Psalter songs differ in genre varieties. Psalm 133 refers to the psalms of ascension. After returning to blessed Palestine from Babylonian captivity, the Jews began to take care of the restoration of correct worship, in accordance with the law of Moses. One of the types of this service must necessarily be night prayer.
According to Christian tradition, the inscription “psalms of ascension” is explained not only by the ascent of Jews who came out of captivity to Jerusalem. This inscription is given another deep meaning: a person who reads these songs tunes in to the right path and increases his spiritual level, that is, in other words, he seems to “ascend.”
Interpretation
Psalm 133 has a lot of meaning. It tells the story of the Jewish people, who, being scattered throughout the earth, gradually lost their religious traditions. It pains the author to watch his people slowly degenerate and calls upon him to unite and restore the former glory of the Lord.
- Verse 1. The author wants only one thing. He wants the Jews to come to the temple and praise the Lord. It is the responsibility of every believer to be grateful to God for miracles.
- Verse 2. It is important to the psalmist that righteous people always be in unity with God. Therefore, he encourages them to pray even at night. It is at night that a person becomes free from worldly worries and God's mercy extends to him.
- Verse 3. Here the author says that there is nothing whatever was created by God. He is the only Creator in the world, and we must fully understand the full extent of our participation in His act of Creation.
Researchers believe that Psalm 133 contains in its content the author’s reflections on the miracles of the Lord and their impact on the fate of the Jewish people. The Israelites, who refused night prayer, deserved the displeasure of God and the regret of the psalmist.
With his song, the author seeks to explain to the people that their actions should be pleasing to God. Only in this case will the Jews be able to avoid the next punishment that the Almighty has prepared for their disobedience.
When and why is Psalm 133 read?
In accordance with ancient monastic traditions, the book of Psalms is read in its entirety during services over the course of a week in parts called kathismas. Psalm 133 is part of the XVII kathisma and is heard in church at Saturday morning in Church Slavonic.
When praying at home, you are allowed to read Psalm 133 in Russian. This enables the person praying to better understand the deep meaning of the psalm.
The Monk Arseny of Cappadocia recommended reading Psalm 133 for protection from disasters and the elements, about preservation from all dangers.
Music settings[edit]
Verse 1 known as Hine Ma Tov
("How good"), often set to music in Judaism. Melodies were composed for communal prayer, folk singing, artistic and choral settings. [17] The verse is also sung as a Shabbat drinking song, [18] and folk dances have been choreographed according to its settings. [19]
The Christian hymn in English, "How Fair is the Sight", was written from Psalm 133 by James Montgomery, sung to the tune of Old Godric. [20]
In 1571, David Aquinus composed a four-voice set of Psalm 133, setting Martin Luther's translation of the Bible "Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist's" (Look how fair and beautiful it is). [21] Heinrich Schütz set the psalm twice in German in 1619 as his SWV 48, "Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist's", for two sopranos, alto, tenor, bass, cornet, violin, cello and continuo, [22 ] and again for choir as part of his production of Becker's Psalter as SWV 148, "Wie ist's so fein, lieblich und schön" (How wonderful, wonderful and beautiful it is). [23]
Franz Paul Lachner wrote an a cappella setting of the psalm for four female voices in 1849. [24] Friedrich Kiel composed a choral setting of verses 1 and 3 "Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist es" as No. 2 of his 6 Motetten für gemischten Chor
(Six motets for mixed choir), Op.
82 of selected psalms published in 1883. [25] Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov wrote the psalm for choir along with Psalm 132 as Two Poems for Supper
in 1899. [26]
Leonard Bernstein, who chose verse 1 to conclude his Chichester Psalms
1965.
Donald Wyndham Cramer Mossman (1913–2003) wrote a piece for choir and organ called Ecce, quam bonum!
with the incipit "See how good and joyful it is", included in
the Complete Psalter of St. Paul's Cathedral
.
a Psalm of Unity
in 1980 for mixed choir, organ, soprano, two contraltos and mezzo-soprano, based on text from Psalm 140 and Psalm 133. Verse 1 completes the Hebrew text of Leonard Bernstein's final movement.
