Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
Psalm 40 is written by David, a king of ancient Israel known for his intense, complicated relationship with God — deeply devoted and deeply flawed in equal measure. This verse is a prayer not just for himself but on behalf of others — specifically those who are seeking God and those who love what God has done to rescue people. "The Lord be exalted" is a declaration that God deserves to be honored and recognized as supreme above all else. David's hope is that seeking God would be rewarded not merely with relief, but with genuine, lasting joy.
God, I want to be someone who genuinely rejoices — not just someone who knows the right words. Rekindle whatever has grown dim in me. Let my gladness in you be real enough that others wonder what I have found. The Lord be exalted. Amen.
David does not just pray for himself here. He prays for the seekers — the ones still making their uncertain way toward God, still asking, still hoping the searching leads somewhere real. That is a particular kind of spiritual generosity: to be so genuinely glad in what God has done for you that your heart starts overflowing outward, wishing the same for strangers. "May they rejoice." "May they be glad." "May they always say..." There is a contagiousness in honest faith that David is describing — not a performance of enthusiasm, but the natural overflow of someone who has actually found what they were looking for. Here is a quiet question this verse leaves behind: are you still a seeker? It is easy, once you have years of faith behind you, to lose the electric curiosity of early belief — the hunger, the thrill of discovering something new about God. The invitation here is not to return to naivety, but to stay in the posture of seeking, not because you have found nothing, but because there is always more. People who live that way — genuinely seeking, genuinely glad — tend to become the kind of people whose joy makes others quietly curious about where it comes from.
David prays that seekers will "rejoice and be glad in" God — what is the difference between being glad about God's gifts and being glad in God himself?
When did you last feel the kind of gladness that made you want to say "the Lord be exalted" out loud — and what had just happened?
Is there a risk that familiarity with God could quietly replace the seeking posture David describes here? How do you notice when that drift is happening in yourself?
How might your visible gladness in God — or the absence of it — affect the people around you who are still searching?
What is one concrete way you could re-ignite a seeking posture in your faith this week — a practice, a question you have avoided, or a conversation you have been putting off?
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Psalms 5:11
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Luke 1:46
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Psalms 34:3
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:46
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Philippians 3:9
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalms 35:27
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Luke 1:47
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!"
AMP
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
ESV
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, 'The LORD be magnified!'
NASB
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “The Lord be exalted!”
NIV
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!”
NKJV
But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”
NLT
But all who are hunting for you— oh, let them sing and be happy. Let those who know what you're all about tell the world you're great and not quitting.
MSG