The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
- KJV Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
- NKJV The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
- NASB The Lord will send His goodness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.
- NLT But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.
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 Lord commands His steadfast love by day and gives a song by night. God's covenant love sustains him through darkness.
Overview
Amid the floods, the psalmist affirms God's lovingkindness present in daylight and His song in the night. Prayer to 'the God of my life' anchors his hope. This confidence in God's constant love foreshadows the assurance believers have in Christ (Romans 8:38-39).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 16:7I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.
- Ps 63:6When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.
- Ps 149:5Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Job 35:10But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,
- Deut 28:8The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
- Acts 16:25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- Col 3:3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- Ps 133:3It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.
- Matt 8:8The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
- Ps 44:4You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.
- Ps 77:6At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
- Ps 27:1Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- Ps 57:3He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
- Isa 30:29You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.
- Ps 32:7You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
- Lev 25:21But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.
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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 42:8 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.