Psalms by Category

These Psalms articulate deep sorrow, suffering, and distress, serving as vehicles for the 'shout of No' against hardship. They are used when contemplating physical or spiritual vexation, persecution, and asking God how long His wrath will last. They often shift abruptly from complaint to trust, and genuine lament is the Christian form that shapes the affective eruption engendered by suffering. Psalm 22 is considered the premier psalm of lament.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
² who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
⁴ Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
⁶ I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
⁷ O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
⁹ As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
¹² I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence. (ESV)

Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, the Consolation of the sorrowful and the Strength of the weak, may the prayers of them that in any tribulation or distress cry to You, graciously come before You, so that in all their necessities they may mark and receive Your manifold help and comfort; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.

These psalms, particularly the Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), deal with the knowledge of sin and the need for forgiveness and absolution. Repentance requires faith in the remission of sins, urging one to hear what God wishes to say rather than focusing on self-justification. Confession of sins before God is inclusive, acknowledging its totality and admitting no righteousness before Him.

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
² O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
³ If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (ESV)

Prayer

O God, merciful Father, who does not despise the groaning of the contrite and does not scorn the emotion of the sorrowful: Be present to our prayers which mid afflictions that so heavily overwhelm us we pour out before You, and graciously hear them, so that that which is laid against us as snares, the deceits of the devil and of man, may be reduced to nothing and scattered according to the counsel of Your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

These are Doxological Psalms, comprising the language of joy, used to recount God's wonderful deeds, proclaim salvation, and exhort the congregation to praise the Lord with instruments and gladness. Thanksgiving often accompanies confession of God's goodness and mercy. Doxology is the point where the lost meet God, as it cries for and dares to enter God's presence.

A Psalm for giving thanks.
¹ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
² Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
³ Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who 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. (ESV)

Prayer

I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that you would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please you. For into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things. Let your holy angel be with me that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

This group consists primarily of Torah Psalms, teaching the godly how to meditate on God's word, which is a lamp unto my feet. Meditation is not about how we meditate, but on what we meditate: the life-giving Word of God. These psalms anchor the Christian life in God's Word and provide metaphors of divine guidance.

¹ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (ESV)

Prayer

Make me to understand the way of Your precepts. Strengthen me according to Your Word.

The New Testament cites the Psalms more than any other Old Testament book to show that Jesus is the Christ. These Psalms fulfill prophecies concerning His person, priesthood, and passion, such as the cry of forsakenness on the cross (Psalm 22). They are direct or external psalms dealing with the faith in the promised Messiah.

¹ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
⁵ Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.
⁶ The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
⁷ The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
¹⁰ All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹¹ They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹² They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹³ I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
¹⁵ Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
¹⁶ the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.
¹⁸ The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
²¹ I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
²² The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
²³ This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
²⁵ Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!
²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
²⁷ The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.
²⁹ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (ESV)

Prayer

O Lord God, heavenly Father, we give You thanks that of Your great goodness and mercy You suffered Your only-begotten Son to become incarnate and to redeem us from sin and everlasting death; and we implore You, enlighten our hearts by Your Holy Spirit that we may evermore yield You unfeigned thanks for this Your grace and may comfort ourselves with the same in all time of tribulation and temptation; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.

Psalms expressing firm confidence and security in God, viewing Him as a Refuge and Strength. They speak of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, and encourage reliance on God's sustaining work in times of fear. This category teaches that salvation belongs to the Lord.

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
¹ If it had not been the LORD who was on our side— let Israel now say—
² if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us,
³ then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
⁴ then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
⁵ then over us would have gone the raging waters.
⁶ Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
⁷ We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (ESV)

Prayer

O God, our Refuge and Strength, who is the Author of all godliness, be ready, we implore You, to hear the devout prayers of Your Church, and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.

These psalms voice complaints and groans on behalf of the Church, which is set in the midst of the wicked. They petition God to deliver the righteous, judge the nations, and administer justice against oppressors, recognizing that God is the inspector of all that is done among men. They ask that enemies may not triumph over the righteous.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ Be not silent, O God of my praise!
² For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
³ They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
⁴ In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
⁵ So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
⁶ Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
⁸ May his days be few; may another take his office!
⁹ May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
¹⁰ May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹ May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹² Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
¹³ May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
¹⁵ Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
¹⁶ For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
¹⁷ He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
¹⁸ He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
¹⁹ May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!
²⁰ May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!
²¹ But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
²² For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
²³ I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.
²⁶ Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
²⁷ Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it!
²⁸ Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
³⁰ With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
³¹ For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. (ESV)

Prayer

O God, who is the Author of peace and Lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom, defend us, Your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies, that we, surely trusting in Your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.

Psalms specifically associated with the assembly, the Temple, and fixed liturgical usage, serving as Introits (opening psalms) or Invitatories. The liturgical focus gravitates toward Mount Zion and its worship. Worship in the church is the place where people appear in God's presence, receive His blessing, and present petitions.

A Psalm of David.
¹ The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
² for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
³ Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵ He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah (ESV)

Prayer

Almighty, ever-living God, grant that I may gladly hear Your Word and that all my worship may be acceptable to You; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

Psalms addressing the anxieties of life and death, confronting the brevity of human existence, and seeking refuge from God's wrath. They provide words to commend anguish to a faithful Creator and provide consolation, especially the words of Christ, who shares His never-ending life in the very midst of our dying.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
² Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
³ My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long?
⁴ Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?
⁶ I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.
⁸ Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹ The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. (ESV)

Prayer

O dear Lord God, Father, this life of ours is so wretched... help us to survive such great evil and malice. And when our time comes, let it be a blessed hour and a joyful departure out of this place of sorrows, that we may neither fear death nor give way to despair, but in unwavering faith commit our souls into your hands. Amen.

This category includes the fifteen Songs of Degrees (120-134), traditionally sung on spiritual pilgrimage. They describe the ascent toward the Lord, where the feet move not by pride but by charity. These psalms lead the soul to heavenly things, teaching humility and meekness.

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.
³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.
⁴ Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!
⁵ But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel! (ESV)

Prayer

O God, the protector of all that trust in You, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Your mercy; that, You being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, [as finally not to lose the things eternal].