Why read Psalm 46?
Psalm 46 is a joyful prayer of praise for God's sovereignty. Its invitation to all peoples and its image of the Lord's ascent express a shared celebration of His greatness.
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.
“All peoples, clap your hands; shout...” — this is how Psalm 46 begins, a work of 9 verses from the 7th Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 46
1. All peoples, clap your hands; shout to God with a voice of joy.
2. For the Lord is Most High, awesome, a great King over all the earth.
3. He subjected peoples to us and nations under our feet;
4. He chose His inheritance for us, the beauty of Jacob, which He loved.
5. God ascended amid shouting, the Lord to the sound of a trumpet.
6. Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing.
7. For God is King of all the earth; sing with understanding.
8. God reigned over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
9. The leaders of the peoples gathered with the people of the God of Abraham, for the mighty of the earth belong to God; He was greatly exalted.
When Psalm 46 is read
- It belongs to the 7th Kathisma — the psalms are read in full within the cycle of kathismata, at Matins and Vespers.
- 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.
