The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
- KJV But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
- BSB The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
- NKJV But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.
- NASB But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, who is their stronghold in trouble. Deliverance is God's gift, not human achievement.
Overview
David declares that the rescue of the righteous originates wholly with God, who is their refuge 'in the time of trouble.' Salvation is from the Lord, a theme that anchors the whole psalm. This points unmistakably to the gospel, where salvation belongs to God and comes through Christ alone (Jonah 2:9; Acts 4:12), our refuge and strength.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 9:9Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.
- Ps 91:15He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him.
- Isa 12:2Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.”
- Ps 3:8Salvation belongs to Yahweh. Your blessing be on your people. Selah.
- 2 Tim 4:17But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
- Ps 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- Eph 2:8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Isa 33:2Yahweh, be gracious to us. We have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
- Jonah 2:9But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to Yahweh.”
- Col 1:11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy;
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 37:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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