Make the soul of Your servant joyful, For to You, Lord, I lift up my soul.
Parallel translations
- WEB Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
- KJV Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
- BSB Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
- NKJV Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
- NLT Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you.
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 asks God to bring joy to his soul as he lifts his soul to the Lord. Joy is sought from God as he offers himself in dependence.
Overview
To 'lift up the soul' is to direct one's whole being to God in trust and longing. David seeks gladness not from circumstances but from communion with the Lord. This God-centered joy points to the fullness of joy Christ promises to those who abide in Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 143:8Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
- Ps 25:1By David. To you, Yahweh, do I lift up my soul.
- Isa 66:13–14As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
- Ps 51:12Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.
- Isa 61:3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
- Ps 62:8Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.
- Isa 65:18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a 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 86:4 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.