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

Psalm 31

What St Athanasius said to pray when friends and family turn on you for the truth, in a letter from the 300s.

  • 24Verses
  • 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.

Your friends and family have turned against you because you hold to the truth, and even people you know look the other way.

When you find yourself hated and hounded by all your friends and relatives for the truth's sake, don't lose heart over them or over yourself, and don't cower when acquaintances turn away. Stand back from it all, look to what is coming, and sing Psalm 31.

Letter to Marcellinus

Psalm 31:14

Where it turns

But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

24 verses, Berean Standard Bible

The whole psalm

Psalm 31

Its own heading For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

  1. 1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness.
  2. 2Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.
  3. 3For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
  4. 4You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge.
  5. 5Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
  6. 6I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.
  7. 7I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.
  8. 8You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
  9. 9Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.
  10. 10For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.
  11. 11Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends— they flee when they see me on the street.
  12. 12I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel.
  13. 13For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
  14. 14But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
  15. 15My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
  16. 16Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me by Your loving devotion.
  17. 17O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol.
  18. 18May lying lips be silenced— lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
  19. 19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
  20. 20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.
  21. 21Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege.
  22. 22In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.
  23. 23Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.
  24. 24Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31 is 30 in the Greek numbering Athanasius used, which Orthodox Bibles and some older Catholic ones still follow.

When people turn against you

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All 53 situations, in one guide.

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