I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.
Parallel Translations
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I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.
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I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
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I have longed for Thy salvation, O LORD; and Thy law is my delight.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Psalms 119:174 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 119:166-167 I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments. My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.
- Psalms 119:16 I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
- Psalms 1:2 but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
- Psalms 119:47 I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.
- Psalms 119:111 I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
- Romans 7:22-25 For I delight in God’s law after the inward man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.
- Romans 8:23-25 Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.
- Philippians 1:23 But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
- Genesis 49:18 I have waited for your salvation, Yahweh.
- 2 Samuel 23:5 Isn’t my house so with God? Yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for it is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he doesn’t make it grow.
- Psalms 119:24 Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
- Psalms 119:77 Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
- Psalms 119:81 My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.
- Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
- Song of Solomon 5:8 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am faint with love.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah!…
174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah! Although all men desire to be in happy circumstances, and no man avowedly repudiates God’s favor; yet so confused and uncertain are the ideas which they entertain of that in which a life of happiness or propriety consists, that very few are to be found directing their aspirations to God. Some are carried away by their own ambition, some are wholly possessed with avarice, and others burn with lust, all imagining, that the farther they recede from God, everything will prosper so much the better with them. In short, in proportion as each man is desirous to be safe, in the same proportion does he provoke the anger of God, by seeking the means of his safety in all directions. The construction in the Hebrew text denotes steadfastness, or constancy of desire; for literally it is, that He Had longed for the salvation of God, and not that he only at the present time began to long for it. He next expresses the manner in which we are patiently to long for salvation; which is, by seeking consolation and relief in all our calamities from the word of God; for whoever does not comfort himself by a reliance on the grace promised in the word, will quail at the slightest assault made upon him. The Prophet then wisely kept his thoughts close upon the divine word, that he might not be turned away from hoping for the salvation of God.
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 119:174 I have longed for thy salvation, O…
Psa 119:174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law [is] my delight.
Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation] So do all men; but then David will take a right course for it (so will not all).
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And thy law is my delight] This the most men mind not.
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 For thy salvation; either,
For thy salvation; either,
1. For deliverance from my present straits and calamities, that I may serve thee with more freedom, and may glorify thy name in a more solemn and public manner; or,
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2. That thou wouldst completely save me, not only from my outward pressures, but also from my sins, from my dulness and deadness in thy service, from all inclinations and temptations to apostacy and impiety, and from my other indispositions and corruptions, against which he prayeth in divers parts of this Psalm; and that at last thou wouldst crown me with eternal salvation in thy kingdom, which it is apparent that David did believe and expect, and hath been already proved from divers passages of this book.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord -…
I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord - See the notes at Psa 119:166. The word rendered “I have longed” denotes an earnest desire or wish. Compare the notes at Psa 42:1, and the notes at Psa 119:20.
And thy law is my delight - It is so much the object of my delight that I earnestly long or desire to see more and more of its richness and fullness.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord (comp.…
I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord (comp. vers. 81, 166). And thy Law is my delight (see vers. 16, 35, 47, 70. 77, 111).
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 Ver. 174. I have lounged for thy salvation, O…
Ver. 174. I have lounged for thy salvation, O LORD. He speaks like old Jacob on his deathbed; indeed, all saints, both in prayer and in death, appear as one, in word, and deed, and mind. He knew God's salvation, and yet he longed for it; that is to say, he had experienced a share of it, and he was therefore led to expect something yet higher and more complete. There is a salvation yet to come, when we shall be clean delivered from the body of this death, set free from all the turmoil and trouble of this mortal life, raised above the temptations and assaults of Satan, and brought near unto our God, to be like him and with him for ever and ever.
I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah; and thy law is my delight. The first clause tells us what the saint longs for, and this informs us what is his present satisfaction. God's law, contained in the ten commandments, gives joy to believers. God's law, that is, the entire Bible, is a well spring of consolation and enjoyment to all who receive it. Though we have not yet reached the fulness of our salvation, yet we find in God's word so much concerning a present salvation that we are even now delighted.
