The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 33

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 33

“Because thou wast most humble, O Lady: thou didst induce the 
uncreated Word to take flesh from thee.” The Madonna of Humility
 (1450-70), after Campin. Getty Center, LA. Open Content Program.

1. I will bless Our Lady at all times: and her praise shall never fail in my mouth[1].

2. Magnify her[2]: all ye who are nourished with the milk and honey of her refreshment[3].

3. In dangers and doubts invoke her: and in necessities you will find sweet help and refreshment[4].

4. Take example from her conversation[5]: and be zealous to imitate her charity and humility.

5. Because thou wast most humble, O Lady: thou didst induce the uncreated Word to take flesh from thee[6].

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Benedicam Dominam in omni tempore : et non deficiet laus eius in ore meo.

2. Magnificate omnes : qui impinguati estis melle, et lacte recreationis eius.

3. In periculis, in rebus dubiis invocate eam : et in necessitatibus invenietis auxilium, et refrigerium dulce.

4. Sumite exemplum conversationis eius : et æmulamini studia charitatis et humilitatis illius.

5. Quia ergo Domina humillima fuisti : Verbum increatum ex te carnem susipere coegisti.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.” Davidic Ps. XXXIII, 2.

[2] Cf. “O magnify the Lord with me;” Davidic Ps. XXXIII, 4.

[3] Cf. “Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under thy tongue;” Cant. iv, 11.

[4] Cf. “O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet:” Davidic Ps. XXXIII, 9.

[5] The Latin word conversatio can mean “manner of life.” 

[6] Cf. “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid;” Luke i, 47-48.

Davidic Psalm XXXIII

1 For David, when he changed his countenance before Achimelech, who dismissed him, and he went his way.

2 I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.  3 In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice.  4 O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.  5 I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all my troubles.  6 Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be confounded.  7 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of all his troubles.  8 The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them.  9 O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him.  10 Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  11 The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.

12 Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  13 Who is the man that desireth life: who loveth to see good days?  14 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.  15 Turn away from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it.  16 The eyes of the Lord are upon the just: and his ears unto their prayers.  17 But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things: to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.  18 The just cried, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out of all their troubles.  19 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.  20 Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them. 21 The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken.  22 The death of the wicked is very evil: and they that hate the just shall be guilty.  23 The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall offend.

Notes

How happy are the just under God’s protection. 

Title: “when he changed his countenance before Achimelech”: the Hebrew expresses this more clearly : When he pretended to lose his reason in the presence of Abimelech who ordered him to be removed, David was released and able to leave. See I Kings xxi, 11 et seq. David, pursued by Saul who was hot on his heels, had taken refuge in the territory of the Philistines near Geth; he was immediately recognised by some of the inhabitants as the terrible enemy of their people and he was arrested and taken to the king of this region. His life would have been lost without any hope of reprieve if he had not succeeded in passing himself off as a madman. The king, moved by pity, set David at liberty and he then went to hide himself in the cave at Odollam. Instead of Achimelech, the Hebrew has Abimelek and in the book of Kings the Philistine prince is called Achis. This does not imply the slightest contradiction. Achis was his personal name, and Achimelech, meaning “King Achis,” is a simple extension. Abimelech was a general title or dynastic denomination, like the word Pharaoh in Egypt or Agag among the Amalecites.    

The subject matter of the canticle is praise of God who protects the just and their happiness in the Lord’s bosom. It is didactic rather than lyrical in form and is alphabetical, being based on twenty-two distichs in accordance with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Strictly speaking, it does not include divisions or strophes but it can nevertheless be considered in two almost equal sections, verses 2-11 and 12-23. In the first part, David offers thanks to his divine deliverer and invites the just to join him in his act of thanksgiving; in the second part, adopting the more composed tone of a preacher, he describes fear of the Lord and the benefits brought to those who possess it.

First part:  an invitation to praise God who is felt with goodness and who saves and delivers the just, verses 2-11.

Verse 9: “O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet”: this wonderful line is sighted by St Peter in his first epistle : “If so be you have tasted that the Lord is sweet.” (I Pet., ii, 2). for this reason, this song a communion hymn in the ancient church . Placing these two verbs together signifies an intimate experience in contrast to mere superficial knowledge. “Taste” is especially expressive, portraying divine goodness to the just as an exquisite dish which they are invited to taste. As for the order of the verbs, at first glance surprising, there is a remarkable reality represented thereby, since frequently the act of tasting precedes that of seeing, because spiritual experience precedes spiritual knowledge. The words of St Bernard are well known: “Unless ye have tasted, ye shall not see.”

Second part: fear of the Lord and the blessings which come therefrom. Verses 12-23.

Verse 21: “The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken”: it is possible at St John had these words of the Psalm mind when he wrote: “For these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him.” John, xix, 36. (Cf. Exod. xii, 46).  

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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.