Psalms 1:2(v97)but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
Proverbs 2:6(v98)For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:10(v97)For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Psalms 119:159(v97)Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness.
Matthew 11:25(v99)At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding,…
Show all 70 cross-references
Matthew 13:11(v99)He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
Psalms 119:24(v99)Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
2 Timothy 3:15-17(v99)From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.…
Joshua 1:8(v97)This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to…
Psalms 119:48(v97)I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.
Matthew 23:24-36(v99)You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of…
2 Chronicles 29:15-36(v99)They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by Yahweh’s words, to cleanse…
Deuteronomy 17:19(v97)It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words…
Psalms 119:167(v97)My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.
Jeremiah 8:8-9(vv99–100)“ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie. The wise men…
Deuteronomy 6:6-9(v97)These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of…
2 Chronicles 30:22(v99)Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the feast for…
Psalms 111:10(v100)The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. All those who do his work have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Psalms 119:104-105(v98)Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.
Psalms 119:127(v97)Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.
Psalms 119:165(v97)Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.
Jeremiah 2:8(v99)The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’ and those who handle the law didn’t know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the…
Colossians 3:16(v98)Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,…
Hebrews 5:12(v99)For although by this time you should be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the…
James 1:25(v98)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…
James 3:13(v100)Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.
Deuteronomy 4:6(v98)Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who shall hear all these statutes…
1 Chronicles 15:11-13(v99)David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, and said to…
Psalms 119:11(v98)I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 119:113(v97)I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.
Proverbs 18:1(v97)A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment.
Ecclesiastes 2:11(v96)Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a…
Matthew 15:6-9(v99)he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. You hypocrites! Well did…
Matthew 24:35(v96)Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Deuteronomy 4:6-8(v99)Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who shall hear all these statutes…
Deuteronomy 4:8(v98)What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you today?
2 Samuel 15:24-26(v99)Behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God; and they set down God’s ark; and Abiathar…
Job 12:12(v100)With aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.
Job 15:9-10(v100)What do you know that we don’t know? What do you understand which is not in us? With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men,…
Job 28:28(v100)To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
Psalms 119:30(v98)I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me.
1 Samuel 18:5(v98)David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely; and Saul set him over the men of war. It was good in the sight of all…
1 Samuel 18:14(v98)David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Yahweh was with him.
1 Samuel 18:30(v98)Then the princes of the Philistines went out; and as often as they went out, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of…
1 Kings 12:6-15(v100)King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, “What counsel do you give…
Job 32:4(v100)Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he.
Matthew 5:18(v96)For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass…
Matthew 7:24(v100)“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.
1 Samuel 9:2(v96)He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From…
1 Samuel 17:8(v96)He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine,…
1 Samuel 17:49-51(v96)David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and…
1 Samuel 31:4-5(v96)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through,…
2 Samuel 17:23(v96)When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in…
Psalms 39:5-6(v96)Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” “Surely every man…
Ecclesiastes 1:2-3(v96)“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors…
Ecclesiastes 12:8(v96)“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”
Matthew 22:37-40(v96)Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first…
Romans 7:14(v96)For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
2 Samuel 14:25(v96)Now in all Israel there was no one to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty. From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head…
2 Samuel 16:23(v96)The counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man inquired at the inner sanctuary of God. All the counsel of…
2 Samuel 18:14(v96)Then Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom,…
2 Samuel 18:17(v96)They took Absalom and cast him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, each…
Job 32:7-10(v100)I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the Spirit of the Almighty gives…
Psalms 19:7-8(v96)Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple. Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the…
Ecclesiastes 7:20(v96)Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.
Matthew 5:28(v96)but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matthew 15:14(v99)Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Mark 12:29-34(v96)Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,…
Romans 7:7-12(v96)What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have…
Hebrews 4:12-13(v96)For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both…
70 distinct cross-references across this passage (71 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv96–9896. In all perfection, I have seen the end.…
96. In all perfection, I have seen the end. The prophet again, using other words, commends the same truth which he had taught in the first verse of this part — that the word of God is not subject to change, because it is elevated far above the perishable elements of this world. He here asserts, that there is nothing under heaven so perfect and stable, or so complete, in all respects, as not to have an end; and that the Divine word alone possesses such amplitude as to surpass all bounds and limits. Since the verb כלה kalah, signifies to consume and finish, as well as to make perfect, some take the noun תכלה tichelah, for measure or end But it is necessary to translate it perfection, that the comparison may be the more apparent, and the better to amplify the faithfulness of the Divine word; the idea which the prophet intended to convey being, that, after he had considered all things, especially those which are distinguished by the greatest perfection, he found that they were nothing when compared with God’s word, inasmuch as all other things will soon come to an end, whereas the word of God stands ever firm in its own eternity. Whence it follows, that we have no ground for apprehending that it will forsake us in the midst of our course.. It is termed broad, to denote that, though a man may mount above the heavens, or descend into the lowest depths, or traverse the whole space from the right to the left hand, yet he will not reach farther than the truth of God conducts us. It remains that our minds should embrace this vast extent; and such will be the case when they shall have ceased to enclose and shut themselves up within the narrow limits of this world.
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 translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv96, 97, 99There is nothing so perfect in earth, but it…
There is nothing so perfect in earth, but it hath an end, only God’s word lasteth forever.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv96–100Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all…
Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection: [but] thy commandment [is] exceeding broad.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection] viz. Here below.
Read full note →
Tempore tacta ruunt praetoria -
Fairest buildings, strongest persons, goodliest empires, have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin, Omnis finis finem vidi (Syr. Interp.).
Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo;
Et subito casu quae valuere ruunt;
Omnia fortunae variis stant obvia telis:
Aut etiam longo tempore victa cadunt.
But thy commandment is exceeding broad] It is endless, infinite, perpetual, and withal of largest extent; witness that of charity, which is the complement of the law, and the supplement of the gospel. David, though he had proceeded further in the discovery of divine truths than those before him, Psa 119:99, yet he was still to seek of that which might be known; like as those great discoverers of the newly found land confess still a plus-ultra.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv96–100I have seen an end of all perfection; I…
I have seen an end of all perfection; I have observed by my experience that the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, the greatest glory, and riches, and power, and wisdom, are too narrow and shortlived to make men happy.
Thy commandment; thy word; one part of it being synecdochically put for the whole.
Read full note →
Broad, or large, both for extent and for continuance; it is useful to all persons in all times and conditions, and for all purposes, to inform, direct, quicken, comfort, sanctify, and save men; it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive nor forsake those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and for ever.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn vv96–98Here we have David's testimony from his own experience,…
Here we have David's testimony from his own experience, 1. Of the vanity of the world and its insufficiency to make us happy: I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David, in his time, had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome, Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken, Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled, Absalom, the fairest, deformed; and, in short, he had seen an end of perfection, of all perfection. He saw it by faith; he saw it by observation; he saw an end of the perfection of the creature both in respect of sufficiency (it was scanty and defective; there is that to be done for us which the creature cannot do) and in respect of continuance; it will not last our time, for it will not last to eternity as we must. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. 2. Of the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency for our satisfaction: But thy commandment is broad, exceedingly broad. The word of God reaches to all cases, to all times. The divine law lays a restraint upon the whole man, is designed to sanctify us wholly. There is a great deal required and forbidden in every commandment. The divine promise (for that also is commanded) extends itself to all our burdens, wants, and grievances, and has that in it which will make a portion and happiness for us when we have seen an end of all perfection.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv96–100I understand more than the ancients,.... Than those that…
I understand more than the ancients,.... Than those that had lived in ages before him; having clearer light given him, and larger discoveries made unto him, concerning the Messiah, his person and offices particularly, as it was usual for the Lord to do; or than aged men in his own time: for though wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, may be reasonably supposed to be with ancient men; who have had a long experience of things, and have had time and opportunity of making their observations, and of laying up a stock of knowledge; and this may be expected from them, and they may be applied to for it; yet this is not always the case; a younger man, as David was, may be endued with more knowledge and understanding than such; so Elihu; see Job 8:8, Job 32:6. Or, "I have got understanding by the ancients"; so Kimchi; though the other sense seems preferable;
because I keep thy precepts; keep close to the word; attend to the reading of it, and meditation on it; keep it in mind and memory, and observe to do the commands of it; and by that means obtained a good understanding, even a better one than the ancients; especially than they that were without it, or did not carefully attend unto it; see Psa 111:10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv96, 100Perfection - Of the greatest and most perfect enjoyments…
Perfection - Of the greatest and most perfect enjoyments in this world. Commandment - Thy word; one part of it being put for the whole. Broad - Or, large, both for extent, and for continuance: it is useful to all persons: it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and forever.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv96–100Verse 96. I have seen an end of all…
Verse 96. I have seen an end of all perfection] Literally, "Of all consummations I have seen the end:" as if one should say, Every thing of human origin has its limits and end, howsoever extensive, noble, and excellent. All arts and sciences, languages, inventions, have their respective principles, have their limits and ends; as they came from man and relate to man, they shall end with man: but thy law, thy revelation, which is a picture of thy own mind, an external manifestation of thy own perfections, conceived in thy infinite ideas, in reference to eternal objects, is exceeding broad; transcends the limits of creation; and extends illimitably into eternity! This has been explained as if it meant: All the real or pretended perfection that men can arrive at in this life is nothing when compared with what the law of God requires. This saying is false in itself, and is no meaning of the text. Whatever God requires of man he can, by his grace, work in man.
ANALYSIS OF LETTER LAMED. - Twelfth Division
Read full note →
This section contains an encomium of the WORD of GOD; of its perfection and immutability; and of the comfort the psalmist received from it.
I. In the three first verses the psalmist shows that God's word is immutable, by an instance in the creatures.
1. In the HEAVENS. They continue to this day as he made them in the beginning.
2. In the EARTH. As it was established in the beginning, so it abideth.
3. So also of the other heavenly bodies. They also abide as they were created; and answer still, most exactly, the ends for which they were made.
4. The reason of which is, "All are God's servants," made to obey his will: and from obedience they never swerve.
II. He shows the excellence of this word by a rare effect it had on himself: "Unless thy law had been my delight, I should have perished." No such comfort in trouble as God's word and promise. This he remembers with gratitude.
1. "I will never forget thy precepts." Only those forget them who reap no good from them.
2. This word had quickened him, i.e., God speaking and working by that word.
3. He will therefore be the Lord's servant for ever: "I am thine."
4. He knows he cannot continue so, but by Divine help: "Save me!"
5. He shows his love to God's word: "He seeks his precepts," that he may obey them.
III. He needed the help of God, because he had inveterate enemies. These he describes:
1. By their diligence: "The wicked have waited for me."
2. By their cruelty: "They waited to destroy me."
3. His defence against them. I will consider אתבנן ethbonen, I will set myself to consider. I will use all proper means to enable me to understand them.
IV. Having shown the perfection of God's word, -
1. In establishing and upholding the frame of the world.
2. In bringing comfort to the soul. In the close,
3. He compares it to all other things which we esteem as excellent and perfect, - riches, honours, crowns, sceptres, kingdoms, c., over which the word of God has still the pre-eminence they perish, but it endures for ever: "I have seen an end of all perfection." Jonah's gourd was smitten by a worm; the golden head had feet of clay; the most beautiful form shall dissolve into dust; Babylon, the wonder of the world, has perished from the face of the earth; the fairest day is succeeded by midnight; and so of other things: "but the commandment is exceeding broad:" all the principles of justice are contained in it; no just notion of God without it; all the rules of a holy life, and all the promises of life eternal, are found in it. It is the word of God, and it endureth for ever. When the heavens and the earth are no more, this word shall stand up and flourish.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv96–97Psa 119:96. I have seen an end of all…
Psa 119:96. I have seen an end of all perfection — I have observed that all human things, how complete soever they may seem, such as wisdom and power, glory and riches, and the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, are exceeding frail, and soon come to an end. But thy commandment — Thy word, (one part being put for the whole,) is exceeding broad — Or large, both for extent and for continuance; it is useful to all persons, in all times and conditions, and for all purposes, to inform, direct, quicken, comfort, sanctify, and save me; it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and for ever.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv96–100I have seen an end of all perfection -…
I have seen an end of all perfection - The word which is here rendered “perfection” - תכלה tiklâh - occurs only in this place; but a similar word from the same root - תכלית taklı̂yth - occurs in the following places: in Neh 3:21, and Job 26:10, rendered “end;” in Job 11:7; Job 28:3, rendered “perfection;” and in Psa 139:22, rendered “perfect.” It means properly “completion, perfection;” or, as others suppose, “hope, confidence.” It is rendered, in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, “consummation.” Luther renders it, “of all things.” It is proper here to apply it to character; to perfect virtue, or to claims to perfect virtue - either in one’s-self or in others. The word rendered “end” here refers not to the fact of its existence, or to its duration, but to a limit or boundary as to its extent. To all claims to perfection made by man, he had seen an end or limit. He had examined all which claimed to be perfect; he had found it defective; he had so surveyed and examined the matter, as to be able to say that there could be no claim to perfection which would prove good. All claim to perfection on the part of man must be abandoned forever.
