Psalms II lesson 12 - Turning to God's Word

Sing a New Psalm:
Communicating with God Through
the Prayers of the Church

Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline

Lesson 12 Awaiting the Appointed Time
Psalm 70 (RSVCE), Psalm 75 (RSVCE), and Psalm 82 (RSVCE)
Friday Day Prayer (Week I)

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for Volume II of Sing a New Psalm
next lesson: Praise the LORD Who Rides on the Heavens

This material coordinates with Lesson 12, “Awaiting the Appointed Time,” on pages 47–49 in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline. Our Catholic Bible study is based on The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, a translation of the psalms prepared by the monks at Conception Abbey in 2010 and first published as The Revised Grail Psalms. The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is a revision of that work, finished in 2020 and published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Wording and numbering of some psalms and verses in other translations may differ. The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is being added to Liturgy of the Hours books used in the United States. While the Turning to God’s Word study book is based on The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation, all online links to the psalms are to the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. A separate copy of The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is needed to read the translation on which the psalms in this study are based.

“Unlike other prayers in sacred Scripture, the prayers contained in the psalms are not inserted into a narrative story that specifies their meaning and function. Instead, the psalms are given to the believer precisely as a text of prayer. Since they are the Word of God, the believer who prays the psalms speaks to God using the very words that God himself has given to us. Thus, in praying the psalms we learn to pray. The psalms are a school of prayer.”—Pope Benedict XVI

welcome to our continuing in-depth study of the psalms
We invite groups and individuals to check out the sample Introduction and Lesson 1 from this 29-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. Our online study pages include additional questions, commentary, and prayers based on the psalm texts, plus an online glossary. Both Volume I and Volume II of Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church have been granted imprimaturs. A digital version of Volume I: Lauds & Vespers can be purchased from our website shop. Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline is available in hard copy. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words, pray one of the psalms in this lesson, or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

think about praying Compline every night
In addition to the sample for this Bible study, Turning to God’s Word is providing a copy of Lesson 29 In Peace I Will Lie Down, which addresses the nightly Compline prayers based on Psalm 91, Psalm 4, and Psalm 134. The monks at Conception Abbey pray these short psalms each evening—Psalm 91 on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; Psalm 4 and Psalm 134 on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

about the psalms in this lesson**
Two of the three psalms prayed for Friday Day Prayer Week I at Conception Abbey are thought to have been composed by Asaph, a Levite who is remembered for his talent as a musician. Active in David’s court, Asaph is considered the composer of Psalm 75 and Psalm 82 in this lesson, as well as the composer of Psalm 50 and Psalm 73 through Psalm 83. The focus of Psalm 75 is communal thanksgiving and gratitude, but scholars have found Psalm 82 difficult to classify; most settle on the catch-all term “miscellaneous.” Psalm 70 is classified as an individual or personal lament attributed to David.

classifying the psalms
The classification of the psalms, though somewhat standardized, retains an arbitrary nature. Some psalms are classified according to form or type; such forms include the hymn, the lament, and the song of thanksgiving. Psalms also may be classified according to subject matter—royal psalms, for instance, portray the political king of the descendants of Jacob as both the representative of God to the community and the representative of the community to God—or they may be classified according to their use; scholars generally think that hymns exalting Zion were part of a ritual reenactment of the great deeds of God in maintaining Mount Zion and Jerusalem as a home base. Turning to God’s Word is indebted to Fr. Felix Just, a Jesuit priest and biblical scholar, for his organized listing of the psalms by classification and author.

the largest number of psalms are laments
Forty-three of the psalms, including Psalm 70 in this lesson, are classified as individual laments. The word “lament” means “a passionate expression of regret.” An additional 18 psalms are classified as communal laments, which means they were written to be used by an entire community. Refer to the above-mentioned work of Fr. Felix Just for a complete online listing of psalms classified as individual or communal laments.

what is a lament?
Because the word “lament” as a verb means to wail, moan, or sob in sorrow, when the same word “lament” is used as a noun it means an expression of mourning. It is this meaning that it holds in Psalm 70. In addition to the laments in the psalms, Scripture also includes a book called Lamentations (sometimes referred to as the Lamentations of Jeremiah, although many scholars contest the prophet Jeremiah’s authorship of that work). A lament frequently refers to a funeral dirge, elegy, or burial hymn.

there are a dozen ‘miscellaneous’ psalms
Some of the psalms exhibit a number of themes, making it difficult for scholars to classify them under a single category. All told, there are a dozen such psalms, which are classified as “miscellaneous.” They include Psalm 82 in this lesson, as well as Psalm 15, Psalm 24, Psalm 50, Psalm 78, Psalm 81, Psalm 95, Psalm 105, Psalm 108, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, and Psalm 139.

Psalm 75 is classified as a psalm of thanksgiving
Eight psalms, including Psalm 75 in this lesson, express communal gratitude to God. The other seven psalms of communal thanksgiving are Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 107, Psalm 118, and Psalm 124. An additional nine—Psalm 9, Psalm 10, Psalm 30, Psalm 32, Psalm 34, Psalm 41, Psalm 92, Psalm 116, and Psalm 138—are classified as individual psalms of thanksgiving.

you’re not crazy—you’ve seen a variation of the title of this lesson before
The title of Lesson 12, “Awaiting the Appointed Time,” appears indirectly in The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation of Psalm 75:3 (Psalm 75:2 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions). Throughout Lesson 12, the thought that God has a plan that will affect the future of individual men and women is emphasized, but exactly when that time will occur remains up to God. The same idea shows up in Lesson 11 The Suffering Servant in this study. In The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation of Psalm 69:14–15 (Psalm 69:13–14 in Revised Standard Catholic Editions) David asks the LORD to act on his behalf at whatever time God decides is right.

