Why read Psalm 131?
Read Psalm 131 to renew your commitment to promises and your love for God's house. Remembering the covenant with David and the desire for a dwelling place for the Lord invites faithfulness and communal 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.
"Remember, O Lord, of David and..." — so begins Psalm 131, eighteen verses from the Eighteenth Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its own place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 131
1. Remember, O Lord, of David and all his meekness.
2. How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the God of Jacob:
3. I shall not enter into the tabernacle of my house, nor climb up upon my bed of rest;
4. I shall not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, nor rest to my temples,
5. Until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
6. Behold, we have heard of the ark of the covenant; we found it at Ephratha, in the field of Jaar.
7. Let us enter into His tabernacles; let us worship at the place where His feet have stood.
8. Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy sanctification.
9. Thy priests shall be clothed with righteousness, and Thy saints shall rejoice.
10. For the sake of David Thy servant, turn not away the face of Thine anointed.
11. The Lord hath sworn truth unto David, and He shall not annul it: "Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne;
12. If thy children shall keep My covenant and these My testimonies, wherein I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon thy throne for ever."
13. For the Lord hath chosen Sion, and hath chosen her to be His dwelling.
14. "This is My rest for ever and ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen her.
15. Blessing her blessings I will bless; her poor will I satisfy with bread.
16. Her priests also will I clothe with salvation, and her saints with gladness shall rejoice.
17. There will I make the power of David to spring up; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.
18. His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon him shall My holiness flourish."
When Psalm 131 is read
- It belongs to the Eighteenth 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.