But thy commandment is exceeding broad - The word but is not in the original, and enfeebles the sense. The idea is, that the law of God, as he now saw it, was of such a nature - was so “broad” - as to demonstrate that there could be no just claim to perfection among people. All claims to perfection had arisen from the fact that the law was not properly understood, that its true nature was not seen. People thought that they were perfect, but it was because they had no just view of the extent and the spirituality of the law of God. They set up an imperfect standard; and when they became conformed to that standard, as they might do, they imagined themselves to be perfect; but when their conduct was compared with a higher and more just standard - the law of God - it could not but be seen that they were imperfect people. That law had claims which they had not met, and never would meet, in this life. It is very easy to flatter ourselves that we are perfect, if we make our own standard of character; it is not possible for man to set up a claim to perfection, if he measures himself by the standard of God’s word; and all the claims of people to perfection are made simply because they do not properly understand what the law of God requires. Compare the notes at Job 9:20.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v97מ, Mem.
מ, Mem.
97-104. Thy law… is my meditation—A view is now given of the practical wisdom given by the word. A childlike mind, illuminated by the pure truth, sees of itself an error. Its feelings and intuitions are better than logical arguments, and this pure, direct perception is more reliable than the experience of the “ancients,” who had not the living word. To a free, clean mind, the divine truth is better than honey to the mouth or music to the ear.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv96–10096. The meaning may be, ‘I have learnt by…
96. The meaning may be, ‘I have learnt by experience that all earthly perfection has its limit; but God’s commandment is unlimited in extent and value.’ The word for ‘perfection’ (tiklâh) however occurs here only, and if its sense is to be determined by that of the most closely cognate word taklîth, it would seem to mean rather ‘completeness,’ the sum of things. The sum of earthly things is limited, Jehovah’s law is infinite.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv96, 98, 99, 100(96) I have seen.—The exact thought of the psalmist…
(96) I have seen.—The exact thought of the psalmist here is doubtful, and it offers such a wide application, embracing so many truths of experience, that possibly he had more than one meaning in his mind. Keeping as close to the context as possible, the meaning will be: “To all perfection (or apparent perfection) a limit is visible, but the Divine Law is boundless alike in its scope and its requirements.” This, translated into the language of modern ideas, merely says that the actual can never correspond with the ideal:
“Who keeps a spirit wholly true
Read full note →
To that ideal which he bears?”
But in the word end in Hebrew, as in English, there is a limitation in time, as in space (see Job_26:10; Job_28:3; comp. Symmachus, “I have seen the end of all settled things”), and the Prayer Book version may really give the psalmist’s thought as indicating the difference between mere change and progress.
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
TENNYSON: Morte d’Arthur.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv96–100I have seen an end of all perfection; i.e.…
I have seen an end of all perfection; i.e. to all other perfection I have seen, and see, a limit; but there is no limit to the perfection of thy Law. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Unlimited measureless in its range. It inculcates on man an absolute perfection.
The disappointment of human hopes.
Read full note →
"I have seen an end of all perfection." "The true relation of the two parts of this verse to each other seems to be that of contrast. No other relation brings out so clear and full a meaning. The meaning of the whole, therefore, must be something like this: Here is something called "perfection" existing among men in a great variety of forms. "But," says the psalmist, "according to my experience and observation, these are altogether too superficial, and too precarious, and too short-lived to make men happy, and the very best of them, the idealisms of human life, can never be attained. But thy commandment is exceeding broad," and that will do, unless men hinder, what nothing else will do." The human hopes referred to are a man"s wholly self-centered purposes and ambitions. Let a man fashion something for himself as a supreme aim of life; let it be something which he regards as "perfection;" let it bear no relation to the blessing of his fellow-men, or to the will and honor of God, and there will surely be an end to all such perfection. Let perfection be humanly conceived success and happiness, and ere life closes the man will say with the "preacher," who had such a varied experience, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
I ALL AROUND US WE MAY SEE THE END OF PERFECTIONS. The story of the ages is the story of well-conceived ideals in social and national life that were never realized. The story of individual lives that had only self-centered aims is this wail, "My purposes are broken off." It is even a large truth that no life ever was lived that realized its ideal, reached its perfection, or accomplished its purposes. And this must be so because perfection is for the race, not for the individual, who has never more than a piece of the whole entrusted to him. And because, by man"s very nature, he cannot rest satisfied with things, only with character, which finds expression in things, and is always below a possible attainment, while God is the supreme character.
II IF WE CANNOT GET PERFECTION, WE MAY WORK TOWARDS IT. To do this we must get out of the human sphere into the Divine sphere. Man fails to reach his own perfection because it is so small. God"s Word is large, broad, and towards its perfection man may move through all eternity, and get ennobled as he moves. R.T.
The breadth of God"s Law.
I CAUSES THAT WARRANT OUR THOUGHTS OF THE DIVINE LAW.
1. Indulgence of sinful habits.
2. Tendency to justify ourselves in what we do or self-love.
3. Deference to worldly maxims.
4. False views of its relation to our salvation.
II ILLUSTRATIONS OF ITS BREADTH.
1. It applies to every relation we bear to God and man.
2. It has to do with omitted duties as well as positive transgressions.
3. It is spiritual widening to our view the higher we rise.
III LESSONS SUGGESTED.
1. It rebukes self-complacency.
2. It shows how impossible it is that we can be justified by it. S.
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. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv96–100Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all…
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. He had seen its limit, for it went but a little way; he had seen its evaporation under the trials of life, its detection under the searching glance of truth, its exposure by the confession of the penitent. There is no perfection beneath the moon. Perfect men, in the absolute sense of the word, live only in a perfect world. Some men see no end to their own perfection, but this is because they are perfectly blind. The experienced believer has seen an end of all perfection in himself, in his brethren, in the best man's best works. It would be well if some who profess to be perfect could even see the beginning of perfection, for we fear they cannot have begun aright, or they would not talk so exceeding proudly. Is it not the beginning of perfection to lament your imperfection? There is no such thing as perfection in anything which is the work of man. "But thy commandment is exceeding broad." When the breadth of the law is known the notion of perfection in the flesh vanishes: that law touches every act, word, and thought, and is of such a spiritual nature that it judges the motives, desires, and emotions of the soul. It reveals a perfection which convicts us for shortcomings as well as for transgressions, and does not allow us to make up for deficiencies in one direction by special carefulness in others. The divine ideal of holiness is far too broad for us to hope to cover all its wide arena, and yet it is no broader than it ought to be. Who would wish to have an imperfect law? Nay, its perfection is its glory; but it is the death of all glorying in our own perfection. There is a breadth about the commandment which has never been met to the full by a corresponding breadth of holiness in any mere man while here below; only in Jesus do we see it fully embodied. The law is in all respects a perfect code; each separate precept of it is far reaching in its hallowed meaning, and the whole ten cover all, and leave no space wherein to please our passions. We may well adore the infinity of divine holiness, and then measure ourselves by its standard, and bow before the Lord in all lowliness, acknowledging how far we fall short of it.
Ver. 96. I have seem an end of all perfection, etc. These words are variously rendered and understood by interpreters, who in this variety do very much conspire and agree in the same sense. The Chaldee Paraphrase renders the words thus, "I have seen an end of all things about which I have employed my care; but thy commandment is very large." The Syriac version thus, "I have seen an end of all regions and countries" (that is, I have found the compass of the habitable world to be finite and limited) "but thy commandment is of a vast extent." Others explain it thus, "I have seen an end of all perfection, "that is, of all the things of this world which men value and esteem at so high a rate; of all worldly wisdom and knowledge, of wealth, and honour, and greatness, which do all perish and pass away; "but thy law is eternal, and still abideth the same"; or, as the Scripture elsewhere expresses it, "The word of the Lord endureth for ever." John Tillotson, 1630-1694.
Read full note →
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David in his time had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome; Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken; Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled; Absalom, the fairest, deformed. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection, etc. The Psalmist's words offer us a double comfort and encouragement. We may read them in two ways: (1) "I have seen an end of all perfection; for thy commandment is exceeding broad"; and (2) "I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
Read in the first way, they suggest the animating thought, that our haunting consciousness of imperfection springs from the bright and awful perfection of the Law we are bent on obeying, of the ideal we have set before us. It is not because we are worse than those who are without law, or who are a law unto themselves, that we are restless and dissatisfied with ourselves; but because we measure both ourselves and our fellows by the lofty standard of God's commandment. It is because that commandment is so broad, that we cannot embrace it; it is because it is so high, that we cannot attain to it; it is because it is so perfect, that we cannot perfectly obey it.
But we may read the verse in another way, and still derive comfort and encouragement from it. We may say: "I have seen an end of all perfection in myself, and in the world; but thy commandment is exceeding broad: that is perfect, though I am imperfect, and in its perfection I find the promise of my own." For shall God give a law for human life, and that law remain for ever unfulfilled Impossible! "The gifts of God are without repentance" irreversible, never to be lessened or withdrawn. His purpose is not to be made of none effect by our weaknesses and sins. In the Law he has shown us what he would have us to be. And shall we never become what lie would have us to be? Can the Law remain for ever without any life that corresponds to it and fulfils it? Nay, God will never take back the fair and perfect ideal of human life depicted in his Law, never retract his purpose to raise the life of man till it touches and fulfils its ideal. And so the very Law which is our despair is our comfort also; for if that be perfect we must become perfect; its perfection is the pledge of ours. From "The Expositor, "1876.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. David's natural eye had seen the end of many human perfections, and the eye of his understanding saw the end of them all. He had seen some actually end, and he saw that all must end. Adam did not continue in that perfection which had no imperfection in it; how then shall any of his children continue in what is at best an imperfect perfection? Abraham Wright.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end, etc. The laws of Lycurgus among the Grecians, and of Numa among the Romans, had somewhat of good in them, but not all; prohibited somewhat that was evil, but not all that was evil. But the Christian religion is of a larger extent, both in its precepts and prohibitions: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad." A man with the eye of his body may behold an end of many worldly perfections, of many fair estates, great beauties, large parts, hopeful families; but a man with the eye of his soul (or by faith) may see an end of all earthly perfections. He may see the world in a flame, and all its pomp and pride, and glory, and gallantry, and crowns and sceptres, and riches, and treasures, turned into ashes. He may see the heavens passing away like a scroll, and the elements melting with fervent heat, and the earth, with the things thereon, consumed; and all its perfections, which men dented so much on, vanished into smoke and nothing. It is easy to see to the end of all terrene perfections, but it is difficult, yea, impossible, to see to the end of divine precepts: "But thy commandments are exceeding broad, "of a vast latitude, beyond our apprehension. They are so deep that none can fathom them, Ps 36:6, so high that they are established in heaven, Ps 114:48; so long that they endure for ever, 2 Peter 1; and so broad, that none can measure them. They are not only "broad, "but "exceeding broad": higher than heaven, longer than the earth, broader than the sea. "The commands of God reach the inward parts, the most secret motions and retired recesses of the soul. They reach all the privy thoughts, they pierce even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart, Heb 4:12. They reach to all our actions; to those that seem smallest and of less concernment, as well as to those that are greater and of more concernment." George Swinnock.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. As there is more mercy in the gospel than we are able to comprehend, so there is more holiness in the law than we are able to comprehend. No man ever saw into the depths of that righteousness. There is an infinite holiness in the law. "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad." He speaks not in the concrete, I have seen an end of perfect things, but in the abstract, "an end of perfection, "I have come to the outside or to the very bottom of all (a man may soon travel through all the perfections that are in the world, and either see their end, or see that they end); "but thy commandment is exceeding broad, "that is, it is exceedingly broader than any of these perfections; I cannot see the end of it, and I know it shall never have an end. There is a vastness of purity and spiritualness in the law. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. It is so by the comprehensive applicableness of its grand, simple rules. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself." It is so by the ample order of its special injunctions. Where is there a spot without a signal of the divine will? It is so by laying an authoritative hand on the first principles and origin from which any thing can proceed, in human spirit and action; then it reaches to all things that do or can proceed thence. It asserts a jurisdiction over all thought and inward affection. All language is uttered under this same jurisdiction. All that the world and each man is in action about. And even over what is not done it maintains its authority, and pronounces its dictates and judgments. It is a positive thing with respect to what is negative, omission, nonexistence Like the divine government in the material world, over the wastes, deserts, and barren sands. And from these spaces of nothing (as it were) it can raise up substantial forms of evil, of sin, in evidence against men. As at the resurrection men will rise from empty wastes, where it would not have been suspected that any were concealed. Let a man look back on all his omissions, and think what the divine law can raise from them against him. Thus the law in its exceeding breadth, is vacant nowhere; it is not stretched to this wide extent by chasms and void spaces. If a man could find one such, he might there take his position for sin with impunity, if not with innocence. John Foster, 1768-1848.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. In the popular religious literature of the present times, the terms "broad" and "free" are of frequent occurrence. The fascination that surrounds them is enhanced by the use, at the same time, of their opposites, "narrow" and "bigoted." By an adroit manipulation of these terms and their equivalents, the heterodoxy of the day is labouring to stamp out the doctrine and spirit of the evangelical faith, and to allure the Christian multitude within the influence of the spreading rationalistic drift. Going to the market where the heterodox wares are exhibited with labels so attractive, the unsuspecting purchaser soon discovers that "their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter." Is the time not come when the adherents of the true faith should make an effort to wrest from their opponents the monopoly in the use of these terms, which they seem desirous of establishing for themselves? Those who, in the spirit of their Master, abide most closely by, and contend most tenaciously for, the whole faith that has been delivered to the saints, must be the most liberal minded and catholic; and those who forsake the "old paths" must, in proportion to the extent of their departures, become contracted in their mental grasp, and narrow in their soul. Is not the Bible the whole Bible the only manual of Broad churchism in its truest and highest sense? Is not the revelation of God's Son in us, the great soul expanding power? "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Must we not infer, from the words of Christ "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free, "that the mind which apprehends the truth is a home of mental liberty? Does not strict conformity of the life to God's law produce real breadth of character? For "Thy commandment is exceeding broad." Is not the gospel system the only true Broad churchism "the perfect law of liberty"? Is not the believer and the more so in proportion to the strength of his faith the only true Broad churchman, "increasing with the increase of God, ""filled with all the fulness of God"? James Kerr, in "The Modern Scottish Pulpit, "1880.
