Why read Psalm 29?
Read Psalm 29 to give thanks after illness, suffering or another difficult experience. Its movement from lament to joy expresses gratitude for being restored and helped.
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.
In the Fourth Kathisma of the Psalter, Psalm 29 awaits its reader with 12 verses of prayer rising out of a real experience. It begins with "I will magnify Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast..." — and from there on, everything is dialogue between man and God.
The text of Psalm 29
1. I will magnify Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2. O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me.
3. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Hades; Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.
4. Sing unto the Lord, ye His saints, and give thanks for the remembrance of His holiness.
5. For wrath is in His anger, and life in His good pleasure; weeping shall lodge in the evening, but joy in the morning.
6. And I said in my prosperity: "I shall never be moved!"
7. O Lord, in Thy good pleasure Thou gavest strength to my beauty; but when Thou didst turn away Thy face, I was troubled.
8. Unto Thee, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I make supplication.
9. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down unto corruption? Shall the dust give praise unto Thee, or shall it declare Thy truth?
10. The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy upon me; the Lord is become my helper!
11. Thou hast turned my mourning into joy; Thou hast rent off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.
12. That my glory may sing praise unto Thee, and that I be not cast down; O Lord my God, for ever will I give thanks unto Thee!
When Psalm 29 is read
- in thanksgiving after healing or deliverance.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
