I will keep watch for You, O my strength, because You, O God, are my fortress.
Parallel translations
- WEB Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower.
- KJV Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
- NKJV I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.
- NASB ¶Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my refuge.
- NLT You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress.
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 resolves to watch for God, his Strength, who is his secure high tower. It expresses patient trust amid danger.
Overview
Turning from his enemies to his God, David declares the Lord his strength and stronghold. Rather than relying on his own resources, he waits expectantly for divine help. This posture of watchful dependence is the believer's refuge when surrounded by threats.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 9:9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
- Isa 26:3–4You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Ps 62:2He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
- Ps 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- Ps 59:17To You, O my strength, I sing praises, for You, O God, are my fortress, my God of loving devotion.
- 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?
- Hab 3:19GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
- Isa 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Isa 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Matt 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
- Isa 58:14then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Ps 46:7The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
- Ps 18:1–2For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
- Ps 20:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
- Ps 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
- Ps 62:5–6Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
- Ps 46:1For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 59:9 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.