I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.
I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
Parallel Translations
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I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.
I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
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I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Show all 3 translations
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I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.
I will delight myself in Thy statutes; I will not forget Thy word.
Cross-references (40)
- Jeremiah 15:16 (v14) Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, Yahweh, God…
- Matthew 13:44 (v14) “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he…
- Psalms 119:162 (v14) I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
- Psalms 19:9-10 (v14) The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether. They are more to be desired than…
- Psalms 112:1 (v14) Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments.
Show all 37 cross-references
- Psalms 1:2 (vv15–16) but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
- Job 23:12 (v14) I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- James 1:25 (v15) But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be…
- Psalms 119:127 (v14) Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.
- Psalms 119:148 (v15) My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.
- Psalms 119:111 (v14) I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- Psalms 119:24 (v16) Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
- Psalms 119:72 (v14) The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
- Psalms 119:97 (v15) How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.
- Psalms 119:47 (vv14, 16) I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.
- Psalms 119:77 (vv14, 16) Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
- Psalms 119:48 (v15) I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.
- Psalms 119:78 (v15) Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts.
- Proverbs 3:1 (v16) My son, don’t forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments:
- Psalms 119:35 (v16) Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.
- Psalms 119:117 (v15) Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually.
- Psalms 119:131 (v15) I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments.
- Romans 7:22 (v16) For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,
- Psalms 119:6 (v15) Then I wouldn’t be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments.
- Psalms 119:23 (v15) Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
- Psalms 119:70 (v16) Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your law.
- Psalms 119:83 (v16) For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don’t forget your statutes.
- Psalms 119:92-93 (v16) Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for with them, you have…
- Psalms 119:109 (v16) My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law.
- Psalms 119:141 (v16) I am small and despised. I don’t forget your precepts.
- Psalms 119:176 (v16) I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.
- Hebrews 10:16-17 (v16) “This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write…
- James 1:23-24 (v16) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and…
- Acts 2:41-47 (v14) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls. They continued steadfastly in…
- Psalms 40:8 (v16) I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
- Psalms 119:14 (v16) I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
- Psalms 119:11 (v16) I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
37 distinct cross-references across this passage (40 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v15 15. In thy precepts That to which I formerly…
15. In thy precepts That to which I formerly adverted must not be forgotten — the prophet’s not making a boast of his own acquirements, but setting before others an example for their imitation. We are aware that the majority of mankind are so much involved in the cares of the world, as to leave no time or leisure for meditating upon the doctrine of God. To meet this callous indifference, he very seasonably commends diligence and attention. And even were we not so ensnared by the world, we know how readily we lose sight of the law of God, in the daily temptations which suddenly overtake us. It is not therefore without reason that the prophet exhorts us to constant exercise, and enjoins us to direct all our energies to the subject of meditation on God’s precepts. And as the life of men is unstable, being continually distracted by the carnality of their minds, he declares that he will consider attentively the ways of God. Subsequently, he repeats the exquisite pleasure he took in this pursuit. For our proficiency in the law of God will be small, until we cheerfully and heartily set our minds upon it. And, in fact, the commencement of a good life consists in God’s law attracting us to him by its sweetness. By the same means the lusts of the flesh, too, are subdued or mitigated. In our natural state, what is more agreeable to us than that which is sinful? This will be the constant tendency of our minds, unless the delight which we feel in the law carry us in the opposite direction.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v14 The Prophet not boast of his virtues, but setteth…
The Prophet not boast of his virtues, but setteth forth an example for others to follow God’s word, and leave worldly vanities.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Psa 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of…
Psa 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as [much as] in all riches.
Ver. 14. I have rejoiced] Heb. I have inwardly rejoiced. Pleasures of the mind are unspeakably joyous. Eudoxus was content to have been burnt by the sun presently, might he but come so near it as to learn the nature of it. Pliny perished by peeping into the fire of Etna. Archimedes lost his life by being too intent upon his mathematical studies.
