The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 63

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 63

“Blessed be thou above all women.” The Annunciation
(1380, artist unknown). Cleveland Museum of Art, USA.
Public domain: CC0 1.0 Universal. 

1. Hear my prayer, O Lady, when I beseech thee: from the fear of the cruel one deliver my soul.[1]

2. Obtain for us peace and salvation: in the last day.[2]

3. Blessed be thou above all women: and blessed be the fruit of thy womb.[3]

4. Enlighten, O Lady, mine eyes: and illumine my blindness.[4]

5. Give me firm confidence in thee: in my life and in mine end.[5]

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Exaudi, Domina, orationem meam, cum deprecor: a pavore crudelis libera animam meam.

2. Impetra nobis pacem et salutem: in die novissimo.

3. Benedicta sis super mulieres: et benedictus sit fructus ventris tui.

4. Illumina, Domina, oculos meos: et illustra cæcitatem meam.

5. Da mihi in te confidentiam bonam: in vita et in fine meo.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “Hear, O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy”: Davidic Ps. LXIII, 2.

[2] Cf. the triple reference to the last day by Christ: “And this is the will of my Father that sent me: that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day . . . No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day . . . He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day”: John vi, 40, 44 & 55.

[3] Cf. the Angel’s words: “And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”: Luke i, 28; and the words of St Elizabeth: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” Luke i, 42.

[4] Cf. Ps. XII, 4; Ps. XVII, 29; & Ps. CXVIII, 135.

[5] “in my life and in mine end.” Cf. the words in the second part of the “Hail Mary”: “now and at the hour of our death.” In Part IV of the Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566) we read of this second part: “The Church of God has wisely added prayers to, and an invocation of, the most holy Mother of God, by which we piously and humbly fly to her patronage, in order that, by interposing her intercession, she may conciliate the friendship of God to us miserable sinners, and may obtain for us those blessings which we stand in need of in this life and in the life to come. Exiled children of Eve, who dwell in this vale of tears, should we not earnestly beseech the Mother of mercy, the advocate of the faithful, to pray for us? Should we not earnestly implore her help and assistance? That she possesses exalted merits with God, and that she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, it were wicked and impious to doubt.”

Davidic Psalm LXIII

1 Unto the end, a psalm for David.

2 Hear, O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.  3 Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity.  4 For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent their bow a bitter thing,  5 To shoot in secret the undefiled.  6 They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them?

7 They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their search. Man shall come to a deep heart:  8 And God shall be exalted. The arrows of children are their wounds:  9 And their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them were troubled;  10 And every man was afraid. And they declared the works of God: and understood his doings.  11 The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and all the upright in heart shall be praised.

Notes

This is a moral and didactic poem composed by David. The historical background is not altogether clear. The details provided indicate a time of anxiety for David but it is difficult to determine whether the reference is to the period of Saul’s persecution or that of Absalom’s revolt. The subject matter is simple enough: the psalmist, surrounded by wicked and unjust detractors, has recourse to God in his distress. Next he describes the cruel wounds which malignant tongues are inflicting upon him. Finally, confident that his prayers will be heard, he predicts the just punishment which awaits the guilty parties and the beneficial effects which will be produced by the divine vengeance when applied to them. The literary style is energetic and the transitions are occasionally somewhat abrupt. The Church Fathers have frequently applied this Psalm in a spiritual manner to our Lord Jesus Christ who had so much to suffer from wicked tongues.

Structure : The psalm may be divided into two parts :

1. David describes the sufferings that his detractors are forcing him to endure : verses 2-7;

2. he predicts their punishment, which will be applauded by the just: verses 7-11.

First part: a description of the sufferings  inflicted on the psalmist by the wicked words of his detractors . Verses 2-7.

4: “a bitter thing”: Hebr. dâbar: a bitter word.

5: “in secret”: in an ambush.

6: “they have said: Who shall see them?”:  As though it were written: They say to each other: Who will see us? These wicked men are supposing that God is indifferent to their conduct. Cf. Ps. LVIII, 8.

7: (first part): Hebr.: we have accomplished a project well conceived. The interior and the heart of man is deep. This is commonly understood to be a continuation of the praise that David’s enemies lavish upon themselves: “We are truly intelligent and deep men!”

Second part: David predicts the punishment awaiting these wicked men and the joy to be experienced by the just. Verses 7-11.

7-9: They were hoping to pierce David through and through with the barbs of their words; but these arrows lose all their force when they reach the king, just as though fired by the hands of children.

9: “All that saw them were troubled”: moved to the depths of their souls by this vengeance evidently divine. According to the Hebrew: All that saw them shake their head.

11: The just rejoice in seeing good triumph and their trust in God grows apace.  

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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.