

Note: All extracts quoted above are from St John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Translated with an Introduction by Robert Charles Hill, Volume Two, Holy Cross Orthodox Press: Brookline, MA; 1998, pp 202-4.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Lectio notes on the propers for the Eighth Sunday - Psalm 47/2


Tres Riches Heures, Purification of the BVM

The Introit for this week in the Extraordinary Form (on days not displaced by feasts) is, like the Alleluia discussed in my last post, also from Psalm 47, verses 10, 11 and 2:

10 Suscépimus, Deus, misericórdiam tuam, * in médio templi tui.
11 Secúndum nomen tuum, Deus, sic et laus tua in fines terræ: * justítia plena est déxtera tua.
2 Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis nimis * in civitáte Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus.

A translation is 'We have received God (suscepimus Deus), your mercy (misericoridam tuam) in the midst (in medio) of your temple (templi tui). According to your name O God,(secundem nomen tuum Deus), so also is your praise (sic et laus tua) unto the ends of the earth (in fines terrae): your right hand (dextera tua) is full of justice (justitia plena est).

Commentary

The text points us to the Sunday Gospel story of the unjust steward, with its reminder that we will all be called to account before God at some point, and fall in need of his mercy. 

St Augustine points out that the wording of the verse suggests that while we have received mercy, others have not.  St Thomas Aquinas explains this idea further: we have received mercy, he suggests, in the form of faith; in the form of grace conferred through the sacraments; and in the form of Christ himself (note that the text and chant setting is also used on the feast of the Purification of the BVM), whose message has been spread by the Church to the ends of the earth.  Thus, he argues, those who receive the sacraments unworthily, or who do not accept the teaching of the Church do not receive God's mercy...

A tough, counter-cultural message to meditate on indeed, that should make us think and do something about our own sins, encourage us to give thanks and praise for the graces we have received, and encourage us to pray and work ever harder for the conversion of others.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Psalm 47 and the eighth Sunday after Pentecost Pt 1

I want to start a series today providing notes to support lectio divina on some of the psalm texts used in the Mass propers.

The Mass propers tend to be relatively neglected when it comes to sermons and Mass preparation.  But they are a rich source for lectio, particularly as the Gregorian chant settings of them provide an interesting supplement to the writings of the Fathers and Theologians as to their interpretation.

Psalm 47: The text



Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Psalmus cantici. Filiis Core, secunda sabbati.
A psalm of a canticle, for the sons of Core, on the second day of the week.


Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis nimis * in civitáte Dei nostri, in monte sancto eius.
Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Fundátur exsultatióne univérsæ terræ mons Sion, * látera Aquilónis, cívitas Regis magni.
With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.
Deus in dómibus eius cognoscétur: * cum suscípiet eam.
In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.
Quóniam ecce reges terræ congregáti sunt: * convenérunt in unum.
For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves: they gathered together.
Ipsi vidéntes sic admiráti sunt, † conturbáti sunt, commóti sunt: * tremor apprehéndit eos.
So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were moved: Trembling took hold of them.
Ibi dolóres ut parturiéntis: * in spíritu veheménti cónteres naves Tharsis.
There were pains as of a woman in labour. With a vehement wind you shall break in pieces the ships of Tharsis.
Sicut audívimus, sic vídimus in civitáte Dómini virtútum, † in civitáte Dei nostri: * Deus fundávit eam in ætérnum.
As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God has founded it forever.
Suscépimus, Deus, misericórdiam tuam, * in médio templi tui.
We have received your mercy, O God, in the midst of your temple.
Secúndum nomen tuum, Deus, sic et laus tua in fines terræ: * iustítia plena est déxtera tua.
According to your name, O God, so also is your praise unto the ends of the earth: your right hand is full of justice.
Lætétur mons Sion, et exsúltent fíliæ Iudæ: * propter iudícia tua, Dómine.
Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad; because of your judgments, O Lord.
Circúmdate Sion, et complectímini eam: * narráte in túrribus eius.
Surround Sion, and encompass her: tell lye in her towers.
Pónite corda vestra in virtúte eius: * et distribúite domus eius, ut enarrétis in progénie áltera.
Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, that you may relate it in another generation.
Quóniam hic est Deus, Deus noster in ætérnum et in sæculum sæculi: * ipse reget nos in sæcula.
For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: he shall rule us for evermore.
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 eighth Sunday after Pentecost and other liturgical uses of the psalm

