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

Psalm 65

One of the psalms St Athanasius said to pray when people keep trying to frighten you, in a letter from the 300s.

  • 13Verses
  • 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.

They keep trying to frighten you, lying in wait and digging up whatever they can against you.

When your enemies keep trying to frighten you, lying in wait and searching out everything against you, however many they are, don't give in. In the Greek Psalter Athanasius sang, their blows are no more than children's arrows. Sing Psalms 64, 65, 70 and 71.

Letter to Marcellinus

For this, the quiz gives Psalm 64, and this psalm beside it.

13 verses, Berean Standard Bible

The whole psalm

Psalm 65

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

  1. 1Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled.
  2. 2O You who listen to prayer, all people will come to You.
  3. 3When iniquities prevail against me, You atone for our transgressions.
  4. 4Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
  5. 5With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
  6. 6You formed the mountains by Your power, having girded Yourself with might.
  7. 7You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.
  8. 8Those who live far away fear Your wonders; You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy.
  9. 9You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth.
  10. 10You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.
  11. 11You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with plenty.
  12. 12The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy.
  13. 13The pastures are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are decked with grain. They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.

Psalm 65 is 64 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.