The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 36

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 36

“O ye religious and cloistered souls, hope in her.” Virgen de las Cuevas,
(1644-55), by Francisco de Zurbarán.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla. Public domain.

1. Be not emulous of evildoers[1], O Lady: sweeten their fury by thy grace.

2. O ye religious and cloistered souls, hope in her: confide in her, ye priests and seculars.

3. Take delight in her praises: and she will grant the petitions of your heart[2].

4. Better is a little with her grace: than treasures of silver and precious stones[3].

5. Glory be to thee forever, O Queen of Heaven: and never forget us at any time.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Noli æmulari in malignantibus Domina : furorem eorum dulcifica per gratiam tuam.

2. Sperate in illa religiosi et claustrales : confidite in illa clerici et sæculares.

3. Delectamini in laudibus illius : et exaudiet petitiones cordis vestri.

4. Melius est modicum cum gratia illius : quam thesauri argentei, et lapides pretiosi.

5. Gloria semper sit tibi, O Regina cœlorum : et in ullo tempore noli nos oblivisci.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. Davidic Ps. XXXVI, 1.

[2] Cf. “Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.” Davidic Ps. XXXVI, 4. 

[3] Cf. “Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.” Davidic Ps. XXXVI, 16.

Davidic Psalm XXXVI

1 A psalm for David himself. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.  2 For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.  3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.  4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.  5 Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.  6 And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.  7 Be subject to the Lord and pray to him: Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.  8 Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.  9 For the evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land.  10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.

12 The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth.  13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come.  14 The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.  15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken.  16 Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.  17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just.  18 The Lord knoweth the days of undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever.  19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled:  20 Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing and vanish like smoke.

21 The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give.  22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse him shall perish.  23 With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way.  24 When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him.  25 I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.  26 He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing.  27 Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.  28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish.  29 But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore.  30 The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment.  31 The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted.

32 The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to death,  33 But the Lord will not leave him in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged.  34 Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.  35 I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus. 36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.  37 Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man.  38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish.  39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble.  40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him.

Notes

The happiness of the wicked His only app and does not endure; that of the just is real and lasts forever.

The author is David himself. Concerning the subject matter, this is a moral and didactic Psalm which repeats in numerous ways, in order to develop its theme more effectively, the following very simple thought : we should not be astonished, and certainly not be scandalised, by the happiness frequently enjoyed by the wicked on this earth and which can be a frequent source of temptation for the just. Let us be prepared to wait patiently with total faith in Providence. The roles will not be long in changing, because the wicked man will see his short-lived happiness disappear and the just man will enjoy happiness based on a solid foundation. This moral problem is resolved through reference to experiences and revelations, however imperfect, in the Old Testament. Whilst revealing to the just man in his misfortunes the sweet and consoling perspectives of future life, (compare verses 18, 27, 29 and 37),  the text quite frequently focuses attention on the temporal rewards which God has reserved for such men here on earth. Certain obscurities were not to disappear until after the passion and death of Christ, when the most humble among the faithful could repeat and apply to themselves the magnificent words of St Paul in II Cor. iv, 17-18:

“For that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.”  

Despite the necessary inferiority which it has in relation to the New Testament, Psalm XXXVI abounds in golden sayings which have made it dear to the Christians of every age. It is referred to by Tertullian as the Mirror of Providence (Providentiæ Speculum); and by St Isidore as A remedy for grumbling (Potio contra murmur). St Augustine’s commentary on this Psalm caused St Fulgentius (468-533) to renounce the world completely and to live only for God.

With regard to the external format of the Psalm, it is alphabetic. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet begins a new strophe which makes for a total of 22 strophes, sometimes made up of three lines, (verses 7, 20 and 30), at other times of five lines, (verses 14-15, 25-26, and 39-40), most frequently composed of two distichs.

As for its structure, strictly speaking there is no division into parts. Nevertheless it is possible to distinguish four groups of strophes, taking into account the main idea they propose:

    • verses 1b-11: an exhortation to avoid complaining against Providence and to have total confidence in the Lord’s goodness;

    • verses 12-20: the seeming happiness and the triumph of the wicked will be of short duration;

    • versus 21-31: the reward which the good shall receive is certain and enduring;

    • verses 32-40: A final contrast between the good and the wicked.

Verse 25 makes it quite clear that David composed this Psalm towards the end of his life.  

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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.