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

Psalm 57

What St Athanasius said to pray when the one hunting you comes into your hiding place, in a letter from the 300s.

  • 11Verses
  • 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've been hiding from someone who is after you, and now they've come right into your hiding place.

Even if the one hunting you walks, without knowing it, into the very cave where you are hiding, don't cower. For that kind of extremity you have words of comfort in Psalms 57 and 142.

Letter to Marcellinus

For the same situation he also named Psalm 142.

Psalm 57:7

Where it turns

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music.

11 verses, Berean Standard Bible

The whole psalm

Psalm 57

Its own heading For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

  1. 1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
  2. 2I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.
  3. 3He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
  4. 4My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
  5. 5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
  6. 6They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah
  7. 7My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music.
  8. 8Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
  9. 9I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing Your praises among the peoples.
  10. 10For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
  11. 11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.

Psalm 57 is 56 in the Greek numbering Athanasius used, which Orthodox Bibles and some older Catholic ones still follow.

When people turn against you

Close to this

All 53 situations, in one guide.

Your turn

Which Psalm are you living right now?

A few honest taps about your life right now, and the psalm an early Church Father gave for exactly that.

  • 3 min
  • 7 questions
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Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Athanasius’s advice is paraphrased from his Greek.