When you read the verse, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits”, what is your first thought? If you’re anything like me, you might assume that it is about physical and spiritual blessings, with God piling new ones on us each day.
But…it turns out this verse (Psalms 68:19) doesn’t really mean that at all. I typically consider the New King James Version bible (NKJV) my “default” translation, the most reliable and straightforward. I’ll definitely consult other versions, but it’s my go-to.
However, there are occasionally times when the NKJV just doesn’t quite get it right. This verse in Psalm 68 is definitely one of those cases, and if we only read the NKJV then we’ll miss out on something special about our relationship with God and His role in our daily lives.
What does Psalm 68:19 mean?
It’s always important when studying one specific verse to first get the context of what comes before it. Psalm 68 is a psalm of David, in which he proclaims the many ways that God cares for His children.
Early in the psalm David notes that He’s a father to the fatherless, defender of widows, and “places the lonely in families” (relationships). It goes on to speak to how God gives us abundant rain and provides for the needy (resources), and scatters His enemies and defeats those who rise against Him (protection).
This all builds to verse 19, where he cries, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!” (Ps. 68:19). But “with benefits” is not in the text at all, and this translation doesn’t really capture either the literal translation or the intended meaning well. It’s a rare case of the NKJV translation falling short.
It’s not surprising that the translators went astray, because almost every time that word translated “loads us” (amas, H6006) is used in the Old Testament, it’s in the context of heavy loads, burdens, and even putting on a heavy yoke. To me, it feels like they didn’t quite know what to do with it.
Overall, more contemporary translations seem to do a much better job of capturing the essence of this verse…
- ESV “bears us up”
- NIV “daily bears our burdens”
- NLT “for each day He carries us in his arms”
- CJB (verse 20) “every day He bears our burden”
So we see that rather than the positive abundance vibes that the New King James was giving off, the lens of most translations is instead around God’s care and support for us in our daily struggles.
Our load-bearing pillar
In the NIV translation, David exclaims, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah. Our God is a God who saves”. The “selah” that David adds tells us to pause and meditate on what we’ve just sung.
The bible translations that speak of God bearing our burdens or bearing us up seem to be the closest to what’s intended. Adam Clarke’s commentary notes that some other good ways to think about this turn of phrase are, “our prop day by day”, “He supports us day by day” and he also agreed that “He bears our burdens” or “bears us up” work well too.
We’re meant to picture God underneath us, behind us, and around us, bearing our weight and making sure we don’t wobble, fall, or crumble. In a different psalm, David commands:
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall” (Ps. 55:22, NLT)
You know that sigh of relief you give when you’ve been struggling to carry a heavy load, you’re weighed down and straining and can barely keep from dropping it—and then you finally get to set it down? That’s how we can picture giving our burdens to our Father. We roll it off our shoulders and onto His, able to breathe again now that we don’t have to carry it ourselves anymore.
Rather than preaching a prosperity gospel, Psalm 68:19 is instead stressing our need for humility and reliance on God rather than on ourselves—and most importantly, that when we turn to Him in this way, He will lift the weight off us (Ps. 146).
Peter gives very similar advice, saying, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (I Pet. 5:6-7, NIV).
Paul describes each of us individually—and together as the body of Christ—as the living temple of God. This spiritual temple is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with our Savior Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22).
And we can picture our Father in heaven as the load-bearing pillar—absolutely crucial to the stability of the whole structure.
When we are leaning upon God in this way, we can be like the man whose house is built upon the rock. Despite the storms of life and the waves battering us, they don’t have the power to cause us to suddenly collapse. Because even when our own strength fails, we have that pillar to lean on.
The NLT goes a step further in translating Psalm 68:19, rendering it as “for each day He carries us in His arms”. It’s such a beautiful image, of our Father carrying us like a small child because we are precious to Him.
We can be confident that no matter our heartaches, our burdens, our attitude, our weaknesses, or our sins, they are not too heavy for Him to carry. There is no day He wakes up tired. He doesn’t need to set our burdens down and rest. When we grow weary and discouraged, we are assured that He’s there, ready for us to loosen our grip and trust Him to carry us.
“Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of [heroes of the faith], let us lay aside every weight [“strip off every weight that slows us down”], and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).
The only way we’re able to cast off the weight of our sinful human tendencies is by God’s mercy and grace, through His plan for redeeming mankind that began with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.
Without Him bearing us up and carrying us through this life, we are completely incapable of becoming like Him—of entering His eternal kingdom as sons and daughters. If we try to carry our load alone, we will fall. That is ultimately what I take away from Psalm 68:19.
But there’s another gem hidden in this short verse.
Read next: What Does It Mean To “Guard Your Heart”? (Meditation on Proverbs 4:23)
Each and every day
David tells us to praise God, for he bears our burdens daily. Personally, the word “daily” is easy to gloss over. I cook meals and work and exercise daily, but it’s not exciting or special, or worth noting. “Daily” feels mundane.
However, when we look at the Hebrew, we actually see that the word (yom, H3117) is written twice in the text, which conveys intensification and magnitude.
While yom is used a couple thousand times in the bible, it’s only used a handful of times in this manner. It gives us a sense of “day-by-day”, “each day”, or “day in and day out”. Constantly. Consistently. Without fail.
We see it used to indicate persistence (Potiphar’s wife, Gen. 39:10). A never-ending daily task (the Israelites making bricks in Egypt, Ex. 5:19). Consistency and dependability (the manna God provided, and the need for Israel to gather it daily; Ex. 16:4). Perpetuity (in Leviticus speaking about the holy days and sabbath).
It’s not a one-time thing. He doesn’t miss a day. He’s not too tired. There’s never a day when your burdens, your heartaches, your attitude, or your sins are too much for Him. He props us up every day. He carries us in His arms like we carry our own precious children. Every. Single. Day.
Every day without fail, God is by our side waiting to take our burdens. But it only works if WE actually go to Him and ask Him to carry them—and then let go and trust Him to do so. Every day. It cannot be a one-sided relationship, or a one-time ask. And it’s not the only thing God wants us to do daily to develop righteous character and maintain a relationship with Him.
What are some of the other things we should do every day?
- Die to ourselves and our carnal human nature (I Cor. 15:31)
- Draw near to Him, flee sin, and humble ourselves (James 4:7-10)
- “Take up our cross” and follow Christ’s example (Luke 9:23)
- Come before Him in prayer “without ceasing” (I Thes. 5:17)
- Search the scriptures daily, take in God’s word—our “daily bread” (Acts 17:11, Matt. 6:11)
- Exhort our fellow brethren to continue in the faith (Heb. 3:13)
The way we develop a relationship with our Father and build godly character is the same way He promises to support us—day by day.
Read next: What Does Psalm 20:4 Mean? Our Heart’s Desires & Fulfilling Our Purpose
New every morning…
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens”
So, while “He daily loads us with benefits” sounds great, it barely scratches the surface of what this verse is really telling us. That we have a God who is there to lift us up, to take us in His arms and carry our burdens so we don’t have to. And that He promises to do this every day of our lives if we let Him.
No matter how messed up yesterday was, how discouraging, how heavy our burdens, or how weary we feel, God’s love and mercy “begin afresh” each morning if we seek Him and offer ourselves to Him (NLT).
“But in my mind I keep returning to something that gives me hope—that the grace of God is not exhausted, that His compassion has not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great Your faithfulness!
‘God is all I have’, I say; therefore I will put my hope in Him. He is good to those waiting for Him, to those who are seeking Him out” (Lam. 3:21-25, CJB)
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