“I Will Praise Thee” – 2 Nephi 4:30

In the middle of Nephi’s psalm, after lamenting his susceptibility to temptation and after commanding himself to do better, Nephi begins to talk directly to God. To me, this is the turning point in the psalm—the moment when he acknowledges that he can’t do this on his own, that he needs help. Notice how his desire to praise and express confidence in God leads him to also plead with God for help:

Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
(2 Nephi 4:30-31)

Nephi had internalized the words of Isaiah, and in this moment of crisis, he drew upon a psalm by Isaiah which he would later quote in full:

O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
(2 Nephi 22:1-3, Isaiah 12:1-3)

Today, I will follow Nephi’s example. In the midst of a time of uncertainty, I will praise God, I will trust God, I will rejoice in God, and I will ask God for help.