PSALMS OF THE SEASON - EPIPHANY, YEAR B

PSALMS OF THE SEASON - EPIPHANY, YEAR B
Redemption Songs, A 21st Century Descant

by Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast, Conference Minister

Below you will find the readings from the Psalms assigned to the season of Epiphany, Year B. Epiphany is the celebration of God’s manifestation through Jesus Christ. The season begins on January 6, but in some years, many communities will use Epiphany themes and scriptures beginning on the Sunday prior to January 6.

It is my hope to render each of the Psalms in language that is understandable to people today, useable in worship, and true to the intent of the psalmists. These re-phrasings are not so much paraphrase as harmony, with the fixed, known melody as a base. The book is copyrighted, but you have my permission to use any of the readings posted on this website in a service of worship, with the printed acknowledgement:

From The Psalms in Worship, Mary Susan Gast, © 2002;
used by permission in this service of worship.

Scroll down the page, or click on the link:

Epiphany - Epiphany
First Sunday after Epiphany
Second Sunday after Epiphany
Third Sunday after Epiphany
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Last Sunday after Epiphany

EPIPHANY - PSALM 72: 1-7, 10-14
This Psalm is a prayer for an anointed king of Israel, asking that God’s reign be established through the king. Christians hear in Psalm 72 a prayer for the reign of Jesus Christ.

Leader:     Endow our ruler with Your justice, O God,
PEOPLE: And to the ruler who follows,
                Give Your ability and desire
                 to provide for the well-being of the people,
Leader:     That all Your people may be kept secure,
PEOPLE: And Your lowly ones served with justice.
Leader:     May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
PEOPLE: And the hills, the reward of justice .
Leader:     May the cause of the poor be defended,
PEOPLE: Deliverance given to the needy,
Leader:     And oppression crushed.
PEOPLE: As long as the sun endures,
Leader:     While the moon lasts,
PEOPLE: Through all generations.
Leader:     May those who rule be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
PEOPLE: Like showers that water the earth.
Leader:     May well-being flourish and peace abound,
PEOPLE: Until the moon is no more.

Leader:     The just ruler rescues the needy when they cry out,
PEOPLE: The poor and those who have no helper.
Leader:     With compassion,
                 The lives of the weak and the needy are restored,
PEOPLE: Their lives delivered from oppression and violence,
Leader:     Their blood deemed too precious to be shed.

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPHIPHANY-PSALM 29
Leader:     Ascribe to the Almighty, O heavenly beings,
PEOPLE: Ascribe to the Almighty and to none other,
Leader:     Ascribe to the One God splendor and strength.
PEOPLE: Ascribe to the Holy One the wonder of God’s renown;
Leader:     Bow down before the Most High,
PEOPLE: Who is holiness and splendor.

Leader:     The voice of the Most High is over the waters;
PEOPLE: The God of glory thunders,
                 The Almighty, over mighty waters.
Leader:     The voice of the Holy One is power;
PEOPLE: The voice of the Holy One is magnificence.
Leader:     The voice of the Holy One breaks the cedars;
PEOPLE: The Holy One shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
Leader:     And makes the mountain range skip like a calf,
PEOPLE: And the northern region cavort like a young wild ox.
Leader:     The voice of the Most High flashes forth flames of fire.
PEOPLE: The voice of the Most High convulses the wilderness;
Leader:     The Most High convulses the wilderness of Kadesh.
PEOPLE: The voice of the Almighty causes the oaks to whirl,
Leader:     And strips the forest bare;
PEOPLE: So that in God’s temple all say, "Glory!"

Leader: The One God sits enthroned over the flood;
PEOPLE: The One God sits enthroned and reigns forever;
Leader: The Almighty pours out strength to God’s people!
PEOPLE: The Almighty blesses God’s people with peace!

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPHIPHANY-PSALM 139: 1-6, 13-18
Leader:     You have searched me, O Holy One,
PEOPLE: And You know me.
Leader:     You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
PEOPLE: You sense my thoughts from afar.
Leader:     You notice my going out and my lying down,
PEOPLE: You are acquainted with all my ways.
Leader:     Even before a word is on my tongue, O Holy One,
PEOPLE: You know it completely.
Leader:     You are all around me;
PEOPLE: You lay Your hand upon me.
Leader:     Such knowledge is beyond me.
PEOPLE: It is so lofty that I cannot attain it.

