The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 29

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 29

“Be glad, O Earth : because Mary will console her servants

and will have mercy on her poor.” Mater Misericordiæ [8]

(1448) by Giovanni da Gaeta. Wawel Castle, Krakow.

1. I will extol thee, O Lady, for thou hast upheld me : thou wilt deliver me from the wicked enemy[1].

2. Turn to me and quicken me[2], from the gates of death lead me back : and from the rivers of tribulation which have surrounded me[3].

3. For the sake of thy empire and the magnificence of thy right hand : break and scatter all my enemies[4].

4. And I will offer thee a sacrifice of praise[5] : and I will most devoutly exalt thy glory.

5. Rejoice, ye Heavens, and be glad, O Earth[6] : because Mary will console her servants and will have mercy on her poor[7].

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Exaltabo te Domina, quoniam suscepisti me : ab iniquo adversario liberabis me.

2. Converte ad me, et vivifica me; de portis reduc me : et de fluctibus tribulationum, quæ circumdederunt me.

3. Propter imperium, et magnificentiam dexteræ tuæ : contere, et dissipa omnes adversarios meos.

4. Et ego offeram tibi sacrificium laudis : et gloriam tuam devotius exaltabo.

5. Exultate coeli, et iucundare terra : quia consolatur Maria servos suos et pauperum suorum miserabitur.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.” Davidic Ps. XXIX, 1.

[2] The words “vivifica me” occur ten times in Scripture, exclusively in Psalm CXVIII. They are translated once by “enliven me” and nine times by “quicken me.” “quicken”: c. 1300,  from quikenen, “come to life, receive life,” also transitive, “give life to,” also “return to life from the dead.”

[3] Cf.  “thou hast delivered me” . . . “de portis tribulationum quae circumdederunt me / from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about:”  Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) li, 4 & 5.

[4] Cf. “Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered:” Ps. LXVII. 2.

[5] Cf. “I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise:” Ps. CXV, 17. See also Ps. XLIX, 14 & 23; CVI, 22; Hebr. xiii. 15.

[6] Cf. “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great”: Matt. v, 12.

[7] St. Alphonsus de Liguori in The Glories of Mary (Novena of Med. 9th. Day) quotes St. Germanus (5th century) who writes: “Oh Mary, who has so great care of our welfare as thou hast? Is there any one who relieves us in our afflictions as thou dost?” He cites in the same place Blessed Henry Suso who calls Mary : “The most faithful consoler of sinners / Consolatrix fidelissima peccatorum.”

[8] The Latin text beneath Mary is from the Litany of Loreto (1150-1200): Concede nos famulos tuos, quaesumus, Domine Deus, perpetua mentis et corporis sanitate gaudere: et gloriosa beatae Mariae semper Virginis intercessione, a praesenti liberari tristitia, et aeterna perfrui laetitia. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. / Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we Thy servants, may enjoy lasting health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow and enter into the joy of eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord.

Davidic Psalm XXIX

1 A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David’s house.  2 I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.  3 O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.  4 Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.  5 Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.  6 For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

7 And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved.  8 O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.  9 To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my God.  10 What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?  11 The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper.  12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:  13 To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

Notes

“at the dedication of David’s house:”  According to the majority of commentators, these words refer to the historical event for which this poem was composed, but there is no general agreement as to what this event was. One suggestion is that it was the opening of David’s palace on Mount Sion (II Kings v, 11); or it may have been David’s purification of his household after it had been defiled by Absalom (II Kings xx,3); or the choice and consecration of the site of the future Temple (cf. I Par. Xxi, 6 and xxii, 1), the word domus / house frequently being used to refer to “the house” par excellence, that of God. We favour the first option but there are some commentators who read in the words no more than a rubric assigning the Psalm to the feast of the Dedication. 

The poet has just escaped a serious illness which almost brought an end to his days and he expresses his thanks to the Lord, from whom his healing came. At the same time he points out some of the lessons which he learned from the experience.

The Psalm is divided into two parts: praise to God for his wonderful help, verses 2-6; and the story of his illness and recovery, verses 7-13.

First part: offering praise. Verses 2-6.

1: “thou hast upheld me”: this does not convey the full meaning of the Hebrew : Thou hast drawn me out. God drew him out of the abyss of death.

5: “O ye his saints”: His hasîdim, or intimate friends.

6:  “For wrath is in his indignation”: The thought here is God's anger lasts only for an instant, but his benevolence lasts for life.

Second part: Thanksgiving, verses 7-13.

7: “And in my abundance”: the Hebrew word denotes a long period of prosperity which had given rise to an altogether carnal sense of security. 

“I said: I shall never be moved.” An arrogant thought replete with pride. As if his happiness had depended only upon himself! The gifts he received made him forget his benefactor. He had need of instruction in the tough school of suffering.

9: “To thee, O Lord, will I cry”: the phrase is elliptic and it is necessary to read before it the following words: “And so I said.” Having grown wise through his wrong doing, and acknowledging the cause of his humiliation, the psalmist rouses himself to have recourse to God.

10: “What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption?” What advantage would the Lord have gained by making his servant die in what the Hebrew describes as “the pit”? none whatsoever ; on the contrary, he would have missed out on the beautiful canticles that David was still planning to compose.

“Shall dust confess to thee?” The dust of the tomb. Cf. Ps. XXI, 15 & 29.

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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.