The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 53

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 53

“Save me, O Lady . . . hide me under the shadow of thy wings.”
Madonna of the Protective Mantle (early 1500’s). Artist n/k.
Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Trezzo, Lombardy. Public domain.

1. Save me, O Lady, by thy name[1] : and deliver me from my injustices.

2. That the craft of the enemy may not hurt me: hide me under the shadow of thy wings.[2]

3. O my Lady, help me ! bestow thy grace upon my soul ![3]

4. Willingly I will offer thee a sacrifice of praise: and I will give praise to thy name, for it is good.[4]

5. For thou shalt deliver me from all tribulation: and my eye shall despise mine enemies.[5]

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Domina, in nomine tuo salvum me fac: et ab injustitiis meis libera me.

2. Ut non noceat mihi calliditas inimici: sub umbra alarum tuarum protege me.

3. O Domina mea, adjuva me: gratiam tuam largire animæ meæ.

4. Voluntarie offeram tibi sacrificium laudis: et confitebor nomini tuo, quoniam bonum est.

5. Quoniam ex omni tribulatione liberabis me: et inimicos meos despiciet oculus meus.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “Save me, O God, by thy name,” Davidic Ps. LIII, 3.

[2] Cf. “Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.” Ps. XVI, 8; “Jerusalem ..how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?”: Matt. xxiii, 37.

[3] Cf. “For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul”: Ps. LIII, 6.

[4] Cf. “I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good”: Ps. LIII, 8.

[5] Cf. “For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies”: Ps. LIII, 9. “My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.” Ps. XCI, 12.

Davidic Psalm LIII

1 Unto the end, In verses, understanding for David.  2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us?

3 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength.  4 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.  5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.

6 For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.  7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in thy truth.  8 I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good:  9 For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

Notes

The title: verses 1-2: “understanding...David”: It is a didactic Psalm composed by David.

“In verses,” (in carminibus). Hebr.: bin’ginôt, to the accompaniment of stringed instruments (cf. Ps. IV, 1).

2:  “When the men of Ziph had come…”: this verse shows the occasion of the Psalm’s composition. David, persecuted and pursued by Saul, had sought refuge in the desert of Ziph to the south of Hebron; but, noticed and then reported by the inhabitants of the country, He then found himself in extreme danger. This betrayal occurred twice : cf. I Kings xxiii, 19 et seq; and xxvi, 1. The psalm refers to the first of these, as is shown by the words of the men of Ziph quoted in the title: “Is not David hidden with us?” They are in fact identical to those I Kings xxiii, 13.

The psalm was composed by David in these distressing circumstances and naturally contains a prayer to obtain speedy assistance. Wanting to make his prayer more acceptable and pleasing to the Lord, the poet incorporates, as he does frequently, his feelings of complete trust and confidence in the Lord. The prayer was granted in a wonderful manner, for the Philistines, made a sudden incursion into Israelite territory and this obliged Saul (who had been on the point of attacking his rival) to lead his forces against them. David was enabled in this way to escape safe and sound.

Structure: The psalm may be divided into two strophes or parts: verses 3-5, a plaintive prayer; and verses 6-9, the psalmist’s feelings of trust and his generous promises.

First part: His prayer. Verses 3-5.

3-5: a simple but ardent cry from the heart.

5: “For strangers have risen up against me”: This is a reference to the men of Ziph. They were in fact part of the theocratic nation, members of the tribe of Judah, just as much as David ; but, through their odious treason, they had turned themselves into strangers and had become as pagans. “the mighty”: Hebr. : men of violence. The reference here is still to the men of Ziph who had promised to deliver David to him after capturing him by main Force.

“they have not set God before their eyes”: litotes, meaning that they had in fact gone directly against the divine will, since the Lord had openly declared himself favourable to David and hostile to Saul.

The Hebr. then has the term sélah (which the Septuagint translates as διάψαλμα – musical interlude) meaning either a pause or a musical direction equivalent to forte or crescendo.

Second part: the psalmist’s feelings of trust and his holy promises.

6: “For behold”: David here already sees the deliverance which he asked for from God appearing to the consolation of his soul. The use of the present tense is very expressive.

7: “Turn back the evils”: In the Hebr.,  a simple prediction: “He will turn back the evils.”

8: “I will freely sacrifice to thee”: magnanimously and joyfully. There are references in Leviticus to spontaneous sacrifices, so-called in order to distinguish them from the offerings strictly required by the Law. Cf. Lev. vii, 16; xxii, 21 & 23.

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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.