Virtue is uncomplicated - Psalm 124 verses 3&4 (Gradual Psalm No 6/4)

Rubens

Verses 3&4 of Psalm 124 provide words of encouragement to the pilgrim perhaps assaulted by evildoers along the way. 

3	V	Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.
	NV	Quia non requiescet virga iniquitatis super sortem iustorum, ut non extendant iusti ad iniquitatem manus suas.
	JH	Quia non requiescet uirga impietatis  super sortem iustorum,  ut non mittant iusti in iniquitatem manus suas.
		ὅτι οὐκ ἀφήσει τὴν ῥάβδον τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐπὶ τὸν κλῆρον τῶν δικαίων ὅπως ἂν μὴ ἐκτείνωσιν οἱ δίκαιοι ἐν ἀνομίᾳ χεῖρας αὐτῶν

Quia (for) non (not) relínquet (he will leave) Dóminus (the Lord) virgam (the rod) peccatórum (of sinners) super (over) sortem (the fate) justórum Of the just): ut (that) non (not) exténdant (they stretch out) justi (the just) ad (to) iniquitátem (inquity) manus (the hand) suas (his).

quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed

relinquo, liqui, lictum, ere 3,  to leave behind at death;  to allow, suffer, permit

virga, ae, ., a rod, staff, scepter, a shepherd's crook.

peccator, oris, m. a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.

super, prep, with ace. And abl  on, upon, over

sors, sortis, /.  lot, fate, destiny

extendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3,  to stretch out or forth; to extend, prolong, protract, continue;

justus, a, um  a just man, the just.

iniquitas, atis, / iniquity, injustice, sin.

manus, us, /.,  hand

DR	For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
Brenton	For the Lord will not allow the rod of sinners to be upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous should stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
MD	The Lord will not let the sinner’s rod weigh down on the lot of the just, lest the just extend their hands to evildoing.
RSV	For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands to do wrong.
Knox	Domain of the just! No longer shall godless men bear rule in it; else the just, too, might soil their hands with guilt.
Cover	For the rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put their hand unto wickedness.
Grail	For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest over the land of the just for fear that the hands of the just should turn to evil.

Cassiodorus explains the rod thus: 

By rod is denoted the power of good and evil. In the good sense we have the words spoken of the Lord Saviour Himself: The Lord will send forth the rod of thy power out of Sion, and thou shalt rule in the midst of thy enemies. Moses too received a rod, with which he performed many miracles. In the bad sense it is given also to those who ever afflict the faithful with perverted zeal. Persecutors are a rod for martyrs; so too are masters angry with their households, as was Pharaoh, Nebuchad­nezzar and the others who ruled with the harshest tyranny.”

 For some periods of time, in other words, the psalmist suggests that God may allow the wicked to prosper, and oppress the good.  But he will never allow evil to continue unchecked forever, lest the good succumb to temptation. Thus, evil men may run the Church for a period and heresy may flourish, but eventually truth will be restored; unjust societies may seem to flourish for a period, but their time will end.

4	V/NV/JH	Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.
		ἀγάθυνον κύριε τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς καὶ τοῖς εὐθέσι τῇ καρδίᾳ

Benefac (do good), Domine (O Lord), bonis (to the good) et (and) rectis upright) corde (of heart).

benefacio, feci, factum, ere 3, to do well; to do good to, to deal kindly with.

bonus, a, um, good; morally good, upright

rectus, a, um, part. adj.  just, right, righteous, upright. the just, just men, the good. steadfast, stable, steady.

cor, cordis, n., the heart, regarded as the seat of the faculties, feelings, emotions, passions; the mind, the soul.

DR	Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
Brenton	Do good, O Lord, to them that are good, and to them that are upright in heart.
MD	Show Thy goodness Lord, to the good, and to the upright of heart.
RSV	Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!
Knox	Deal kindly, Lord, with the kindly, with the true-hearted.
Cover	Do well, O Lord, unto those that are good and true of heart.
Grail	Do good, Lord, to those who are good, to the upright of heart;

This verse is a reminder to us that our God is a just God.  It is often suggested these days that God will forgive all, even those unrepentant in sin.  Yet this is not what Scripture and Tradition teaches.  St Basil the Great commented: 

God is good, but he is also just, and it is the nature of the just to reward in proportion to merit, as it is writ­ten: "Do good, O Lord, to those that are good and to the upright of heart. But such as turn aside to their own crooked ways, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity." He is merciful, but he is also a judge, for "the Lord loves mercy and judgment," says the psalmist.

