Liturgy > Psalter >

Reading the Psalter

The 150 Psalms of King David, collected into the liturgical book called the Psalter together with seven Scriptural hymns or "canticles", make up a large part of the core of Christian worship. The singing or chanting of psalms (called psalmody) is part of virtually every liturgical service in the Byzantine tradition.

But since the days of the first monastic fathers, it has also been the custom for Christians to read or chant the psalms privately, as a form of prayerful meditation. Our liturgical psalter includes directions on how this may be done, and there is also a customary variation of this practice when reading the psalter "for the dead" - that is, over the body of a Christian who had died and is awaiting burial.

The order for reading the psalter

The following order is from the opening pages of Psaltir Carja Davida, The Book of Psalms of King David, printed in Church Slavonic and English in Homestead, PA by the Greek Catholic Union in 1921 (PDF). An English translation was published by the Monastery of Our Savior in Steubenville, Ohio in 1977, and excepts from this booklet are used here with permission.

The beginning prayers

A priest begins:

Blessed is our God, always, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Anyone else begins:

Through the prayers of our holy father, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Then say the usual beginning prayers and the following troparia in Tone 6:

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: since we have no defense, we sinners offer this supplication to you, our Master; have mercy on us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Heaven reveals to the Church, O Lord, your honorable prophet David, and angels join mankind in songs of entreaty to you, O Christ God: Put our lives in order by his prayers, that we might sing to you: Alleluia!

Now and ever and forever. Amen.

My weak soul is in desperate need of your help, O Theotokos, and so I run for my life to you, sinner than I am. Beg your Son and our God to forgive the wrongs I have done, O only pure and blessed one!

The "Lord, have mercy" (40 times), and we make as many prostrations as we are able. Then the following Prayer to the Holy Trinity:

O Holy Trinity, God, Creator of the world: grant me the ability to undertake and complete this exercise of holy and spiritual psalmody which the Holy Spirit brought to the lips of David, and which I hope to repeat now, unworthy though I am. I know my ignorance, and so I fall down before you, praying and beseeching your help as I cry out: "O Lord, strengthen my mind, and do not permit me to offend you with my lips. Strengthen my heart to recite these psalms with joy and understanding, that they might lead me on to good works. Let me be sanctified by these good works and at the time of judgment, let me have a place at your right side in the company of heaven. Having declared my sincerity, Master, permit me to sing:

Come, let us worship our King and God.
Come, let us worship Christ, our King and God.
Come, let us worship and bow before the only Lord Jesus Christ, the King and our God.

We bow at each "Come, let us worship." Pray silently and, stand a little while, until the senses are calm, then slowly, but without dragging, begin in sincerity and compunction of heart to say the first psalm: Blessed is the man. Continue unhurriedly, attentively, gently, and with comprehension, that the mind may fathom what the lips recite.

The kathismata of the Psalter

The 150 psalms of David are divided into twenty "sittings" (kathismata). each of which is divided into three "standings" (stases, or "stations"). We stand during the reading of the stases of the psalter, and after each stasis we say:

Glory.... now and ever...
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Glory to you, O God! (3 times)
Lord, have mercy (3 times)
Glory... now and ever...

At the end of the third stasis, we kneel or sit for the hymns (troparia or sessional hymns) which follow each kathisma, and stand to say "Lord, have mercy" (40 times) and the prayer that concludes the kathisma.

(These troparia and prayers are included in the full liturgical psalter; our Inter-Eparchial Liturgical Commission is currently preparing such a psalter in English.)

Here are the divisions of the Psalter into kathismata. The left-hand side of the table uses the Greek (Septuagint, or LXX) numbering of the psalms, which is traditionally used in the Byzantine Rite, while the right-hand side of the table uses the Hebrew numbering found in most bibles.