what does the word ‘salvation’ mean to writers of the psalms?
It is interesting that Psalm 69 in The Abbey Psalms and Canticles and an earlier translation of The Revised Grail Psalms by the monks at Conception Abbey both make reference to God’s “salvation,” while many other popular biblical translations of Psalm 69 instead appear to rely on the more limited idea that “salvation” means “earthly safety.” Christians view the word “salvation” in the Old Testament to foreshadow the heavenly safety associated with eternal life.

time—you could look it up in our archives
A major theme of the psalms prayed or Friday Day Prayer Week I by the monks at Conception Abbey is that God can be expected act to provide humanity with safety. Time remains a big concern for Christians. To learn more about time, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

ex libris—what happens to time at the end of time?
If you like reading about philosophy and theology, The End of Time: A Meditation on the Philosophy of History by Josef Pieper might interest you. Pieper, a Catholic philosopher considered by many scholars to be among the most brilliant commentators on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, wrote The End of Time in 1954. As philosophical and theological writing goes, it’s rather more easily understandable than most such works—but that isn’t saying a lot. The content is well worth the effort if you’re the kind of person who has the patience to persevere. Expect the occasional need to refer to a dictionary. Pieper’s comments about our modern age as it relates to the end of time make frequent reference to the book of Revelation, and they’re in line with the Catholic interpretation presented in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Pieper concludes his work on the limitations of time with a heavy emphasis on the importance of witness, which he calls “blood-testimony.” For more information and to read an excerpt of The End of Time: A Meditation on the Philosophy of History, visit ex libris—main bookshelf. You also may be interested in checking out the supplemental online material related to the Turning to God’s Catholic Bible study: The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

the popes inspire us: a rebuke of unjust judgments
On the morning of October 11, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI opened the Synod on the Middle East by praying Psalm 82 with the 185 bishops and 70 experts who met in Rome to discuss particular challenges to harmony in the world. At the end of Psalm 82:8, synod participants joined David’s plea for God to judge humanity’s wickedness and injustice when they prayed: “Arise, O God, judge the earth!”

what was Jesus thinking?
To learn about the circumstances under which Jesus cites Psalm 82:6 in the Gospel According to John 10:35–38, read “Like Men You Shall Die” on page 47 in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline.

a helpful exercise
One good way to increase understanding of the meaning behind any individual psalm is to examine who’s doing the speaking. This is especially useful when there are unattributed quotations within the psalm, the case with Psalm 75:3–6 (The Abbey Psalms and Canticles; Psalm 75:2–5 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions), Psalm 82:2–4, and Psalm 82:6–7.

? Consider who might be speaking in each case.
? Which quotation causes the most difficulty when attempting to identify its speaker, and why?
? What would you suggest as a remedy?
? Why do you think that none of the major translations of the psalms reflect this aid to understanding?
? What problems might ensue if translators routinely changed ideas in Scripture that they find challenging?

read the Catechism—it’s about time
It’s easy to take time for granted, and even easier to miss that it’s a gift from God to humanity—along with space. Paragraph 600 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains Church teaching about time and how God uses time to establish his ultimate plan for men and women.

600 To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of “predestination,” he includes in it each person’s free response to his grace: “In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.

a translation difference: turn vs. retreat
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 70:4 (Psalm 70:2 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “…let them turn because of their shame, who jeer at me and mock.” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “…let them retreat, covered in shame, who jeer at me and mock.” Consider whether you prefer one of these translations over the other, or whether they seem to have the same meaning. (Note that it is not possible to link to either The Abbey Psalms and Canticles or The Revised Grail Psalms; all links on the online pages are to the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE].)

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by passages in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including Psalm 70 and Psalm 75 in this lesson.

Psalm 82:6—paragraph 441

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons or places mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the biblical text for every lesson in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a passage in Scripture, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book. If you want to revisit a particular commentary, you can look that up by title in the topics index. If you want to learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, you can read the online commentaries and watch any accompanying videos by going to the online study directories. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following links are to readings from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open one of the links and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV readings provide an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical texts. An online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current three months can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Psalm 70 (NIV)
Psalm 75 (NIV)
Psalm 82 (NIV)

close with a psalms-based prayer for Friday Day Prayer (Week I)
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can pray any of the psalms in this lesson, or you can use the following short prayer.

O LORD, you are aware of all that happens to us.
Grant us the faith to trust that you always
have our best interests in mind,
and give us the understanding and restraint
to patiently wait for you to act on our behalf.
We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who was willing to endure death to bring
about the possibility of humanity’s salvation. Amen.

Lesson 13 Praise the LORD Who Rides on the Heavens, Saturday Vigils (Week I)—Psalm 46 (the Invitatory), Psalm 68 and Psalm 89
Lesson 11 The Suffering Servan t, Friday Vigils (Week I)—Psalm 67 (the Invitatory), Psalm 22 and Psalm 69

you also may like our two-part study of the prophets
Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided examines the prophets in historical context using the First and Second Books of the Kings and other Old Testament passages written before the Babylonian Exile. Volume II: Restoration & Redemption looks at the post-exilic prophets. This 51-lesson Catholic Bible study builds on The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King. Click on these links to view a lesson from Volume I and another from Volume II.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—Baruch, Judith, Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, and First and Second Maccabees—and there are some deuterocanonical passages in the Books of Daniel and Esther. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. Deuterocanonical means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

**You can learn more about the psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church. The first volume covers psalms prayed at Lauds and Vespers; the second covers psalms prayed at Vigils, Day Prayer, and Compline. Numbering of psalms and verses may vary in other translations.

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” and “didst” in the psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering for some passages in this Bible study will vary. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book.