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As much as in all riches] Heb. in all opulency and affluence.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–15 In the way of thy testimonies; in the study…
In the way of thy testimonies; in the study and practice of them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I will delight myself in thy statutes,.... In looking…
I will delight myself in thy statutes,.... In looking over them; in meditating on them; in obeying them, and walking according to them; as every good man does delight in the law of the Lord, after the inward man, Rom 7:22; see Psa 119:24;
I will not forget thy word: he took all proper methods to fix it in his memory; he laid it up in his mind; he meditated upon it in his heart, and he talked of it with his lips, Psa 119:11.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Verse 14. I have rejoiced]
Verse 14. I have rejoiced]
11. He must consider it his chief happiness to be found in the path of obedience, giving his whole heart and strength to God; and when enabled to do it, he should rejoice more in it than if he had gained thousands of gold and silver. O how great is the treasure of a tender and approving conscience!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I have rejoiced ... - I do rejoice; I…
I have rejoiced ... - I do rejoice; I exult in this; I find my happiness there. The word expresses a high degree of joy.
As much as in all riches - Hebrew, “as upon all wealth.” As people rejoice who have great wealth. I find my happiness in religion, as if in the possession of real wealth. Pro 10:22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. Obedience to the laws by which God attests…
14. Obedience to the laws by which God attests His Will is the true wealth which brings joy to life. Cp. the teaching of Pro_2:4; Pro_3:13 ff; Pro_8:10-11; Pro_8:18-19; Pro_16:16.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,…
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches (comp. ver. 72). God"s Word is a treasure, beyond expression precious, calculated to rejoice the heart of all such as possess it.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Ver. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of…
Ver. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies. Delight in the word of God is a sure proof that it has taken effect upon the heart, and so is cleansing the life. The Psalmist not only says that he does rejoice, but that he has rejoiced. For years it had been his joy and bliss to give his soul to the teaching of the word. His rejoicing had not only arisen out of the word of God, but out of the practical characteristics of it. The Way was as dear to him as the Truth and the Life. There was no picking and choosing with David, or if indeed he did make a selection, he chose the most practical first.
As much as in all riches. He compared his intense satisfaction with God's will with that of a man who possesses large and varied estates, and the heart to enjoy them. David knew the riches that come of sovereignty and which grow out of conquest; he valued the wealth which proceeds from labour, or is gotten by inheritance: he knew "all riches." The gracious king had been glad to see the gold and silver poured into his treasury that he might devote vast masses of it to the building of the Temple of Jehovah upon Mount Zion. He rejoiced in all sorts of riches consecrated and laid up for the noblest uses, and yet the way of God's word had given him more pleasure than even these. Observe that his joy was personal, distinct, remembered, and abundant. Wonder not that in the previous verse he glories in having spoken much of that which he had so much enjoyed: a man may well talk of that which is his delight.
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Ver. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, etc. The Psalmist saith not only, "I have rejoiced in thy testimonies, "but, "in the way of thy testimonies." Way is one of the words by which the law is expressed. God's laws are ways that lead us to God; and so it may be taken here, "the way which thy testimonies point out, and call me unto"; or else his own practice, as a man's course is called his way; his delight was not in speculation or talk, but in obedience and practice: "in the way of thy testimonies." He tells us the degree of his joy, as much as in all riches: "as much, "not to show the equality of these things, as if we should have the same affection for the world as for the word of God; but "as much, "because we have no higher comparison. This is that which worldlings dote upon, and delight in; now as much as they rejoice in worldly possessions, so much do I rejoice in the way of thy testimonies. For I suppose David doth not compare his own delight in the word, with his own delight in wealth; but his own choice and delight, with the delight and choice of others. If he had spoken of himself both in the one respect and in the other, the expression was very high. David who was called to a crown, and in a capacity of enjoying much in the world, gold, silver, land, goods, largeness of territory, and a compound of all that which all men jointly, and all men severally do possess; yet was more pleased in the holiness of God's ways, than in all the world: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mr 8:36). Thomas Manton.