Ver. 96. Exceeding broad. Notwithstanding many things do show the way of life to be narrow, yet unto the godly man it is a way of great breadth; though not for sin, yet for duly and delight. He makes haste and progress in it. Robert Trail, 1642-1716.
Ver. 96. Take notice that the law, which is your mark, is exceeding broad. And yet not the more easy to be hit; because you must aim to hit it, in every duty of it, with a performance of equal breadth, or else you cannot hit it at all. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 96.
1. An end: "seen"; seen by one man; seen where it should not have been; seen where there was no end of boasting; seen in all perfection.
2. No end: to the extent, spirituality, perpetuity, and perfectness of the law.
Ver. 96.
1. The Finite explored.
2. The Infinite unexplored. W.D.
Ver. 96. Perfectionism disproved by experience and inspiration. W.B.H.
Ver. 96. Perfection perfect and imperfect.
1. Loud professions of perfection arise from ignorance (of self, or of God's requirements).
2. Are peculiarly liable to collapse: "I have seen an end."
3. Are best corrected by a survey of the breadth of the divine law. C.A.D.
Psalms 119:97*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv96, 97, 99I have seen an end of all perfection; but…
Psa_119:96
I have seen an end of all perfection; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
Read full note →
A sad moral discovery
I. The nature of this discovery. An end of all perfection. Material nature is perfect in all its departments and forms; but in human history no perfection is found. It is not found in the thoughts, affections, purposes, or actions of men. It is not found in men individually or collectively. Complete moral perfection is extinct.
1. This fact should humble us in the dust. The only property in man is character; and if his character is bad, man has nothing therefore of which to be proud. His own vileness should keep him in the dust.
2. This fact should startle us into effort. In moral imperfection there is guilt, ruin, hell. How to get rid of it is the great question, and should be the great object of life. For this all should labour supremely.
II. The means of this discovery. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Broad!
1. Because it embraces everything pertaining to man. Not only his outward actions and audible utterances, but the deepest and most secret feelings of his heart.
2. It embraces everything pertaining to every man. It takes in individuals, families, communities, Churches, and nations. In the light of this law moral imperfection is then everywhere. (Homilist.)
An end of perfection
I. The sorrowful confession--I have seen an end of all perfection.
1. There are severe limits to human knowledge. The wisest tell us their path leads to a point at which there is no thoroughfare. They encounter the Unknowable. All they know is, that there is more to be known.
2. There are severe limits to human enjoyment. The most attractive programme of pleasure palls. The gay monarch offers a fabulous sum for a new pleasure. Restless pleasure-seekers outpace even the devils ingenuity, for even he cannot make the programme hold out.
3. There are severe limits to human examples of excellence. We select our hero, and he enjoys our brief worship. But we find a flaw, and the homage fails. You need only know a man well enough to detect his weakness. A modern celebrity was asked if he believed in perfection: said he, No! I have seen too many perfect people.
II. The joyful rejoinder--But Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
1. The commandment broadens beyond the limits of human knowledge. It reveals God--His counsels--eternity and its destinies. It presents us with a science of the unseen, and a redemption to which there is no human analogy.
2. The commandment is exceeding broad in the extent of the enjoyment it unfolds. It presents an infinite range of delights to mans restless soul. It unseals infinite sources of pleasure. It teaches us to joy in God. It introduces a new, subtler, more refined and inexhaustible quality of happiness. We have Christs joy fulfilled in ourselves. We enter into the joy of our Lord. It ushers us into that Presence for ever, where there is fulness of joy.
3. It is exceeding broad in its provision for human attainment--its ideal. The Old Testament standard reaches the infinite word godly. The New Testament sets before us the example of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col_2:9). Mans soul can never be satisfied without a definite aim; yet at the same time an infinite aim. Here the conditions meet--The stature of a man in Christ Jesus. Application--And this commandment is nigh thee!--now! (Walter Hawkins.)
An end of all perfection
The psalmist in this verse speaks of a twofold experience in the form of an antithesis. All life is an antithesis. We touch the transient and the everlasting, the finite and the boundless, the explored and unexplored, at every turn.
I. He speaks of the transient and finite. He had observed that there was a great deal of perfection--many good and perfect gifts--in the world.
1. In nature. The revolving seasons, the flowers that bloom, the fruit that ripens, and the sun that shines, are each beautiful in its time. But every summer has its winter, every flower dies, all fruit decays, and every day has its night. Transiency and limitation are written upon everything. There must be a constant replenishing, or the universe would be bankrupt. The same forces are preserved and resuscitated by new combinations, and directed to new uses. The conservation of force is a means by which God upholds nature, else it would collapse.
2. In human history. The rise and fall of empires--the might of the sword--the power of governments--the sway of know-ledge--the charm of fame--the influence of wealth--are all transient. It is this end that perplexes men.
3. In religious externalities. Many symbols and ceremonials have come and gone. They have lost their meaning in realities. The pillars of cloud and of fire have vanished: the manna has ceased. The tabernacle, the temple, and their ritual have passed away. Even religious structures like the temple, which, of all buildings, supply the strongest resistance to the wear and tear of time, fall into decay and ruin.
4. In individual and social life. Man exhausts everything. As we advance in life all attainment dwarfs in the presence of new ideals. The ideal of the Hebrew, through the revelation of God, was very high. Contrast the self-complacency of the Greek with the consciousness of non-attainment on the part of the holiest Hebrews. Where there is no conception of holiness there can be no adequate conception of infirmity and sin, and even of non-attainment. So far, however, the psalmist has not said all; nor even the half. It were a sad tale were that all. But is the remedial point in the verse.
II. The psalmist speaks of the comprehensive and permanent--Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
1. It was comprehensive. It applied to mens thoughts and motives, as well as their words and deeds. It touched life and emphasized responsibility at every point. It left no void space, no gap or chink for the guilty to escape. It presented the divine ideal of perfection.
2. It was permanent. Our Lord teaches us that heaven and earth shall pass away; but that not a jot or tittle of the law shall pass. Hence the necessity of the Incarnation and the Atonement. The love of Christ constraineth us. Our supreme hope is to be like Him. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself as He is pure. He is changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord, and thus becomes perfect in Christ Jesus. (D. Davies.)
An end of all perfection
I have seen an end of all perfection. The man who has set his whole heart on things earthly,--no matter whether successful or unsuccessful,--comes to this at last. We should not care so much for words like these, if we regarded them only as the bitter judgment of one whose plans for life had been thwarted and blighted: we should then esteem them as the jaundiced conclusion of one who disparaged what he could not attain to: it would be a case in point to the ancient fable of the creature that cried down the fruit it could not reach. But the same estimate of this life has been reached by the earnest believer. He too has told us that all that is required that a human being should in this world see an end of all perfection, is that such a one should live in this world long enough to let hasty impressions die away; and to arrive at those second thoughts of it which are proverbially best. Yet while the case is so, that believer and unbeliever alike may express an estimate of the life in the selfsame words, there is this great difference between the two. To the man who has set his affection on things on the earth, it is unmingled bitterness to find that they will not suffice: he has nothing else to look to: if they fail him, then all is lost. But the believers treasure is not in this world: it is laid up where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, and where no thief can break through and steal: he has laid up for himself treasure in heaven: and that grandest possession of humanity, a part in the crucified Saviour, a soul renewed by the blessed Spirit, is a thing whose worth cannot fluctuate nor decay: always and everywhere the one thing needful.
I. The psalmist said these words truly, and we may say them truly, as to the happiness this world can yield. The psalmist did not say, and no more do we, that in this world there is no happiness at all. What is said is that there is no perfection of happiness: no life which is evenly joyous or evenly cheerful. The heavy, bitter blow falls now and then; and there are manifold drawbacks from the pleasantest earthly lot; a thousand little anxieties, vexations,--well, there is no better word, worries: things which, if they do not absolutely embitter the cup of existence, certainly deprive it of all right to be called the perfection of worldly good.
II. We may say these words with truth, in regard to the excellence of the people we know.
III. We have learned to little purpose, if we have not done the same in regard to ourselves: our own good purposes, our own devout feelings, our own faith, and hope, and charity. It is a lame life we lead: it is but a very rough approximation to the right line. In some kind of way we keep to religious rule; but we need not even talk of perfection who know that we come short, in everything we do. (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
The temporal and the eternal
Those of you who have visited Henry the Sevenths Chapel at Westminster Abbey must have noticed in the south-east corner the tomb of Dean Stanley and that of his wife, Lady Augusta There are many words engraven on the stone beneath Dean Stanleys tomb, and at the foot of them are the words of our text (P. B. Version). The words may well be taken as an epitome of the Deans life. He saw an end of all perfection, he saw that all things human pass away, but he held on to the great eternal truths of religion, knowing that Gods commandment, like Gods love, is exceeding broad.
I. The temporal. I see that all things come to an end. We live in a world of change; nothing is lasting, nothing is permanent down here. The little life of man, the little work of man sooner or later comes to an end. I see that all things come to an end. The beautiful summer-time which delights us all changes at last into the long dreary winter. Nature changes, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth. There are changes in public life as well as in private life; changes abroad and changes at home; changes in our own individual lives. The boy changes into the young man; school life is over. The young man changes into the man in his prime; youth is over. And old age creeps on, then cometh the end. Whether it be beauty, or wit, or learning, or pleasure, or honour, or position, or riches, experience will soon show us the end of all these things.
II. The writer turns from the temporal to the eternal. He tries to fix our minds on the one Supreme Being who never passes away. I am the Lord, I change not. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. The great Rock of Ages remains unalterably the same.
1. Gods love is exceeding broad.
2. His forgiveness.
3. His mercy.
4. His power to save.
5. His Church.
6. Heaven.
We may differ in opinion down here, we cannot all think alike on earth, but there will be perfect unity there, for heaven, like Gods commandment, is exceeding broad. (A. E. W. Lait.)
Perfection only in Gods law
I. The imperfection that is ascribed to all created objects.
1. Everything pertaining to the present world, its riches, honours, and enjoyments so earnestly coveted by carnal minds, will be found greatly deficient in their promised good when weighed in a just and equal balance. Experience proves them incapable of affording satisfaction; they first allure, and then deceive, and raise our expectations only for the purpose of producing disappointment.
2. There is nothing perfect in the Church of God, collectively considered, though it is composed of the excellent of the earth, in all ages and parts of the world. The tares and the wheat grow together until harvest.
3. The same imperfection which marks the general body attaches to the character of individual believers in various degrees; for as is the root, so are the branches.
4. As the psalmist had seen an end of all perfection in others, so also in himself; and this is what the best of men have seen in their own characters as well as he. There is neither intellectual nor moral perfection to be found on earth.
II. The perfection that is ascribed to the Divine law.
1. It includes the whole of our duty towards God, ourselves, and our neighbour.
2. It extends to all persons and to characters of every description.
3. Its dominion reaches to the inward as well as to the outward man, the heart as well as the life. It rules over the understanding, for obedience is founded in knowledge; the will, which must be bowed to the will of God; the affections, which are required to be set supremely on Him.
4. It comprehends the manner of our obedience, as well as the matter of it, and shows that nothing can be acceptable but what proceeds from a right principle. Love is the fulfilling of the law, both as to its spirit and design.
5. Its authority is perpetual, reaching forward to eternity. It is a perfect transcript of the Divine mind, and is necessarily as unchangeable as its great original (Psa_119:89; Psa_119:152).
6. It is exceeding broad with respect to its sanctions, or the rewards which it promises and the punishments it inflicts. (B. Beddoms, M. A.)
Human limitation and Divine breadth
The psalmists words imply what Jesus and His apostles taught with far greater fulness, not only that while man changes, God changes not., but that man may rise out of change in boundless progress by active obedience to the commandment, that is, by living and practical communion with the Divine will.
