Text of prayer Psalm 85
The song can be sung both in Church Slavonic and in Russian. Usually the Church Slavonic version is chosen when it is necessary to conduct a service in a church. The Russian text of the prayer is used in an intimate home environment.
In Church Slavonic
In Russian
Prayer to David
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am reverend: save Thy servant, O my God, who trusteth in Thee. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I will cry to You all day long. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, for I have taken my soul to You. 5 For You, O Lord, are Good and Meek, and Most merciful to all who call on You. 6 Inspire, O Lord, my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplication. 7 In the day of my tribulation I cried out to You, because You heard me. 8 There is no one like You in God, O Lord, and there is no one according to Your works. 9 All the nations that you have created will come and worship before You, O Lord, and glorify Your name, 10 for You are great, and You work wonders, You are the only God. 11 Teach me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth; Let my heart rejoice in fearing Your name. 12 Let me confess to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever: 13 For Your mercy is great upon me, and You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14 O God, the transgressors rose up against me, and the host of the powerful sought my soul, and did not offer it to You before them. 15 And You, O Lord my God, Generous and Merciful, Long-suffering, and Much-merciful and true, 16 Look upon me and have mercy on me, give Your power to Your servant, and save the son of Your servant. 17 Do a sign for good with me, so that those who hate me will see and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and consoled me.
Interpretation of Psalm 85
- Verses 1-5. It is difficult for the author to find a safe place where enemies will not reach him. His plight leaves an imprint on the lines of the work. David begs the Lord for help and protection. Confident in the power of God, the king devotes his entire life to Him.
- Verse 6-10. The author is confident that the Creator will hear him and bring peace to the Earthly Kingdom. David's faith is unshakable and his words are prophetic. He says that the faith that the Jewish people protects will soon become the property of all humanity, God will penetrate the souls of everyone.
- Verses 11-17. David realizes that without the protection of the Almighty, it is impossible to live a righteous and happy life. He asks Him to grant His grace to follow the path of the pious. David mentions the importance of his faith, his devotion to God's Laws. As a man, he committed sin, but tried to cleanse himself from it. He asks God only for support and strength for his future life.
Kathisma 12 Psalm 85
Psalm 85
David's Prayer
This psalm contains David's prayer to God for deliverance from the dangers he experienced while pursuing his enemies. The generality of the description of its condition and the absence of any precise historical indications of the time of origin of the psalm give equal grounds to consider it written either during persecution from Saul or from Absalom. The latter is more likely, since David calls those who rebelled against him “a crowd of rebels,” which were all his enemies in Absalom’s rebellion, since they went against their rightful king.
Hear and protect, O Lord, me who trusts only in Your mercy, for You are good to all who call on You (1-6). On the day of trouble, I turn to You as the only true God, before whom all nations will bow (7-10). Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your truth and I will praise You for Your salvation (11-13). Rebellious enemies have risen up against me and I turn to You, the most merciful: have mercy, save me and shame my enemies (14-17).
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy.
1. “Poor and destitute” - I am in a distressed, financially deprived and defenseless situation.
2 Preserve my soul, for I fear Thee; Save, my God, Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You every day. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
4. Give me fun, save me from enemies. I seek protection from You, since I have dedicated my life to You alone (“to You I lift up my soul”) and I entrust it to You.
5 For You, O Lord, are good and merciful and abundant in mercy to all who call on You. 6 Hear, O Lord, my prayer and give ear to the voice of my supplication. 7 In the day of my trouble I cry to You, because You will hear me.
7. Since my hope in You is sincere and deep, I am confident that You will hear my prayer.
8 Among the gods there is no one like You, O Lord, and there is no work like Yours. 9 All the nations created by You will come and worship before You, O Lord, and glorify Your name, 10 for You are great and do wonders—You, O God, are the only One.
8-10. They contain a clear and precise confession of David's faith - You, Lord, are the one and true God, immeasurably superior to pagan deities. This truth, now held only by Jews, will eventually become the property of the whole world and all peoples.
11 Teach me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth; establish my heart in the fear of Your name.
11. “Teach me, O Lord, on Your path” (glory) - teach me to follow Your commandments. - “Confirm my heart in the fear of Your name” - let reverence for You be the main foundation of my inner life. These few words clearly express the pious disposition of David, who places the happiness and joy of life in a constant and uninterrupted pious disposition.
