The Meaning of Psalms 18:28 Explained

Psalms 18:28

KJV: For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

YLT: For Thou -- Thou lightest my lamp, Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.

Darby: For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.

ASV: For thou wilt light my lamp: Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For thou wilt light  my candle:  the LORD  my God  will enlighten  my darkness. 

What does Psalms 18:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 18:27-50 - Girded With Strength For Service
God's way is perfect, and if only we will walk with Him He will make ours perfect also. Walls and troops cannot stop a man when God leads him through them. We must follow on the line of His purpose, and then the very mountains are a way and our enemies subserve the program, Acts 2:23.
Swift and sure-footed, when the path is slippery, Psalms 18:33; strong in battle, Psalms 18:34; great through God's gentle kindness, or, as the English Book of Common Prayer renders it, "thy loving correction," Psalms 18:35. Severity would never have done for the Apostles what Jesus did by His patience and long-suffering.
The closing hallelujah of Psalms 18:46-50 is very fine. It is the living Savior that we need. We must stint our words when we speak of men; but mortal lips, however eloquent, have never exhausted the worth of our King. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:28 mean?

For You will light my lamp Yahweh my God will enlighten my darkness
כִּֽי־ אַ֭תָּה תָּאִ֣יר נֵרִ֑י יְהוָ֥ה אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י יַגִּ֥יהַּ חָשְׁכִּֽי

תָּאִ֣יר  will  light 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: to be or become light, shine.
נֵרִ֑י  my  lamp 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נִיר 
Sense: lamp.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י  my  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יַגִּ֥יהַּ  will  enlighten 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַהּ  
Sense: to shine.
חָשְׁכִּֽי  my  darkness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: חֹשֶׁךְ  
Sense: darkness, obscurity.