Psalm 102

Ramsey Psalter, start of Psalm 102

Psalm 102 is the 102nd psalm from the Book of Psalms (Septuagint and Vulgate have it 101). It is from the fourth book of the Psalter and is counted as one of the penitential psalms.

The psalm begins the final section of the three traditional divisions of the Latin psalms, and for this reason the first words ("Domine exaudi orationem meam et clamor meus ad te veniat...") and above all the initial "D" are often greatly enlarged in illuminated manuscript psalters, following the pattern of the Beatus initials at the start of Psalm 1.[1]

Content

Stowe Psalter, f.2

The first verse describes the Psalm as a kind of prayer form with a "wretch" can bring his troubles to God in distress. "A prayer for the poor, if it is melted, and let my cry before the Lord."[2]

Although the issue of debt is not addressed in Psalm 102, it is counted as the fifth penitential psalm to the ecclesiastical penitential psalms.[3]

The petitioner asks the Lord to first that this might hear his prayer (verses 2-3). Then he first describes his illness and the accompanying loneliness (verses 4-8) and the scorn of his enemies (verse 9). The corruptible man (verse 10-12) is finally faced with the eternal God (verse 13). It is the certainty expressed that God of Jerusalem (Zion) will accept, that which was destroyed by the Babylonians. And that the Gentile nations will come together to serve the Lord (verse 14-23).

At the conclusion of the prayer returns from the vision of the restoration of Jerusalem to his own situation back. God makes his life prematurely ended. Yet he again raises his gaze to God and bring his confidence to express that the descendants of the current pious will experience God's intervention and the restoration of Jerusalem (verse 24-29).[4]

Uses

Liturgy

Verse 1, with some other psalm verses (such as 124:8), has a prominent place in Roman Catholic and Anglican liturgies, where it is split into a "call" ("Lord, do listen to my prayer", or "Hear my prayer, O Lord") and the response ("and let my cry come unto Thee").

Music

Verses 25b-28 (interspersed with Psalm 90) served Jochen Klepper his 1938 work Neujahrslied.

Verse One serves as the first part of a short anthem written in 1682 by Henry Purcell, using the translation of the Book of Common Prayer.

References

  1. ↑ Calkins, Robert G. Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages, p. 208, 1983, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0500233756
  2. ↑ Psalm 102.1 LUT
  3. ↑ Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel. ISBN 3-438-01121-2, 2. Aufl. 1992, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart, p741 f.
  4. ↑ Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel. ISBN 3-438-01121-2, 2. Aufl. 1992, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart, p741 f.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.