The breadth of Gods commandment
The true relation of the two parts of this verse to each other seems to be that of contrast. Here is something called perfection existing among men in a great variety of forms. But, says the psalmist, according to my experience and observation, these are altogether too superficial, and too precarious, and too short-lived to make men happy, and the very best of them, the idealisms of human life, as we have seen, can never be attained. But Thy commandment is exceeding broad, and that will do, unless men hinder, what nothing else will do. Thy commandment is exceeding broad; we say all when we say that it is as broad as the Divine nature, and that is limitless and eternal; beyond all bounds, above all heights, beneath all depths. As the man is, so is his strength. As God is, so is His commandment, word, will, and way. And what does it tell me? It tells me that these earthly and human perfections. which can never be realized, even the partial realizations of which so soon begin to fade and fall into ruin, are yet, if I will, the symbol to my faith of that which will not deceive, will not fail, and that all will come to me through this very law or commandment which is exceeding broad, because it is Gospel. It seems to shut the door of hope, only that it may fling it more widely open. It seems to lock and bar the prison gates, only that they may be burst asunder by a conquering Redeemer, and that the very walls of the prison-house may be thrown to the ground, while the prisoners are called into largeness and eternal liberty. Then they begin to find the commandment of God, in this better, sweeter sense, exceeding broad. It is the high but fair standard to which they conform; it is, at the same time, the power that upholds and strengthens while such conformity is sought. It is an education, a development, a joy that never palls; a prospect that is never darkened, although our eyes are not always open to see it. It is high above us and away beyond us, yet it is always bending down to help us, and never casts an unfriendly look, and never speaks in a harsh tone. It is the very soul of consideration, and tenderness, and grace. It seems to speak to us as though it were a God, and says, Cast all your cares on me. I am broad enough, and strong enough to bear them all. I am for God in this world, I--His Gospel commandment, with law, and love, and light in it--I am the will of God and His uplifting power, and all whom I bless I lead onwards to more and more, to better and better, never lowering the standard, never suspending the education, never suffering a limit to be put to it. Ever teaching my subjects that the law of life they have in me is a law of breadth, liberty, enlargement, until the scantiness and the failures of earth are exchanged for the fulnesses and the realizations of heaven. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
The breadth of Gods commandment
There is an ancient tradition that Abraham, as he stood on the hills above Damascus, was converted to the true faith in one God, from the worship of the heavenly bodies, by observing that the stars, the moon, and the sun, however bright and glorious, at last sank, and were succeeded by others. I like not, he said, those that set; and so turned to the one unchangeable Lord and Maker of all. This, but in a higher and more precise form, is the force of the psalmists argument. He prefers--and we ought to prefer--the commandment, the revelation of God, not only because it lasts longer than anything else, but because it includes, and comprehends, and absorbs into itself all that there is good in everything else.
1. I see that all things come to an end. So we may say of all human institutions and customs, especially when we have gone through many lands, and seen many forms of opinion and worship.
2. I see that there is a boundary beyond which they cannot pass--I see that the institutions of the West come to an end almost abruptly when they reach the extremity of Europe. I see that the institutions of the East come to an end no less abruptly when they reach the extremity of Asia. We have followed each to their utmost limit; they cannot pass farther. But there is one thing which is broad enough to embrace them both and cross them both, namely, the commandment of God.
3. I see that all earthly pleasures and enjoyments, one after another, have their natural ending. Not only wicked and selfish pleasures, which last only for the moment of their gratification, but innocent, just, good enjoyments, of necessity come to an end, or pass into something else. But the commandment of God is exceeding broad. Gods commandment widens, opens, and expands with new interests, enjoyments, affections, hopes, at every successive step we take, till we find ourselves at last in that Presence where there is indeed fulness of joy and pleasure for evermore.
4. I see that all human greatness comes to an end. Every station in life, however great or prosperous, has its drawbacks, its checks, its limits. But moral or Christian greatness is exceeding broad. The basis on which it is built up is as broad and firm as the conscience and heart of man, as the grace and goodness of God. Even the most far-reaching intellect and its effects come to an end at last. Look at those greatest of all monuments of the mind of man--books. How rapidly they come to an end! One Book alone has outlasted many generations, in all nations equally, and that is the Bible; and this is because of its exceeding breadth--because it embraces every variety and element of thought, and every phase of society; above all, because it embodies in every part the moral commandment of God, which endures for ever in heaven, and which speaks not to one condition of life only, but to all.
5. I see that all human characters come to an end. How often do we see those who are good and wise up go a certain point, but beyond that we come, as it were, to a precipice--they break down, as we say; we wonder that, being so good as they are, they are not better; that, being as wise as they are, they are not wiser. One Character there is which is so exceeding broad as to grasp and overlap all others. This is the true sign of the Divinity of the character of Christ.
6. I see that human life comes to an end. Our earthly life, the earthly life of those whom we have known and loved, is cut short by that dark abyss into which we cannot penetrate, and over which our thoughts can hardly pass. But Gods commandment, and the fulfilment of Gods commandments, is exceeding broad; it is broad enough to span even that wide and deep river which parts this life and the next. For it is this which makes this life and the next life one. Knowledge, prophecies, gifts of all kinds pass away, but the love of God and the love of man never fail.
7. Yes, I see that all things come to an end. I see that human systems, human pleasures, human greatness, human wisdom, human excellence, human life, come to an end. But the commandment, the revelation, of God never comes to an end, because God Himself is Infinite--God, whom we adore in His three infinite perfections. (Dean Stanley.)
The wisdom of religion
Thy law; that is, the rule of our duty natural and revealed; or, in a word, religion, which consists in the knowledge and practice of the laws of God, is of greater perfection than all other things which are so highly valued in this world; for the perfection of it is infinite, and of a vast influence and extent; it reacheth to the whole man, to the happiness of body and soul; to our whole duration, both in this world and the next; of this life, and of that which is to come.
I. The reasonableness of religion, which is able to give a very good account of itself, because it settles the mind of man upon a firm basis, and keeps it from rolling in perpetual uncertainty; whereas atheism and infidelity wants a stable foundation; it centres nowhere but in the denial of God and religion, and yet substitutes no principle, no tenable and constituent scheme of things, in the place of them.
II. The wisdom of religion.
1. True wisdom begins and is founded in religion, in the fear of God, and in the keeping of His commandments.
2. This is the perfection of wisdom; there is no wisdom without this, nor beyond it.
(1) The first point of wisdom is to understand our true interest, and to be right in our main end; and in this religion will best instruct and direct us. And if we be right in out main end, and true to the interest of it, we cannot miscarry; but if a man mistake in this, he errs fatally, and his whole life is vanity and folly.
(2) Another property of wisdom is to be steady and vigorous in the prosecution of our main end; to oblige us hereto religion gives us the most powerful arguments--the glorious happiness, and the dismal misery of another world.
3. The next point of wisdom is to make all things stoop and become subservient to our main end. And wherever religion bears sway, it will make all other things subordinate to the salvation of our souls, and the interests of our everlasting happiness; as the men of this world make everything to submit and give way to their covetous, and ambitious, and sensual designs.
4. Another part of wisdom is to consider the future, and to look to the last end and issue of things. It is a common folly among men to be so intent upon the present as to have little or no regard to the future, to what will be hereafter. But religion gives us a clear prospect of a life after death, and overlooks time, and makes eternity always present to us, and minds us of making timely provision and preparation for it.
5. Again, another main point of wisdom is, to do as little as we can to be repented of, trusting rather to the wisdom of prevention than to that of remedy. Religion first teacheth men innocency, and not to offend; but in case we do (as in many things we offend all), it then directs us to repentance as the only remedy.
6. The last character of wisdom I shall mention is in all things to consult the peace and satisfaction of our own minds, without which nothing else can make us happy; and this obedience to the laws of God does naturally procure. (Abp. Tillotson.)
Finality and progress
One of the greatest fallacies with which we have to contend in modern times is the opinion that everything of the nature of finality in religion--everything of the nature of clear and settled conviction--is opposed to the progress of the world and the liberty of the individual. It is assumed by some that progress consists in a perpetual movement from one position to another, rather than the steady upward movement of a tree from its root or of a building from its fixed foundation. They think of progress as a leaving of the past continually behind us, and an advancing towards the future; and that, consequently, whatever claims to be fixed, immovable, and determinate, whatever says to the advancing waves Of human power and ambition, Thus far shalt thou come, but not farther, puts an arrest upon the progress of the world that ought not to be put, and fetters the legitimate action of the human spirit. Hence the outcry against creeds and dogmas of every kind as things to be entirely shaken off. It is said that they must all of them be of necessity transitional and temporary, because they are attempts to formulate a something--a something that is for ever beyond us, and is no sooner formulated than the mind has already travelled beyond its own conception. What I wish to point out is that we cannot escape finality in some shape or form if we are to think at all. We must have clear and settled convictions of some kind; but this finality of thought, when truly come to, is not in the least degree opposed to liberty or progress. It is indeed the very starting point and permanent ground of all that is true in the progress of the world. The text appears to afford a very suitable basis for such a theme. The psalmist says, I have seen an end of all perfection. There is the finality, the fixed and determinate position; but he also says, Thy commandment is nevertheless exceeding broad; there is the room for growth, for progress--there we have the free and indeterminate element. There is, indeed, a certain opposition at first sight between the two clauses of the text; but there is no real opposition. In the ground of the matter they are substantially and essentially one. Take the letters of the English alphabet. Here you have from twenty to thirty absolutely fixed signs--no more than that; and we are not at liberty to add to or to alter one of them. Here we have finality surely. And yet upon that fixed and limited basis all human thought and human speech are built. The Bible and Shakespeare, with all their subtle essence of thought and wonders of expression, are reducible to twenty-six letters. Why is it that no one says, What an absurd thing it is to chain the genius of the world to twenty or thirty little signs that can be made upon a sheet of paper! How can those signs, invented, moreover, in remote antiquity, be adequate to the wants of the world to-day? Such finality is the enemy of progress. To talk in that way about the alphabet would indicate the madman, because the mastering of those twenty-six letters is the beginning of all our progress. And yet that is precisely how many talk in regard to the doctrines and facts of Christianity. They say that to fix anything here is to make progress impossible. What I say is that the twenty-six letters of the alphabet are no more the unalterable basis of all our learning than the essential doctrines of Christianity, as clearly formulated and tabulated as they can be, are the basis of all that is true in the spiritual history and progress of the world. The same thing may be said of any other branch of learning, Bay of arithmetic or of mathematics, with its rigid formularies and absolutely fixed signs. Out of the nine units of arithmetic the whole science of numbers is evolved. Those fixed factors that lie at the foundation of the whole, and out of which the whole arises, put no arrest upon the thinking mind at all. So far from that, the mind could not take one step without them, and it would be thrown into confusion if one of them were altered. What I plead for is that in this matter of finality and progress people should apply to religious truth the common sense they apply to other subjects; and they ought not to object that finality in religion puts an end to progress when they find in every other sphere that it is the very basis and spring of all the liberty we require. The Sabbath law and the Bible, the Church and its Sacraments, with its essential creed--with regard to all these important matters a certain amount of finality has undoubtedly been reached. They represent a certain number of ultimate facts; the essential explanation of which we unquestionably have in our possession. Those ultimate facts, those fixed and determinate conclusions about God and Christ, about life and death, about sin and salvation--those great facts do not stand in the way of the liberty of man or the most perfect freedom of thought. Instead of that, they are the foundation of the worlds peace, and the perennial spring of all its progress. In a word, the more finality we have truly come to, so much the more liberty and progress we also may have. When a young person goes on from one stage of learning to another, from the letters of the alphabet to numbers, and circles, and squares, and from these, again, to all the definite and fixed forms of science and art, he is coming to finality at every step, he is fixing matters permanently in his mind, from stage to stage, all along the line. Is he thereby putting fetters upon himself? You know that it is not so. You know that he is advancing in the path of liberty and power. Those clear and settled ideas which he takes into his mind, from stage to stage, are but stepping-stones in the upward and onward path of his progress. Eternal process moving on from state to state the spirit walks. And not only may he wear all that weight of learning lightly as a flower, but the whole burden of existence is becoming lighter and lighter to him the more clearly he sees into the heart of the whole. Every clear idea, fixed and final as it is, that takes possession of his mind, is lifting him above the fact of which it is the idea--the otherwise hard and oppressive fact. It is thus that man rises superior to time and circumstances, misfortune and chance. Those clear and settled convictions as they arise within his mind one by one, like stars coming out in the midnight sky, and as they form themselves into a harmony of lights within the being--what are they but the mighty leverage by which the man himself is lifted up out of the bondage of darkness and spiritual death into the light and liberty of perfect truth, and by which he is enabled to breath at last the very atmosphere of eternity? (F. Ferguson, D. D.)
Gods perfect law our despair and our comfort
We may read the words in two ways.
1. I have seen an end of all perfection; for Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Read in this way they suggest the animating thought that our haunting consciousness of imperfection springs from the bright and awful perfection of the law we are bent on obeying, of the Ideal we have set before us. It is not because we are worse than those who are without law, or who are a law unto themselves, that we are restless and dissatisfied with ourselves; but because we measure both ourselves and our fellows by the lofty standards of Gods commandment. That commandment is so broad, that we cannot embrace it; it is so high, that we cannot attain to it; it is so perfect, that we cannot perfectly obey it.
2. But we may read the verse in another way, and still derive comfort and encouragement from it. We may say: I have seen an end of all perfection in myself, and in the world; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad: that is perfect, though I am imperfect, and in its perfection I find the promise of my own. For shall God give a law for human life, and that law remain for ever unfulfilled? Impossible! The gifts of God are without repentance--irreversible, never to be lessened or withdrawn. His purpose is not to be made of none effect by our weaknesses and sins. In the law He has shown us what He would have us be. And shall we never become what He would have us to be? Can the law remain for ever without any life that corresponds to it and fulfils it? Nay, God will never take back the fair and perfect ideal of human life depicted in His law, never retract His purpose to raise the life of man till it touches and fulfils that ideal. And so the very law which is our despair is our comfort also, for if that be perfect we must become perfect; its perfection is the pledge of ours. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v97Mem. God’s Word the Essence of True Wisdom. —
Mem. God’s Word the Essence of True Wisdom. —
v. 97. Oh, how love I Thy Law! the entire instruction in God’s holy Word, as the revelation of His holy will. It is my meditation all the day; the longer he ponders upon it, the dearer it becomes to him.
