The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 26

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. Virginis Mariæ of 1679; the text of the Douay-Rheims Psalms; with footnotes and occasional notes translated from Fillion’s Bible (1900 edition).

Psalm 26

“I have loved thee and sought after thee, O Queen of Heaven.”
Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin (1617-48), by Rubens.
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Public domain.

1. O Lady, may thy light be the splendour of my countenance[1] : and let the serenity of thy grace shine upon my mind.

2. Raise up my head[2] and I shall chant psalms: I shall sing a psalm to thy name.

3. Turn not away thy face from me[3] : for from my youth onwards I have greatly desired thy beauty and thy grace.

4. I have loved thee and sought after thee[4], O Queen of Heaven[5] : withdraw not thy mercy and thy grace from thy servant.

5. I will give praise to thee in the nations : and I will honour the throne of thy glory[6].

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Domina, illuminatio mea sit splendor faciei tuæ : et serenitas tuæ gratiæ refulgeat menti meæ.

2. Exalta caput meum, et ego psallam : psalmum nomini tuo decantabo.

3. Ne avertas faciem tuam a me : quia speciem et decorem tuum a iuventute mea concupivi.

4. Te amavi et exquisivi Regina cœlorum : misericordiam tuam et gratiam tuam ne subtrahas a servo tuo.

5. Confitebor tibi in nationibus : et thronum gloriæ tuæ honorificabo.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “The Lord is my light and my salvation”: Davidic Ps. XXVI, 1.

[2] Cf. “But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up [exaltans] of my head;”  Ps. III, 4.

[3] Cf. “Turn not away thy face from me”: Davidic Ps. XXVI, 9.

[4] Cf. “Her have I loved, and have sought her out from my youth;” Wisdom viii, 2.

[5] “Queen of Heaven”: It is worth recalling here the ancient hymns to Our Lady as Regina / Queen: the Regina Cæli (Pope Gregory V, +998); and the Salve Regina & Ave Regina cælorum (Hermann Contractus, +1054). For further references, see Ad Caeli Reginam, by Pope Pius XII (1954).

[6] Cf. the typology of the “mercy seat” or “propitiatory” referred to in the description of the Ark of the Covenant (Exod. xxv. 17).

[7] Cf. “But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up [exaltans] of my head;”  Ps. III, 4.

Davidic Psalm XXVI

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”
The Light of the world (1750), by François Boucher.
Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon. Public domain.

1 The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?  2 Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.  3 If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.  

4 One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.  5 For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.  6 He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord.7 Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me and hear me.  8 My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek.  

9 Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour.  10 For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken me up. 11 Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies.  12 Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself.  13 I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.  14 Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.

Notes

Expressing feelings of perfect trust in God And praying ardently in the face of great danger.

The time of this psalm’s composition is indicated in a general way by the words “before he was anointed.” These were added by the Septuagint and the Vulgate, in reference to the second royal anointing conferred upon David at the moment when the whole of Israel recognised his authority. Cf. II Reg. ii, 4. We are taken back to the time of Saul’s persecution and the civil wars which David had to face on the part of Saul’s partisans. Cf. II Kings ii, 8 et seq.; iii, 1 et seq.

The first six verses express feelings of great trust in God: the poet, knowing he has God’s protection, fears nothing even amidst the greatest of dangers (verses 1b-3). He has only one desire, to live forever hidden in the sanctuary; he feels sure he will triumph quickly and completely over his enemies (verses 4-6). Then suddenly a plaintive and urgent prayer replaces the joyful tone thus far , (verses 7 et seq.): the psalmist calls upon the Lord not to abandon him in the midst of danger, (verses 7-12); then, returning to his first feelings, he urges himself to be patient and to have trust in the Lord (verses 13 to 14).

First part: verse 1b-6. “protector of my life”: Hebr.: the  “fortress or citadel of my life.” “to eat my flesh”: his enemies are compared to wild beasts who seek only to tear him apart and devour him. Cf. Ps. III, 7 etc.

Verses 4-6: the Psalmist expresses his ardent desire to be a guest forever of the Lord in His Tabernacle on Mount Sion, sheltered from every evil under the divine protection; he promises profound gratitude to his heavenly deliverer.

Second part: a hymn of confident supplication. Verses 7-14.

“For my father and my mother…”: this is a simple image which David advances and in fact a proverbial form of words to indicate the most total isolation in the midst of distress: he is like an orphan or a child abandoned by his parents.

“but the Lord hath taken me up”: this provides a wonderful contrast. God has adopted him; the love of the Lord has shown itself stronger than that of those who are normally the most devoted. Cf. “Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee:” Is. Xlix, 15.

“Expect the Lord:” Cf. Deut. xxxi. 7; Jos. I, 6,7,9. The poet encourages and urges himself to be patient in view of the sweet horizon which his trust in the Lord has just revealed to him. The Psalm ends thus on this altogether gentle note. 

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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.