As the table below shows, both the Introit and the Alleluia for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form use verses from Psalm 47 (48 in the Hebrew Masoretic Text numbering) point to a theme of the heavenly city of God, presented to us in Christ; realized for us in the Church and her saints, especially Our Lady (hence the psalm's use on the feast of the Purification); and prefigured by the Temple. 

NT references
-         
RB cursus
Tues Matins
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc
Nativity, Epiphany, Christ the King, Pentecost, Trinity, Transfiguration, BVM, Assumption, Common of Virgins;
Roman pre 1911
Monday M 
Thesauris schemas
A: ; B: ; C: ; D:
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Tuesday M  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)
Purification, IN 1, 10-11; GR 7, 10-11;
PP8 IN 1, 10-11; AL 1


In the Benedictine Office it is said on Tuesday at Matins as part of a group of psalms focused on the Temple and foreshadowing the revelation of Christ and his Church as the true Temple.


c16th Russian icon, the Church Militant
The text of  the Alleluia verse

The Alleluia uses the first verse of the psalm (which is also the verse of the Introit):

Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis valde [nimis] * in civitáte Dei [nostri], in monte sancto ejus.

The Douay-Rheims translates it as 'Great is the Lord (magnus Dominus), and exceedingly to be praised (et laudabilis valde) in the city of God (in civitate Dei), in his holy mountain (in monte sancto ejus)'. Note that the Vulgate substitutes 'nimis' for 'valde' (both of which mean exceedingly) and adds 'nostri' (our) as indicated in square brackets. The Neo-Vulgate sticks with the Vulgate text for this verse.

Commentary

St Robert Bellarmine writes:
"The Prophet, being about to praise a certain edifice, commences by praising the architect, and says that in the holy city the wonderful skill and wisdom of God, who built it, is truly displayed. "Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised;" and so he is, whether we look at his essence, his power, his wisdom, his justice, or his mercy, for all are infinite, everlasting, and incomprehensible; and thus, so much is God "exceedingly to be praised," that all the angels, all men, even all his own works would not suffice thereto; but of all things we have revealed, there is no one thing can give us a greater idea of his greatness, or for which we should praise and thank him more, than the establishment of his Church; and, therefore, the Prophet adds, "in the city of our God, in his holy mountain;" that is to say, the greatness of God, and for which he deserves so much praise, is conspicuous in the foundation and construction of his Church, which is "the city of our God, in his holy mountain;" that is, made as perfect as possible. For, it is said in Isaias 2, "The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on top of mountains." And the Lord himself calls his Church "a city placed on a mountain." To touch briefly on the remarkable points of this edifice, just consider, first, the incredible variety of nations, differing in language, manners, customs, and laws, so uniting in the profession of one faith, and the use of the same sacraments, as to form one people, nay, even one family. Consider, secondly, the same Church, founded on Peter, a poor, ignorant, rude fisherman; and yet founded so firmly, that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; for, in spite of that world in which Christ's Church is spending its exile, in spite of all the powers of darkness, in spite of all the persecutions of the wicked, she will ultimately arrive in safety at the land of promise; and, placed, at length, above the highest heavens, will reign undisturbed in everlasting happiness. Such things, certainly, could not be accomplished, but by the great God; that is, by a most powerful and skillful architect who, therefore, "is exceedingly to be praised," or, rather, is beyond all praise."
You can find more on this psalm here.

There are also some excellent commentaries on the psalm online, including: