My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
I am first drawn to the word soul because it is what is doing the boasting. The deepest part of my being is where my soul resides. From it comes the essence of life itself. It is eternal and without it, no person can live beyond their physical self.
From our soul comes our life, our thoughts, our visceral self. The root of all we are is found in our soul. Often the scriptures use the words “heart, soul, and mind interchangeably, but always with the understanding that the writer is pointing to the depth of one’s being. This is important to me when I am trying to understand what the psalmist’s soul is doing, boasting in the Lord. So I see his boasting as not being a casual assent to the Lord’s value or person, nor is it a passing thought that randomly comes to him. Since it is his soul that is doing this, I see it to mean his very life’s essence is doing this act.
So to press this verse for a better understanding, the psalmist is saying that his very being, the essence of who he is only finds what is worthy of bragging, elevating, praising, to be the Lord himself. I know I am too often given to speaking quickly, even in praising the Lord. Phrases like, “Thank the Lord” or “God is good” too easily fall from my lips without the engagement of my soul. Not that either of those phrases is untrue, just the opposite. However, the truthfulness doesn’t negate the lack of depth from which I am stating those truths. The difference might simply be the earnestness or lack thereof, or maybe even more likely the lack of forethought and thus the diminished value of the truth. Perhaps it is akin to telling my wife I love her before I drift off to sleep, but not taking the time to reflect on why I love her or how much more I should love her. If from my soul, I am certain it would be more than just a spoken phrase, and even more certain that she would receive the words with more meaning when it is spoken from the “heart”.
Seeing this as the source of the psalmist’s action, what I then understand is that the writer is saying that when he is blessing the Lord at all times and his praises are on his lips, it is because he has engaged his soul and it results in his declaring that the only one worthy our boasting is the Lord. The Lord alone deserves any accolades, exaltations, and praise. Because of this, the psalmist knows that those who are humble (not boasting in themselves) will be glad. I take that to mean they will stand with the psalmist in this declaration and do so with both confidence and certainty which results in joy and gladness.