Seven psalms chosen by Cassiodorus (?485-?585) for expressing heartfelt repentance and confident hope.
The Seven Penitential Psalms were first enumerated by Cassiodorus (?485-?585), in his Commentary on the Psalms. St Bede was one of those who possessed a copy. These are not psalms of paralysing guilt but of repentance, a turning from darkness to light; joy is as much a theme as sorrow, and sorrow is soon superseded by hope and determination. The translation below, by Myles Coverdale, is taken from the English Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549.