Read full note →
v. 98. Thou through Thy commandments, by which He directed the entire conduct of His servant, hast made me wiser than mine enemies, who believed themselves to be people of superior intelligence in possessing a large measure of this world’s wisdom; for they are ever with me, the directions of God’s words, which the psalmist made his companions, enabled him to vanquish the enemies in the field of knowledge, where they thought themselves supreme.
v. 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers, those who taught a mere worldly wisdom; for Thy testimonies are my meditation, and with the knowledge which he had gained from studying the Word of God he was able to show the insufficiency of mere worldly knowledge.
v. 100. I understand more than the ancients, those advanced in years, for age is no help against stupidity, if old people refuse to bow to the wisdom of God’s Word, because I keep Thy precepts, the Bible being the basis and key of all true knowledge.
v. 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, having gained the ability to mark and to shun wickedness in every form, that I might keep Thy Word, through which both knowledge and strength are given.
v. 102. I have not departed from Thy judgments, making it a point to watch God’s decisions of approval and condemnation; for Thou hast taught me. The Word of God is very clear on that point; one must but do what it teaches.
v. 103. How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! pleasant for spiritual edification; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth, for such is the effect of the Gospel promises upon every believer.
v. 104. Through Thy precepts, as related to his entire conduct, I get understanding, practical knowledge in all matters pertaining to this world and to the world to come; therefore I hate every false way, he is able immediately to recognize any false tendency of the times and Will promptly withdraw from anything which might implicate him, even as all Christians love the good and hate the evil.
Psa 119:105-112
Nun. Trusting in the Leadership of God’s Word. —
v. 105. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, guiding his footsteps past the abysses of so many and severe dangers, and a light unto my path, not with a dim and uncertain illumination, but with a direct and clear ray, which makes every foot of the way unmistakable. Cf 2Pe 1:19.
v. 106. I have sworn, with a solemn oath, and I will perform it, that I will keep Thy righteous judgments, observing with great care all those things which, according to God’s righteousness, meet with His approval.
v. 107. I am afflicted very much, bent down to the earth under the heavy burden of misery laid upon him; quicken me, O Lord, filling him with new spiritual life and strength, according unto Thy Word.
v. 108. Accept, I beseech Thee, the free-will offerings of my mouth, O Lord, for such is the nature of all his prayers, vows, and confessions, freely flowing out from faith, and teach me Thy judgments, so that his knowledge of the Word may increase in proportion to his needs.
v. 109. My soul is continually in my hand, he realizes that death may seize him at any time, and therefore is always prepared for it; yet do I not forget Thy Law, his constant remembrance of the Word of God, in fact, giving him the strength to meet death without flinching, if die he must.
v. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me, to destroy him unawares; yet I erred not from Thy precepts, not daring to wander away from his one certain source of comfort and strength, the Word of God.
v. 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever, making them his most cherished possession. which he would not relinquish; for they are the rejoicing of my heart, they only work true happiness.
v. 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes alway, even unto the end, for only he that endureth unto the end shall be saved, as our Lord Himself says, Mat 24:13.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv97, 99This is the name of the thirteenth letter of…
MEM
This is the name of the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Hebrew language, each line of verses 97-104 begins with this letter.
Read full note →
your commandments are always with me
Constantly thinking about God's commandments is spoken of as if the commandments were an object that the writer keeps with him always. (See: Metaphor)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv96–98 96. In all perfection, I have seen the end.…
96. In all perfection, I have seen the end. The prophet again, using other words, commends the same truth which he had taught in the first verse of this part — that the word of God is not subject to change, because it is elevated far above the perishable elements of this world. He here asserts, that there is nothing under heaven so perfect and stable, or so complete, in all respects, as not to have an end; and that the Divine word alone possesses such amplitude as to surpass all bounds and limits. Since the verb כלה kalah, signifies to consume and finish, as well as to make perfect, some take the noun תכלה tichelah, for measure or end But it is necessary to translate it perfection, that the comparison may be the more apparent, and the better to amplify the faithfulness of the Divine word; the idea which the prophet intended to convey being, that, after he had considered all things, especially those which are distinguished by the greatest perfection, he found that they were nothing when compared with God’s word, inasmuch as all other things will soon come to an end, whereas the word of God stands ever firm in its own eternity. Whence it follows, that we have no ground for apprehending that it will forsake us in the midst of our course.. It is termed broad, to denote that, though a man may mount above the heavens, or descend into the lowest depths, or traverse the whole space from the right to the left hand, yet he will not reach farther than the truth of God conducts us. It remains that our minds should embrace this vast extent; and such will be the case when they shall have ceased to enclose and shut themselves up within the narrow limits of this world.
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 vv96, 97, 99 There is nothing so perfect in earth, but it…
There is nothing so perfect in earth, but it hath an end, only God’s word lasteth forever.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv96–100 Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all…
Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection: [but] thy commandment [is] exceeding broad.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection] viz. Here below.
Read full note →
Tempore tacta ruunt praetoria -
Fairest buildings, strongest persons, goodliest empires, have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin, Omnis finis finem vidi (Syr. Interp.).
Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo;
Et subito casu quae valuere ruunt;
Omnia fortunae variis stant obvia telis:
Aut etiam longo tempore victa cadunt.
But thy commandment is exceeding broad] It is endless, infinite, perpetual, and withal of largest extent; witness that of charity, which is the complement of the law, and the supplement of the gospel. David, though he had proceeded further in the discovery of divine truths than those before him, Psa 119:99, yet he was still to seek of that which might be known; like as those great discoverers of the newly found land confess still a plus-ultra.
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 vv96–100 I have seen an end of all perfection; I…
I have seen an end of all perfection; I have observed by my experience that the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, the greatest glory, and riches, and power, and wisdom, are too narrow and shortlived to make men happy.
Thy commandment; thy word; one part of it being synecdochically put for the whole.
Read full note →
Broad, or large, both for extent and for continuance; it is useful to all persons in all times and conditions, and for all purposes, to inform, direct, quicken, comfort, sanctify, and save men; it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive nor forsake those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and for ever.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv96–98 Here we have David's testimony from his own experience,…
Here we have David's testimony from his own experience, 1. Of the vanity of the world and its insufficiency to make us happy: I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David, in his time, had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome, Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken, Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled, Absalom, the fairest, deformed; and, in short, he had seen an end of perfection, of all perfection. He saw it by faith; he saw it by observation; he saw an end of the perfection of the creature both in respect of sufficiency (it was scanty and defective; there is that to be done for us which the creature cannot do) and in respect of continuance; it will not last our time, for it will not last to eternity as we must. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. 2. Of the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency for our satisfaction: But thy commandment is broad, exceedingly broad. The word of God reaches to all cases, to all times. The divine law lays a restraint upon the whole man, is designed to sanctify us wholly. There is a great deal required and forbidden in every commandment. The divine promise (for that also is commanded) extends itself to all our burdens, wants, and grievances, and has that in it which will make a portion and happiness for us when we have seen an end of all perfection.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv96–100 I understand more than the ancients,.... Than those that…
I understand more than the ancients,.... Than those that had lived in ages before him; having clearer light given him, and larger discoveries made unto him, concerning the Messiah, his person and offices particularly, as it was usual for the Lord to do; or than aged men in his own time: for though wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, may be reasonably supposed to be with ancient men; who have had a long experience of things, and have had time and opportunity of making their observations, and of laying up a stock of knowledge; and this may be expected from them, and they may be applied to for it; yet this is not always the case; a younger man, as David was, may be endued with more knowledge and understanding than such; so Elihu; see Job 8:8, Job 32:6. Or, "I have got understanding by the ancients"; so Kimchi; though the other sense seems preferable;
because I keep thy precepts; keep close to the word; attend to the reading of it, and meditation on it; keep it in mind and memory, and observe to do the commands of it; and by that means obtained a good understanding, even a better one than the ancients; especially than they that were without it, or did not carefully attend unto it; see Psa 111:10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv96, 100 Perfection - Of the greatest and most perfect enjoyments…
Perfection - Of the greatest and most perfect enjoyments in this world. Commandment - Thy word; one part of it being put for the whole. Broad - Or, large, both for extent, and for continuance: it is useful to all persons: it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and forever.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv96–100 Verse 96. I have seen an end of all…
Verse 96. I have seen an end of all perfection] Literally, "Of all consummations I have seen the end:" as if one should say, Every thing of human origin has its limits and end, howsoever extensive, noble, and excellent. All arts and sciences, languages, inventions, have their respective principles, have their limits and ends; as they came from man and relate to man, they shall end with man: but thy law, thy revelation, which is a picture of thy own mind, an external manifestation of thy own perfections, conceived in thy infinite ideas, in reference to eternal objects, is exceeding broad; transcends the limits of creation; and extends illimitably into eternity! This has been explained as if it meant: All the real or pretended perfection that men can arrive at in this life is nothing when compared with what the law of God requires. This saying is false in itself, and is no meaning of the text. Whatever God requires of man he can, by his grace, work in man.
ANALYSIS OF LETTER LAMED. - Twelfth Division
Read full note →
This section contains an encomium of the WORD of GOD; of its perfection and immutability; and of the comfort the psalmist received from it.
I. In the three first verses the psalmist shows that God's word is immutable, by an instance in the creatures.
1. In the HEAVENS. They continue to this day as he made them in the beginning.
2. In the EARTH. As it was established in the beginning, so it abideth.
3. So also of the other heavenly bodies. They also abide as they were created; and answer still, most exactly, the ends for which they were made.
4. The reason of which is, "All are God's servants," made to obey his will: and from obedience they never swerve.
II. He shows the excellence of this word by a rare effect it had on himself: "Unless thy law had been my delight, I should have perished." No such comfort in trouble as God's word and promise. This he remembers with gratitude.
1. "I will never forget thy precepts." Only those forget them who reap no good from them.
2. This word had quickened him, i.e., God speaking and working by that word.
3. He will therefore be the Lord's servant for ever: "I am thine."
4. He knows he cannot continue so, but by Divine help: "Save me!"
5. He shows his love to God's word: "He seeks his precepts," that he may obey them.
III. He needed the help of God, because he had inveterate enemies. These he describes:
1. By their diligence: "The wicked have waited for me."
2. By their cruelty: "They waited to destroy me."
3. His defence against them. I will consider אתבנן ethbonen, I will set myself to consider. I will use all proper means to enable me to understand them.
IV. Having shown the perfection of God's word, -
1. In establishing and upholding the frame of the world.
2. In bringing comfort to the soul. In the close,
3. He compares it to all other things which we esteem as excellent and perfect, - riches, honours, crowns, sceptres, kingdoms, c., over which the word of God has still the pre-eminence they perish, but it endures for ever: "I have seen an end of all perfection." Jonah's gourd was smitten by a worm; the golden head had feet of clay; the most beautiful form shall dissolve into dust; Babylon, the wonder of the world, has perished from the face of the earth; the fairest day is succeeded by midnight; and so of other things: "but the commandment is exceeding broad:" all the principles of justice are contained in it; no just notion of God without it; all the rules of a holy life, and all the promises of life eternal, are found in it. It is the word of God, and it endureth for ever. When the heavens and the earth are no more, this word shall stand up and flourish.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv96–97 Psa 119:96. I have seen an end of all…
Psa 119:96. I have seen an end of all perfection — I have observed that all human things, how complete soever they may seem, such as wisdom and power, glory and riches, and the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, are exceeding frail, and soon come to an end. But thy commandment — Thy word, (one part being put for the whole,) is exceeding broad — Or large, both for extent and for continuance; it is useful to all persons, in all times and conditions, and for all purposes, to inform, direct, quicken, comfort, sanctify, and save me; it is of everlasting truth and efficacy; it will never deceive those who trust to it, as all worldly things will, but will make men happy both here and for ever.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv96–100 I have seen an end of all perfection -…
I have seen an end of all perfection - The word which is here rendered “perfection” - תכלה tiklâh - occurs only in this place; but a similar word from the same root - תכלית taklı̂yth - occurs in the following places: in Neh 3:21, and Job 26:10, rendered “end;” in Job 11:7; Job 28:3, rendered “perfection;” and in Psa 139:22, rendered “perfect.” It means properly “completion, perfection;” or, as others suppose, “hope, confidence.” It is rendered, in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, “consummation.” Luther renders it, “of all things.” It is proper here to apply it to character; to perfect virtue, or to claims to perfect virtue - either in one’s-self or in others. The word rendered “end” here refers not to the fact of its existence, or to its duration, but to a limit or boundary as to its extent. To all claims to perfection made by man, he had seen an end or limit. He had examined all which claimed to be perfect; he had found it defective; he had so surveyed and examined the matter, as to be able to say that there could be no claim to perfection which would prove good. All claim to perfection on the part of man must be abandoned forever.