The Chichester Psalms
, an extended work for choir and orchestra that begins with the full text of Psalm 131. [28]
Content
- 1 The meaning of the inscription of psalms
- 2 Contents and liturgical use of the psalms 2.1 Psalm 119 (120)
- 2.2 Psalm 120 (121)
- 2.3 Psalm 121 (122)
- 2.4 Psalm 122 (123)
- 2.5 Psalm 123 (124)
- 2.6 Psalm 124 (125)
- 2.7 Psalm 125 (126)
- 2.8 Psalm 126 (127)
- 2.9 Psalm 127 (128)
- 2.10 Psalm 128 (129)
- 2.11 Psalm 129 (130)
- 2.12 Psalm 130 (131)
- 2.13 Psalm 131 (132)
- 2.14 Psalm 132 (133)
- 2.15 Psalm 133 (134)
- 2.16 Liturgical use of the entire cycle
Psalter
Song of Ascent, 119
1 I cried to the Lord in my affliction, and He heard me.
2 Lord, deliver my soul from the lips of the unrighteous, from the lying man!
3 What will befall him, and what will his lying tongue bring upon him?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, fiery.
5 Alas for me, my wanderings continue; I have settled in the tents of Kedar;
6 My soul has wandered much; with those who hated the world I was at peace.
7 When I spoke to them, they rebelled against me without my guilt.
Song of Ascension, 120
1 I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains of the Lord, from whence my help will come.
2 My help will come from the Lord, who created heaven and earth!
3 He will not let your steps fail, O Israel, and your Guardian will not slumber;
4 No, the Guardian of Israel will not slumber or fall asleep!
5 The Lord will keep you; the Lord will be a covering over your right hand.
6 The sun will not scorch you during the day, and the moon will not harm you at night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; the Lord will preserve your soul;
8 The Lord will guard your every coming in and every going out from now on and forever!
Song of Ascension, 121
1 I rejoiced when they said to me: “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have stood in your courts, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is being built again, and the houses in the city are crowded together.
4 For there, according to the revelation that Israel received, the tribes of the tribe of the Lord's people entered to glorify His name.
5 For there are thrones set up for judgment, thrones in the house of David.
6 Ask for peace in Jerusalem, and may there be an abundance of good things for those who love you, O God!
7 Let there be peace in your stronghold, abundance in your palaces!
8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors I said: “Peace be with you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I have desired good things for you.
Song of Ascent, 122
1 I have lifted up my eyes to You, who dwell in Heaven!
2 As a slave looks at the hand of his master, as a slave girl looks at the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are fixed on the Lord our God, in hope of His mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have experienced many humiliations;
4 But most of all we suffered reproach from the rich and humiliation from the proud.
Song of Ascension, 123
1 If the Lord were not with us, let Israel say;
2 If the Lord had not been with us when the people rebelled against us, they would have swallowed us up alive.
3 When their fury came upon us, the waters of disaster would have drowned us.
4 But our soul has overcome the flood;
5 Our soul has overcome the swift waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord, who did not give us to be torn to pieces by our enemies!
7 Our soul, like a bird, has been delivered from the snares of the enemy; their nets were broken, and we were saved.
8 Our help is the name of the Lord, who created heaven and earth!
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen
Song of Ascension, 124
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion; Those who live in Jerusalem will never be shaken!
2 The mountains overshadow them, and the Lord overshadows his people from now on and forever.
3 For the Lord does not give sinners power over the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to iniquity.
4 Grant, O Lord, good things to those who are kind and righteous in heart!
5 But the Lord will punish the corrupt people and those who commit iniquity. Peace to Israel!
Song of Ascent, 125
1 When the Lord brought back the sons of Zion from captivity, how we were comforted!
2 Then our lips were filled with joy, our tongue with gladness; Then the nations said: “The Lord has done great things for them!”
