Text of prayer Psalm 24
In Church Slavonic
Psalm to David
1 To Thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul, my God; in Thee I have trusted, that I may never be ashamed; let my enemies mock me,
2 For all those who endure You will not be ashamed.
3 Let the wicked be ashamed in vain.
4 Tell me Your ways, O Lord, and teach me Your paths.
5 Guide me in Your truth, and teach me that You are the God of my Savior, and I have endured You all the day.
6 Remember Your tender mercies, O Lord, and Your mercies, which have been from everlasting.
7 The sin of my youth and my ignorance do not remember; according to Your mercy, remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and right; for this reason he will give a law to those who sin in the way.
9 He will guide the meek in judgment, He will teach the meek in His way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to those who seek His covenant and His testimony.
11 For your name's sake, O Lord, cleanse away my sin, for there is much.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will lay the law on his path, as he pleases.
13 His soul will dwell in good things, and his seed will inherit the earth.
14 The Lord is the power of those who fear Him, and He will show His covenant to them.
15 I will lift up my eyes to the Lord, for He will pluck my noses from the snare.
16 Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am the only begotten and the poor.
17 The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; deliver me from my needs.
18 See my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins.
19 Seeing that my enemies have multiplied, they have hated me with unrighteous hatred.
20 Preserve my soul and deliver me, that I may not be put to shame because I trusted in Thee.
21 In kindness and righteousness I cling to me, because I have suffered Thee, O Lord,
22 Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows.
In Russian
24:1,2 Psalm of David. To You, Lord, I lift up my soul.Psalm of David.
1 To You, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. My God, I trust in You, so that I will never be ashamed, and may my enemies not laugh at me,
2 For all those who wait for You will not be put to shame:
3 Let the wicked be ashamed in vain.
4 Reveal Your ways, O Lord, to me, and teach me Your paths.
5 Guide me to Your truth and teach me, for You are God, my Savior, and I have been waiting for You all day.
6 Remember Your compassions, O Lord, and Your mercies, for they have been from everlasting.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my ignorance; by Thy mercy remember me, for Thy goodness' sake, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and just, therefore he will give a law to those who sin along the way.
9 He will guide the meek in judgment, He will teach the meek His ways.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who seek His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For the sake of Your name, O Lord, You will have mercy on my sin, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will give him the law in the way that he has chosen.
13 His soul will dwell among good things, and his seed will inherit the earth.
14 The Lord is a stronghold to those who fear Him, and He will show His covenant to them.
15 My eyes are always on the Lord, for He will bring my feet out of the snare.
16 Look at me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.
17 The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; bring me out of my troubles.
18 Look at my humility and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins.
19 Look at my enemies, for they have multiplied and hated me with unrighteous hatred.
20 Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be put to shame because I trust in You.
21 The gentle and upright joined me, for I waited for You, O Lord.
22 Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows!
2 My God! I trust in You, lest I be ashamed, lest my enemies triumph over me,
David was concerned that his enemies should not rejoice over his failures. Sometimes the desire to prevent Satan from “rubbing his hands” with pleasure when he observes the picture of the fall of God’s servants helps to withstand many loads and maintain balance at the same time.
24:3 Let not all those who trust in You be put to shame; let them that do wrong in vain be put to shame.
David was also concerned that everyone who served Jehovah with David would not be ashamed of their actions. A sense of collective responsibility is also not the least important thing in the fight against sin; it helps to take the blows of life while staying on your feet.
David also wishes that no wicked person could remain wise in his own eyes and prosper.
24:4,5 Show me, O Lord, Your ways and teach me Your paths. 5 Guide me into Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I hope in You every day.
Throughout his life, David asked God to guide him on the path of righteousness, for he understood that the path to salvation from all the hardships of this age is only from the God of Israel, then Jehovah, and besides him there is no Teacher.
And if He does not teach, if He does not instruct, if He does not direct on His path, then it is impossible to walk the path of life blindly - without losses.
For himself, David decided and chose that the path of God is the best path of life, and that he wants to learn to walk exactly this path. David understands that he himself, despite his love for God, does not know in everything and does not always know how to do the right thing, therefore he asks God to teach him to follow this path (to live righteously) 24:6,7 Remember Your compassions, O Lord, and Thy mercies, for they are from everlasting. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my crimes; by Thy mercy remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord!
David asks God to remember the magnitude of His mercy and, thanks to it, to forget all the sins and crimes David committed in his youth. Youth is a period of inexperience in a person’s life, delineated not by biological age, but by spiritual age.
If sins are committed in unbelief, in ignorance, out of stupidity, in ardor, with heat, and not out of evil intent, then God is merciful to this, provided that the person has become more mature, understands that it is impossible to live like this and stops walking through life in the ways of youth.
If a person approached his deathbed young in this regard and did not draw any conclusions about life, then he will still be given a chance to grow up - in the Millennium.
24:8,9 The Lord is good and righteous, therefore He guides sinners in the way, 9 He guides the meek to righteousness, and teaches the meek His ways.
There are meek sinners - obedient to the corrective voice of God, and there are not meek - not obedient.
And although God directs everyone onto the path of righteousness and salvation - so that everyone has the opportunity to turn from their evil ways and enter God's path - nevertheless, not everyone will take this path. Why? Because only the meek respond to the voice of God and try to obediently do what the Father tells them, and not what they themselves came up with for their own justification and peace of conscience.
24:10,11 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant and His revelations. 11 For Thy name's sake, O Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great.
David belonged to the meek sheep of his God and accepted all the instructions from above, and therefore he was able to repent of his sins.
