The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 74

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).

Reminder: I began posting an annotated and illustrated version of St Bonaventure's Life of St Francis on the 4th October (his feast day) this year, the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. To read these posts, please click on our sister blog:

St Bonaventure’s Life of St Francis

Psalm 74

“Fortitude and exultation are in her throne.”
Our Lady of Grace [5]. Image courtesy of
Jospehipswich (CC BY-SA 4.0).

1. We will praise thee, O Lady: and we will praise thy name[1]: make us to delight in thy praises.

2. Sing ye to her, ye dwellers upon earth: and announce her praise to the peoples.

3. Praise and magnificence are before her: fortitude and exultation are in her throne[2].

4. Adore ye her in her beauty: glorify the Maker of her beauty[3].

5. Be mindful in eternity of her mercy[4]: keep in mind her virtues and her wonders.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Confitebimur tibi, Domina, et laudabimus nomen tuum: fac nos in tuis laudibus delectari.

2. Cantate ei, habitatores terræ: et laudem ejus populis nuntiate.

3. Confessio et magnificentia coram illa: fortitudo et exultatio in throno illius.

4. Adorate illam in decore illius: glorificate opificem pulchritudinis illius.

5. Recordamini in sempiternum misericordiæ illius: retinete in mente virtutes et mirabilia illius.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name”: Davidic Ps. LXXIV, 2. 

[2] Cf. “Praise and magnificence are before him: strength and joy in his place”: 1 Para. xvi, 27.

[3] Cf. “How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!” Cant. iv, 1.

[4] Cf. “Remember for ever [Recordamini in sempiternum] his covenant: the word, which he commanded to a thousand generations”: 1 Para. xvi, 15.

[5] The image shows a replica carved in 2022 of a medieval statue in Ipswich of which the earliest record we have is 1152. During the "Reformation" the original statue was seized in order to be burned but there is evidence that it was rescued and eventually found its way to Nettuno in Italy where to this day there is a statue known as “The English Lady.” For more details on this fascinating history, see the following site: Our Lady of Grace of Ipswich.

Davidic Psalm LXXIV

1 Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph.

2 We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name. We will relate thy wondrous works:

3 When I shall take a time, I will judge justices.  4 The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have established the pillars thereof.

5 I said to the wicked: Do not act wickedly: and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn.  6 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not iniquity against God.  7 For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert hills:  8 For God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth up:  9 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink.  10 But I will declare for ever: I will sing to the God of Jacob.

11 And I will break all the horns of sinners: but the horns of the just shall be exalted.

Notes

The threat of divine judgement against the wicked.

1: “corrupt not”: See Ps. LVI and note. A psalm of Asaph, a canticle. This sacred chant was composed at a time when the people of God had just been threatened by wicked and powerful enemies  (cf. verses 5-6). Theodoret (Bishop, theologian and biblical commentator; c. 393-457), notes that he found in several manuscripts of the Septuagint the words “against the Assyrian” added to the title ; and it is commonly accepted that these give us the historic context for this psalm: namely the happy moment when the holy king Ezechias, after days of terrible anxiety and extreme danger was suddenly reassured by the Prophet Isaias in the face of the proud threats of Senacherib. Cf. Is. xxxvii, 33 et seq.

Structure:

The psalm begins with a short prelude (verse2) in which the whole nation offers to God praises worthy of the benefits they have received.  

The Lord himself then speaks (verses 3-4) and proclaims majestically that He is going to come to the help of His people.  

The poet then takes over and in a spirited manner threatens the enemies of Israel and predicts the coming of divine judgement, verses 5-10. 

Finally, God has the last word in verse 11 and confirms the prophecy of the psalmist. 

Verse 2: the whole of Israel addresses these praises to God who is coming to save them. All the verbs in this verse should be read in the present tense.

3: the time referred to is the one which the Lord has fixed in his supreme wisdom.

“I will judge justices”: a Hebraism which means: I will judge with equity.

4: “The earth is melted ...”: a reference to the effect produced by these fearful judgments : The earth and its inhabitants will melt and dissolve away. despite the convulsions produced by fear, the earth will hold good for God has provided it with solid bases. A poetic metaphor. Next in the Hebrew at this point is a sélah (a pause or increase in volume).

5: “Lift not up the horn”: the horn symbolises that insolent and lofty spirit which thinks it is sufficient unto itself and which proudly parades itself.

7: “For neither from the east...”: the sentence is incomplete and the following words are taken as understood: that the wicked can expect help to accomplish their schemes.

8: God puts down the enemies of Israel but lifts up His beloved nation.

9: “a cup of strong mixture”: the cup which symbolises divine punishment. Cf. Ps. LIX, 5; Is. li, 17 etc.

11: This verse contains a perfect summary of the whole psalm. 

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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.