Bible Strands
Psalms 42:8
The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God from a position of acute distress, positioned between a description of overwhelming waters and a direct question about divine abandonment.
The words — יְצַוֶּה (ye.tza.Veh) literally means "he commands" or "decrees," and חַסְדּוֹ (chas.D/o) denotes "his covenant loyalty" or "loving devotion."
The thread — The psalmist’s emphasis on night prayer and day reliance parallels Psalms 16:7 and Psalms 63:6, which record night-time counsel and meditation without pairing them with daytime equivalents.
Why it lands — The passage demands that a reader accept continuous divine faithfulness and personal prayer as the operational reality during periods of unexplained suffering.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Cross-references
- Psalms 16:7 I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.
- Psalms 63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.
- Psalms 149:5 Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Job 35:10 But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,
- Deuteronomy 28:8 The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
- Psalms 133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.
- Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- Psalms 44:4 You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.
- Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.