3 The Lord did great things for us, and we rejoiced.
4 Bring back, O Lord, all our captives, like streams driven by the south wind!
5 Those who sow tears will reap joy.
6 Those who went into captivity wept and dropped their tears like seeds; and those who return will come in joy and reap a harvest.
Song of Ascent, 126
1 Unless the Lord lays the foundation of a house, its builders labor in vain; If the Lord does not preserve the city, the guards watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise to your labors at dawn. You who taste sorrow like bread, get up, well rested, for the Lord will give sleep to His beloved.
3 This is the inheritance of the Lord—the sons we have begotten, our reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the young sons of exiles.
5 Blessed is he whose desires they fulfill! They will not be put to shame when they repel their enemies at the gates of the city.
Song of Ascension, 127
1 Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways!
2 You will eat the fruits of your labors; Blessed are you, and good will come to you!
3 Your wife is like a fruitful vine within the walls of your house;
4 Your sons are like olive shoots at your table.
5 Thus the man who fears the Lord will be blessed!
6 The Lord will bless you from the heights of Zion, and you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life,
7 And you will see your sons' sons. Peace to Israel!
Song of Ascension, 128
1 Many times from my youth have my enemies fought against me! - let Israel say;
2 Many times from my youth they fought with me, but they did not overcome me!
3 Sinners forced me to work for them, increasing their iniquities.
4 But the righteous Lord put sinners to death.
5 Let the haters of Zion be put to shame and turn back!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetop that dries up before it is plucked up!
7 The reaper will not take it into his handful, neither will he who binds sheaves gather it;
8 And those passing by will not say: “The blessing of the Lord is upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord!”
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen
Song of Ascent, 129
1 From the depths I cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!
2 Let Your ears listen to my prayer!
3 If you look at our iniquities, O Lord, O Lord, who can stand? For only You grant us purification.
4 Honoring Your holy name, I trust in You, O Lord; My soul trusts in Your word; my soul trusts in the Lord.
5 From the morning watch until the night, from the morning watch let Israel trust in the Lord!
6 For with the Lord is mercy, and great is his deliverance; and He will deliver Israel from all their iniquities.
Song of Ascent, 130
1 Lord, I was not exalted in my heart, I did not look boldly with my eyes; and did not encroach on the great and wondrous things that exceed my understanding.
2 If I was not humble and my soul rebelled against You, like a child nursed by its mother sometimes rebels against her, then reward my soul for this!
3 Let Israel trust in the Lord now and forever!
Song of Ascension, 131
1 Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness!
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord, made a vow to the God of Jacob:
3 “I will not go under the roof of my house, nor lie down on my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids, nor rest to my temples,
5 Until I find a place for the Lord’s habitation, a dwelling place for the God of Jacob!”
6 We heard that it was in the Euphrates, we found it in a clearing in an oak grove.
7 Let us enter His abodes, let us worship the place where His feet stood!
8 Arise, O Lord, and abide in Your rest, You and the ark of Your holiness!
9 Your priests will be clothed with righteousness, and your righteous will rejoice.
10 For the sake of David Your servant, do not reject Your anointed!
11 The Lord swore to David the truth, and will not deny it: “I will place your descendants on your throne!
12 If your sons keep My covenant and My testimonies, which I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne forever!”
13 For the Lord chose Zion and was pleased to make it His dwelling place.
14 “Here is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for Zion is pleasing to Me!
15 I will bless the table of Israel with My blessing; I will satisfy its poor with bread;
16 I will clothe his priests with the robe of salvation, and his righteous will rejoice with great joy.
17 There the glory of David will increase; there I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but he will prosper, full of My holiness!”
Song of Ascent, 132
1 How good, how blissful it is for all the brothers to live together!
2 Like ointment on the head, running down onto the beard, onto Aaron’s beard, running down onto the hem of his robe;
3 Like the dew of Hermon descending on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord promised to bestow blessing and life forever.
