Biblical Prayers and Psalms
The Book of Psalms, together with numerous canticles and prayers found throughout Holy Scripture, forms the foundational prayer book of the Church. These inspired words were prayed by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Apostles. They continue to be the heart of the Church’s official prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours.
Psalm 22 (23)
Dominus regit me
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
He hath set me in a place of pasture.
He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment: He hath converted my soul.
He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name’s sake.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly is it!
And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.
Psalm 50 (51)
Miserere
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
The Canticle of Mary (The Magnificat)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
The Canticle of Zechariah (The Benedictus)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Contexte Historique
The Book of Psalms is the inspired prayer book of the Old Testament, used in Jewish temple worship and cherished by Christ and His Apostles. From the earliest days, the Church has adopted the Psalms as the core of her own liturgical prayer, especially in the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours. In addition to the Psalms, other poetic passages of Scripture, known as canticles (like the Magnificat of Mary and the Benedictus of Zechariah), have been integrated into Christian worship, providing a rich treasury of divinely-inspired prayer for all occasions of life.