Prayers Before the Reading of the Psalter

One ought to chant the Psalter with understanding, thusly:

If one is a Priest, let him say:

Blessed is our God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

But if one is not a Priest, the following should be said with compunction:

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us. Amen.

O Heavenly King, Trisagion through Our Father, and these troparia, in the Sixth Tone:

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for at a loss for any answer, we sinners offer unto Thee this supplication as to our Master: Have mercy on us!

Glory: The Church hath shown the honored celebration of Thy Prophet to be heaven, O Lord, [wherein] the angels join chorus with men. At his supplications arrange our life in peace, O Christ God, that we may chant unto Thee: Alleluia!

Both Now: Great are the multitudes of my transgressions, O Theotokos. Unto thee have I fled in need of salvation, O pure one. Visit mine ailing soul, and entreat thy Son and our God, that He grant me remission of the evils I have done, O thou who alone art blessed.

The reader then saith Lord, have mercy! forty times, and maketh as many prostrations as he is able, whereupon he reciteth this Prayer to the Holy and Life-creating Trinity:

O most Holy Trinity, God and Creator of the universe: Haste Thou and direct my heart, that it may begin with understanding, and end with good works, this divinely inspired book, which the Holy Spirit uttered through the mouth of David, and which I now desire to recite, unworthy though I am. Knowing well mine own ignorance, I fall down before Thee and pray, begging help of Thee: O Lord, set my mind aright, and make my heart steadfast, that I may not grow weary because of the words which my lips read, but that I may be gladdened with the understanding of what is read and may prepare myself for the doing of the good works which I learn; and I say: Let me be enlightened by good deeds, that at Thy judgment-seat I may, with all Thine elect, become a citizen of the land which is at Thy right hand. And now, O Master, bless me, that, sighing from [the depths] of my heart, I may chant with my tongue, saying thus:

O come, let us worship God our King!

O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and God!

O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God!

Then stand a while, until all one’s senses are calm, before beginning, not rapidly, nor yet at too slow a pace, but with compunction and a contrite heart, quietly, with understanding, not stridently, so that one may understand with one’s mind what is being read.