Greek number of the Psalms
Hebrew number of the Psalms
First stasis
Second stasis
Third Stasis
Kathisma
First stasis
Second stasis
Third stasis
1-3
4-6
7-8
Kathisma 1
1-3
4-5
7-8
9-10
11-13
14-16
Kathisma 2
9-11
12-14
15-17
17
18-20
21-23
Kathisma 3
18
19-21
22-24
24-26
27-29
30-31
Kathisma 4
25-27
28-30
31-32
32-33
34-35
36
Kathisma 5
33-34
35-36
37
37-39
40-42
43-45
Kathisma 6
38-40
41-43
44-46
46-48
49-50
51-54
Kathisma 7
47-49
50-51
52-55
55-57
58-60
61-63
Kathisma 8
56-58
59-61
62-64
64-66
67
68-69
Kathisma 9
65-67
68
69-70
70-71
72-73
74-76
Kathisma 10
71-72
73-74
75-77
77
78-80
81-84
Kathisma 11
78
79-81
82-85
85-87
88
89-90
Kathisma 12
86-88
89
90-91
91-93
94-96
97-100
Kathisma 13
92-94
95-97
98-101
101-102
103
104
Kathisma 14
102-103
104
105
105
106
107-108
Kathisma 15
106
107
108-109
109-111
112-114
115-117
Kathisma 16
110-112
113-116:9
116:10-118
118:1-72
118:73-131
118:132-176
Kathisma 17
119:1-72
119:73-131
119:132-176
119-123
124-128
129-133
Kathisma 18
120-124
125-129
130-134
134-136
137-139
140-142
Kathisma 19
135-137
138-140
141-143
143-144
145-147
148-150
Kathisma 20
144-145
146-147
148-150

The Scriptural Canticles

During the Great Fast, some also read one or more of the following scriptural hymns or Canticles:

  1. The Hymn of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19)
  2. Moses' Hymn of Warning (Deuteronomy 32:1-43)
  3. The Hymn of Anna (1 Samuel 2:1-9 ; Jeremiah 9:22-23; 1 Samuel 2:10)
  4. The Hymn of the Prophet Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1-19)
  5. The Hymn of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 26:9-19)
  6. The Hymn of the Prophet Jonah (Jonah 2:3-10)
  7. The Hymn of the Prophet Daniel (Daniel 3:26-56)
  8. Another Hymn of the Prophet Daniel (Daniel 3:57-88)
  9. The Hymn of the Theotokos (Luke 1:46-55)
    The Hymn of Zachary (Luke 1:68-79)

Conclusion

After however many kathismata have been said, along with the Scriptural canticles if desired, the reading of the Psalter is concludes as follows.

Sing either " It is truly proper..." or "In you, O Woman full of grace...", and say the Trisagion prayers from "Holy God" through "Our Father".

Then the following troparia in Tone 6 from the beginning of the Psalter:

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: since we have no defense, we sinners offer this supplication to you, our Master; have mercy on us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Heaven reveals to the Church, O Lord, your honorable prophet David, and angels join mankind in songs of entreaty to you, O Christ God: Put our lives in order by his prayers, that we might sing to you: Alleluia!

Now and ever and forever. Amen.

My weak soul is in desperate need of your help, O Theotokos, and so I run for my life to you, sinner than I am. Beg your Son and our God to forgive the wrongs I have done, O only pure and blessed one!

(If in a church or monastery, add the patronal troparion if possible.)

Then "Lord, have mercy" (40 times). During the Great Fast, we say the Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian with three prostrations, the prayers that follow with twelve bows, and the Prayer of Saint Ephrem once more, with a prostration.

Then say the following prayer, with great attention:

O merciful Lord - most merciful Lord, Ruler of the universe, lover of mankind and source of all blessings: I am so poor and miserable, O Lord and Master. Yet I dare to utter your awesome, holy and wonderful Name which makes the powers of heaven tremble with fright. The whole world is astonished at your incomprehensible love for mankind, which sent your eternal and beloved Son from your paternal and loving presence - without leaving his divinity - to make men and angels into one order. Consider my low estate: I am dust and ashes but I invoke your indescribable brilliance. I lay aside the sickness of my soul and body to be supported by your merciful Word. Your death, Lord Jesus, has freed our souls from the designs of the enemy, uniting us in faith to accomplish your work and to obtain your glory from which evil Satan has fallen. Have mercy on me, whose mind has been so muddled by sinful thoughts, and lift my mind from its lazy state of sinfulness. Enlarge my heart. Fill my eyes with tears, and at the end of my spirit's exile, make me one of your immaculate saints, appointing me a place among those who have endured so much for you. In your great kindness, remember my parents, and all those dear to me, my brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, and all Orthodox Christians. By the prayers of the saints, save me, and accept these psalms and prayers which I have recited in your presence. Do not be angered by my groveling, because you are merciful, O Lover of mankind! To you, eternal Father, and to your only-begotten Son and to your all-holy, good, and life-creating Holy Spirit, we render glory, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Then:

More honorable than the cherubim...
Glory... now and ever....
Lord, have mercy. (3 times)
(Reverend Father, give the blessing!)

