1.
But I wish to attain joy and relief through You; I desire to sing to Your Name, O Most High.
[אֶשְׂמְחָ֣ה] (ʾesmecho)
[שָׂמַח] (SAMACH) - is the sensation of inner “expansion”, of progress in emotional development, of that serenity and that mood of joy that should ever be the portion of the pure in heart, and which the righteous should always seek to attain and to preserve.
[עָלַץ] (ALATS) - the [ץ] at the end - the consonent and sound indicating the overcomming of resistance. Related to [חלץ] “to free oneself from bonds,” is an expression for the feeling of blessed relief from oppression and confinement. [שְׂמְחָ֣ה] (SMECHA) is a frame of mind that is essential for the recognition of all that is good and true. “The nearness of God is to be won not by sorrow and indolence, nor by jest and levity, etc., but by the joy that comes from duty fulfilled.”
[שִׁמְךָ֣ עֶלְיֽוֹן] (shimcho ʿelyon) - is the recognition of how God invisibly guides the course of events in His own paths, “from the heights”, as it were, without intervening directly. This is a realization which should be expressed by means of an inspired hymn. It is a realization which can be gained only if, instead of allowing ourselves to be depressed or oppressed by the vicissitudes of living, we shall know how to preserve that joy of life, which can be attained only through faith in God.