Psalms about waiting, prayers asking God to come, and the psalms read on the four Sundays of Advent.
No psalm mentions Advent, but many of them are about waiting. One writer waits for the Lord the way a night watchman waits for morning. Others ask God plainly to come: turn us again, part your heavens and come down. Others again describe a king arriving, gates lifted for him, and a reign of justice and peace. That mix of waiting, asking and expecting is why they fit the weeks before Christmas.
The picks are grouped as psalms about waiting, prayers asking God to come, and psalms of the coming king, which include the four psalms set for the Sundays of Advent in Year A of the Lectionary. Tick the verses you want and print them as one sheet.
Short verses where the writer is waiting and says so. Most use the word wait, and one compares it to a long night shift.
My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning,more than watchmen for the morning.
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
Waiting compared to a night watchman looking for dawn, and the line is said twice for weight. The psalm opens out of the depths and ends on hope for Israel in verses 7 and 8.
Guide me in your truth, and teach me,for you are the God of my salvation.I wait for you all day long.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
A prayer to be guided and taught, which ends with how long the writer will wait: all day long. Psalm 25 comes back to waiting in verses 3 and 21.
I waited patiently for the LORD.He turned to me, and heard my cry.
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Waiting that has already been answered. The writer waited patiently, and the same verse says God turned to him and heard his cry.
Our soul has waited for the LORD.He is our help and our shield.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
Here the waiting is shared: our soul has waited. The reason given is who God is, a help and a shield.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,so our eyes look to the LORD, our God,until he has mercy on us.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
The eyes of servants watching a master's hand. The waiting has an end point: until he has mercy on us.
Prayers that ask God to act, to show his face or to come down. They are written as requests, not as reports that he already has.
Turn us again, God.Cause your face to shine,and we will be saved.
Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
The refrain of Psalm 80, repeated in verses 7 and 19 with God's name growing longer each time. The request is to be turned back and to see God's face shine.
Part your heavens, LORD, and come down.Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
The plainest request in the psalms for God to come: part your heavens and come down. Mountains smoke at his touch.
Show us your loving kindness, LORD.Grant us your salvation.
Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
A short prayer to be shown loving kindness and given salvation. The Alleluia verse on the First Sunday of Advent in Year A is taken from this psalm, and verse 10 has mercy and truth meeting.
Our God comes, and does not keep silent.A fire devours before him.It is very stormy around him.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
Our God comes, and does not keep silent. The coming here is stormy, with fire before him, and the next verse calls heaven and earth to witness his judgment.
Psalms 122, 72, 146 and 24 are the Sunday psalms of Advent in Year A of the Lectionary for Mass. Psalm 96 ends with the LORD coming to judge the earth.
I was glad when they said to me,“Let’s go to the LORD’s house!”
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
The First Sunday psalm. It opens with gladness at an invitation to go to the LORD's house. The heading attributes it to David.
In his days, the righteous shall flourish,and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
The Second Sunday psalm, a prayer for a king. In his days the righteous flourish, with peace until the moon is no more. The heading names Solomon.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.The LORD raises up those who are bowed down.The LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
The Third Sunday psalm lists what the LORD does: he opens blind eyes, raises those bowed down and loves the righteous.
Lift up your heads, you gates!Be lifted up, you everlasting doors,and the King of glory will come in.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
The Fourth Sunday psalm. The gates are told to lift up their heads so the King of glory can come in, and verse 10 names him as the LORD of Armies.
before the LORD; for he comes,for he comes to judge the earth.He will judge the world with righteousness,the peoples with his truth.
Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
The reason the whole earth is told to sing: he comes, and the verse says it twice. He comes to judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.
In Year A of the Lectionary for Mass, the responsorial psalm is Psalm 122 on the First Sunday of Advent, Psalm 72 on the Second, Psalm 146 on the Third and Psalm 24 on the Fourth. The Alleluia verse on the First Sunday comes from Psalm 85. Years B and C use other psalms, so check which year of the three-year cycle you need.
No single psalm belongs to Advent. Psalm 80, with its refrain asking God to turn us again and let his face shine, and Psalm 130, which compares waiting for the Lord to watchmen waiting for morning, both suit a season spent waiting.
In Year A of the Lectionary for Mass they are Psalm 122, Psalm 72, Psalm 146 and Psalm 24, in that order.
Psalm 130:6, Psalm 25:5, Psalm 40:1 and Psalm 33:20 all speak of waiting or longing for the LORD. Psalm 40:1 is the one where the waiting has been answered.
Psalm 144:5 asks the LORD to part his heavens and come down. Psalm 18:9 describes the same action as something he has already done.
No psalm names Jesus. The New Testament does quote some psalms about him, and those are gathered on the psalms about Jesus page.
Psalms for ChristmasPsalms of HopePsalms for PatiencePsalms About JesusPsalms for Peace of Mind and ComfortPsalms about Light