Calls to worship, the Praise the LORD psalms that close the book, and psalms of adoration, each with the verse and what it does.
Praise in the psalms is rarely a private feeling. It is usually an invitation, and usually plural: come, sing, bow down, give glory. Most of these psalms say who God is and give the reason for praise in the same line. The book ends this way too. Psalms 146 to 150 each open and close with the words Praise the LORD, and the last verse of all hands the praise to everything that has breath.
The picks are grouped by use: opening lines for a call to worship, the Praise the LORD psalms at the end of the book, psalms of adoration about who God is, and short verses to keep. Thanks for something God has done has its own page. Tick the verses you want and print them as one sheet.
Opening lines that invite a group to worship. Most are written in the plural, so they suit being read aloud at the start of a gathering.
Oh come, let’s sing to the LORD.Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
An invitation rather than an order: let us sing. God is named as the rock of our salvation, which is the reason for the shout.
Oh come, let’s worship and bow down.Let’s kneel before the LORD, our Maker,
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
The same psalm moves from shouting in verse 1 to kneeling here. Worship is shown with the body: bow down, kneel before the LORD our Maker.
Serve the LORD with gladness.Come before his presence with singing.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Serving and coming before God sit side by side, and both are done with gladness and singing. It reads as a plain call to come and worship.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name.Worship the LORD in holy array.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The call is to give God the glory due to his name, as something owed. The KJV has worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness, and Psalm 96:9 repeats the line.
Oh magnify the LORD with me.Let’s exalt his name together.
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Magnify the LORD with me: the writer asks others to join in. The heading attributes the psalm to David, after he pretended to be insane before Abimelech.
The last five psalms each begin and end with Praise the LORD. The circle widens as they go, from one soul in Psalm 146 to everything that breathes in Psalm 150.
While I live, I will praise the LORD.I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
A promise to keep praising for a whole life: while I live, and as long as I exist. Psalm 104:33 makes almost the same promise.
Praise the LORD,for it is good to sing praises to our God;for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
This verse gives reasons for praise instead of only asking for it: it is good, pleasant and fitting. The KJV says praise is comely.
Praise him, sun and moon!Praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Sun, moon and stars are told to praise. Psalm 148 calls on the heavens first, then the earth, from sea creatures in verse 7 to kings and children in verses 11 and 12.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!Praise the LORD!
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
The last verse of the book of Psalms. After naming trumpets, harps and cymbals, the call to praise goes to everything that has breath.
Adoration praises God for who he is rather than for a gift received. These verses name his greatness, his holiness and his love.
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!You have set your glory above the heavens!
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
The psalm opens and closes with this line, in verse 1 and verse 9. Between them it looks at the moon and stars and asks what a human being is.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!His greatness is unsearchable.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Great, and greatly to be praised, with a greatness no one can search out. Psalm 145 is the only psalm whose heading calls it a praise psalm.
Exalt the LORD, our God.Worship at his holy hill,for the LORD, our God, is holy!
Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Psalm 99 says God is holy in verses 3, 5 and 9. This last line joins the call to worship with the reason for it.
Because your loving kindness is better than life,my lips shall praise you.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Loving kindness is valued above life itself, and the lips answer with praise. The heading places the psalm in the desert of Judah, and it opens with a soul that thirsts.
Not to us, LORD, not to us,but to your name give glory,for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Praise that refuses the credit: not to us, but to your name give glory. The reasons given are God's loving kindness and truth.
One-line verses that fit on a card, at a meal or at the start of a day.
I will bless the LORD at all times.His praise will always be in my mouth.
I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
At all times, and always in my mouth. The praise is not tied to a good day. It opens the psalm that goes on to say magnify the LORD with me.
From the rising of the sun to its going down,the LORD’s name is to be praised.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.
Praise measured by the length of the day, from the rising of the sun to its going down.
Praise the LORD, all you nations!Extol him, all you peoples!
O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm, two verses long. It calls every nation to praise and gives the reason in verse 2: his loving kindness is great toward us.
The two often share a line, as in Psalm 100:4, which names both. As a rough guide, thanksgiving in the psalms answers something God has done, and the psalm usually says what it was: a prayer answered, a rescue, a harvest. Praise more often answers who God is: great, holy, maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 145 does both. This page keeps to praise, and the thanksgiving psalms have a page of their own.
Many psalms were written to be sung, and their headings still show it. Fifty-five headings in the World English Bible mention the Chief Musician, and some name a tune or an instrument. Lines already written as calls to sing, such as Psalm 95:1, 96:1 and 98:4, are the easiest to set to music. This page does not list modern songs, because it cannot check which songs quote which psalms. The page on music in the psalms covers the singing and instruments the psalms describe.
Psalm 150 is the most direct: every line calls for praise, and the last verse extends it to everything that has breath. Psalm 145 is the only psalm whose heading calls it a praise psalm.
Psalms 146 to 150 each open and close with the words Praise the LORD, which the KJV gives as Praise ye the LORD. Psalms 106, 111, 112, 113 and 135 also begin with the same words.
Psalm 95:1 and 95:6, Psalm 100:2 and Psalm 29:2 are all written as invitations to a group. Psalm 34:3 asks others to join in: magnify the LORD with me.
A psalm that praises God for who he is rather than for something he has done. Psalm 8, Psalm 99 and Psalm 145:3 are clear examples.
It ends: Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Along the way the KJV names the trumpet, psaltery, harp, timbrel, stringed instruments, organs and cymbals.
The headings attribute Psalms 8, 29, 34, 63, 103 and 145 to David, among many others. Psalm 145 is headed a praise psalm by David.
Psalms of Thanksgiving and ThankfulnessPsalms for Singing: Music in the PsalmsPsalms of Happiness and JoyPsalms about Creation and NaturePsalms about God's LovePsalms for the Church, Pastors and Revival