The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 43

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 43

“Blessed be thou, O Queen of the Heavens and the Angels.”
The Queen of the Angels (1900) by William-Adolphe
Bouguereau. Petit Palais, Paris. Public domain.

1. O Lady, we have heard with our ears : and our fathers have declared to us.[1]

2. Thy merits are ineffable : and thy wonders exceedingly stupendous.

3. O Lady, innumerable are thy virtues : and inestimable are thy mercies.

4. Exult, O my soul, and rejoice in her[2] : for many good things are prepared for those who praise her.[3]

5. Blessed be thou, O Queen of the Heavens and the Angels[4] : and let those who praise thy magnificence be blessed by God.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Domina auribus nostris audivimus : et patres nostri anuntiaverunt nobis.

2. Quia ineffabili sunt merita tua : et valde stupenda mirabilia tua.

3. Domina, innumerabiles sunt virtutes tuæ : et inestimabiles misericordiæ tuæ.

4. Exulta anima mea, et lætare in illa : quia multa bona sunt laudatoribus præparata.

5. Benedicta sis Regina cœlorum et Angelorum : et benedicatur a Deo laudatores magnificentiæ tuæ.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us”: Davidic Ps. XLIII, 2.

[2] Cf.  “My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted in his salvation”: Davidic Ps. XXXIV, 9; “My soul doth magnify the Lord.  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”: Luke Ii, 46-7.

[3] Cf. “As it is written [Is. lxiv, 4]: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him”: I Cor. ii, 9.

[4] Cf. ‘St. Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787) in collecting the testimony of past ages, writes these words with evident devotion: “Because the Virgin Mary was raised to such a lofty dignity as to be the Mother of the King of kings, it is deservedly and by every right that the Church has honoured her with the title of Queen.”’ Pope Pius XII in his Encyclical “Ad Cæli Reginam” (11 Oct. 1954).

Davidic Psalm XLIII

1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, to give understanding.

2 We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us, The work, thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.  3 Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles, and thou plantedst them: thou didst afflict the people and cast them out.  4 For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them.  5 Thou art thyself my king and my God, who commandest the saving of Jacob.  6 Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us.  7 For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me.  8 But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us: and hast put them to shame that hate us.  9 In God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will give praise for ever.

10 But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies.  11 Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies: and they that hated us plundered for themselves.  12 Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered us among the nations.  13 Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them.  14 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and derision to them that are round about us.  15 Thou hast made us a byword among the Gentiles: a shaking of the head among the people.  16 All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me,  17 At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me: at the face of the enemy and persecutor.  18 All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant.  19 And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way.  20 For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction: and the shadow of death hath covered us.  21 If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth our hands to a strange god:  22 Shall not God search out these things: for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end.  24 Why turnest thou thy face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble?  25 For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth. 26 Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name's sake.

Notes

Israel, recalling the benefits received of old from God, invokes His help at a time of extreme danger.

A didactic psalm of the Sons of Core. Cf. Ps. XLI, 1 and note. This psalm is akin to a national poem where the people of Israel play a central role and it is they who are speaking, or at least the psalmist is speaking in their name. The subject matter of the psalm is a terrible calamity suffered by the nation and brought about by its enemies. In order to move more effectively the heart of the Lord whose protection is being sought, a comparison is made between the present evils which God is permitting to afflict His people and the equivalent benefits with which He showered them  on a previous occasion.

The date of composition is difficult to determine as is demonstrated by the striking differences of opinion which commentators have in this regard. The place which this canticle occupies in the psalter proves that it belongs to a remote time and I am happy to share the view according to which it owes its origin to the sanguinary invasion of the Idumeans on the territory of Israel, whilst David was engaged afar in combat against the Syrians. Cf. Ps. LIX, 1; II Kings viii, 13; I Para. xviii, 12.

Structure: The psalm is divided into three parts:

‣ in the first, verses 2-9, The Israelites remind God of the great miracles He once worked in their favour and draw from this glorious past the hope of being always victors over their enemies;

‣ in the second part, verses 10-22, is a description of the current calamities whilst the people protest that they have not deserved them by any particular crime on their part; and

‣ the third part, verses 23-26, consists of an ardent prayer to obtain immediate deliverance from their perils.

From a literary point of view, the Psalm is a wonderful elegy which makes use of vivid and tragic colours and tones.

During the time of the Machabees, the persecuted Jews frequently chanted this doleful canticle (cf. i Mach. i, 66). St Paul cites verse 22 which he applies to the sufferings of the first Christians: “As it is written: For thy sake we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”: Rom. viii, 36.

Part 1: Remembering the miracles previously worked in their favour by God, the Israelites  proclaim their most firm trust in him. Verses 2-9.

2-4: the miraculous installation of the Hebrews in the Promised Land. Note the art evident in the portrayal :  all agreed this would arouse the pity of God since it recalls for Him one of his great works now actually threatened with ruin. 

5: “Jacob”: this word is used here as a generic noun representing the entire race of the glorious Patriarch.

6: “with the horn”: the image here is taken from the way bulls and wild oxen  gore their enemies with their horns and toss them into the air.

9: “In God shall we glory all the day long”: the Psalm here soars to the joyful heights of praise But then  suddenly plunges into bitter sorrow. 

Part 2: The people of Israel, although faithful to God, now find themselves plunged into deep humiliation and distress. Verses 10-22.

12: “like sheep to be eaten”: In Hebr., “like lambs to the slaughter.”

18-22: The Israelites are not however aware of having done anything to draw upon them such a punishment.  

Part 3: An urgent prayer to obtain immediate help. Verses 23-26.

23: The Lord is seen as sleeping whilst, apparently suspending the laws of His governing providence, He allows His people to be humiliated, afflicted and overcome by the wicked. 

26: “for thy name’s sake”: the Hebrew indicates another motive: “by reason of thy goodness.” 

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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.