 St John Chrysostom takes the argument a step further, suggesting that virtue is straightforward, while vice is much more varied: 

Now, here he names as upright the sincere, the unaffected, those with nothing hidden or festering below the surface. Uprightness is like that, you see, and it most of all God looks for everywhere. Virtue is like that, something uncom­plicated and simple, as in consequence vice is complicated, varied, devious - as you can see in reality itself. At any rate, people intent on deceiving and hatching plots - consider how many schemes they put their hands to, the number of different wiles they have need of, how many falsified stories, how much shrewdness. Those who speak the truth, on the other hand, have need of no effort, no difficulty, no hypocrisy, no scheming, nothing of that sort, as truth shines through of its own accord. In other words, just as bodies that are deformed require artifice on the outside and cover­ings to conceal the disfigurement of nature, whereas natural beauty is conspicuous of its own making, so too is it possible to discover falsehood and truth, vice and virtue. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 in Jerusalem.
2  Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.	Mountains are round about it: so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
3  Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.	3 For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
4  Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.	4 Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
5  Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.	5 But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.

And you can find notes on the last verse of this psalm here.

Lo I am with you unto the ending of the age - Psalm 124 verse 2 (Gradual Psalm no 6/3)

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 in Jerusalem.
2  Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.	Mountains are round about it: so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
3  Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.	3 For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
4  Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.	4 Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
5  Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.	5 But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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

Psalm 124 - Trust in the Lord (v1) (Gradual Psalm No 6/2)

1283 Descriptio Terrae Sanctae

Today I want to start looking at Psalm 124 on a verse by verse basis.  Verse 1 of Psalm 124 invites us to put our trust our the eternal and unchanging God.

The translations

It is worth starting by focusing on the words in some detail by looking at the various translation traditions.

The Vulgate translation of the psalms (labelled V below) used in the 1963 Monastic Breviary follows the Septuagint, the official translation of the Old Testament made providentially in the centuries immediately before the Incarnation.  The Douay-Rheims and Brenton's translation from the Septuagint reflect this text also.

This translation and tradition has come under periodic attack by those who argue that since the text was originally composed in Hebrew, the Hebrew version that has come down to us must be closer to the original than a version in any other language.  The argument was really started by St Jerome, but was shouted down in relation to the psalms at least primarily because they are quoted so often in the New Testament from the Septuagint versions, not what is known as the Hebrew Masoretic Text version.

The twentieth century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has rather vindicated the defenders of the Septuagint: they attest to several distinct text variants of Scripture, showing that the Septuagint reflects an ancient tradition.  And although the Dead Sea Scrolls also show a distinct tradition that gave birth to the much later Hebrew Masoretic Text, they arguably do also lend some weight to the early Christian claims of Jewish manipulation of the text to exclude or obfuscate texts that lent support to Christian claims.

It is rather unfortunate, in that light, that most twentieth century translations, including the Neo-Vulgate, follow the Hebrew rather than Vulgate-Septuagint tradition.  In the case of this particular psalm, the differences between the two are relatively minor, but still worth noting.

   

1	V	Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.
	NV	Qui confidunt in Domino, sicut mons Sion: non commovebitur, in aeternum manet.
	JH	Qui confidunt in Domino quasi mons Sion inmobilis, in aeternum habitabilis.
		οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπὶ κύριον ὡς ὄρος Σιων οὐ σαλευθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ὁ κατοικῶν Ιερουσαλημ

[Note: V=Vulgate; nv=Neo-Vulgate of 1979; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; final line is Greek Septuagint]

Text notes: The Neo-Vulgate follows the Masoretic Text here in moving the ‘Jerusalem’ at the end of the line to the start of the next verse: it is pretty obvious, however, that the Septuagint/Vulgate rendering is better from a sense point of view.  

Word for word: Qui (who) confídunt (they trust) in Dómino (in the Lord), sicut (like) mons (Mount) Sion: non (not) commovébitur (he will be moved) in ætérnum (forever), qui (who) hábitat (he lives) in Jerúsalem.

