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Psalm 68:3
But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song. Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him.
2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to the LORD, his name! Rejoice before him!
5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
Notice
“But” turns from the wicked perishing to the righteous rejoicing, making God's presence a source of gladness amid this psalm's prayer for judgment.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does the prayer for judgment in the preceding lines shape your reading of this gladness?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 5:11But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.Both passages ask that God's people rejoice, with Psalm 5 naming his defense as a reason for their joy.
Psalm 40:16Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, “Let the LORD be exalted!”Both passages ask for rejoicing and gladness directed toward God, naming the righteous in one and those who seek him in the other.
Psalm 64:10The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him!Both passages name the righteous as those whose gladness is found before God or in the LORD.
1 Thessalonians 5:16Always rejoice.Both passages urge rejoicing; Psalm 68 names its setting before God, while Thessalonians stresses its continuing place in life.
Psalm 100:1–2A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!Both passages urge joy directed toward God, with Psalm 100 extending the summons to all lands.
Revelation 18:20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets, for God has judged your judgment on her.”Both passages place rejoicing in a setting of divine judgment, with Revelation naming God's judgment as the reason for rejoicing.
1 Peter 1:8whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,Both passages describe abundant joy, with the psalm repeating gladness and Peter describing believers rejoicing in the one they do not see.
Esther 8:11In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together and to defend their lives—to destroy, to kill, and to cause to …The connection is limited: Esther grants the Jews armed defense against attackers, while Psalm 68:3 asks for the righteous to rejoice before God.
Deuteronomy 12:12You shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your …Both passages speak of rejoicing before God, with Deuteronomy naming the household and the Levite among those who share that joy.
Revelation 19:7Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.”Both passages urge rejoicing and gladness, with Revelation naming the wedding of the Lamb as the occasion.
Deuteronomy 12:18but you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God shall choose: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female …Both passages locate rejoicing before God, with Deuteronomy placing that joy within a shared meal at God's chosen place.
1 Thessalonians 3:9For what thanksgiving can we give again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God,Both passages speak of rejoicing before God, with Thessalonians expressing joy over people through thanksgiving to him.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. gratitude.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Gladness has a place before God. The repeated call to rejoice gives it room: the righteous are to bring their joy into his presence.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).