Jerusalem is built as a city : that is at unity in itself.
For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord : to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
For there is the seat of judgement : even the seat of the house of David.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls : and plenteousness within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes : I will wish thee prosperity.
Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God : I will seek to do thee good.
Most of the content of the psalm is a prayer for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem, and its use in the coronation service clearly draws a parallel between Jerusalem and the United Kingdom, as William Blake had in his poem "And did those feet in ancient time" .
Use at coronations
The anthem "Laetatus sum" has been sung at the entrance of the monarch at every British coronation since that of King Charles I. Settings for earlier coronations were composed by Henry Purcell and William Boyce, among others. Thomas Attwood's setting was written for the coronation of King George IV in 1821. Parry's version was composed for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, and revised in 1911 for that of King George V, when the familiar introduction was added. This setting employs antiphonal choir effects and brass fanfares.
Acclamation
Apart from the imperial splendour of the music, the chief innovation is the incorporation in the central section of the acclamations "Vivat Rex... " or "Vivat Regina... " with which the King's or Queen's Scholars of Westminster School have traditionally greeted the entrance of the monarch since the coronation of King James II in 1685. This section, which has to be rewritten every time a new monarch is crowned – because the Sovereign is mentioned by name – is generally omitted when the anthem is performed on other occasions. At the coronation of a king and queen, the vivat for the queen precedes that for the king. Parry indicated in the score scope for an improvisatory fanfare between the two, should the length of the procession and timing require it: the Scholars shout their greeting as the Sovereign pass through the Quire and up into the Theatre. At the last coronation, that of Elizabeth II in 1953, the acclamation took the form of "Vivat Regina Elizabetha". The acclamation section is not sung with standard Latin pronunciation, but with a variant known as Anglicized Latin. Scholars of Classical Latin would pronounce the Vivat Regina as ; those of Ecclesiastical Latin would pronounce it. The correct traditional English pronunciation when referring to the British monarch is. At the first performance of Parry's arrangement at the 1902 coronation, the director of music, Sir Frederick Bridge, misjudged the timing and had finished the anthem before the King had arrived, having to repeat it when the right moment came. Bridge was saved by the organist, Walter Alcock, who improvised in the interim.
Henry Purcell and John Blow probably wrote a setting of it for the coronation of King James II in 1685.
Francis Pigott wrote a setting of it for the coronation of Queen Anne in 1702, also used at the coronation of King George I in 1714 and probably intended for King George II in 1727 but omitted by mistake.
William Boyce wrote a setting of it for the coronation of King George III in 1761.
