The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 20

St Bonaventure Receiving the Banner of St Sepulchre
from the Madonna, by Francesco Solimena (1710). The 
Cathedral of San Paolo in Aversa, Italy. Public domain.

The following posts present the text of The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its authorship is generally attributed to St Bonaventure (1221-15 July 1274) who studied at the University of Paris where in 1243 he joined the Franciscan Order. In 1254, he was made a Master of Theology and took over the leadership of the Franciscan School in Paris. Bonaventure was officially confirmed as seventh Minister General of the Franciscans in 1257. He later wrote a life of St Francis and has been called the second founder of the Order. Appointed Cardinal the year before his death in 1274, he was canonised in 1482 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 with the title of Seraphic Doctor.

I offer this annotated presentation of St Bonaventure’s Psalter as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for her many graces and favours, praying for her continued help and protection for the author and his family.

This presentation of St Bonaventure’s Marian Psalms will include: an English translation based upon that of Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. in the 1932 edition published by Herder; the Latin text as published in the Psalterium B. Virignis Mariæ of 1679; the text of the Douay-Rheims Psalms; with footnotes and occasional notes translated from Fillion’s Bible (1900 edition).

Psalm 20

“From thy throne send us wisdom.” Statue of Our Lady 
of Walsingham, carved by Marcel Barbeau (1954).
The Catholic Basilica of Our Lady (Slipper Chapel).
Public domain (Thorvaldsson, CC BY 3.0.)

1. O Lady, in thy strength our heart shall rejoice[1] : and in the sweetness of thy name our soul shall be consoled.

2. From thy throne send us wisdom[2] : by which we shall be sweetly enlightened in all truth.

3. Give us grace to abstain from carnal desires : that the light of thy grace may arise in our hearts.

4. How sweet are thy words, O Lady, to them that love thee : how sweet are the showers of thy graces[3].

5. I will sing unto thy glory and honour : and in thy name I will glory forever.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Domina in virtute tua lætabitur cor nostrum : et in dulcedine nominis tui consolabitur anima nostra.

2. De sedibus mitte nobis sapientiam : per quam in omni veritate dulciter illustremur.

3. A carnalibus desideriis concede gratiam abstinendi : ut lumen gratiæ in nostris cordibus oriatur.

4. Quam dulcia diligentibus te eloquia tua Domina : quam suavia sunt tuarum stillicidia gratiarum.

5. Gloriam et honorem psallam tibi : et in nomine tuo gloriabor in sæculum.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy;” Davidic Psalm XX. 2.

[2] Cf. The image of the propitiatory or mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant in Exod. xxv. 17-22.

[3] The word “showers” is a translation of the Latin word “stillicidia” which appears only once in the Bible: “He shall come down like rain upon the fleece; and as showers falling gently upon the earth;” Psalm. LXXI. 6.

Davidic Psalm XX

“In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy.” David’s victory over the 

Ammonites, (1517-19). Loggia di Raffaello, Vatican City. Public domain.

1 Unto the end. A psalm for David.  2 In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly.  3 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire: and hast not withholden from him the will of his lips.  4 For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones.  5 He asked life of thee: and thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever.  6 His glory is great in thy salvation: glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him.  7 For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance.  8 For the king hopeth in the Lord: and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.  9 Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies: let thy right hand find out all them that hate thee.  10 Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy anger: the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour them. 11 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth: and their seed from among the children of men.  12 For they have intended evils against thee: they have devised counsels which they have not been able to establish.  13 For thou shalt make them turn their back: in thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face.  14 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength: we will sing and praise thy power.

Notes

We have discussed the unity of this Psalm with Psalm XIX in the Notes to the latter. We find that this Psalm too is divided into two parts: verses 2-8, thanksgiving offered to the LORD for David's glorious triumph ; verses 9-14, wishes regarding the future addressed to the King. The Chaldean Targum exaggerates when it applies this Psalm exclusively to the Messiah,  because the first application certainly concerns David. It is sufficient to admit along with the holy Fathers and the best modern exegetes that the eternal duration promised in this canticle to the throne of David (see verses 5-7) refers to Christ and His eternal kingdom. Comp. II Kings vii. 13 et seq.

First part:  a prayer of thanksgiving addressed to God by the theocratic nation, to thank him for the victory he had just granted to David. Verses 2-8. 

Verses 2-3: “his heart’s desire”: cf. “May he give thee according to thy own heart:” Psalm XIX. 5.

Verses 4-6: an enumeration of the principal benefits which God showered upon the king during this victorious war.

“thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones”: if psalms 19 and 20 were actually composed on the occasion of the David’s war against the Ammonites, this is what in fact came to pass. The Ammonite King's crown, made of solid gold and studded with the most precious stones, fell into the hands of the victors after the taking of Rabbath-Ammon and it was placed on David’s head as a glorious trophy. Cf. II Kings xii. 30.

Verse 7: “For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever:” According to the very expressive locution in Hebrew, “Thou makest of him a blessing:” meaning in every way, just as Abraham was given blessings from on high for himself and also as an intermediary for others. Cf. “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed:” Gen. xii. 2.

Second part: the people address the king directly, wishing him everlasting prosperity. Verses 9-14.

Verse 13: “in thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face:” This passage is obscure in the Vulgate and seems to indicate, according to the context: “If some of the enemy remain on the battlefield and try to resist thee, thou wilt pierce them with thine arrows.” The Hebrew has a very clear meaning: Targetting their faces with thy strings, (the strings of thy bow). 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.