Leader:     You it was who created my inmost being.
PEOPLE: You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Leader:     I give You thanks,
PEOPLE: For I am awesomely and wondrously made.
Leader:     Your work is wonderful;
PEOPLE: That I know very well.
Leader:     My frame was not concealed from You,
                 when I was being shaped in a hidden place,
                 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
PEOPLE: Your eyes saw my unformed substance.
Leader:     In Your book were written
                 all the days that were formed for me,
                 when none of them as yet existed.

PEOPLE: How weighty to me are Your thoughts, O God!
Leader:     How vast is their number!
                 I try to count them;
PEOPLE: They outnumber the grains of sand.
Leader:     I end;
PEOPLE:: Yet I am still with You.

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 62: 5-12
Voice 1:   Find comfort, O my soul, in God alone,
PEOPLE: For my hope comes from the Most High.
Voice 2:   God alone is my rock and my deliverance,
                my safe harbor;
PEOPLE: I shall not be distressed.
Voice 1:   My life and my significance depend upon God,
PEOPLE: Who is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Voice 2:   Trust in the Holy One at all times, O people;
Voice 1:   Pour out your hearts to the Most High;
PEOPLE: God is our refuge.
Voice 2:   Humans are but a breath;
Voice 1:   Those of high estate are a delusion;
Voice 2:   Placed on a scale together,
                They are lighter than a breath.
Voice 1:   Do not trust in violence;
PEOPLE: Place no vain hopes in coercion;
Voice 2:   If force bears fruit, if wealth increases,
PEOPLE: Pay it no mind.
Voice 1:   One thing God has spoken,
Voice 2:   Two things have I heard:
PEOPLE: You, O God, are Strength,
                And Your love is unshakable, O Holy One.
ALL:        You reward with peace,
                All who have sought peace.

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 111
ALL:        Hallelujah!
Leader:     I will give thanks to the Holy One with my whole heart,
PEOPLE: In the assembled company of the faithful.
Leader:     Great are the works of the Most High;
PEOPLE: They are pondered by all who delight in them.
Leader:     God’s deeds are splendid and glorious,
PEOPLE: And the magnanimity of the Almighty endures forever.
Leader:     The wonderful deeds of the Saving God are everywhere acclaimed;
PEOPLE: The Holy One is gracious and compassionate,
Leader:     Providing food for all who trust in the Most High;
PEOPLE: The Holy One is ever mindful of the covenant.
Leader:     God has shown the people powerful works,
PEOPLE: Giving them the land that sustains them.
Leader:     The designs of God’s hands are faithfulness and justice;
PEOPLE: All the Holy One’s teachings are trustworthy,
Leader:     Well-founded for all time,
PEOPLE: To be carried out with faithfulness and justice.
Leader:     The Most High sent deliverance to the people;
PEOPLE: And enjoined this covenant forever.
Leader:     Holy and awesome is God’s eminence.
PEOPLE: Trust of the Holy One is the beginning of wisdom;
Leader:     All those who practice it have good understanding.
PEOPLE: The honor of the Most High is everlasting.

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 147: 1-11, 20c
ALL:        Hallelujah!
PEOPLE: How good it is to sing honor to our God;
Leader:     For the Holy One is gracious,
PEOPLE: And a song of acclaim is fitting.
Leader:     The Most High rebuilds the holy city;
PEOPLE: And gathers up the outcasts.
Leader:     The Almighty heals the brokenhearted,
PEOPLE: And binds up their wounds.
Leader:     The Holy One determines the number of the stars;
PEOPLE: And gives to each its name.
Leader:     Great is our Creator, and abundant in power;
PEOPLE: God’s wisdom is beyond measure.
Leader:     The Holy One lifts up the downtrodden;
PEOPLE: And brings the oppressors down to the dust.
Leader:     Sing to the Most High with thanksgiving;
PEOPLE: Make melody on the lyre to honor our God,
Leader:     Who covers the heavens with clouds,
PEOPLE: Prepares rain for the earth,
Leader:     Makes grass grow on the hills.
PEOPLE: Who provides food for the beasts of the field,
Leader:     And for the raven’s brood when they cry.
PEOPLE: The Author of Life does not prize the strength of the horse,
Leader:     Nor value the speed of the runner;
PEOPLE: But the Holy One delights in those who trust in God,
Leader:     In those who put their hope in God’s unfailing love.
ALL:         Hallelujah!