The expression “firm” gives reason to assume that David was not always “firm,” that is, sometimes he deviated from the commandments of God. A hint of the crime with Bathsheba and indirect confirmation of the origin of the psalm from the era of persecution from Absalom.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify Your name forever, 13 for great is Your mercy toward me: You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
13. “Delivered my soul from hell” - saved, or more precisely, saved my life from death several times.
14 God! the proud have risen up against me, and a crowd of rebels seeks my soul: they do not represent You before them.
14. “They do not represent You before them” - see Ps. LIII:5.
15 But You, O Lord, are a generous and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth, 16 look upon me and have mercy on me; Grant Thy strength to Thy servant, and save the son of Thy servant;
16. “Grant strength” - the strength to endure persecution. “Grant” this power is the gift of God, and not the merits of David.
17 Show me a sign for good, so that those who hate me may see and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Psalms 83, 84 and 85 make up the content of the 9th hour, dedicated to the remembrance of the death of the Savior. The Savior's death on the cross freed man from the power of the devil and sin, brought him out of the “valley of mourning” (LXXXIII:7), from the captivity of sin (LXXXIV:2), giving him New Testament mercies and blessings (LXXXIV:11). The great work of man's redemption will be accompanied by the conversion of all the pagans to God (LXXXV:9) and will be worthily praised “for ever” (LXXXV:12). These psalms, using the example of Jews brought out of captivity to clarify the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ that was to be offered at the liturgy, serve as a good guide for creating an appropriate mood in those praying and present at the liturgy.
85:1 David's Prayer. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy.David turns to the God of his salvation and asks to incline His ear to David’s prayers, for he has become poor and impoverished.
It is clear that David is not concerned about wealth in material terms; the king cares about spiritual treasure, about God’s favor towards him. 85:2-5 Preserve my soul, for I fear Thee;
Save, my God, Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You every day. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul, 5 For You, O Lord, are good and merciful and abundant in mercy to all who call on You. The servant of God, David always trusted in Him, therefore he asked to save him from mortal despondency and restore the joy of his heart. God is always merciful to those who call on Him for salvation.
85:6-8 Hear, O Lord, my prayer and listen to the voice of my prayer. 7 In the day of my trouble I cry to You, because You will hear me. 8 Among the gods there is no one like You, O Lord, and there is no work like Yours.
In the most difficult moments, David appeals to the God of his heart, and although he knows that as many people in the world as there are so many “gods”, the God of David is the only God, the creator of everything, for there are no greater deeds in the universe than the deeds of his God.
85:9,10 All the nations created by You will come and worship before You, O Lord, and glorify Your name, 10 for You are great and do wonders - You, O God, are You alone.
David is confident that the time will come and all the nations created by his God will come and worship before Him, for He will be the only one whom humanity will serve, who is capable of performing great miracles.
85:11 Guide me, O Lord, in Thy path, and I will walk in Thy truth; establish my heart in the fear of Your name.
David begs God to guide him on the right path, so that he can lead a God-fearing lifestyle all the days of his life and live in accordance with the knowledge of the essence of the name of God.
This passage is interestingly translated into PNM: unite
my heart to fear Your name.
Much depends on the cohesion of the heart: if the heart is not torn apart from doubts, if it is not divided into many segments, one for each one you choose to worship, if it is entirely given to God and belongs to Him alone, there is a chance that the bearer of such an integral heart learn to fear the Almighty and walk in His ways.
With a fragmented heart, this is difficult, if not impossible: God designed the human heart in such a way that it can fulfill its destiny to be faithful to God only in conditions of its integrity. 85:12,13 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify Your name forever, 13 for great is Your mercy toward me: You have delivered my soul from the grave of hell.
David is ready to glorify the name of God forever and to praise His great works, for God has delivered David from the grave that threatened him in recent circumstances.
85:14 God! the proud have risen up against me, and a crowd of rebels seeks my soul: they do not represent You before them.
A bunch of rebels are pursuing David and do not represent God before them; if they thought about Him, they would not be pursuing God’s anointed one.
85:15,16 But You, O Lord, a generous and merciful God, long-suffering and abounding in mercy and truth, 16 look upon me and have mercy on me; Grant Thy strength to Thy servant, and save the son of Thy servant;
But David is not embarrassed by the severity of the circumstances; he knows that God is merciful to him and will not leave him alone in trouble.
85:17 show me a sign for good, so that those who hate me may see and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
David asks to show everyone the sign of His presence - on David, changing his circumstances by his own power without David’s intervention, so that his persecutors would see God’s intervention and be ashamed of their unjust actions.
David's Prayer
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly; save Your servant, O my God, who trusts in You.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I will cry to You all the day long.
