When it is said
It can be prayed at any time fear or opposition presses on you.
It is Psalm 26 in the Greek Bible, which numbers the psalms differently.
Where it comes from
Author by tradition
Whose psalm it is
The Hebrew heading gives the psalm to David and nothing more. The old Greek translation places it “before he was anointed”, but neither heading names the trouble David was in. The psalm itself speaks of an army camped against him and false witnesses rising up.
The Hebrew with the Jewish Publication Society’s English (1917), on Mechon Mamre; Brenton’s English of the Greek Septuagint, at the psalm it numbers 26
What Athanasius advised
St Athanasius of Alexandria wrote to a man named Marcellinus about praying the Psalms. His advice was that when enemies attack like an army and look down on you as someone not yet anointed, you should not cower but sing this psalm. His words echo the psalm’s Greek heading.
St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus on the Psalms, the Greek text
What the words mean
From trust to a cry for help
The psalm opens in calm trust, speaking about God, and then turns to Him in prayer, “Hear my voice, O LORD, when I call.” In its last verse the one praying urges his own heart to be strong and wait for the LORD. This prayer leaves out only verse 6, a vow to offer sacrifices with shouts of joy in God’s tent, so that the trust leads straight into the prayer.
The Scripture in it
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread? When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell. Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust. One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me. My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek. Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors. Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.