The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 40

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 40

“Thou art the mother of the illumination of my heart.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary (1433), by Jan van Eyck.

Altarpiece in St Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. Public domain.

For a translation of the Latin in the halo, see [3] below. 

1. Blessed Mary understandeth concerning the needy and the poor[1]: him who remains faithful in his praises of her[2].

2. Lady of the Angels, Queen of the world: purify my heart with the fire of love and of thy charity.

3. Thou art the mother of the illumination of my heart[3]: thou art the nurse who refreshes my mind[4].

4. My mouth longs to praise thee[5]: my mind devoutly aspires to venerate thee with ardent affection.

5. My soul longs to pray to thee: because the whole of my being commends itself to thy guidance and teaching.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Beata Maria intelligit super egenum et pauperem : in eius laudibus permanentem.

2. Domina Angelorum Regina mundi : munda cor meum igne amoris, et charitatis tuæ.

3. Tu es mater illuminationis cordis mei : tu es nutrix refovens mentem meam.

4. Te cupit os meum collaudare : te affectat mens mea affectuosissime venerari.

5. Te desiderat anima mea exorare : quia tuitione tuæ se commendat tota substantia mea.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.” Davidic Ps. XL, 2.

[2] “who remains faithful in her praises”: the Latin means literally “remaining in her praises” where “remaining” is a singular present participle qualifying the words “needy” and “poor” which are also singular.

[3] Cf. “For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it.” Wisdom vii, 29.

[4] 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. Cf. “We became little ones in the midst of you, as if a nurse should cherish her children”: I Thess., ii, 7.

[5] Cf. “Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory; thy greatness all the day long.” Davidic Ps. LXX, 8.

Davidic Psalm XL

1 Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.

2 Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.  3 The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.  4 The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: thou hast turned all his couch in his sickness.

5 I said: O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.  6 My enemies have spoken evils against me: when shall he die and his name perish?  7 And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things: his heart gathered together iniquity to itself. He went out and spoke to the same purpose.  8 All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me.  9 They determined against me an unjust word: shall he that sleepeth rise again no more?  10 For even the man of peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly supplanted me.

11 But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up again: and I will requite them.  12 By this I know, that thou hast had a good will for me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me.  13 But thou hast upheld me by reason of my innocence: and hast established me in thy sight for ever.

14 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity. So be it. So be it.

Notes

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew v, 7)

This Psalm would seem to have been written on the occasion of Achitophel’s shameful betrayal at the beginning of Absalom’s revolt. Cf. II Kings xvi, 23. The poet is ill and suffering from great anxiety. His enemies are waiting impatiently for his death and one of them, who was once his intimate friend, reveals the particularly violent level of His hatred. David, however, remains unshakable in his feelings of trust in God and his prayer, which is an appeal for help, is characterised by a most touching spirit of calm.

Structure: The psalm consists of three parts:

1. amidst their tribulations, men seeking mercy can rely upon the special protection of the Lord: verses 2-4;

2. in plaintive terms, the poet describes the hatred of his enemies and the perfidy of his friends: verses 5-10;

3. a prayer of love: verses 11-13.

Verse 14 contains the doxology found in the first of the Psalms.

Achitophel, the false friend, represents here the type of Judas the traitor, to whom Jesus Christ Himself, St Peter and St John explicitly applied verse 10 of this Psalm. Cf. John xiii, 18 and xvii, 12; Acts i, 16.

First part:  the blessings which God has in store for the person who has compassion for the sufferings of his brothers. Verses 2-4.

2-4: Compare the fifth evangelic beatitude (Matthew v, 7) for which these lines form, so to speak, a commentary in anticipation. Although the description is given in general terms, the psalmist has himself in mind when uttering these words. Having always shown himself kind and merciful towards his neighbour, he hopes that God will have compassion on him in the painful situation where he now finds himself. Cf. Job, xxx, 25.

2: “he that understandeth”:  referring to him who takes an understanding approach to the care of others, who takes an interest which is sensitive but also practical. The verb encompasses all the ways in which sympathy and kindness can be shown towards the poor.

3-4: All the verbs in verses 3 & 4 would be better translated by the future tense, apart from the last one; because they express rather certain predictions than mere wishes.

4: “thou hast turned all his couch in his sickness”: the poet addresses himself suddenly directly to God, and he employs the prophetic preterite tense to signify the anticipated fulfilment of the words. His language reveals great sensitivity :  God is pictured as administering personally to His servant in his illness the tender care which a loving heart know so well how to lavish upon those in their sufferings who are held dear through ties of blood or affection. 

Second part: the cruel behaviour of the poets enemies.

7: “he spoke vain things”: Hypocritical proclamations of affection and of devotion. Whilst they spoke in such high terms of their sympathy, their hearts were filled with hatred.

9: “shall he that sleepeth rise again no more?” More clearly, following the Hebrew: Now that he is lying in bed, he will not get up again. Meaning: It’s finished with him, He is a dead man.

10: “hath greatly supplanted me”: The hebrew employees a powerful metaphor: He hath tried to strike me with a violence altogether bestial and brutal.

Third part: a prayer expressing Trust and confidence. Verses 11-13.

13: “by reason of my innocence”: in verse 5, David recognised that he had sinned greatly against God, but he had obtained forgiveness for his sins. Alternatively, he means here that he was completely innocent with regard to his enemies.

“hast established me in thy sight for ever”: those who hate him hope that he will soon die and that his very name will perish. He knows, however, that he will admitted, both personally and through his posterity, into the sweet presence of the Lord, in accordance with the great promise he received : see II Kings vii, 16.  

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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.