circle of prayer 8. the day: evening and morning: embellishments

if evening and morning are the hinges of prayer, what turns on them? what are the gates of prayer? and how did simply "observing" the times come to include such a rich liturgy as we have today?

the liturgical embellishments begins as early as the sixth chapter of deuteronomy, which with the gift of the shema, the words, "listen, israel, YHWH our god is one YHWH. you shall love YHWH with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength," (6:4-5) comes the mitzvah, the commandment: "you shall repeat [these words] . . . at your lying down and at your rising." (6:7)

by the time of daniel, "three times each day he continues to fall on his knees, praying and giving praise to god . . . ." (daniel 6:11) it is usually assumed that the third time of prayer was noon, another time of natural awe.

psalm 119 begins to make things more complex.

verse 62 ("i get up at midnight to thank you/for the righteousness of your rulings") not only provides the basis for the night office but suggests content, psalm 119 itself, 176 verses of thankfulness for the laws of YHWH.

verse 147 ("i wake up before dawn to call for help/i put my hope in your word") has led to the office of matins, as verse 148 ("i lie awake throughout the night/to meditate on your promise") has led to vigils.

finally, verse 164 ("seven times daily i praise you/for your righteous rulings") lies behind the seven hours of prayer of the rule of st. benedict, although of course benedict was not the first to build on this couplet.

but most popular, and poignant, is compline, the past prayer before sleeping. to this little office belong psalms of trust for the night, such as 4 and 91. but most importantly, to compline belongs the song of simenon, the nunc dimittis:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, *
according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, *
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, *
and to be the glory of thy people Israel. (luke 2:29-32)

with this little song, sung by the aged simeon who had stayed in the temple in expectaton of seeing the messiah, and how now, having held the infant jesus, proclaims that he is ready to die. this little song begins to make explicit the parallels between the cycle of the days and the cycle of our lives.