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Psalms 70:4

in Psalms 70

May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; And let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

KJV

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

This verse in Psalms 70

Commentary

13 notes on this verse
Let all those that seek thee,.... The Targum is, "that seek doctrine (or instruction) from thee.'' rejoice and be glad in thee; the Targum paraphrases it, "rejoice and be glad in thy word.'' and let such as love thy salvation say continually, let God be magnified; the Targum is, "let the glory of the Lord be increased;'' and in Psa 40:16, instead of "God", it is "the Lord", or "Jehovah": See Gill on Psa 40:16.

This site's exposition

Let God be magnified

on Psalms 70:4-5

Verse 4 turns from the enemies to those who seek God, who rejoice and say, Let God be magnified. Verse 5 comes back to the man himself, poor and needy, asking God to hurry and the LORD not to delay. Barnes marks how short it is, haste at both ends.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

On the Psalms, Psalm 70 · Written before 430.

proposed

And what cometh to pass when they are all turned back and blush, whether it be they that seek my soul, or they that think evil things to me, or they that with perverse and feigned benevolence with tongue would soften the stroke which they inflict, when they shall have been themselves turned away and confounded; there shall come to pass what? "Let them exult and be joyous in Thee:" not in me, not in this man or in that man; but in whom they have been made light that were darkness. "Let them exult and be joyous in Thee, all that seek Thee" [Psalm 70:4]. One thing it is to seek God, another thing to seek man. "Let them be joyous that seek Thee." They shall not be joyous then that seek themselves, whom Thou hast first sought before they sought Thee. Not yet did that sheep seek the Shepherd, it had strayed from the flock, and He went down to it; He sought it, and carried it back upon His shoulders. Will He despise thee, O sheep, seeking Him, who hath first sought thee despising Him and not seeking Him? Now then begin thou to seek Him that first hath sought thee, and hath carried thee back on His shoulders. Do thou that which He speaketh of, "They that are My sheep hear My voice, and follow Me." [John 10:27] If then thou seekest Him that first hath sought thee, and hast become a sheep of His, and thou hearest the voice of thy Shepherd, and followest Him; see what He showeth to thee of Himself, what of His Body, in order that as to Himself thou mayest not err, as to the Church thou mayest not err, that no one may say to thee, that is Christ which is not Christ, or that is the Church which is not the Church. For many men have said that Christ had no flesh, and that Christ hath not risen in His Body: do not thou follow the voices of them. Hear thou the voice of Himself the Shepherd, that was clothed with flesh, in order that He might seek lost flesh. […]

A commentator

Pachomius the Great

LETTER 3:11 · Written before 348.

proposed

Now is the time to act for the Lord, because our salvation is in a time of affliction. If "those who love his salvation" can "know his steps" and "say constantly: God is great"; and if they can say, "My hope shall be in you …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

O L ORD , make no tarrying. The title tells us that this psalm was designed to bring to remembrance; that is, to put God in remembrance of his mercy and promises (for so we are said to do when we pray to him and plead with him. 26 , Put me in remembrance )--not that the Eternal Mind needs a remembrancer, but this honour he is pleased to put upon the prayer of faith.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): I am poor and needy, in want and distress, and much at a loss within myself. Poverty and necessity are very good pleas in prayer to a God of infinite mercy, who despises not the sighing of a contrite heart, who has pronounced a blessing upon the poor in spirit, and who fills the hungry with good things.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

All who wish well to the comfort of the saints, and to the glory of God, cannot but say a hearty amen to this prayer, that those who love God's salvation may say continually, Let God be magnified.
6 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century6 voices

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 3 (1872)