It was God’s explanations that helped him see what he was doing wrong and not do it in the future. Today, these explanations can also be heard if you read the word of God and reflect on what God wants to see in us.
24:12-14 Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will show him the path to choose. 13 His soul will remain in goodness, and his seed will inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.
Only he who fears the Lord will be able to straighten his paths after discovering that they do not lead to God. Whoever learns to fear the grave consequences of his actions for himself and his neighbors has the sure hope that in the future his path will be straight. Long before he strays from the path of God, he will see danger and avoid it (a prudent man sees trouble and avoids it).
And on the other hand, if you do not experience serious consequences from your misdeeds, then it is difficult to learn to fear them. The prodigal son, remember, felt the brunt of the consequences of his riotous lifestyle, reaching the point where he had to eat pork horns - food for unclean animals. This helped him come to his senses, straighten his paths, return and get closer to his father.
The eldest son, while remaining with his father, was nevertheless far from him. So it happens sometimes: the close is far, and the distant is close. And geography and distance have nothing to do with it.
24:15,16 My eyes are always on the Lord, for He brings my feet out of the snare. 16 Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and oppressed.
David always saw the Lord before him in order to go to Him. But, nevertheless, he often fell into the web of sins and troubles. And what? Did David despair so much that he stopped serving God, considering himself unworthy? No. He always relied on the mercy of God and asked Him for mercy, trying to continue to go to God, disentangling the consequences of his sins to the fullest.
24:17-19 The sorrows of my heart have increased; lead me out of my troubles, 18 look at my suffering and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins. 19 Look at my enemies, how many there are, and [with what] fierce hatred they hate me.
It is clear
what exactly oppressed David, what he considered his troubles and what he suffered about: his own sins.
That’s why David asked God to forgive him, so that the severity of his transgressions would not bring him to complete exhaustion and would give him strength to live on, to resist the enemies who were eager to see David’s fall and how he would break. 24:20,21 Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be put to shame because I trust in You. 21 Let integrity and righteousness protect me, for I trust in You.
And David was not ashamed, even in difficult circumstances, to show all his enemies that he trusted in his God.
Although, of course, this could be a reason for ridicule: after all, those who trust in their God (according to their enemies) should not get into trouble. And David, who trusted in Jehovah and yet sat in many problems, looked funny in the eyes of his enemies. 24:22 Deliver, O God, Israel from all their troubles.
David asked for deliverance from sorrows for all of Israel, not just for himself. This means that not everything was good among Jehovah’s people during the time of David, the righteous king. So a servant of God should not expect a heavenly life in this system of things. At least you won't have to be so disappointed
History of writing
Like many of the songs in the Psalter, Psalm 24 was written by King David at an important time in his life. The king was betrayed by his son Absalom, who lured many of his father's associates to his side and started a rebellion. For a long time, the son pursued his father and sent mercenaries to kill him. These were terrible days in David's life, when the Lord was his only salvation and hope.
Loneliness, despair, powerlessness, despondency and pain from betrayal formed the basis of the text of Psalm 24. King David appeals to God, begging for protection and help. The king believes that in this way he was punished for his sins, and prays to God for forgiveness and mercy.
The amazing thing about Psalm 24 is that each verse begins with a sequential letter in the Hebrew alphabet, so the song was used to help children learn and memorize the alphabet.
When to read Psalm 24?
There are no strict rules or restrictions for reading Psalm 24, but there are a number of general tips and recommendations for all prayers. Most importantly, the text of the prayer must correspond to the situation and thoughts of the reader. Only sincere repentance and request will be heard by the Lord; the words must be honest.
At home, it is allowed to read Psalm 24 in Russian, but during services Old Church Slavonic texts are used. It is better to turn to God in front of icons in order to focus on the request and words of prayer.
Psalm 24 is read for repentance before confession. People turn to the song in moments of weakness before sins and passions in order to receive forgiveness and cleanse the soul.
Text of Psalm 24
The clergy insist that believers should not treat prayers, including Psalm 24, as if they were a magic spell. The text being read must be well understood, so many people use the version translated into Russian for personal appeal to the Lord. In churches, songs are traditionally sung in Old Church Slavonic.
In Church Slavonic
In Russian
Interpretation
To use prayers, you need to know their exact meaning so that the request is heard and fulfilled. The interpretation of Psalm 24 is revealed when analyzing the verses of the song:
- Verses 1-3 – David realizes his guilt and sincerely desires to be cleansed of his sins, to get rid of the difficult trials that befell him.
- Verses 4-5 - the author emphasizes that the Lord is the only helper and protector for the believer; only He can guide those who have stumbled onto the path of truth. King David was not sinless, but he repents of all his sins and sees salvation in observing God's laws.
- Verses 6-7 – David asks for compassion and forgiveness. He committed a terrible sin, committing adultery with another man's wife Bathsheba, but accepts his son's betrayal as punishment.
- Verses 8-11 – The Lord is merciful and just, so the author asks for forgiveness, even though he has transgressed God’s law. David asks to be returned to the right path and saved from a mortal threat.
- Verses 12-15 – The believer always remains loved by God if he sincerely acknowledges His power and wisdom. The Lord guides those who have stumbled onto the right path and reveals His covenant.
- Verses 16-19 – David admits and repents of his sins, he prays to the Lord to see and hear him, to look at the sins of the king’s enemies and judge them honestly. He does not curse his enemies, but hands them over to God's judgment.
- Verses 20-21 - a prayer for salvation, hope for a bright future and faith in the Lord. David asks not only himself, but all Jews to be delivered from troubles and sorrow.
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