A priest concludes with the usual liturgical dismissal; anyone else concludes:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, by the intercession of your most pure Mother, by the power of the venerable and life-giving Cross, for the sake of the holy and spiritual powers of heaven, of our holy and God-bearing Fathers, of the holy prophet David and of all the saints, have mercy on me, a sinner, and save me, for you are good and love us all.

And all those present say, "Amen."

Reading the psalter at a funeral vigil

(The following material comes from A Psalter for Prayer by David James (Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev, 2011).

The Psalter may be prayed over the body of a Christian who has died, from the time of their death until the funeral (except when a service such as a Parastas or Panachida is taking place); it may also be prayed after the burial as a memorial.

The Psalter is read or chanted from a lectern set at the head of the casket (by tradition, the feet of the person who has died are set East, toward the sanctuary.) Any pious Christian may read the Psalter in this manner. The reading of the Psalter "serves as prayer to the Lord for the reposed, comforts those grieving for the deceased, and directs their prayers for him to God."

The Psalter is begun in the usual fashion, as above.

At the end of the second and third stases of each kathisma, after the second "Glory... now and ever...", we say the following, making a bow with each:

After the third stasis, sing or say the following troparia in Tone 6:

O Christ, the Creator of life and unfathomable abyss of goodness, grant your kingdom to your servant (Name) who has now departed, for you alone have immortality and an abundance of compassion.

Glory... now and ever...

O Lady who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Source of life and the Redeemer of the world, entreat him to grant eternal life to your servant (Name), who has now departed, you alone are the Helper of Christians.

Then Lord, have mercy" (40 times) and the following prayer, which replaces the usual prayer after each kathisma:

Lord our God, remember this your servant, our brother (sister) (Name), who now stands before you in the faith and hope of eternal life. Free him (her) from his (her) sins, destroying his (her) iniquity, pardoning, releasing, and freeing him (her) from all his (her)  transgressions voluntary and involuntary. Save him (her)  from eternal sufferings and the fires of hell. Grant him (her) to enjoy and share in your eternal happiness which you have prepared for all those who love you. Although he (she) has sinned, he (she) has not rejected you, but rather has confessed you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, faithfully even to his (her) last breath and has believed in you glorified in the Holy Trinity, one in three and three in one, according to the true faith. Therefore, in your goodness be merciful and grant him (her) rest with all your saints. For there is no one who lives and does not sin; you alone are without sin and your truth is eternal. For you are a merciful and loving God, and we give glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

The reading of the Psalter continues with "Come, let us worship" and the next kathisma.

The conclusion when reading the Psalter for the departed is the same as usual, except for the concluding prayer. A priest concludes as follows:

May Christ our true God, [Sunday or Pascha, add: risen from the dead,] who rules over the living and the dead, place the soul of his departed servant in the abode of the just and grant (him-her) rest in the bosom of Abraham and number (him-her) among the just, and have mercy on us and save us through the prayers of his most pure Mother; and of our venerable and God-bearing fathers; and through the prayers of all the saints; for Christ is good and loves us all.

while one not a priest says the following conclusion:

O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy and grant rest to the soul of your departed servant (Name) for eternal ages, through the prayers of your most pure Mother, and of our venerable and God-bearing fathers, and through the prayers of all the saints, for you are good and love us all.

A priest may intone for "Eternal memory" as usual:

In blessed repose, grant, O Lord, eternal rest to your departed servant (Name) and remember (him-her) forever.

,while one not a priest says:

To the servant of God, (Name), eternal memory!

Recommended Reading