Ver. 14. The way of thy testimonies. The testimony of God is his word, for it testifies his will; the "way" of his testimony is the practice of his word, and doing of that which he hath declared to be his will, and wherein he hath promised to show us his love. David found not this sweetness in hearing, reading, and professing the word only; but in practising of it: and in very deed, the only cause why we find not the comfort that is in the word of God is that we practise it not by walking in the way thereof. It is true, at the first it is bitter to nature, which loves carnal liberty, to render itself as captive to the word: laboriosa virtutis via, and much pains must be taken before the heart be subdued; but when it is once begun, it renders such joy as abundantly recompenses all the former labour and grief. William Cowper.
Ver. 14. Riches are acquired with difficulty, enjoyed with trembling, and lost with bitterness. Bernard, 1091-1157.
Ver. 14. A poor, good woman said, in time of persecution, when they took away the Christian's Bibles, "I cannot part with my Bible; I know not how to live without it." When a gracious soul has heard a profitable sermon, he says, "Methinks it does me good at heart; it is the greatest nourishment I have": I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. Oliver Heywood, 1629-1702.
Ver. 14. Practical religion, the source of a comfort surpassing riches. It gives a man ease of mind, independence of carriage, weight of influence, and other matters supposed to arise out of wealth.
Ver. 14.
1. The subject of rejoicing. Not the "testimonies" merely, but their observances, "the way of, "etc.
2.. The rejoicing in that subject.
(a) In its inward peace.
(b) In its external consequences.
3. The degree of the rejoicing: "as much as, "etc. G.R.
Ver. 14. The two scales of the balance. Whatever riches are good for, God's testimonies are good for.
1. Riches are desirable as the means of procuring the necessaries of life; but God's testimonies supply the necessities of the soul.
2. Riches are desirable as a means of procuring personal enjoyment; but God's testimonies produce the highest joy.
3. Riches are desirable as a means of attaining personal improvement; but God's testimonies are the highest educators.
4. Riches are desirable as a means of doing good; but God's testimonies work the highest good. C.A.D.
Psalms 119:15*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v15 I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect…
Psa_119:15-16
I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.
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A threefold internal action of the soul about the Word
These two verses present to us a threefold internal action of Davids soul towards the Word of God: first, meditation; secondly, consideration; thirdly, delectation; every one of these proceeds from the other and mutually strengthen one another. Meditation brings the Word to the mind; consideration views it, and looks at length into it; whereof is bred delectation. That which comes into the mind, were it never so good, if it be not considered, goes as it came; leaving neither instruction nor joy; but being once perfected by meditation, if it be pondered by consideration, then it breeds delectation; which is the perfection of godliness, in regard of the internal action. Thus we see that a godly man is ever fruitful in good: like that tree planted by the rivers of waters. For at the same time when his external good actions cannot be seen, he is not without internal good motions, breeding good in the root of his affection; which shortly brings out good fruit in his action, to the glory of God, and good of others. (Bp. Cowper.)
Reading profitless without meditation
St. Francis de Sales did not think well of those men who flit from book to book, taking up first one religious exercise and then another; he compared such persons to the drone bee, which makes no honey. Always learning, yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth; always gathering and acquiring, without retaining anything, because what they gather is put into a bottomless sack, a broken cistern. The longer a bee rests upon the flower, the more honey it will gather, he used to say. (Christian Weekly.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 I will meditate ... and pay attention
I will meditate ... and pay attention
These are parallel thoughts that have similar meanings, which are repeated for emphasis. (See: Parallelism)
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meditate on your instructions
"think carefully about what you have instructed us"
pay attention
This idiom refers to thinking clearly about what is being discussed. AT: "give careful thought" (See: Idiom)
I delight
to take pleasure
translationWords
meditate
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14–15 119:14 God’s wisdom is far greater than any riches…
119:14 God’s wisdom is far greater than any riches humans seek (119:72, 127; Prov 3:14-15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.