Key vocab

confido, fisus sum, ere 3, to trust, to have or place confidence in.

sicut, adv., as, just as, like.

mons, montis, m., a mountain

commoveo, movi, motum, ere 2 to move, shake, agitate, disturb, waver, falter, hesitate, fail; tremble from fear,

aeternus, a, urn eternal. forever

habito, avi, atum, are (freq. of habeo), to dwell, abide, live.

Douay-Rheims	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem.
Brenton Septuagint	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he that dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved.
Mon. Diurnal	Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion: it shall not be moved forever, standing in Jerusalem
RSV	Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
Knox	Those who trust in the Lord are strong as mount Sion itself, that stands unmoved for ever.
Cover-dale	They that put their trust in the Lord shall be even as the Mount Sion, which may not be removed, but standeth fast for ever.
Grail	Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken, that stands for ever. Jerusalem!

Commentary 

Mt Sion is repeatedly referred in Scripture as immovable and abiding (non commovebitur in aeternum), more so than other mountains, because it is God’s dwelling place: as several other psalms note, God is our rock, fortress, and shield; our mighty help and stronghold.  St John Chrysostom, for example, notes that: 

What is the force of the addition of Sion? I mean, instead of sim­ply saying like a mountain, why did he make mention of that particular mountain? 

To teach us not to be brought down by misfortune nor drowned in it, but depend on hope in God and bear everything nobly - wars, conflicts, alarms. For this mountain, too, was once deserted and bare of inhabitants, and in turn recov­ered its former prosperity, regaining its ancient popularity with an influx of inhabitants and manifestation of marvels. So, too, the noble man is not brought down, even should he suffer countless troubles.

 ...He said mountain to indicate the irreversible character of hope in God, its stability, its invincibility, its impregnability: just as you would never succeed in toppling or undermining a mountain even if you were to bring countless war machines against it, so the one assaulting the person with hope in God goes off home empty-handed. Hope in God is much more secure than a mountain, after all.

Cassiodorus points to another significance of the reference to Sion, in the meaning of the word as referring to 'watchers', one of the key roles of the Christian, waiting for the second coming, as well as referring to Christ himself:

The prophetic words address all persons in general, for those who remain constant in the true religion here on earth, and set their hope in the Lord's protection as though in Sion, the mountain of Jerusalem, stand most steady and firm. 

Here we must investigate the meaning of the name; Sion means "watching," an apt activity for the Lord Jesus Christ our Shepherd. Such a comparison of an object without sense with so great a Majesty could not be possible unless it had positive significance such as you will often find in the divine Scriptures. Elsewhere is the statement: The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock? and there are other passages of the same kind. So he says of the man who trusts in the Lord that like mount Sion he shall not be moved for ever, though our belief is that mount Sion like everything else will be changed at the end of the world. But the Sion here is the Lord Christ who shall not be moved; it is He who is denoted here.

It is St Augustine though, who provides the Christological interpretation of the verse that best relates to the hour at which this psalm is said in the Benedictine Office, when Christ ascended the cross:

If we understand this earthly Jerusalem, all who dwelt therein have been excluded by wars and by the destruction of the city: thou now seekest a Jew in the city of Jerusalem, and findest him not. Why then will they that dwell in Jerusalem not be moved for ever, save because there is another Jerusalem, of which you are wont to hear much? She is our mother, for whom we sigh and groan in this pilgrimage, that we may return unto her....

But they who dwelt in that earthly Jerusalem, have been moved; first in heart, afterwards by exile. When they were moved in heart and fell, then they crucified the King of the heavenly Jerusalem herself; they were already spiritually without, and shut out of doors their very King. For they cast Him out without their city, and crucified Him without.  He too cast them out of His city, that is, of the everlasting Jerusalem, the Mother of us all, who is in Heaven.

The key takeout message of the verse is, if we trust firmly in Christ, we too shall ride out the storms of life.  Earthly Sion's can disappear and be destroyed, but, as Cassiodorus instructs:

here too we are to identify Jerusalem as the native land of heaven denoting the vision of peace, from which no-one can in any sense be moved once having attained the merit of being established in its firm foundation.

Pope Benedict XVI noted that:

Even when the believer feels lonely and is surrounded by risks and hostility, his faith must be serene because the Lord is always with us; his power surrounds us and protects us. The Prophet Isaiah also testifies to hearing God speak these words, destined for the faithful: "See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; he who puts his faith in it shall not be shaken" (Is 28: 16).