Song of Ascension, 133
1 Now bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord, who stand in the temple of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God!
2 In the night lift up your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord!
3 The Lord, who made the heavens and the earth, will bless you from the heights of Zion.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen
Links[edit]
- "Parallel Latin/English Psalter/Psalm 132 (133)". Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- Samet, Rav Elchanan (2018). "Shiur No. 08: Psalm 117 - "Praise the Lord, all you nations." The shortest psalm in the Book of Tehillim." Yeshivat Har Etzion. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- Alden, Robert (1976). Everyman Bible Commentary: Psalms: Songs of Discipleship. 3
. Published by Moody Publishers. paragraph 73. ISBN 9781575678467. - "Introduction". Exposition of the Bible by John Gill
. Bible Study Tools. 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2018. - "Yachad". Jewish Chronicles
. Retrieved September 29, 2022. - "Psalm 133". Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
. Bible Study Tools. 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2018. - ^ ab Mays, James Luther (2006). "There Is a Blessing: An Exposition of Psalm 133." In Miller, Patrick D.; Tucker, Gene M. (ed.). Preaching and Teaching the Psalms. Louisville: Westminster John Knox. pp. 137–46.
- "Midrash Tehillim/Psalms 133" (PDF). matsati.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- Abramowitz, Rabbi Jack (2018). "Psalms - Chapter 133". Orthodox Union
. Retrieved September 29, 2022. - Jump up
↑ Kitov, Eliyahu (1999).
The Book of Our Heritage. 1
. Feldheim Publishers. item 142. ISBN. 9780873067683. - Brand, Rabbi Reuven (2014). "Ushpizin: Our guests are sukkahs". Yu Tora
. Retrieved September 29, 2022. - Manser, Martin H.; Pickering, David, ed. (2003). Facts about the File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions. New York: Facts on File. clause 1.
- The Complete Artscroll Siddur (3rd ed.). Mesorah Publications Ltd. 2003. p. 530. ISBN 089906650X.
- Jump up
↑ Brauner, Reuven (2013). "Shimush Pesukim: A Complete Index to the Liturgical and Ceremonial Uses of Biblical Verses and Passages" (PDF) (2nd ed.). paragraph 49. Retrieved August 25, 2022. - "Student Life • Residential Life • Southern University". Sewanee.edu/student-life/residential-life/
. Retrieved August 31, 2015. - "Seminary Snapshots - Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, Winona (see Motto)". Diocese of St. Cloud. 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- Friedmann, Jonathan L. (2012). The Social Functions of Synagogue Song: A Durkheimian Approach. Lexington Books. paragraph 72. ISBN 9780739168318.
- Shapiro, Mark Dov, ed. (2016). The Gates of Shabbat: Shaarei Shabbat: A Guide to Keeping the Shabbat (Revised Edition). CCAR Press. item 182. ISBN. 9780881232820.
- ↑
Jacobson, William A. (April 19, 2015).
"Who's ready for a Vietnamese flash mob singing Hine Mah Tov?" . Legal Rebellion
. Retrieved April 7, 2022. - "What a beautiful sight." gymnary.org
. Retrieved September 30, 2022. - Psalm 133 (Aquinus, David): results at the International Music Score Library Project
- Siehe, Wie FEIN und Lieblich IST - x, SWV 48 (Schütz, Heinrich): results at the International Music Score Library Project
- Schütz, Heinrich / Der Beckersche Psalter SWV 97a-256A Bärenreiter
- ↑
Psalm 133, Op.91 (Lachner, Franz Paul): scores at the International Music Score Library Project - 6 Motetten für gemischten Chor, Op.82 (Kiel, Friedrich): scores in the International Music Score Library Project
- Se Nyne blagoslovite Gospoda / Behold, now God bless / op.29,2 musicanet.org
- "Psalms of David/Complete Psalter of St. Paul's Cathedral". Hyperion Records. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- "The Psalms of Chichester (III. Psalm 131 [complete] and Psalm 133 [verse 1])". BBC. 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
