When it is said
Its first line is short enough to say the moment fear takes hold.
St Athanasius of Alexandria gave this psalm to people who are persecuted and slandered.
He told them not to lose heart, but to take courage in the Lord and sing it.
Where it comes from
Author by tradition
David in Gath
The Hebrew heading places the psalm “when the Philistines took him in Gath”. First Samuel tells how David fled from King Saul to Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. When the king’s servants recognized him, David was very much afraid. He pretended to be insane until Achish wanted nothing more to do with him (1 Samuel 21:10-15).
Which verses it keeps
The prayer keeps the lines about fear, tears and trust, which are verses 3 and 4 and verses 8 to 13. The verses left out describe enemies who twist David’s words and lie in wait for him. They also ask God to bring those enemies down in His anger.
What the words mean
The Hebrew and the Greek
The Greek Septuagint numbers this psalm 55 and reads two lines differently. In Brenton’s English translation of the Greek, “When I am afraid” becomes “They shall be afraid, but I will trust in thee,” so it is David’s enemies who fear. Where the Hebrew asks God to put David’s tears in His bottle, the Greek says “thou hast set my tears before thee.” The plain English follows the Hebrew.
Brenton’s translation of the Septuagint, Psalm 55; The Hebrew Bible, on Mechon Mamre
The Scripture in it
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, Whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side. In God, Whose word I praise, in the LORD, Whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.