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 in Jerusalem.
2  Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.	Mountains are round about it: so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
3  Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.	3 For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
4  Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.	4 Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
5  Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.	5 But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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

Introduction to Psalm 124: Gradual Psalms 6/1

Psalm 124 is the sixth of the Gradual psalms, and the first of the second block of five when the psalms are said as a devotion.  

The text of the psalm

Psalm 124 - Gradual Psalm No 6, Tuesday to Saturday Sext

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.	They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 in Jerusalem.
2  Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.	Mountains are round about it: so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
3  Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.	3 For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
4  Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.	4 Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
5  Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.	5 But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.

Liturgical uses of the psalm

In its devotional use, this block of psalms is traditionally offered for the forgiveness of our own sins.  

In the Benedictine Office, it is the last psalm of Sext on Tuesday to Saturday.

NT references	Mt 28:20 (v2); Gal 6:16 (5)
RB cursus	Sext weekday
Monastic feasts etc	Gradual Psalms; LOOL Sext AN 3904(1); 3904 (1-2); 1735 (4)
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Tuesday Vespers
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Tuesday Vespers 1970: Evening Prayer - Tuesday of Wk3
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 4, TR (1-2)

The hour of the crucifixion

The image the Psalm opens with is of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, suggesting perhaps that the pilgrims are now nearing the holy city.  

The psalm is above all, though, a reminder of the message of Christ's crucifixion on the cross at this hour: it enjoins us to trust in God, as Pope Benedict XVI noted:

... the Psalm instils deep trust in the soul. This is a powerful help in facing difficult situations when the external crisis of loneliness, irony and contempt of believers is associated with the interior crisis that consists of discouragement, mediocrity and weariness. We know this situation, but the Psalm tells us that if we have trust, we are stronger than these evils…

The need for grace

One of the key messages of this psalm is the need for grace: we cannot reach heaven through our own efforts; rather we need to entrust our efforts and very selves to God.  Cassiodorus, for example commented:

The Lord was aware of the unstable progress of human weakness, so He fashioned this path by the steps, so to say, of the virtues, so that our longing should strive more securely for the heights, since our feet were placed on level terrain. This is how we set foot on the ridges afforded by the steps, so that we do not confront a sloping ascent. But though this saving flight of steps is seen to be constructed with suitable assistance, we do not stand firmly upright unless we are kept there by the Lord's control. 

Cassiodorus also makes a nice contribution, in his commentary on this psalm, to resolving the seeming contradiction between the Christian life as pilgrimage, and the virtue of monastic stability:

The ascent, however, is mental and not physical. We mount these steps more successfully by remaining seated in the one place, withdrawn in the location of our tiny cell, than if we flit before the faces of men. The prophet cries that we must trust in the Lord so that we may not toil in vain....

Focus on eternity

The central theme of this psalm is the need to entrust ourselves to the eternal God's mercy and justice.
It makes a key contrast between God who is eternal and unchangeable; and the sinners who make our life difficult in the short term.

St Augustine, for example, sees it as encouraging us to turn away from the false promises of this world, and focus instead on eternity:

This Psalm, belonging to the number of the Songs of Degrees, teaches us, while we ascend and raise our minds unto the Lord our God in loving charity and piety, not to fix our gaze upon men who are prosperous in this world, with a happiness that is false and unstable, and altogether seductive; where they cherish nothing save pride, and their heart freezes up against God, and is made hard against the shower of His grace, so that it bears not fruit....

The psalm reminds us not to look for prosperity and power in the world now, but to seek to do God, so that God will reward us in kind.

Dealing with difficulties

The psalm tells us that all those who trust in God will be protected by him from falling; all we need to do is place our trust in God, as Pope Benedict XVI commented in a General Audience on the psalm:

Thus, the Psalm instils deep trust in the soul. This is a powerful help in facing difficult situations when the external crisis of loneliness, irony and contempt of believers is associated with the interior crisis that consists of discouragement, mediocrity and weariness. We know this situation, but the Psalm tells us that if we have trust, we are stronger than these evils…

Verse by verse notes

And for verse by verse notes on the psalm, follow the links below:

Psalm 124 v1
Psalm 124 verse 2
Psalm 124 verses 3-4
Psalm 124 verse 5