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Gustave Doré’s engraving of David standing crowned and bowed as he mourns Absalom

Psalm 118

What St Athanasius said to pray when you’re afraid and need something to hold on to, in a letter from the 300s.

  • 29Verses
  • 1Situation

St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus

When to pray it

In the 300s, St Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a letter to his friend Marcellinus about praying the Psalms. In it he matched psalms to what people go through. This is what he gave this one for.

You're afraid, and you need something to hold on to.

When you are afraid, sing that the Lord is your helper and you will not fear what anyone can do to you: whatever in you is afraid is strengthened by hope.

Letter to Marcellinus

Psalm 118:14

Where it turns

The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.

29 verses, Berean Standard Bible

The whole psalm

Psalm 118

  1. 1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
  2. 2Let Israel say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
  3. 3Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
  4. 4Let those who fear the LORD say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
  5. 5In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
  6. 6The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
  7. 7The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
  8. 8It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
  9. 9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
  10. 10All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
  11. 11They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
  12. 12They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
  13. 13I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
  14. 14The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
  15. 15Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!
  16. 16The right hand of the LORD is exalted! The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!”
  17. 17I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.
  18. 18The LORD disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
  19. 19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
  20. 20This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
  21. 21I will give You thanks, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.
  22. 22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
  23. 23This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
  24. 24This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
  25. 25O LORD, save us, we pray. We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!
  26. 26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
  27. 27The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
  28. 28You are my God, and I will give You thanks. You are my God, and I will exalt You.
  29. 29Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

Psalm 118 is 117 in the Greek numbering Athanasius used, which Orthodox Bibles and some older Catholic ones still follow.

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Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Athanasius’s advice is paraphrased from his Greek.