The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 4

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 4

“From thy throne on high thou hast deigned to be mindful

 of me.” Madonna Enthroned, by Giotto (1300-06). 

Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Public domain.

1. When I called upon thee, thou didst hear me, O Lady[1]: and from thy throne[2] on high thou hast deigned to be mindful of me.

2. From the roaring of the wild beasts prepared to devour me[3]: and from the hands of them that sought me, thy grace will deliver me.

3. For thy mercy is kind and thy heart loving: towards all who invoke thy holy name.

4. Blessed art thou, O Lady, forever: and thy majesty for evermore[4].

5. Glorify her, all ye nations in your strength: and all ye peoples of the earth, extol her magnificence[5].

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

1. Cum invocarem exaudisti me Domina : et ex sublimi solio tuo, mei dignata es recordari.

2. A rugientibus præparatis ad escam : et de manibus quærentium me liberabit gratia tua.

3. Quoniam benigna est misericordia et pietas tua : in omnes qui invocat nomen sanctum tuum.

4. Benedicta sis Domina in æternum : et maiestas tua in sæculum.

5. Glorificate eam omnes gentes, in virtute vestra :et cuncti populi terræ extollite magnificentiam eius.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,

sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: Psalm. IV. 2.

[2] Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon . . . and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee . . . And the king said to her: My mother, ask: for I must not turn away thy face. : 3rd Book of Kings (1 Kings) ii. 19-20. (prefiguring the Queenship of Mary and her power of intercession with Christ, the son of David). 

[3] Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour:1 Peter v. 8.

[4] Cf. Blessed art thou on the throne of thy kingdom, and exceedingly to be praised, and exalted above all for ever. Daniel iii. 54.

[5] Cf. O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people: Psalm. CXVI. 1.

Davidic Psalm IV 

King David with a harp. Master of Jean de
Mandeville (1360-1370). Getty Museum, L.A.
Open Content Program. 

Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.  2 When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.  3 O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?  4 Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.  5 Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.  6 Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who sheweth us good things?  7 The light of thy countenance O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart.  8 By the fruit of their corn, their wine and oil, they are multiplied.  9 In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest: 10 For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.

Notes

Unto the end: translating the Hebrew word lamnaṣṣéah, which is found at the head of fifty-five psalms and which means, most probably: “to the choirmaster.” The verses preceded by this word would therefore be entrusted to the conductor of sacred music so that he would have them sung by the Levites. The Septuagint translators read the Hebrew as lanéṣah, meaning “for ever,” giving εἰς τὸ τέλος, which was adopted by the Vulgate. The early Christian commentators interpreted this allegorically taking the expression unto the end  as signifying hymns which treat of the end of times, consequently having a prophetic and messianic dimension.

in verses: Hebr. bineginôt, “on string instruments.” This and the six other Psalms with this direction (Ps. VI, LIV, LV, LXVII and LXXVI in the Hebrew) were therefore to be sung accompanied by stringed instruments, perhaps to the exclusion of any other instrument. 

Psalm 4 is an evening prayer by a man unjustly persecuted but who places his hope in God despite everything and calmly relies upon Him. It is generally and with good reason believed that this Psalm was composed in the same context as the previous one, namely during Absalom’s revolt, but several days later, at a time when the greatest danger had passed.

Have mercy on me:  the Hebrew expression honnéni does not directly signify the idea of merciful pardon; rather it signifies: be favourable to me, (literally, gracious).

I will sleep, and I will rest: In the Hebrew it says “I lie down and I go to sleep.” This is a striking picture given by the poet to show his trust in God despite the anxieties which beset him : the peace reigning in his soul is such that scarcely does he lie down than he falls asleep, like a man with no worries. Cf. Ps. III. 6.

A note on rhythm: In the original Hebrew text, there is a wonderful cadence in the rhythm of this Psalm : at first it is varied and fast like the powerful feelings which it expresses ; it then slows down, becomes calmer and falls asleep, so to speak, towards the end; but there are very few traces of this in the translation. Dante was correct when he wrote in The Banquet (Il Convito) that “the verses of the Psalms are without sweetness of music and harmony; for they were translated from Hebrew into Greek, and from Greek into Latin, and in the first translation all that sweetness vanished.”

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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.