Anger against enemies must not make us forget our friends, for it is better to preserve a single citizen of Zion, than to kill a thousand enemies. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. All true worshippers, though as yet in the humble ranks of seekers, shall have cause for joy. Even though the seeking commence in darkness, it shall bring light with it. And let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 3 (1872)

proposed

Anger against enemies must not make us forget our friends, for it is better to preserve a single citizen of Zion, than to kill a thousand enemies. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. All true worshippers, though as yet in the humble ranks of seekers, shall have cause for joy. Even though the seeking commence in darkness, it shall bring light with it. And let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. Those who have tasted divine grace, and are, therefore, wedded to it, are a somewhat more advanced race, and these shall not only feel joy, but shall with holy constancy and perseverance tell abroad their joy, and call upon men to glorify God. The doxology, "Let the Lord's name be magnified, "is infinitely more manly and ennobling than the dog's bark of "Aha, aha."
THESE WORDS OCCUR at least three times in the book of Psalms, and therefore we may regard them as especially important. When God speaks once, twice, thrice, he doth as it were awaken us to peculiar attention, and call for prompt obedience to what he saith. Let us not be deaf to the divine voice, but let each one say, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.” You will observe that in this, and in the fortieth Psalm, this holy saying is put in opposition to the ungodly speeches of persecutors. The wicked say, “Aha, aha,” therefore let those who love God’s salvation have a common watchword with which to silence the malicious mockeries of the ungodly; let them say, “LET GOD BE MAGNIFIED.” The earnestness of the wicked should be a stimulus to the fervency of the righteous. Surely, if God’s enemies do not spare blasphemy and profanity, if they are always upon the watch to find reasons for casting reproach upon the name and church of Christ, we ought to be more than equally vigilant and diligent in spreading abroad the knowledge of the gospel, which magnifies the name of the Lord. Would to God his church were half as earnest as the synagogue of Satan! Oh that we had, in our holy cause, a tithe of the indefatigable spirit of those Scribes and Pharisees, who compass sea and land to make one proselyte! Even the archfiend shames us by his preserving industry, for he goeth up and down in the earth seeking whom he may destroy! The clause which we have selected for our text also follows immediately after another which may be looked upon as a stepping-stone to it. Before we can love God’s salvation, we must be seekers of it; hence we read, “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.” There is a duty peculiar to seekers, let them see to it; and then there follows a further obligation peculiar to those who have found what they sought for.
THESE WORDS OCCUR at least three times in the book of Psalms, and therefore we may regard them as especially important. When God speaks once, twice, thrice, he doth as it were awaken us to peculiar attention, and call for prompt obedience to what he saith. Let us not be deaf to the divine voice, but let each one say, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.” You will observe that in this, and in the fortieth Psalm, this holy saying is put in opposition to the ungodly speeches of persecutors.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Let God be magnified - Let his glory, mercy, and kindness, continually appear in the increase of his own work in the souls of his followers!
Let all those that seek thee ... - The only change in this verse from Psa 40:16, is in the insertion of the word “and” in the beginning of the second clause - “and let such as love,” etc.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Let them return in the path of their shame Measure for measure, as they did to me.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Psalms 70:4:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּmay they exult

    yasisuH7797 →27 times

  • וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ׀and they may rejoice

    veyismechuH8055 →155 times

  • בְּךָ֗in you

    bekha

  • כָּֽל־all

    kal-H3605 →5413 times

  • מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ[those who] seek you

    mevaksheichaH1245 →225 times

  • וְיֹאמְר֣וּand they may say

    veyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • תָ֭מִידcontinually

    tamidH8548 →104 times

  • יִגְדַּ֣לmay he be great

    yigdalH1431 →117 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֑יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י[those who] love

    ʾohaveiH157 →211 times

  • יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃<of> salvation your

    yeshuatekhaH3444 →78 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Lamentations 3:25

    The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

    it leads to

    • Micah 7:7–8

      But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

    • Isaiah 40:31

      But 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.

    • Psalms 130:5–6

      I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.

    • Lamentations 3:26

      It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

    • Psalms 37:34

      Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 61:10

    I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…

    it leads to

    • Revelation 19:7–8

      Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.

    • Philippians 3:9

      and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

    • Psalms 132:9

      May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and Your saints shout for joy.

About Psalms

Sower with Setting Sun. Vincent van Gogh, mid July 1888. Sotheby's, New York, 18 November 2025, lot 4. Public domain.
Sower with Setting Sun. Vincent van Gogh, mid July 1888. Sotheby's, New York, 18 November 2025, lot 4. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 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); Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 70; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1013: “Our Watchword” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Pachomius the Great, LETTER 3:11.