David's Crown: Sounding the Psalms

By Malcolm Guite

As well as the name of a virus, a corona is a crown, the pearly glow around the sun in certain astronomical conditions and a poetic form where interlinking lines connect a sequence. It is the perfect name therefore for this new collection of 150 poems by the bestselling poet Malcolm Guite, each one written in response to the Bible’s 150 psalms as they appear in William Coverdale’s timeless translation.

The Psalms express every human emotion with disarming honesty, as anger and thankfulness alike are directed at God. All of life is here with its moments of beauty and its times of despair and shame. Like the Psalms themselves, the poems do not avoid the cursing and glorying over the downfall of your enemies, but wrestle honestly with them as we do when we come to say them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Canterbury Press Norwich
• Release date: Jan 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781786223081

Malcolm Guite

Malcolm Guite is renowned throughout the English speaking church. He lectures widely on literature and theology in Britain and in North America and is the author of bestselling poetry collections and other books. His poetry blog has many thousands of regular readers www.malcolmguite.wordpress.com

Book preview

Also by Malcolm Guite

Poetry

Sounding the Seasons

The Singing Bowl

Parable and Paradox

After Prayer

Anthologies

Waiting on the Word

Word in the Wilderness

Love, Remember

Essays

In Every Corner Sing

Heaven in Ordinary

David’s Crown

Sounding the Psalms

Malcolm Guite

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© Malcolm Guite 2021

First published in 2021 by the Canterbury Press Norwich

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

978 1 78622 306 7

Typeset by Regent Typesetting

Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Psalm 1: I Beatus vir qui non abiit

Psalm 2: II Quare fremuerunt gentes?

Psalm 3: III Domine, quid multiplicati?

Psalm 4: IV Cum invocarem

Psalm 5: V Verba mea auribus

Psalm 6: VI Domine, ne in furore

Psalm 7: VII Domine, Deus meus

Psalm 8: VIII Domine, Dominus noster

Psalm 9: IX Confitebor tibi

Psalm 10: X Ut quid, Domine?

Psalm 11: XI In Domino confido

Psalm 12: XII Salvum me fac

Psalm 13: XIII Usque quo, Domine?

Psalm 14: XIV Dixit insipiens

Psalm 15: XV Domine, quis habitabit?

Psalm 16: XVI Conserva me, Domine

Psalm 17: XVII Exaudi, Domine

Psalm 18: XVIII Diligam te, Domine

Psalm 19: XIX Caeli enarrant

Psalm 20: XX Exaudiat te Dominus

Psalm 21: XXI Domine, in virtute tua

Psalm 22: XXII Deus, Deus meus

Psalm 23: XXIII Dominus regit me

Psalm 24: XXIV Domini est terra

Psalm 25: XXV Ad te, Domine, levavi

Psalm 26: XXVI Judica me, Domine

Psalm 27: XXVII Dominus illuminatio

Psalm 28: XXVIII Ad te, Domine

Psalm 29: XXIX Afferte Domino

Psalm 30: XXX Exaltabo te, Domine

Psalm 31: XXXI In te, Domine, speravi

Psalm 32: XXXII Beati, quorum

Psalm 33: XXXIII Exultate, justi

Psalm 34: XXXIV Benedicam Domino

Psalm 35: XXXV Judica, Domine

Psalm 36: XXXVI Dixit injustus

Psalm 37: XXXVII Noli aemulari

Psalm 38: XXXVIII Domine, ne in furore

Psalm 39: XXXIX Dixi, custodiam

Psalm 40: XL Expectans expectavi

Psalm 41: XLI Beatus qui intelligit

Psalm 42: XLII Quemadmodum

Psalm 43: XLIII Judica me, Deus

Psalm 44: XLIV Deus, auribus

Psalm 45: XLV Eructavit cor meum

Psalm 46: XLVI Deus noster refugium

Psalm 47: XLVII Omnes gentes, plaudite

Psalm 48: XLVIII Magnus Dominus

Psalm 49: XLIX Audite haec, omnes

Psalm 50: L Deus deorum

Psalm 51: LI Miserere mei, Deus

Psalm 52: LII Quid gloriaris?

Psalm 53: LIII Dixit insipiens

Psalm 54: LIV Deus, in nomine

Psalm 55: LV Exaudi, Deus

Psalm 56: LVI Miserere mei, Deus

Psalm 57: LVII Miserere mei, Deus

Psalm 58: LVIII Si vere utique

Psalm 59: LIX Eripe me de inimicis

Psalm 60: LX Deus, repulisti nos

Psalm 61: LXI Exaudi, Deus

Psalm 62: LXII Nonne Deo?

