The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 15

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 15

“Blessed be thy breasts, by which thou hast nourished
the Saviour.” The Holy Family, by Cesura (c. 1560).
 The Wallace Collection, London. Public domain.

1. Preserve me, O Lady, for I have put my trust in thee[1] : do thou bestow on me the dew[2] of thy grace.

2. Thy virginal womb and thy heart: have begotten the Son of the Most High.

3. Blessed be thy breasts, by which thou hast nourished the Saviour with deific[3] milk[4].

4. Let us give praise to the glorious Virgin : whosoever ye be that have found grace and mercy[5] through her.

5. Give glory to her name[6] : and praise forever her conception and her birth[7].

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Domina, quis habitabit in tabernaculo Dei? Aut quis requiescet cum senatoribus populi?

2. Pauperes spiritu, et mundi corde : mites, pacifici, atque lugentes.

3. Recordare Domina, ut loquaris pro nobis bona : et indignationem Filii tui avertas a nobis.

4. Amplectamur Mariæ vestigia, peccatores : et eius beatis pedibus provolvamur.

5. Teneamus eam fortiter, nec dimittamus : donec ab ea meruerimus benedici.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. Davidic Ps. XV. 1. 

[2] “dew”: the Latin text has stillicidia, a plural noun which appears in: “He shall come down like rain upon the fleece; and as showers falling gently upon the earth:” Psalm. LXXI.6. Cf. “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just”: Isai. XLV. 8.

[3] From Lat. dĕĭfĭcus, a, um, adj. [deus-facio]: consecrated, sacred, divine, godly.

[4] Cf. A certain woman in the crowd called out to Christ: “Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps (Lat. ubera) that gave thee suck:” Luke xi. 27.

[5] Cf. “For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory”: Psalm. LXXXIII. 12; Cf. Esther ii. 17; Daniel i. 9. which both pair “gratiam et misericordiam.”

[6] Cf. Psalm. XXVIII. 2 and Psalm.XCV. 8.

[7] “her conception and her birth”: these words would seem to refer to her conception of the Word made flesh and her bringing forth of this fruit of her womb: see: “Likewise grace made Mary miraculous in her offspring, miraculous in her conception and bringing forth, while miraculously the Virgin brought forth, and more miraculously conceived and brought forth God.” from Ch 5 of The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure. 

Davidic Psalm XV

St Peter preaching at Pentecost, by Masolino da Panicale
(1426-7). See Acts i. 22-32 below. Brancacci Chapel in
 Santa Maria del Carmine  (Florence). Public domain.

1 The inscription of a title to David himself. Preserve me, O Lord, for I have put my trust in thee.  2 I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods.  3 To the saints, who are in his land, he hath made wonderful all my desires in them.  4 Their infirmities were multiplied: afterwards they made haste. I will not gather together their meetings for blood offerings: nor will I be mindful of their names by my lips.  5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me.  6 The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places: for my inheritance is goodly to me.  7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding: moreover my reins also have corrected me even till night.  8 I set the Lord always in my sight: for he is at my right hand, that I be not moved.  9 Therefore my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope.  10 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption.  11 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to the end.

Notes

Verse 1: The inscription of a title : this is a literal translation of the word στηλογραφία from the Septuagint which refers to writing intended to be inscribed on a stela or column in order to perpetuate the memory of an important event. Cf. “And Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.” (Gen. xxviii. 18). The Hebrew noun miktam which is found at the beginning of six Psalms, all attributed to David (Ps. XV, LV-LIX) is obscure in meaning and there has been no agreement either in antiquity or in modern times as to how it should be understood. Some of the main interpretations suggested include the following: an unedited poem, a poem with a mysterious meaning, a golden poem (meaning excellent), or a chant which must be accompanied by serious music.  

This song has an astonishing beauty and contains a sweet and loving prayer seeking to obtaine from God his perpetual and special help in this world and the joy of heaven in His presence throughout eternity. It is a prayer based upon a feeling of the utmost trust and devout love. The whole soul of the psalmist is seized and set on fire by the thought that the Lord is his supreme treasure. Having no thought other than for God and seeking happiness only in God, He feels infinitely joyful and does not even fear death which will only place him in perpetual possession of unique good. Concerning the form of this Psalm, it possesses the calm of perfect love: like one stream pouring forth but without sudden transitions; the whole development of the thoughts consists in how the interior fire grows in intensity so as to become more and more ardent,  producing a beautiful lyrical graduation.

This beautiful canticle is, even more than the previous one, a Psalm for the clerical office. The first verse is sung during ordination at the moment of tonsure and verse 5 serves as a formula either for ordination or for the renewal of those sweet vows; but it is dear and precious to the Church for a reason which is elevated in another way, since it is numbered in the first rank among the Messianic Psalms, as is attested in the most explicit way by the New Testament and the whole of Christian tradition. See Acts ii. 25-32; xiii 35-37. 

The majority of commentators agree that Psalm XV may in the first place be applied to David insofar as he was the type and figure of the Messiah and we have no difficulty with this view. We need however to make an exception in the case of verse 10 which seems impossible to apply to anyone other than our Lord Jesus Christ. See the proof given in turn by St Peter and by St Paul in the passages referred to in Acts above. Even in other parts of the Psalm, the holy king speaks not so much in his own name but in that of the King and Messiah. The figure dissolves and is replaced by the reality and the shadow gives way to the light.

The Psalm is divided into two parts: 1. The unique good which the hero of this poem has chosen for himself (verses 1-5);  2. The feelings of joy, gratitude and perfect confidence inspired in him by the possession of this good which is altogether divine (verses 6-11).

Verse 7: “my reins”: In biblical language, the “reins” refer to the seat of the affections and feelings. Here, the reference is to an intimate and pressing voice.

Verse 10. “thou wilt not leave my soul in hell”;  The word “hell” refers to that sad sojourn in the limbo of the just where the souls of the departed were waiting impatiently for the time when they could go to enjoy the happiness of heaven.

Prof. Fillion goes on to cite in full the admirable commentary St Peter gave on this verse 10, in front of an audience who had an excellent knowledge of Scripture:

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you, as you also know: This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it. For David saith concerning him: I foresaw the Lord before my face: because he is at my right hand, that I may not be moved. For this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.  Ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David; that he died, and was buried; and his sepulchre is with us to this present day. Whereas therefore he was a prophet, and knew that God hath sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit upon his throne. Foreseeing this, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ. For neither was he left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption.  This Jesus hath God raised again, whereof all we are witnesses.” (Acts i. 22-32).

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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.