Psalms 118:7
in Psalms 118The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah is on my side among them that help me: Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
KJV
The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
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This verse in Psalms 118
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe Lord taketh my part with them that help me,.... With the four hundred men that were with David, and stood by him in his troubles, 1Sa 22:2; see Psa 54:4; and with those who ministered unto Christ as man, Luk 8:
This site's exposition
In my distress I called to the LORD
on Psalms 118:5-7
The Hebrew moves from a tight place into merchav, open ground. Twice he says the LORD is on his side, and the second time he calls Him his helper. Hebrews 13:6 carries the same confession, the Lord is my helper, what can man do to me.
This site's exposition
He is my helper
The Hebrew sets the LORD among those who help, and Spurgeon and Gill read it that way: God on the psalmist's side among his helpers. Gill thought of the four hundred men with David at 1 Samuel 22:2. God stands among the helpers.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
Discourses Against the Arians 3.29.54 · Written before 373.
And how should Christ, who said to Abraham, "Fear not, for I am with you," and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh and said to the son of Nun, "Be strong and of a good courage," himself be terrified before Herod and Pilate? Furthermore, did he who helps others overcome fear (for "the Lord," says Scripture, "is on my side, I will not fear what people shall do to me"), fear governors, who are mortals? Was he who himself encountered death terrified of death?
A brother asked an old man, "What shall a man do in every temptation that comes on him and in every thought sent by the enemy?" He replied, "He must weep in the sight of the goodness of God, that he may aid and assist …
The injuries and punishments of persecutions are not to be feared, because the Lord is greater in protecting than the devil in assaulting. John in his epistle approves, saying, "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." Likewise in Psalm 117 [LXX]: "I shall not fear what people do to me; the Lord is my helper." And again: "Those are strong in chariots, these in horses, but we, in the name of our God. They with their feet bound have fallen, but we are risen up and stand erect."
Hear therefore what followeth: "The Lord is my helper: therefore shall I despise mine enemies" (ver. 7). From what class soever my enemies may arise, whether from the number of evil men, or from the number of evil angels; in the Lord's help, unto whom we chant the confession of praise, unto whom we sing Allelujah, they shall be despised.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): " The Lord takes my part, and stands up for me, with those that help me. He is to me among my helpers, and so one of them that he is all in all both to them and me, and without him I could not help myself nor could any friend I have in the world help me." Thus (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The Lord taketh my part with them that help me. Jehovah condescended to be in alliance with the good man and his comrades; his God was not content to look on, but he took part in the struggle. What a consolatory fact it is that the Lord takes our part, and that when he raises up friends for us he does not leave them to fight for us alone, but he himself as our chief defender deigns to come into the battle and wage war on our behalf.
The Lord taketh my part with them that help me. Jehovah condescended to be in alliance with the good man and his comrades; his God was not content to look on, but he took part in the struggle. What a consolatory fact it is that the Lord takes our part, and that when he raises up friends for us he does not leave them to fight for us alone, but he himself as our chief defender deigns to come into the battle and wage war on our behalf. David mentioned those that helped him, he was not unmindful of his followers; there is a long record of David's mighty men in the book of Chronicles, and this teaches us that we are not to disdain or think little of the generous friends who rally around us; but still our great dependence and our grand confidence must be fixed upon the Lord alone. Without him the strong helpers fail; indeed, apart from him in the sons of men there is no help; but when our gracious Jehovah is pleased to support and strengthen those who aid us, they become substantial helpers to us. Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. The words, "my desire, "are added by the translators; the Psalmist said, "I shall look upon my haters: I shall look upon them in the face, I shall make them cease from their contempt, I shall myself look down upon them instead of their looking down upon me. I shall see their defeat, I shall see the end of them." Our Lord Jesus does at this moment look down upon his adversaries, his enemies are his footstool; he shall look upon them at his second coming, and at the glance of his eyes they shall flee before him, not being able to endure that look with which he shall read them through and through.
The Lord taketh my part with them that help me - Literally, The Lord is to me among my helpers. Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. Literally, And I shall look among them that hate me. As God is on my side, I fear not to look the whole of them in the face. I shall see them defeated.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord taketh my part with them that help me - The psalmist had friends. There were those who stood by him. He relied, indeed, on their aid, but not on their aid without God. He felt that even their help was valuable to him only as God was with them. There was direct dependence on God in reference to himself; and there was the same sense of dependence in respect to all who were engaged in his defense. This might be rendered, however, simply “for my help,” and is so rendered by DeWette. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate render it, “The Lord is my helper.” Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me - literally, “I shall see upon those that hate me;” that is, I shall look upon them according to my wish; I shall see them overthrown and subdued. See the notes at Psa 54:7. Compare Psa 92:11; Psa 112:8.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִ֭י | li | [is] for me | ||
| בְּעֹזְרָ֑י | beozerai | <in> helper<s> my | H5826 → | 81 times |
| וַ֝אֲנִ֗י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶרְאֶ֥ה | ʾereh | I will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְשֹׂנְאָֽי׃ | vesoneai | on [those who] hate me | H8130 → | 146 times |
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִ֭י[is] for me
li
בְּעֹזְרָ֑י<in> helper<s> my
beozeraiH5826 →81 times
וַ֝אֲנִ֗יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אֶרְאֶ֥הI will look
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
בְשֹׂנְאָֽי׃on [those who] hate me
vesoneaiH8130 →146 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 54:7For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have stared down my foes.
it leads to
- Psalms 59:10
My God of loving devotion will come to meet me; God will let me stare down my foes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 112:8
His heart is assured; he does not fear, until he looks in triumph on his foes.
- Psalms 59:10
Through
Psalms 54:4Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Psalms 118:6–7
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Psalms 118:13
I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
- Hebrews 13:6
Through
Psalms 55:18He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 1 John 4:4
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 3.29.54; Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 118; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Cyprian, Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom 5:10; Desert Fathers, SAYINGS OF THE EGYPTIAN FATHERS 36; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.