Why read Psalm 39?
Read Psalm 39 for patience, thanksgiving and the desire to do God's will. Gratitude for deliverance from suffering is followed by a renewed request for help and a commitment to obedience.
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 Sixth Kathisma of the Psalter, Psalm 39 awaits its reader with 24 verses of prayer rising out of a real experience. It begins with "With patience I waited upon the Lord, and..." — and from there on, everything is dialogue between man and God.
The text of Psalm 39
1. With patience I waited upon the Lord, and He was attentive unto me.
2. He heard my supplication. And He brought me out of the pit of misery, and out of the miry clay,
3. And He set my feet upon a rock, and ordered my goings aright.
4. And He hath put a new song into my mouth, a song unto our God;
5. Many shall see it and fear, and shall hope in the Lord.
6. Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord, and who hath not regarded vanities and false follies.
7. Many things hast Thou done, O Lord my God, Thy wonderful works, and there is none that shall be likened unto Thy thoughts;
8. I declared and have spoken: they are multiplied above number.
9. Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared for me;
10. Whole-burnt offering and sacrifice for sin Thou didst not require. Then I said: "Behold, I come!
11. In the volume of the book it is written of me. To do Thy will, O my God, I have desired, and Thy law in the midst of my heart".
12. I have proclaimed righteousness in a great congregation; lo, I will not refrain my lips; O Lord, Thou knowest.
13. Thy righteousness have I not hidden in my heart; Thy truth and Thy salvation have I declared.
14. I have not hid Thy mercy and Thy truth from a great congregation.
15. But Thou, O Lord, remove not Thy compassions far from me; let Thy mercy and Thy truth ever support me.
16. For evils without number have compassed me; mine iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see;
17. They are multiplied more than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.
18. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, give heed to help me.
19. Let them be put to shame and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it.
20. Let them be turned backward and put to shame that wish me evils;
21. Let them be speedily put to shame that say unto me: "Well done, well done".
22. Let all that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee, O Lord; and let them that love Thy salvation say continually: "The Lord be magnified!"
23. But I am poor and needy; the Lord will care for me.
24. Thou art my helper and my protector; my God, make no long tarrying.
When Psalm 39 is read
- It belongs to the Sixth Kathisma; it may be read daily, together with the prayer rule (see the morning and the evening prayers).
- 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.
