Praying the Psalms

A Song of Ascents 1) How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2) It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3) It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalm 133 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B Proper 7, Sunday between June 19 and June 25, Year B Proper 15, Sunday between August 14 and August 20, Year A This psalm is treasured, its 3 short verses singing of the precious gift of unity, in a family or in a community. I think it is so valued, because it can be either praise or prayer. There may be a tendency to hear it as a joyful thanksgiving for the great blessing of kindred spirits living in harmony. But cannot it not also be a plea for what we don't have, and earnestly desire? I remember hearing ...

Jump to end of psalm A Psalm of thanksgiving. 1) Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. 2) Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 3) Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. 5) For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100 Proper 6, Sunday between June 12 and June 18, Year A Christ the King, Year A Church musicians, worship leaders, tambourine-shakers, singers, and shouters all cite this psalm's authorization of their activities. And rightly so. Worship is a time to bring it, bring your best, to be exuberant, all-in, full-throated in praise, adoration, and communion with God. It is worth noting t...

Jump to end of psalm To the leader. A Psalm of David. 1) How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2) How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3) Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 4) and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. 5) But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6) I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13 Proper 8, Sunday between June 26 and July 2, Year A This psalm expresses anguish and hope, a plea for help, and describes a relationship with the Lord, all in six compact verses. It starts with a frequent question. "How long, O Lord"? We hear this in at ...

Jump to end of psalm 97) Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 98) Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99) I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. 100) I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101) I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102) I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 103) How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104) Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:97-104 Proper 24, Sunday between October 16 and October 22, Year C, verses 97-104 "Torah," in Hebrew means law, or instruction, direction or way, and also refers to the first five books of both the Hebrew and Christian Bible. There is an annual Jewis...

Jump to end of psalm A Song of Ascents. 1) Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. 2) You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. 3) Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4) Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. 5) The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6) May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!. Psalm 128 Not included in the Revised Common Lectionary. What a simple prayer: may things go well for you and yours. In fact, the psalm is stronger. It is not a blessing or a hope. Most of the psalm is phrased as declarations. Happy is ... You shall ... It assumes that blessing follows from "fear of the Lord." ...

Jump to end of psalm A Prayer of David. 1) Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2) Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; 3) be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. 4) Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5) For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. 6) Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. 7) In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me. 8) There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9) All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10) For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. 11) Teach me your ...

Jump to end of psalm A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer. 1) With my voice I cry to the Lord; with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. 2) I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3) When my spirit is faint, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4) Look on my right hand and see— there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me. 5) I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6) Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. Save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. 7) Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. Psalm 142 Not included in the Revised Common L...