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 30
Leader:     I will acclaim You, O Holy One,
                 For You have pulled me up from the pit,
PEOPLE: And did not let my enemies gloat over me.
Leader:     O God, my God, I cried out to You for help,
PEOPLE: And You healed me.
Leader:     O Loving One, You brought me up from the grave,
PEOPLE: You restored me to life from the realm of the dead.

Leader:     Sing praises to the Holy One, O you who are faithful,
PEOPLE: And give thanks to the God who is Life.
Leader:     Who seems to forsake us but for a moment;
PEOPLE: Whose favor is for a lifetime.
Leader:     Weeping may linger for the night,
PEOPLE: But joy comes as surely as the morning.

Leader:     When I lived untroubled, I declared,
                 "I shall never be distressed."
                 Your face beamed upon me an abundance of gifts,
                 And I stood firm as a mighty mountain.
PEOPLE: When I lost sight of Your face, I was terrified.
Leader:     I called to You, O God, and to You I made my appeal:
PEOPLE: "What good will come from my destruction,
                 From my going down to the land of the dead?
Leader:     Can the dust remember You?
PEOPLE: Can it tell of Your faithfulness?
Leader:     Hear me, O God, and be gracious to me!
PEOPLE: O God Most High, be my help!"

Leader:     You turned my lament into dancing;
PEOPLE: You undid my clothes of mourning,
                 And wrapped me with joy,
Leader:     So that my soul may sing praises to You
                 And not be silent.
PEOPLE: O God my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 41
Voice 1:   Happy are those who consider the poor;
PEOPLE: The Holy One delivers them in the day of trouble.
Voice 2:   The Author of Life protects them and keeps them alive;
PEOPLE: They are called happy in the land.
Voice 1:   You do not surrender them to the desires of their enemies.
PEOPLE: The Almighty sustains them on their sickbed,
                Transforming their bed of suffering.

Voice 2:   As for me, I said, "O Holy One, be gracious to me;
                Restore me, for I have strayed from You."
Voice 1:   My enemies asked in malice when I would die,
                And my name pass from memory.
Voice 2:   And when they came to see me,
                They uttered empty words,
                While their minds amassed tales;
Voice 1:   When they went out, they defamed me.
Voice 2:   All who hated me whispered together about me;
Voice 1:   They assumed the worst for me.
Voice 2:   They speculated that a deadly thing had fastened on me,
                That I would not rise again from where I lay.
Voice 1:   Even my closest friend
                in whom I trusted,
                who ate of my bread,
                Turned against me.
Voice 2:   But You, O Redeemer, had compassion on me,
PEOPLE: And raised me up, that my life might refute their claims.
Voice 1:   I know that You bless me,
PEOPLE: Because the ill-will of my enemy has not triumphed over me.
Voice 2:   You uphold me because I put my trust in You,
PEOPLE: And let me in live in Your presence forever.

ALL:         Blessed be the Holy One, the God of the faithful,
                 from everlasting to everlasting.
                 Amen and Amen.

LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY-PSALM 50: 1-6
Voice 1:   The Mighty One,
Voice 2:   God,
Voice 3:   The Ruler of Creation,
Voice 1:   Speaks,
PEOPLE: And summons the earth,
                From the rising of the sun to its setting.
Voice 2:   Out of the abode of holiness,
                And the perfection of beauty,
PEOPLE: God shines forth.
Voice 3:   Our God comes forth
PEOPLE: And does not keep silence,
Voice 2:   Devouring fire advances before the Most High,
PEOPLE: With a mighty tempest all around.
Voice 3:   The Holy One calls to the heavens above and to the earth,
PEOPLE: That God may judge the people:
Voice 1:   "Gather to Me My faithful ones,
                 Who made a covenant with Me, confirmed by sacrifice!"
Voice 2:   The heavens declare God’s faithfulness and power;
PEOPLE: God is justice.

» posted on March 06, 2003

» filed under

Psalms

Printer-friendly version

Primary links

PSALMS OF THE SEASON - EPIPHANY, YEAR B