Psalm 63: LXIII Deus, Deus meus

Psalm 64: LXIV Exaudi, Deus

Psalm 65: LXV Te decet hymnus

Psalm 66: LXVI Jubilate Deo

Psalm 67: LXVII Deus misereatur

Psalm 68: LXVIII Exurgat Deus

Psalm 69: LXIX Salvum me fac

Psalm 70: LXX Deus in adjutorium

Psalm 71: LXXI In te, Domine, speravi

Psalm 72: LXXII Deus, judicium

Psalm 73: LXXIII Quam bonus Israel!

Psalm 74: LXXIV Ut quid, Deus?

Psalm 75: LXXV Confitebimur tibi

Psalm 76: LXXVI Notus in Judaea

Psalm 77: LXVII Voce mea ad Dominum

Psalm 78: LXXVIII Attendite, popule

Psalm 79: LXXIX Deus, venerunt

Psalm 80: LXXX Qui regis Israel

Psalm 81: LXXXI Exultate Deo

Psalm 82: LXXXII Deus stetit

Psalm 83: LXXXIII Deus, quis similis?

Psalm 84: LXXXIV Quam dilecta!

Psalm 85: LXXXV Benedixisti, Domine

Psalm 86: LXXXVI Inclina, Domine

Psalm 87: LXXXVII Fundamenta ejus

Psalm 88: LXXXVIII Domine Deus

Psalm 89: LXXXIX Misericordias Domini

Psalm 90: XC Domine, refugium

Psalm 91: XCI Qui habitat

Psalm 92: XCII Bonum est confiteri

Psalm 93: XCIII Dominus regnavit

Psalm 94: XCIV Deus ultionum

Psalm 95: XCV Venite, exultemus

Psalm 96: XCVI Cantate Domino

Psalm 97: XCVII Dominus regnavit

Psalm 98: XCVIII Cantate Domino

Psalm 99: XCIX Dominus regnavit

Psalm 100: C Jubilate Deo

Psalm 101: CI Misericordiam et judicium

Psalm 102: CII Domine, exaudi

Psalm 103: CIII Benedic, anima mea

Psalm 104: CIV Benedic, anima mea

Psalm 105: CV Confitemini Domino

Psalm 106: CVI Confitemini Domino

Psalm 107: CVII Confitemini Domino

Psalm 108: CVIII Paratum cor meum

Psalm 109: CIX Deus laudem

Psalm 110: CX Dixit Dominus

Psalm 111: CXI Confitebor tibi

Psalm 112: CXII Beatus vir

Psalm 113: CXIII Laudate, pueri

Psalm 114: CXIV In exitu Israel

Psalm 115: CXV Non nobis, Domine

Psalm 116: CXVI Dilexi, quoniam

Psalm 117: CXVII Laudate Dominum

Psalm 118: CXVIII Confitemini Domino

Psalm 119: CXIX Beati immaculati

Psalm 120: CXX Ad Dominum

Psalm 121: CXXI Levavi oculos

Psalm 122: CXXII Laetatus sum

Psalm 123: CXXIII Ad te levavi oculos meos

Psalm 124: CXXIV Nisi quia Dominus

Psalm 125: CXXV Qui confidunt

Psalm 126: CXXVI In convertendo

Psalm 127: CXXVII Nisi Dominus

Psalm 128: CXXVIII Beati omnes

Psalm 129: CXXIX Saepe expugnaverunt

Psalm 130: CXXX De profundis

Psalm 131: CXXXI Domine, non est

Psalm 132: CXXXII Memento, Domine

Psalm 133: CXXXIII Ecce, quam bonum!

Psalm 134: CXXXIV Ecce nunc

Psalm 135: CXXXV Laudate Nomen

Psalm 136: CXXXVI Confitemini

Psalm 137: CXXXVII Super flumina

Psalm 138: CXXXVIII Confitebor tibi

Psalm 139: CXXXIX Domine, probasti

Psalm 140: CXL Eripe me, Domine

Psalm 141: CXLI Domine, clamavi

Psalm 142: CXLII Voce mea ad Dominum

Psalm 143: CXLIII Domine, exaudi

Psalm 144: CXLIV Benedictus Dominus

Psalm 145: CXLV Exaltabo te, Deus

Psalm 146: CXLVI Lauda, anima mea

Psalm 147: CXLVII Laudate Dominum

Psalm 148: CXLVIII Laudate Dominum

Psalm 149: CXLIX Cantate Domino

Psalm 150: CL Laudate Dominum

Deign at my hands this crown of prayer and praise.

John Donne, La Corona

Lift up my soul, and breathe through my poor rhymes

That I might lay these lines before your throne,

A frail corona wreathed of fading flowers

To set