But thy commandment is exceeding broad - The word but is not in the original, and enfeebles the sense. The idea is, that the law of God, as he now saw it, was of such a nature - was so “broad” - as to demonstrate that there could be no just claim to perfection among people. All claims to perfection had arisen from the fact that the law was not properly understood, that its true nature was not seen. People thought that they were perfect, but it was because they had no just view of the extent and the spirituality of the law of God. They set up an imperfect standard; and when they became conformed to that standard, as they might do, they imagined themselves to be perfect; but when their conduct was compared with a higher and more just standard - the law of God - it could not but be seen that they were imperfect people. That law had claims which they had not met, and never would meet, in this life. It is very easy to flatter ourselves that we are perfect, if we make our own standard of character; it is not possible for man to set up a claim to perfection, if he measures himself by the standard of God’s word; and all the claims of people to perfection are made simply because they do not properly understand what the law of God requires. Compare the notes at Job 9:20.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v97 מ, Mem.
מ, Mem.
97-104. Thy law… is my meditation—A view is now given of the practical wisdom given by the word. A childlike mind, illuminated by the pure truth, sees of itself an error. Its feelings and intuitions are better than logical arguments, and this pure, direct perception is more reliable than the experience of the “ancients,” who had not the living word. To a free, clean mind, the divine truth is better than honey to the mouth or music to the ear.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv96–100 96. The meaning may be, ‘I have learnt by…
96. The meaning may be, ‘I have learnt by experience that all earthly perfection has its limit; but God’s commandment is unlimited in extent and value.’ The word for ‘perfection’ (tiklâh) however occurs here only, and if its sense is to be determined by that of the most closely cognate word taklîth, it would seem to mean rather ‘completeness,’ the sum of things. The sum of earthly things is limited, Jehovah’s law is infinite.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv96, 98, 99, 100 (96) I have seen.—The exact thought of the psalmist…
(96) I have seen.—The exact thought of the psalmist here is doubtful, and it offers such a wide application, embracing so many truths of experience, that possibly he had more than one meaning in his mind. Keeping as close to the context as possible, the meaning will be: “To all perfection (or apparent perfection) a limit is visible, but the Divine Law is boundless alike in its scope and its requirements.” This, translated into the language of modern ideas, merely says that the actual can never correspond with the ideal:
“Who keeps a spirit wholly true
Read full note →
To that ideal which he bears?”
But in the word end in Hebrew, as in English, there is a limitation in time, as in space (see Job_26:10; Job_28:3; comp. Symmachus, “I have seen the end of all settled things”), and the Prayer Book version may really give the psalmist’s thought as indicating the difference between mere change and progress.
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
TENNYSON: Morte d’Arthur.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv96–100 I have seen an end of all perfection; i.e.…
I have seen an end of all perfection; i.e. to all other perfection I have seen, and see, a limit; but there is no limit to the perfection of thy Law. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Unlimited measureless in its range. It inculcates on man an absolute perfection.
The disappointment of human hopes.
Read full note →
"I have seen an end of all perfection." "The true relation of the two parts of this verse to each other seems to be that of contrast. No other relation brings out so clear and full a meaning. The meaning of the whole, therefore, must be something like this: Here is something called "perfection" existing among men in a great variety of forms. "But," says the psalmist, "according to my experience and observation, these are altogether too superficial, and too precarious, and too short-lived to make men happy, and the very best of them, the idealisms of human life, can never be attained. But thy commandment is exceeding broad," and that will do, unless men hinder, what nothing else will do." The human hopes referred to are a man"s wholly self-centered purposes and ambitions. Let a man fashion something for himself as a supreme aim of life; let it be something which he regards as "perfection;" let it bear no relation to the blessing of his fellow-men, or to the will and honor of God, and there will surely be an end to all such perfection. Let perfection be humanly conceived success and happiness, and ere life closes the man will say with the "preacher," who had such a varied experience, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
I ALL AROUND US WE MAY SEE THE END OF PERFECTIONS. The story of the ages is the story of well-conceived ideals in social and national life that were never realized. The story of individual lives that had only self-centered aims is this wail, "My purposes are broken off." It is even a large truth that no life ever was lived that realized its ideal, reached its perfection, or accomplished its purposes. And this must be so because perfection is for the race, not for the individual, who has never more than a piece of the whole entrusted to him. And because, by man"s very nature, he cannot rest satisfied with things, only with character, which finds expression in things, and is always below a possible attainment, while God is the supreme character.
II IF WE CANNOT GET PERFECTION, WE MAY WORK TOWARDS IT. To do this we must get out of the human sphere into the Divine sphere. Man fails to reach his own perfection because it is so small. God"s Word is large, broad, and towards its perfection man may move through all eternity, and get ennobled as he moves. R.T.
The breadth of God"s Law.
I CAUSES THAT WARRANT OUR THOUGHTS OF THE DIVINE LAW.
1. Indulgence of sinful habits.
2. Tendency to justify ourselves in what we do or self-love.
3. Deference to worldly maxims.
4. False views of its relation to our salvation.
II ILLUSTRATIONS OF ITS BREADTH.
1. It applies to every relation we bear to God and man.
2. It has to do with omitted duties as well as positive transgressions.
3. It is spiritual widening to our view the higher we rise.
III LESSONS SUGGESTED.
1. It rebukes self-complacency.
2. It shows how impossible it is that we can be justified by it. S.
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 vv96–100 Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all…
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. He had seen its limit, for it went but a little way; he had seen its evaporation under the trials of life, its detection under the searching glance of truth, its exposure by the confession of the penitent. There is no perfection beneath the moon. Perfect men, in the absolute sense of the word, live only in a perfect world. Some men see no end to their own perfection, but this is because they are perfectly blind. The experienced believer has seen an end of all perfection in himself, in his brethren, in the best man's best works. It would be well if some who profess to be perfect could even see the beginning of perfection, for we fear they cannot have begun aright, or they would not talk so exceeding proudly. Is it not the beginning of perfection to lament your imperfection? There is no such thing as perfection in anything which is the work of man. "But thy commandment is exceeding broad." When the breadth of the law is known the notion of perfection in the flesh vanishes: that law touches every act, word, and thought, and is of such a spiritual nature that it judges the motives, desires, and emotions of the soul. It reveals a perfection which convicts us for shortcomings as well as for transgressions, and does not allow us to make up for deficiencies in one direction by special carefulness in others. The divine ideal of holiness is far too broad for us to hope to cover all its wide arena, and yet it is no broader than it ought to be. Who would wish to have an imperfect law? Nay, its perfection is its glory; but it is the death of all glorying in our own perfection. There is a breadth about the commandment which has never been met to the full by a corresponding breadth of holiness in any mere man while here below; only in Jesus do we see it fully embodied. The law is in all respects a perfect code; each separate precept of it is far reaching in its hallowed meaning, and the whole ten cover all, and leave no space wherein to please our passions. We may well adore the infinity of divine holiness, and then measure ourselves by its standard, and bow before the Lord in all lowliness, acknowledging how far we fall short of it.
Ver. 96. I have seem an end of all perfection, etc. These words are variously rendered and understood by interpreters, who in this variety do very much conspire and agree in the same sense. The Chaldee Paraphrase renders the words thus, "I have seen an end of all things about which I have employed my care; but thy commandment is very large." The Syriac version thus, "I have seen an end of all regions and countries" (that is, I have found the compass of the habitable world to be finite and limited) "but thy commandment is of a vast extent." Others explain it thus, "I have seen an end of all perfection, "that is, of all the things of this world which men value and esteem at so high a rate; of all worldly wisdom and knowledge, of wealth, and honour, and greatness, which do all perish and pass away; "but thy law is eternal, and still abideth the same"; or, as the Scripture elsewhere expresses it, "The word of the Lord endureth for ever." John Tillotson, 1630-1694.
Read full note →
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David in his time had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome; Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken; Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled; Absalom, the fairest, deformed. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection, etc. The Psalmist's words offer us a double comfort and encouragement. We may read them in two ways: (1) "I have seen an end of all perfection; for thy commandment is exceeding broad"; and (2) "I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
Read in the first way, they suggest the animating thought, that our haunting consciousness of imperfection springs from the bright and awful perfection of the Law we are bent on obeying, of the ideal we have set before us. It is not because we are worse than those who are without law, or who are a law unto themselves, that we are restless and dissatisfied with ourselves; but because we measure both ourselves and our fellows by the lofty standard of God's commandment. It is because that commandment is so broad, that we cannot embrace it; it is because it is so high, that we cannot attain to it; it is because it is so perfect, that we cannot perfectly obey it.
But we may read the verse in another way, and still derive comfort and encouragement from it. We may say: "I have seen an end of all perfection in myself, and in the world; but thy commandment is exceeding broad: that is perfect, though I am imperfect, and in its perfection I find the promise of my own." For shall God give a law for human life, and that law remain for ever unfulfilled Impossible! "The gifts of God are without repentance" irreversible, never to be lessened or withdrawn. His purpose is not to be made of none effect by our weaknesses and sins. In the Law he has shown us what he would have us to be. And shall we never become what lie would have us to be? Can the Law remain for ever without any life that corresponds to it and fulfils it? Nay, God will never take back the fair and perfect ideal of human life depicted in his Law, never retract his purpose to raise the life of man till it touches and fulfils its ideal. And so the very Law which is our despair is our comfort also; for if that be perfect we must become perfect; its perfection is the pledge of ours. From "The Expositor, "1876.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection. David's natural eye had seen the end of many human perfections, and the eye of his understanding saw the end of them all. He had seen some actually end, and he saw that all must end. Adam did not continue in that perfection which had no imperfection in it; how then shall any of his children continue in what is at best an imperfect perfection? Abraham Wright.
Ver. 96. I have seen an end, etc. The laws of Lycurgus among the Grecians, and of Numa among the Romans, had somewhat of good in them, but not all; prohibited somewhat that was evil, but not all that was evil. But the Christian religion is of a larger extent, both in its precepts and prohibitions: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad." A man with the eye of his body may behold an end of many worldly perfections, of many fair estates, great beauties, large parts, hopeful families; but a man with the eye of his soul (or by faith) may see an end of all earthly perfections. He may see the world in a flame, and all its pomp and pride, and glory, and gallantry, and crowns and sceptres, and riches, and treasures, turned into ashes. He may see the heavens passing away like a scroll, and the elements melting with fervent heat, and the earth, with the things thereon, consumed; and all its perfections, which men dented so much on, vanished into smoke and nothing. It is easy to see to the end of all terrene perfections, but it is difficult, yea, impossible, to see to the end of divine precepts: "But thy commandments are exceeding broad, "of a vast latitude, beyond our apprehension. They are so deep that none can fathom them, Ps 36:6, so high that they are established in heaven, Ps 114:48; so long that they endure for ever, 2 Peter 1; and so broad, that none can measure them. They are not only "broad, "but "exceeding broad": higher than heaven, longer than the earth, broader than the sea. "The commands of God reach the inward parts, the most secret motions and retired recesses of the soul. They reach all the privy thoughts, they pierce even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart, Heb 4:12. They reach to all our actions; to those that seem smallest and of less concernment, as well as to those that are greater and of more concernment." George Swinnock.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. As there is more mercy in the gospel than we are able to comprehend, so there is more holiness in the law than we are able to comprehend. No man ever saw into the depths of that righteousness. There is an infinite holiness in the law. "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad." He speaks not in the concrete, I have seen an end of perfect things, but in the abstract, "an end of perfection, "I have come to the outside or to the very bottom of all (a man may soon travel through all the perfections that are in the world, and either see their end, or see that they end); "but thy commandment is exceeding broad, "that is, it is exceedingly broader than any of these perfections; I cannot see the end of it, and I know it shall never have an end. There is a vastness of purity and spiritualness in the law. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. It is so by the comprehensive applicableness of its grand, simple rules. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself." It is so by the ample order of its special injunctions. Where is there a spot without a signal of the divine will? It is so by laying an authoritative hand on the first principles and origin from which any thing can proceed, in human spirit and action; then it reaches to all things that do or can proceed thence. It asserts a jurisdiction over all thought and inward affection. All language is uttered under this same jurisdiction. All that the world and each man is in action about. And even over what is not done it maintains its authority, and pronounces its dictates and judgments. It is a positive thing with respect to what is negative, omission, nonexistence Like the divine government in the material world, over the wastes, deserts, and barren sands. And from these spaces of nothing (as it were) it can raise up substantial forms of evil, of sin, in evidence against men. As at the resurrection men will rise from empty wastes, where it would not have been suspected that any were concealed. Let a man look back on all his omissions, and think what the divine law can raise from them against him. Thus the law in its exceeding breadth, is vacant nowhere; it is not stretched to this wide extent by chasms and void spaces. If a man could find one such, he might there take his position for sin with impunity, if not with innocence. John Foster, 1768-1848.
