Why read Psalm 99?
Read Psalm 99 for joyful thanksgiving in daily prayer. Its invitation to serve gladly and enter God's presence with praise shows how gratitude can shape prayer.
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 13th Kathisma of the Psalter, Psalm 99 awaits its reader with 4 verses of prayer arising from a real experience. It begins with “Shout to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord...” — and from there onwards, everything is a dialogue between the human being and God.
The text of Psalm 99
1. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joy.
2. Know that the Lord, He is our God; He made us, and not we ourselves.
3. And we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with praise and His courts with songs; praise Him.
4. Sing His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures from generation to generation.
When Psalm 99 is read
- It belongs to the 13th Kathisma and may be read daily alongside the prayer rule (see the morning and evening prayers).
- 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.
