For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
- KJV Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
- NKJV Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
- NASB For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
- NLT Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
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 rejoices because God has been his help, finding joy in the shadow of his wings. Past help becomes present joy and security.
Overview
David grounds his rejoicing in God's proven help and rests in the protective shadow of his wings. The image conveys both safety and intimate care. Such confidence in God's faithful protection sustains the believer through every danger, secure under the shelter of his grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Cor 1:10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Ps 61:4Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
- Ps 27:9Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.
- Ps 54:3–4For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life—men with no regard for God. Selah
- Ps 57:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
- Ps 17:8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- 1 Sam 17:37David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
- Ps 5:11But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
- Ps 21:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 63:7 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.