4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, for I have exalted my soul to You.
5 For You, O Lord, are gracious and gentle and abundant in mercy to all who call on You.
6 Hear, O Lord, my prayer and give ear to the voice of my supplication.
7 In the day of my tribulation I cried out to You, for You heard me.
8 There is none like You among the gods, O Lord, and none equal in Your works.
9 All nations, as many as You have made, will come and worship You, O Lord, and glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do wonders, You are the only God.
11 Guide me, O Lord, in Your way, and I will walk in Your truth. Let my heart rejoice in the fear of Your name.
12 I will confess to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever,
13 For great is Thy mercy toward me, and Thou hast delivered my soul from the deepest hell.
14 O God, the transgressors rose up against me, and the assembly of the mighty sought my life, and did not present Thee before them.
15 And You, O Lord my God, are generous and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth,
16 Look upon me and have mercy on me, give Thy strength to Thy servant, and save the son of Thy handmaid.
17 Do a sign for good on me, so that those who hate me will see and be ashamed, for You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
How does the Orthodox prayer Psalm 85 help?
no comments
The Christian text of Psalm 85 is the only one in the third book of Psalms attributed to the authorship of King David. As the interpretation says, Psalm 85 is a collection of excerpts from other Davidic songs of the Psalter, and is dedicated, like many previous ones, to the theme of persecution that the author experienced at different periods of his life.
In the church text of Psalm 85, the king calls himself a poor beggar, implying not his financial condition, but spiritual poverty: in these words he expresses his position as an exile, betrayed by friends and forced to wander.
When is it recommended to read Psalm 85?
Christian Psalm 85 can be read to people who are wavering in their faith, because it contains David's confessions that he did not always stand firm on his path of salvation, from time to time deviating into sin and folly.
In the text of Psalm Eighty-five, he asks God to confirm him, that is, to help him become resistant to various temptations, and live the rest of his life in accordance with God’s commandments. At the same time, David realizes that such firmness will not be his personal merit, but a manifestation of God’s mercy. In addition, the Orthodox Church advises reading and listening to Psalm 85 in the event of the spread of deadly epidemics.
Listen to the video of the Orthodox prayer Psalm 85 in Russian
Read the text of the prayer Psalm 85 in Russian
David's Prayer.
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I revere You; Save, my God, Your servant who trusts in You. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I cry to You every day. Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, Lord, I lift up my soul, for You, Lord, are good and merciful and abundantly merciful to all who call on You. Hear, O Lord, my prayer and listen to the voice of my prayer. In the day of my sorrow I cry to You, because You will hear me. Among the gods there is no one like You, O Lord, and there are no works like Yours. All the nations created by You will come and worship before You, O Lord, and glorify Your name, for You are great and work wonders - You, O God, are the only One. Guide me, O Lord, in Thy path, and I will walk in Thy truth; establish my heart in the fear of Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify Your name forever, for great is Your mercy towards me: You have delivered my soul from the underworld. God! the proud have risen up against me, and a crowd of rebels seeks my soul: they do not represent You before them. But You, Lord, generous and merciful God, long-suffering and abundantly merciful and true, look upon me and have mercy on me; Grant Thy strength to Thy servant, and save the son of Thy servant; show me a sign for good, so that those who hate me may see and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Orthodox Psalter, text of Psalm 85 in Church Slavonic language
Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear me; as I am poor and wretched. Save my soul, as I am reverend; save your servant, my God, who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, Lord, as I will cry to you all day long. Make glad the soul of your servant; for I have taken my soul to you. For you, Lord, are good and meek and abundantly merciful to all who call on you. Inspire, Lord, my prayer and listen to the voice of my prayer. On the day of my sorrow I cried out to you, because you heard me. There is no one like you in God, O Lord, and there is no one according to your deeds. All the nations, the great things you have created, will come and bow before you, O Lord, and glorify your name; Because you are great and you work miracles, you are the only God. Guide me, O Lord, in your path, and I will walk in your truth; let my heart rejoice in fearing your name. Let me confess to you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify your name forever; for your great mercy is upon me, and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell. God, the lawbreakers rose up against me, and the host of the powerful sought my soul, and did not offer it to you before them. And you, Lord my God, generous and merciful, long-suffering and abundantly merciful and true, look upon me and have mercy on me; give thy dominion to thy servant, and save the son of thy servant. Do a sign for good with me; and let those who hate me see and be ashamed, because you, Lord, have helped me and consoled me.