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Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation, 0 LORD, ere. The thing which we learn hence out of David's joining these two together, I long for salvation, and thy law is my delight, is this, that it is not enough for a man to say, he longs and desires to be saved, unless he makes a conscience to use the appointed means to bring him thereunto. It had been but hypocrisy in David to say he longed for salvation, if his conscience had not been able to witness with him that the law was his delight. It is mere mockery for a man to say he longeth for bread, and prayeth to God every day to give him his daily bread, if he yet walk in no calling, or else seek to get it by fraud and rapine, not staying himself at all upon God's providence. Who will imagine that a man wishes for health, who either despiseth or neglects the means of his recovery? God hath in his own wisdom appointed a lawful means for every lawful thing; this means, being obediently used, the comfortable obtaining of the end may be confidently looked for; the means being not observed, to think to attain to the end is mere presumption. God will deliver Noah from the flood, but Noah must be "moved with reverence, "and "prepare the ark" (Heb 11:7), or else he could not have escaped. He would save Lot from Sodom, but yet Lot must hurry him out quickly, and not look behind him till he have entered Zoar: Ge 19:17. He was pleased to cure Hezekiah of the plague, but yet Hezekiah must take "a lump of figs, and lay it upon his boil:" Isa 38:21. He vouchsafed to preserve Paul and company at sea, yet the sailors must "abide in the ship, "else ye cannot be saved, saith Paul: Ac 27:31. Samuel Hieron, 1572-1617.
Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation. It is God's salvation proper that he must desire "thy salvation" for nothing else could satisfy his pure mind perfect peace with God, perfect purity and perfect hope. Now, if you ask what was God's way of delivering, and what was his way of salvation, the answer is, it was set forth in his word, and was what the Psalmist calls his "law." God's salvation and his law were discerned to be one. "I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is ray delight." John Stephen.
Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvations, O LORD. "Salvation, "by the "hand, "or arm of Jehovah, (which is often in Scripture a title of Messiah,)hath been the object of the hopes, the desires, and "longing" expectations of the faithful, from Adam to this hour, and will continue so to be until he, who hath already visited us in great humility, shall come again in glorious majesty to complete our redemption and take us to himself. George Horne.
Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD. For a present salvation from the guilt and power of sin, and for future salvation, in the full and everlasting enjoyment of God in heaven. David had the happiness to be a partaker, both of pardoning mercy and of sanctifying grace; yet still he longed for more of this salvation, that is, for a more assured faith of pardoning mercy, and larger measures of sanctifying grace. A gracious soul is insatiable; the more it hath received, the more it desires to receive. Enjoyment, instead of surfeiting, sharpens the appetite. Nay, so sweet is the relishing of spiritual things, that every renewed taste of them quenches the thirst for other things.
Thy law is my delight. Here David chooses the term "law" for denoting the whole revelation of God's will, to remind us of the inseparable connexion between privilege and duty, faith and obedience, holiness and comfort; and to teach us that we ought to be thankful to God for the direction he hath given us in the road to heaven, no less than for the promises by which we are assured of the possession of it. Robert Walker, 1716 1783.
Ver. 174. Thy law is my delight. Religion will decay or flourish, as it is our duty or our delight. The mind is incapable of continued exertion for duty; but it readily falls in with "delight." Thus our duties become our privileges, while Christ is their source and life. Every step of progress is progress in happiness. This verse of which experience is the best interpreter is the believer's language in his lively, as well as in his fainting state. For the more be knows and enjoys of tim divine presence, the more he longs to know and enjoy it. Charles Bridges.
Ver. 174. Delight, in the plural, "delights, "as in verses 24, 77, 92, 143. God's word is an abundant source of pleasure to his people. William S. Plumer.
Ver. 174.
1. Jacob's longings.
2. Moses' choice.
Ver. 174. God's servant drinking at salvation's well, but unsated.
1. Longing yielding to delight.
(a) At God's salvation.
(b) At the rich Scripture inventory.
2. Delight bringing forth further longing.
(a) For deeper discoveries in the word.
(b) Richer experiences in the life.
(c) Heaven's consummation.
W.B.H.
Ver. 174.
1. Sighings for heaven. Holiness, happiness, God.
2. Sips by the way. The word of God, the will of God, service of God, the God in all.
W.B.H.
Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation. Thy holy salvation. Thy full salvation. Thy free salvation. Thy present salvation. Thy permanent salvation. W.J.
Ver. 174. I have longed, etc. This longing arises,
1. From a painful consciousness of the need of salvation.
2. From a perception of the glories of God's salvation.
3. From the promises which give assurance of the possibility of obtaining this salvation.
4. From the gracious promptings of the Holy Ghost.
W.H.J.P.
Psalms 119:175*
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 I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord; and…
Psa_119:174
I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord; and Thy law is my delight.
