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: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
¹ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
³ He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
⁴ My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
⁶ They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
⁸ Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰ For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! (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 Psalm of David.
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
² Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
³ For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
⁵ I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
¹¹ For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
¹² And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. (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! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
² Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!
³ From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!
⁴ The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
⁵ Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
⁷ He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸ to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
⁹ He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. 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.

Aleph
¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
³ who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
⁴ You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
⁵ Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
⁸ I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! Beth
⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
¹² Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!
¹³ With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
¹⁴ In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶ I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Gimel
¹⁷ Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
¹⁹ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
²¹ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
²² Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
²³ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
²⁴ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. Daleth
²⁵ My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!
²⁶ When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes!
²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
²⁸ My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!
²⁹ Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!
³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.
³¹ I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame!
³² I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! He
³³ Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
³⁶ Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
³⁸ Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.
³⁹ Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
⁴⁰ Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life! Waw
⁴¹ Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;
⁴² then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.
⁴³ And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.
⁴⁴ I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,
⁴⁵ and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.
⁴⁶ I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,
⁴⁷ for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.
⁴⁸ I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes. Zayin
⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.
⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.
⁵¹ The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.
⁵² When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.
⁵³ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.
⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.
⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.
⁵⁶ This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts. Heth
⁵⁷ The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.
⁵⁸ I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
⁵⁹ When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies;
⁶⁰ I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.
⁶¹ Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law.
⁶² At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules.
⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴ The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! Teth
⁶⁵ You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word.
⁶⁶ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸ You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
⁶⁹ The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
⁷⁰ their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.
⁷¹ It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Yodh
⁷³ Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
⁷⁴ Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.
⁷⁵ I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
⁷⁶ Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.
⁷⁷ Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
⁷⁸ Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
⁷⁹ Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies.
⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame! Kaph
⁸¹ My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.
⁸² My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
⁸⁴ How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?
⁸⁵ The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law.
⁸⁶ All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
⁸⁷ They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.
⁸⁸ In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Lamedh
⁸⁹ Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
⁹¹ By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.
⁹² If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
⁹³ I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
⁹⁴ I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.
⁹⁵ The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.
⁹⁶ I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem
⁹⁷ Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
⁹⁸ Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.
⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies 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 aside from your rules, 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. Nun
¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
¹⁰⁷ I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word!
¹⁰⁸ Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules.
¹⁰⁹ I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
¹¹¹ Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
¹¹² I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. Samekh
¹¹³ I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.
¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
¹¹⁷ Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
¹¹⁸ You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.
¹¹⁹ All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.
¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin
¹²¹ I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.
¹²² Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me.
¹²³ My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.
¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!
¹²⁶ It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken.
¹²⁷ Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.
¹²⁸ Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way. Pe
¹²⁹ Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.
¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
¹³¹ I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.
¹³² Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.
¹³³ Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
¹³⁴ Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.
¹³⁵ Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.
¹³⁶ My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. Tsadhe
¹³⁷ Righteous are you, O LORD, and right are your rules.
¹³⁸ You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.
¹³⁹ My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.
¹⁴⁰ Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.
¹⁴¹ I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.
¹⁴² Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.
¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.
¹⁴⁴ Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live. Qoph
¹⁴⁵ With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.
¹⁴⁶ I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
¹⁴⁸ My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.
¹⁵⁰ They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
¹⁵¹ But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.
¹⁵² Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. Resh
¹⁵³ Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.
¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!
¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
¹⁵⁶ Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your rules.
¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.
¹⁵⁸ I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.
¹⁵⁹ Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life, O LORD, according to your steadfast love.
¹⁶⁰ The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin
¹⁶¹ Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.
¹⁶² I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.
¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.
¹⁶⁵ Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
¹⁶⁶ I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments.
¹⁶⁷ My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.
¹⁶⁸ I keep your precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before you. Taw
¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word!
¹⁷⁰ Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word.
¹⁷¹ My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.
¹⁷² My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.
¹⁷³ Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
¹⁷⁵ Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.
¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (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.

A Psalm of David.
¹ The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
² The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
³ Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
⁴ The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
⁵ The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶ He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
⁷ He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. (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.
¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
⁸ The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (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.

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
¹ O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
² For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads.
³ They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.
⁴ They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵ For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant—
⁶ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
⁸ Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.”
¹³ O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD.
¹⁷ Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸ that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth. (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 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

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.

A Psalm of David.
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
² Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
³ For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
⁵ I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
¹¹ For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
¹² And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. (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 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say—
² “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.
³ The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”
⁴ The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
⁵ May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!
⁶ Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
⁷ with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
⁸ nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!” (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].