Ver. 96. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. In the popular religious literature of the present times, the terms "broad" and "free" are of frequent occurrence. The fascination that surrounds them is enhanced by the use, at the same time, of their opposites, "narrow" and "bigoted." By an adroit manipulation of these terms and their equivalents, the heterodoxy of the day is labouring to stamp out the doctrine and spirit of the evangelical faith, and to allure the Christian multitude within the influence of the spreading rationalistic drift. Going to the market where the heterodox wares are exhibited with labels so attractive, the unsuspecting purchaser soon discovers that "their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter." Is the time not come when the adherents of the true faith should make an effort to wrest from their opponents the monopoly in the use of these terms, which they seem desirous of establishing for themselves? Those who, in the spirit of their Master, abide most closely by, and contend most tenaciously for, the whole faith that has been delivered to the saints, must be the most liberal minded and catholic; and those who forsake the "old paths" must, in proportion to the extent of their departures, become contracted in their mental grasp, and narrow in their soul. Is not the Bible the whole Bible the only manual of Broad churchism in its truest and highest sense? Is not the revelation of God's Son in us, the great soul expanding power? "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Must we not infer, from the words of Christ "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free, "that the mind which apprehends the truth is a home of mental liberty? Does not strict conformity of the life to God's law produce real breadth of character? For "Thy commandment is exceeding broad." Is not the gospel system the only true Broad churchism "the perfect law of liberty"? Is not the believer and the more so in proportion to the strength of his faith the only true Broad churchman, "increasing with the increase of God, ""filled with all the fulness of God"? James Kerr, in "The Modern Scottish Pulpit, "1880.
Ver. 96. Exceeding broad. Notwithstanding many things do show the way of life to be narrow, yet unto the godly man it is a way of great breadth; though not for sin, yet for duly and delight. He makes haste and progress in it. Robert Trail, 1642-1716.
Ver. 96. Take notice that the law, which is your mark, is exceeding broad. And yet not the more easy to be hit; because you must aim to hit it, in every duty of it, with a performance of equal breadth, or else you cannot hit it at all. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 96.
1. An end: "seen"; seen by one man; seen where it should not have been; seen where there was no end of boasting; seen in all perfection.
2. No end: to the extent, spirituality, perpetuity, and perfectness of the law.
Ver. 96.
1. The Finite explored.
2. The Infinite unexplored. W.D.
Ver. 96. Perfectionism disproved by experience and inspiration. W.B.H.
Ver. 96. Perfection perfect and imperfect.
1. Loud professions of perfection arise from ignorance (of self, or of God's requirements).
2. Are peculiarly liable to collapse: "I have seen an end."
3. Are best corrected by a survey of the breadth of the divine law. C.A.D.
Psalms 119:97*
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 vv96, 97, 99 I have seen an end of all perfection; but…
Psa_119:96
I have seen an end of all perfection; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
Read full note →
A sad moral discovery
I. The nature of this discovery. An end of all perfection. Material nature is perfect in all its departments and forms; but in human history no perfection is found. It is not found in the thoughts, affections, purposes, or actions of men. It is not found in men individually or collectively. Complete moral perfection is extinct.
1. This fact should humble us in the dust. The only property in man is character; and if his character is bad, man has nothing therefore of which to be proud. His own vileness should keep him in the dust.
2. This fact should startle us into effort. In moral imperfection there is guilt, ruin, hell. How to get rid of it is the great question, and should be the great object of life. For this all should labour supremely.
II. The means of this discovery. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Broad!
1. Because it embraces everything pertaining to man. Not only his outward actions and audible utterances, but the deepest and most secret feelings of his heart.
2. It embraces everything pertaining to every man. It takes in individuals, families, communities, Churches, and nations. In the light of this law moral imperfection is then everywhere. (Homilist.)
An end of perfection
I. The sorrowful confession--I have seen an end of all perfection.
1. There are severe limits to human knowledge. The wisest tell us their path leads to a point at which there is no thoroughfare. They encounter the Unknowable. All they know is, that there is more to be known.
2. There are severe limits to human enjoyment. The most attractive programme of pleasure palls. The gay monarch offers a fabulous sum for a new pleasure. Restless pleasure-seekers outpace even the devils ingenuity, for even he cannot make the programme hold out.
3. There are severe limits to human examples of excellence. We select our hero, and he enjoys our brief worship. But we find a flaw, and the homage fails. You need only know a man well enough to detect his weakness. A modern celebrity was asked if he believed in perfection: said he, No! I have seen too many perfect people.
II. The joyful rejoinder--But Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
1. The commandment broadens beyond the limits of human knowledge. It reveals God--His counsels--eternity and its destinies. It presents us with a science of the unseen, and a redemption to which there is no human analogy.
2. The commandment is exceeding broad in the extent of the enjoyment it unfolds. It presents an infinite range of delights to mans restless soul. It unseals infinite sources of pleasure. It teaches us to joy in God. It introduces a new, subtler, more refined and inexhaustible quality of happiness. We have Christs joy fulfilled in ourselves. We enter into the joy of our Lord. It ushers us into that Presence for ever, where there is fulness of joy.
3. It is exceeding broad in its provision for human attainment--its ideal. The Old Testament standard reaches the infinite word godly. The New Testament sets before us the example of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col_2:9). Mans soul can never be satisfied without a definite aim; yet at the same time an infinite aim. Here the conditions meet--The stature of a man in Christ Jesus. Application--And this commandment is nigh thee!--now! (Walter Hawkins.)
An end of all perfection
The psalmist in this verse speaks of a twofold experience in the form of an antithesis. All life is an antithesis. We touch the transient and the everlasting, the finite and the boundless, the explored and unexplored, at every turn.
I. He speaks of the transient and finite. He had observed that there was a great deal of perfection--many good and perfect gifts--in the world.
1. In nature. The revolving seasons, the flowers that bloom, the fruit that ripens, and the sun that shines, are each beautiful in its time. But every summer has its winter, every flower dies, all fruit decays, and every day has its night. Transiency and limitation are written upon everything. There must be a constant replenishing, or the universe would be bankrupt. The same forces are preserved and resuscitated by new combinations, and directed to new uses. The conservation of force is a means by which God upholds nature, else it would collapse.
2. In human history. The rise and fall of empires--the might of the sword--the power of governments--the sway of know-ledge--the charm of fame--the influence of wealth--are all transient. It is this end that perplexes men.
3. In religious externalities. Many symbols and ceremonials have come and gone. They have lost their meaning in realities. The pillars of cloud and of fire have vanished: the manna has ceased. The tabernacle, the temple, and their ritual have passed away. Even religious structures like the temple, which, of all buildings, supply the strongest resistance to the wear and tear of time, fall into decay and ruin.
4. In individual and social life. Man exhausts everything. As we advance in life all attainment dwarfs in the presence of new ideals. The ideal of the Hebrew, through the revelation of God, was very high. Contrast the self-complacency of the Greek with the consciousness of non-attainment on the part of the holiest Hebrews. Where there is no conception of holiness there can be no adequate conception of infirmity and sin, and even of non-attainment. So far, however, the psalmist has not said all; nor even the half. It were a sad tale were that all. But is the remedial point in the verse.
II. The psalmist speaks of the comprehensive and permanent--Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
1. It was comprehensive. It applied to mens thoughts and motives, as well as their words and deeds. It touched life and emphasized responsibility at every point. It left no void space, no gap or chink for the guilty to escape. It presented the divine ideal of perfection.
2. It was permanent. Our Lord teaches us that heaven and earth shall pass away; but that not a jot or tittle of the law shall pass. Hence the necessity of the Incarnation and the Atonement. The love of Christ constraineth us. Our supreme hope is to be like Him. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself as He is pure. He is changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord, and thus becomes perfect in Christ Jesus. (D. Davies.)
An end of all perfection
I have seen an end of all perfection. The man who has set his whole heart on things earthly,--no matter whether successful or unsuccessful,--comes to this at last. We should not care so much for words like these, if we regarded them only as the bitter judgment of one whose plans for life had been thwarted and blighted: we should then esteem them as the jaundiced conclusion of one who disparaged what he could not attain to: it would be a case in point to the ancient fable of the creature that cried down the fruit it could not reach. But the same estimate of this life has been reached by the earnest believer. He too has told us that all that is required that a human being should in this world see an end of all perfection, is that such a one should live in this world long enough to let hasty impressions die away; and to arrive at those second thoughts of it which are proverbially best. Yet while the case is so, that believer and unbeliever alike may express an estimate of the life in the selfsame words, there is this great difference between the two. To the man who has set his affection on things on the earth, it is unmingled bitterness to find that they will not suffice: he has nothing else to look to: if they fail him, then all is lost. But the believers treasure is not in this world: it is laid up where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, and where no thief can break through and steal: he has laid up for himself treasure in heaven: and that grandest possession of humanity, a part in the crucified Saviour, a soul renewed by the blessed Spirit, is a thing whose worth cannot fluctuate nor decay: always and everywhere the one thing needful.
I. The psalmist said these words truly, and we may say them truly, as to the happiness this world can yield. The psalmist did not say, and no more do we, that in this world there is no happiness at all. What is said is that there is no perfection of happiness: no life which is evenly joyous or evenly cheerful. The heavy, bitter blow falls now and then; and there are manifold drawbacks from the pleasantest earthly lot; a thousand little anxieties, vexations,--well, there is no better word, worries: things which, if they do not absolutely embitter the cup of existence, certainly deprive it of all right to be called the perfection of worldly good.
II. We may say these words with truth, in regard to the excellence of the people we know.
III. We have learned to little purpose, if we have not done the same in regard to ourselves: our own good purposes, our own devout feelings, our own faith, and hope, and charity. It is a lame life we lead: it is but a very rough approximation to the right line. In some kind of way we keep to religious rule; but we need not even talk of perfection who know that we come short, in everything we do. (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
The temporal and the eternal
Those of you who have visited Henry the Sevenths Chapel at Westminster Abbey must have noticed in the south-east corner the tomb of Dean Stanley and that of his wife, Lady Augusta There are many words engraven on the stone beneath Dean Stanleys tomb, and at the foot of them are the words of our text (P. B. Version). The words may well be taken as an epitome of the Deans life. He saw an end of all perfection, he saw that all things human pass away, but he held on to the great eternal truths of religion, knowing that Gods commandment, like Gods love, is exceeding broad.
I. The temporal. I see that all things come to an end. We live in a world of change; nothing is lasting, nothing is permanent down here. The little life of man, the little work of man sooner or later comes to an end. I see that all things come to an end. The beautiful summer-time which delights us all changes at last into the long dreary winter. Nature changes, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth. There are changes in public life as well as in private life; changes abroad and changes at home; changes in our own individual lives. The boy changes into the young man; school life is over. The young man changes into the man in his prime; youth is over. And old age creeps on, then cometh the end. Whether it be beauty, or wit, or learning, or pleasure, or honour, or position, or riches, experience will soon show us the end of all these things.
II. The writer turns from the temporal to the eternal. He tries to fix our minds on the one Supreme Being who never passes away. I am the Lord, I change not. Thy commandment is exceeding broad. The great Rock of Ages remains unalterably the same.
1. Gods love is exceeding broad.
2. His forgiveness.
3. His mercy.
4. His power to save.
5. His Church.
6. Heaven.
We may differ in opinion down here, we cannot all think alike on earth, but there will be perfect unity there, for heaven, like Gods commandment, is exceeding broad. (A. E. W. Lait.)
Perfection only in Gods law
I. The imperfection that is ascribed to all created objects.
1. Everything pertaining to the present world, its riches, honours, and enjoyments so earnestly coveted by carnal minds, will be found greatly deficient in their promised good when weighed in a just and equal balance. Experience proves them incapable of affording satisfaction; they first allure, and then deceive, and raise our expectations only for the purpose of producing disappointment.
2. There is nothing perfect in the Church of God, collectively considered, though it is composed of the excellent of the earth, in all ages and parts of the world. The tares and the wheat grow together until harvest.
3. The same imperfection which marks the general body attaches to the character of individual believers in various degrees; for as is the root, so are the branches.
4. As the psalmist had seen an end of all perfection in others, so also in himself; and this is what the best of men have seen in their own characters as well as he. There is neither intellectual nor moral perfection to be found on earth.
II. The perfection that is ascribed to the Divine law.
1. It includes the whole of our duty towards God, ourselves, and our neighbour.
2. It extends to all persons and to characters of every description.
3. Its dominion reaches to the inward as well as to the outward man, the heart as well as the life. It rules over the understanding, for obedience is founded in knowledge; the will, which must be bowed to the will of God; the affections, which are required to be set supremely on Him.
4. It comprehends the manner of our obedience, as well as the matter of it, and shows that nothing can be acceptable but what proceeds from a right principle. Love is the fulfilling of the law, both as to its spirit and design.
5. Its authority is perpetual, reaching forward to eternity. It is a perfect transcript of the Divine mind, and is necessarily as unchangeable as its great original (Psa_119:89; Psa_119:152).
6. It is exceeding broad with respect to its sanctions, or the rewards which it promises and the punishments it inflicts. (B. Beddoms, M. A.)
Human limitation and Divine breadth
The psalmists words imply what Jesus and His apostles taught with far greater fulness, not only that while man changes, God changes not., but that man may rise out of change in boundless progress by active obedience to the commandment, that is, by living and practical communion with the Divine will.