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Longing for salvation
I. The state of mind of which he was the subject. This phraseology implies, that of all other benefits, none are of such great value as the salvation of the soul; also that we cannot save ourselves, neither is salvation to be hoped for from the hills or the mountains, or from the creature in any form which it can wear. It is the grace of God alone that brings salvation. Then in what does this salvation consist? It consists in emancipation from the curse of the law, deliverance from the anger of God. It is a salvation with the possession of the blessings of forgiveness, of renewal, of progressive sanctification, of preparation for the joys in the immediate presence of God and of the Lamb.
II. The grand test by which we may judge of the integrity of this ardent desire which is here expressed, Thy law is my delight. The law of God presents us with the first and most beautiful exhibition of Gods moral character and His attributes. The law of God, by its types and shadows, directs us to the grand remedial means--the great propitiation which was to take away the sin of the world. The law of God, considering it as embracing the whole lively oracles, points us to the Saviour, Christ the Lord. The law of the Lord says, that those who come to Him He will in no wise cast out. There is everything, therefore, in the Word of God, and in the Gospel of our salvation, to awaken our reverence, our admiration, and our most affectionate desire. (J. Clayton, M. A.)
Davids longing and Davids love
I. His longing. By salvation is meant here no other thing but that which in the Scripture is sometimes called life eternal, sometimes the kingdom of heaven, sometimes the glory which shall be showed hereafter, sometimes the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, sometimes the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, sometimes an inheritance, immortal and undefiled, which fadeth not; in a word, those unspeakable, and not to be conceived, blessings, which God hath prepared for those that love Him. This was the object, the mark of Davids longing. This salvation he calleth the Lords (Thy salvation); because, as for us, it is neither an inheritance which we are born unto, nor a purchase which by any desert we can compass, so it is the Lords every way: it is He which hath first prepared it: it is He which hath freely disposed it according to the good pleasure of His own will: it is He which reserveth it in heaven for those who are reserved unto Jesus Christ. There are three things required of a Christian: first, by a feeling of sin to seek Christ. Secondly, by a holy faith to find Christ. Thirdly, by newness of life to dwell with Christ. The first of these three is the same longing for salvation which I entreat of; and therefore, as in a ladder there is no coming to the upper step but by the nethermost, so there is no dwelling with Christ, which is the height of happiness in this life, but by finding Him; found He cannot be but by seeking; to seek Him and to long for Him are all one; no man seeks Him but he which longs for Him, and no man longs for Him but he will care to seek Him.
II. His love. Thy law is my delight. It is not enough for a man to say he longs and desires to be saved, unless he make conscience to use the appointed means to bring him thereunto. It had been but hypocrisy in David to say he longed for salvation, if his conscience had not been able to witness with him, that the law was his delight. It is mere mockery for a man to say he longeth for bread, and prayeth to God every day to give hint his daily bread, if he either yet walk in no calling, or else seek to get by fraud and rapine, not staying himself at all upon Gods providence. Who will imagine that a man wishes for health, who either despiseth or neglecteth the means of his recovery? God hath in His wisdom appointed a lawful means for every lawful thing: this means being obediently used, the comfortable obtaining of the end may be boldly looked for; the means being not observed, to think to attain to the end is mere presumption. There is nobody almost, but if he be asked, for shame he will say he loveth Gods Word, and that he were a very wretch if he should not. But come to the undeceivable marks and unseparable signs of this love, it will then appear that Gods Word hath but a very few friends. The very sign of love to the Word of God is love to the public ministry thereof in Gods Church: the reason is plain. He which loveth the Word unfeignedly, must needs love the means by which the Word shall become most profitable unto him. The next sign of love to the Word is the private use of it. If a man should be stinted to one meal a week, he would have a pined body at the weeks end; what shall then become of our souls if we think it enough that they once a week be fed with the Word of God, and do not give them some other private refreshing. The third sign of love to the Word is love to the obedience of the Word. If ye love me (saith Christ), keep My commandments: so, if we love the Word, we cannot but make conscience to do that which is commanded by the Word. The reason is this: he which truly loveth the Word must needs tender the credit of it, and labour by all means to maintain it. Now, it is the greatest honour to the Word of God that may be, when men which possess it are ruled by it, and walk according to it. The fourth sign of love to the Word is hatred of all false religion which is contrary to the Word. I hate vain inventions (saith David), and again, I esteem all Thy precepts most just, and hate all false ways. The last sign of our love to the Word is to love it when the profession of it is most despised. This is noted as a special fruit of Davids love. Examine but this one psalm (verses 23, 51, 61, 69, 110, 141). (S. Hieron.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.