This week's hymn is ascribed to St Gregory the Great:

Nocte surgentes vigilemus omnes Father, we praise thee, now the
night is over,
semper in psalmis meditemur, atque Active and watchful, stand we all before
thee;
viribus totis Domino canamus Singing we offer prayer and meditation:
dulciter hymnos. Thus we adore thee.

ut pio regi paritur canentes Monarch of all things, fit us for thy
mansions,
cum suis sanctis meareamur aulam Banish our weakness, health and wholeness
sending;
ingredi coeli, simul et beatam Bring us to heaven, where thy Saints united
ducere vitam. Joy without ending.

praestet hoc nobis Deitas beata All-holy Father, Son and equal Spirit,
Patris ac Nati pariterque sancti Trinity blessed, send us thy salvation;
Spiritus, cuius reboatur omni Thine is the glory, gleaming and resounding
gloria mundo. Through all creation.

I have a certain affection for the English translation, by Percy Dearmer,
which we often sang in my primary school at the morning assembly; so from
the age of five onwards I learned from this hymn to address God as Father,
to offer him praise, singing, prayer and adoration. This would have been
my first introduction to the word 'meditation'; from this hymn I would have
learned to regard God as Monarch, King, of all the universe; I would have
first heard of the heavenly mansions, later associating them with the 'many
mansions' which Jesus tells us are in his Father's house (John 14:2). Here
I would have learned to call on God for strength and health, and first heard
mention of heaven and the eternal joy of the saints. The last verse was
certainly my first introduction to the Trinity, with its mention of the
equality of the three persons and the description of the glory of God.

So there is a considerable amount of doctrine in the English version, which
incidentally is included in the modern Divine Office. However, an
examination of the Latin original shows much that is quite different.

To begin with, 'Nocte surgentes' means, 'rising by night'. The night is far
from over; the monks have risen during the night, in accordance with the
Rule of St Benedict. The hymn was appointed to be sung at Matins on Sundays
from Trinity to Advent; that is, more or less, in summer time. St Benedict
specifies that 'In the winter time - that is, from the first of November
till Easter - the brethren shall get up at the eighth hour by reasonable
calculation [say, about 3 am] so that having rested till a little after
midnight they may rise refreshed' [ch. 8]. In ch. 10 there are some slight
modifications of the order of service for the time from Easter to the first
day of November - approximately the time our hymn would be sung. In ch. 11
Benedict stipulates that 'On Sunday let the brethren rise earlier for
Matins', which is then a good deal longer than on weekdays.

So 'Nocte surgentes' means in effect, 'rising at midnight'. The hymn
continues, 'vigilemus omnes' - 'let us all keep vigil'. That is precisely
the purpose of Matins. The function of the service in the scheme of the
daily office is made clear in chapter 16: The prophet says, Seven times I
have sung thy praises [Ps 118 (119): 164]. This sacred number of seven will
be kept by us if we perform the duties of our service in the Hours of Lauds,
Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. It was of these day Hours
the prophet [David] said, Seven times a day I have sung thy praises, for of
the night watches the same prophet says, At midnight I arose to confess to
thee [Ps 118 (119):62]. At these times, therefore, let us give praise to
our Creator for his just judgments, that is, at Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext,
None, Vespers and Compline, and at night let us rise to confess to Him.

semper in psalmis meditemur, 'let us always meditate in psalms.' For
Benedict to meditate meant much the same as to read - 'to read or meditate'
(legere aut meditare) - ch. 48.

atque viribus totis Domino canamus dulciter hymnos. 'and with all our
strength let us sweetly sing hymns to the Lord'. Sing the office is the
'opus Dei', God's work, and hard work too when you have to get up at
midnight to do it - I'm sure Fr Anselm will agree! There is perhaps an echo
of the 'First and greatest commandment' - 'Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto
corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus viribus tuis' - You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your strength [Luke 10:27].

The collocation of 'psalms and hymns' perhaps alludes to Ephesians 5:19,
'loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis, et hymnis, et canticis spiritualibus,
canentes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino' - speaking to one another
in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and psalming in your
hearts to the Lord - the programme for the Divine Office.

Similarly Colossians 3:16, 'Verbum Christi habitet in vobis abundanter, in
omni sapientia, docentes, et commonentes vosmetipsos, psalmis, hymnis, et
canticis spiritualibus, in gratia cantantes in cordibus vestris Deo' - 'Let
the word of Christ reside in you abundantly, in all wisdom, teaching and
encouraging each other in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, in thanksgiving
singing in your hearts to God'.

I shall continue the exposition tomorrow, the Lord being my helper.

Doctor Elasticus.



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