Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.
- BSB Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
- NKJV Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.
- NASB ¶Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
- NLT But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive!
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
David affirms that God himself is his helper and sustainer. It is a confident turn from fear to faith in God's support.
Overview
Amid threat, David declares the steadying truth: God is his helper and the Lord upholds his life. This statement of faith marks the psalm's pivot from petition to trust. It anticipates the New Testament assurance that the Lord is our helper, so we need not fear (Hebrews 13:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Heb 13:6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
- Ps 118:6–7The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
- Isa 41:10Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Rom 8:31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 118:13Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
- Isa 50:7–9For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
- Isa 42:1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
- 1 Chr 12:18Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.
- Ps 41:12And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
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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 54:4 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.