You can see the Lord shepherding you and guiding your way, and you're glad.
When you see yourself shepherded by the Lord and guided on your way, sing Psalm 23 and rejoice in it.
Letter to Marcellinus
Psalm 23
What St Athanasius said to pray when you can see the Lord shepherding you, in a letter from the 300s.
- 6Verses
- 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.
6 verses, Berean Standard Bible
The whole psalm
Psalm 23
Its own heading A Psalm of David.
- 1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- 2He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
- 3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
- 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
- 6Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23 is 22 in the Greek numbering Athanasius used, which Orthodox Bibles and some older Catholic ones still follow.
When life is good, and you want to thank Him and grow
Close to this
- You're marvelling at how well the world is ordered, at God's care in it, and at how good His commands are.
- You want to thank God, in and through everything.
- You keep seeing God's kindness, to you and to everyone, and you want to bless Him for it.
- Something new has begun in your home, and you want to give it, and yourself, to God with thanks.
All 53 situations, in one guide.
Suggest a correction. Corrections that are applied are recorded in the public changelog.
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Athanasius’s advice is paraphrased from his Greek.