Why read Psalm 15?
Read Psalm 15 to entrust your life to God and seek lasting joy. Its prayer for protection is grounded in choosing the Lord above all else and trusting Him to show the path of life.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 15 — «Guard me, O Lord, for in You...» — is the prayer through which the Psalmist places before God the experience of a whole hour of life. It belongs to the 2nd Kathisma and has 11 verses, which you will find below in full.
The text of Psalm 15
1. Guard me, O Lord, for in You I have hoped.
2. I said to the Lord: “You are my Lord, for You do not need my good things.”
3. Through the saints who are on His earth, the Lord made all His will wonderful in them.
4. The weaknesses of those who run after other gods have multiplied. I will not take part in their gatherings with blood sacrifices, nor will I mention their names on my lips.
5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup. You are the One who establishes my inheritance for me again.
6. My lot fell among the mighty, for my inheritance is mighty.
7. I will bless the Lord, who made me wise; my heart urges me to this even at night.
8. I always saw the Lord before me, for He is at my right hand so that I may not be shaken.
9. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; even my body will dwell in hope.
10. For You will not leave my soul in hell, nor allow Your devout one to see corruption.
11. You made known to me the ways of life; You will fill me with joy through Your face, and at Your right hand You will satisfy me with eternal beauties.
When Psalm 15 is read
- In preparation for confession («Lord, who will dwell in Your tent?»).
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
