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.

¹ Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
² For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! (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.

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.
¹ Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
² I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
³ I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
⁴ More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?
⁵ O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
⁶ Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.
⁷ For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.
⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.
⁹ For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
¹⁰ When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
¹¹ When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
¹² I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
¹⁴ Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
¹⁵ Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
¹⁶ Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
¹⁷ Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
¹⁸ Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!
¹⁹ You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
²⁰ Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
²² Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
²³ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
²⁴ Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
²⁷ Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you.
²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
²⁹ But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
³⁰ I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
³² When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
³³ For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
³⁵ For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it;
³⁶ the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it. (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.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
¹ In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
² His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
³ There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
⁴ Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.
⁵ The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.
⁶ At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
⁷ But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
⁸ From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,
⁹ when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
¹¹ Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,
¹² who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the 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: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;
² deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
³ For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,
⁴ for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see!
⁵ You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
⁶ Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips— for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
⁸ But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
¹¹ Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³ consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
¹⁴ Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.
¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. (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 Asaph.
¹ The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
³ Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.
⁴ He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
⁶ The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah
⁷ “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
⁸ Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
¹⁶ But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
¹⁷ For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
¹⁹ “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
²² “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
²³ The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (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 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, 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].