The breadth of Gods commandment
The true relation of the two parts of this verse to each other seems to be that of contrast. Here is something called perfection existing among men in a great variety of forms. But, says the psalmist, according to my experience and observation, these are altogether too superficial, and too precarious, and too short-lived to make men happy, and the very best of them, the idealisms of human life, as we have seen, can never be attained. But Thy commandment is exceeding broad, and that will do, unless men hinder, what nothing else will do. Thy commandment is exceeding broad; we say all when we say that it is as broad as the Divine nature, and that is limitless and eternal; beyond all bounds, above all heights, beneath all depths. As the man is, so is his strength. As God is, so is His commandment, word, will, and way. And what does it tell me? It tells me that these earthly and human perfections. which can never be realized, even the partial realizations of which so soon begin to fade and fall into ruin, are yet, if I will, the symbol to my faith of that which will not deceive, will not fail, and that all will come to me through this very law or commandment which is exceeding broad, because it is Gospel. It seems to shut the door of hope, only that it may fling it more widely open. It seems to lock and bar the prison gates, only that they may be burst asunder by a conquering Redeemer, and that the very walls of the prison-house may be thrown to the ground, while the prisoners are called into largeness and eternal liberty. Then they begin to find the commandment of God, in this better, sweeter sense, exceeding broad. It is the high but fair standard to which they conform; it is, at the same time, the power that upholds and strengthens while such conformity is sought. It is an education, a development, a joy that never palls; a prospect that is never darkened, although our eyes are not always open to see it. It is high above us and away beyond us, yet it is always bending down to help us, and never casts an unfriendly look, and never speaks in a harsh tone. It is the very soul of consideration, and tenderness, and grace. It seems to speak to us as though it were a God, and says, Cast all your cares on me. I am broad enough, and strong enough to bear them all. I am for God in this world, I--His Gospel commandment, with law, and love, and light in it--I am the will of God and His uplifting power, and all whom I bless I lead onwards to more and more, to better and better, never lowering the standard, never suspending the education, never suffering a limit to be put to it. Ever teaching my subjects that the law of life they have in me is a law of breadth, liberty, enlargement, until the scantiness and the failures of earth are exchanged for the fulnesses and the realizations of heaven. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
The breadth of Gods commandment
There is an ancient tradition that Abraham, as he stood on the hills above Damascus, was converted to the true faith in one God, from the worship of the heavenly bodies, by observing that the stars, the moon, and the sun, however bright and glorious, at last sank, and were succeeded by others. I like not, he said, those that set; and so turned to the one unchangeable Lord and Maker of all. This, but in a higher and more precise form, is the force of the psalmists argument. He prefers--and we ought to prefer--the commandment, the revelation of God, not only because it lasts longer than anything else, but because it includes, and comprehends, and absorbs into itself all that there is good in everything else.
1. I see that all things come to an end. So we may say of all human institutions and customs, especially when we have gone through many lands, and seen many forms of opinion and worship.
2. I see that there is a boundary beyond which they cannot pass--I see that the institutions of the West come to an end almost abruptly when they reach the extremity of Europe. I see that the institutions of the East come to an end no less abruptly when they reach the extremity of Asia. We have followed each to their utmost limit; they cannot pass farther. But there is one thing which is broad enough to embrace them both and cross them both, namely, the commandment of God.
3. I see that all earthly pleasures and enjoyments, one after another, have their natural ending. Not only wicked and selfish pleasures, which last only for the moment of their gratification, but innocent, just, good enjoyments, of necessity come to an end, or pass into something else. But the commandment of God is exceeding broad. Gods commandment widens, opens, and expands with new interests, enjoyments, affections, hopes, at every successive step we take, till we find ourselves at last in that Presence where there is indeed fulness of joy and pleasure for evermore.
4. I see that all human greatness comes to an end. Every station in life, however great or prosperous, has its drawbacks, its checks, its limits. But moral or Christian greatness is exceeding broad. The basis on which it is built up is as broad and firm as the conscience and heart of man, as the grace and goodness of God. Even the most far-reaching intellect and its effects come to an end at last. Look at those greatest of all monuments of the mind of man--books. How rapidly they come to an end! One Book alone has outlasted many generations, in all nations equally, and that is the Bible; and this is because of its exceeding breadth--because it embraces every variety and element of thought, and every phase of society; above all, because it embodies in every part the moral commandment of God, which endures for ever in heaven, and which speaks not to one condition of life only, but to all.
5. I see that all human characters come to an end. How often do we see those who are good and wise up go a certain point, but beyond that we come, as it were, to a precipice--they break down, as we say; we wonder that, being so good as they are, they are not better; that, being as wise as they are, they are not wiser. One Character there is which is so exceeding broad as to grasp and overlap all others. This is the true sign of the Divinity of the character of Christ.
6. I see that human life comes to an end. Our earthly life, the earthly life of those whom we have known and loved, is cut short by that dark abyss into which we cannot penetrate, and over which our thoughts can hardly pass. But Gods commandment, and the fulfilment of Gods commandments, is exceeding broad; it is broad enough to span even that wide and deep river which parts this life and the next. For it is this which makes this life and the next life one. Knowledge, prophecies, gifts of all kinds pass away, but the love of God and the love of man never fail.
7. Yes, I see that all things come to an end. I see that human systems, human pleasures, human greatness, human wisdom, human excellence, human life, come to an end. But the commandment, the revelation, of God never comes to an end, because God Himself is Infinite--God, whom we adore in His three infinite perfections. (Dean Stanley.)
The wisdom of religion
Thy law; that is, the rule of our duty natural and revealed; or, in a word, religion, which consists in the knowledge and practice of the laws of God, is of greater perfection than all other things which are so highly valued in this world; for the perfection of it is infinite, and of a vast influence and extent; it reacheth to the whole man, to the happiness of body and soul; to our whole duration, both in this world and the next; of this life, and of that which is to come.
I. The reasonableness of religion, which is able to give a very good account of itself, because it settles the mind of man upon a firm basis, and keeps it from rolling in perpetual uncertainty; whereas atheism and infidelity wants a stable foundation; it centres nowhere but in the denial of God and religion, and yet substitutes no principle, no tenable and constituent scheme of things, in the place of them.
II. The wisdom of religion.
1. True wisdom begins and is founded in religion, in the fear of God, and in the keeping of His commandments.
2. This is the perfection of wisdom; there is no wisdom without this, nor beyond it.
(1) The first point of wisdom is to understand our true interest, and to be right in our main end; and in this religion will best instruct and direct us. And if we be right in out main end, and true to the interest of it, we cannot miscarry; but if a man mistake in this, he errs fatally, and his whole life is vanity and folly.
(2) Another property of wisdom is to be steady and vigorous in the prosecution of our main end; to oblige us hereto religion gives us the most powerful arguments--the glorious happiness, and the dismal misery of another world.
3. The next point of wisdom is to make all things stoop and become subservient to our main end. And wherever religion bears sway, it will make all other things subordinate to the salvation of our souls, and the interests of our everlasting happiness; as the men of this world make everything to submit and give way to their covetous, and ambitious, and sensual designs.
4. Another part of wisdom is to consider the future, and to look to the last end and issue of things. It is a common folly among men to be so intent upon the present as to have little or no regard to the future, to what will be hereafter. But religion gives us a clear prospect of a life after death, and overlooks time, and makes eternity always present to us, and minds us of making timely provision and preparation for it.
5. Again, another main point of wisdom is, to do as little as we can to be repented of, trusting rather to the wisdom of prevention than to that of remedy. Religion first teacheth men innocency, and not to offend; but in case we do (as in many things we offend all), it then directs us to repentance as the only remedy.
6. The last character of wisdom I shall mention is in all things to consult the peace and satisfaction of our own minds, without which nothing else can make us happy; and this obedience to the laws of God does naturally procure. (Abp. Tillotson.)
Finality and progress
One of the greatest fallacies with which we have to contend in modern times is the opinion that everything of the nature of finality in religion--everything of the nature of clear and settled conviction--is opposed to the progress of the world and the liberty of the individual. It is assumed by some that progress consists in a perpetual movement from one position to another, rather than the steady upward movement of a tree from its root or of a building from its fixed foundation. They think of progress as a leaving of the past continually behind us, and an advancing towards the future; and that, consequently, whatever claims to be fixed, immovable, and determinate, whatever says to the advancing waves Of human power and ambition, Thus far shalt thou come, but not farther, puts an arrest upon the progress of the world that ought not to be put, and fetters the legitimate action of the human spirit. Hence the outcry against creeds and dogmas of every kind as things to be entirely shaken off. It is said that they must all of them be of necessity transitional and temporary, because they are attempts to formulate a something--a something that is for ever beyond us, and is no sooner formulated than the mind has already travelled beyond its own conception. What I wish to point out is that we cannot escape finality in some shape or form if we are to think at all. We must have clear and settled convictions of some kind; but this finality of thought, when truly come to, is not in the least degree opposed to liberty or progress. It is indeed the very starting point and permanent ground of all that is true in the progress of the world. The text appears to afford a very suitable basis for such a theme. The psalmist says, I have seen an end of all perfection. There is the finality, the fixed and determinate position; but he also says, Thy commandment is nevertheless exceeding broad; there is the room for growth, for progress--there we have the free and indeterminate element. There is, indeed, a certain opposition at first sight between the two clauses of the text; but there is no real opposition. In the ground of the matter they are substantially and essentially one. Take the letters of the English alphabet. Here you have from twenty to thirty absolutely fixed signs--no more than that; and we are not at liberty to add to or to alter one of them. Here we have finality surely. And yet upon that fixed and limited basis all human thought and human speech are built. The Bible and Shakespeare, with all their subtle essence of thought and wonders of expression, are reducible to twenty-six letters. Why is it that no one says, What an absurd thing it is to chain the genius of the world to twenty or thirty little signs that can be made upon a sheet of paper! How can those signs, invented, moreover, in remote antiquity, be adequate to the wants of the world to-day? Such finality is the enemy of progress. To talk in that way about the alphabet would indicate the madman, because the mastering of those twenty-six letters is the beginning of all our progress. And yet that is precisely how many talk in regard to the doctrines and facts of Christianity. They say that to fix anything here is to make progress impossible. What I say is that the twenty-six letters of the alphabet are no more the unalterable basis of all our learning than the essential doctrines of Christianity, as clearly formulated and tabulated as they can be, are the basis of all that is true in the spiritual history and progress of the world. The same thing may be said of any other branch of learning, Bay of arithmetic or of mathematics, with its rigid formularies and absolutely fixed signs. Out of the nine units of arithmetic the whole science of numbers is evolved. Those fixed factors that lie at the foundation of the whole, and out of which the whole arises, put no arrest upon the thinking mind at all. So far from that, the mind could not take one step without them, and it would be thrown into confusion if one of them were altered. What I plead for is that in this matter of finality and progress people should apply to religious truth the common sense they apply to other subjects; and they ought not to object that finality in religion puts an end to progress when they find in every other sphere that it is the very basis and spring of all the liberty we require. The Sabbath law and the Bible, the Church and its Sacraments, with its essential creed--with regard to all these important matters a certain amount of finality has undoubtedly been reached. They represent a certain number of ultimate facts; the essential explanation of which we unquestionably have in our possession. Those ultimate facts, those fixed and determinate conclusions about God and Christ, about life and death, about sin and salvation--those great facts do not stand in the way of the liberty of man or the most perfect freedom of thought. Instead of that, they are the foundation of the worlds peace, and the perennial spring of all its progress. In a word, the more finality we have truly come to, so much the more liberty and progress we also may have. When a young person goes on from one stage of learning to another, from the letters of the alphabet to numbers, and circles, and squares, and from these, again, to all the definite and fixed forms of science and art, he is coming to finality at every step, he is fixing matters permanently in his mind, from stage to stage, all along the line. Is he thereby putting fetters upon himself? You know that it is not so. You know that he is advancing in the path of liberty and power. Those clear and settled ideas which he takes into his mind, from stage to stage, are but stepping-stones in the upward and onward path of his progress. Eternal process moving on from state to state the spirit walks. And not only may he wear all that weight of learning lightly as a flower, but the whole burden of existence is becoming lighter and lighter to him the more clearly he sees into the heart of the whole. Every clear idea, fixed and final as it is, that takes possession of his mind, is lifting him above the fact of which it is the idea--the otherwise hard and oppressive fact. It is thus that man rises superior to time and circumstances, misfortune and chance. Those clear and settled convictions as they arise within his mind one by one, like stars coming out in the midnight sky, and as they form themselves into a harmony of lights within the being--what are they but the mighty leverage by which the man himself is lifted up out of the bondage of darkness and spiritual death into the light and liberty of perfect truth, and by which he is enabled to breath at last the very atmosphere of eternity? (F. Ferguson, D. D.)
Gods perfect law our despair and our comfort
We may read the words in two ways.
1. I have seen an end of all perfection; for Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Read in this way they suggest the animating thought that our haunting consciousness of imperfection springs from the bright and awful perfection of the law we are bent on obeying, of the Ideal we have set before us. It is not because we are worse than those who are without law, or who are a law unto themselves, that we are restless and dissatisfied with ourselves; but because we measure both ourselves and our fellows by the lofty standards of Gods commandment. That commandment is so broad, that we cannot embrace it; it is so high, that we cannot attain to it; it is so perfect, that we cannot perfectly obey it.
2. But we may read the verse in another way, and still derive comfort and encouragement from it. We may say: I have seen an end of all perfection in myself, and in the world; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad: that is perfect, though I am imperfect, and in its perfection I find the promise of my own. For shall God give a law for human life, and that law remain for ever unfulfilled? Impossible! The gifts of God are without repentance--irreversible, never to be lessened or withdrawn. His purpose is not to be made of none effect by our weaknesses and sins. In the law He has shown us what He would have us be. And shall we never become what He would have us to be? Can the law remain for ever without any life that corresponds to it and fulfils it? Nay, God will never take back the fair and perfect ideal of human life depicted in His law, never retract His purpose to raise the life of man till it touches and fulfils that ideal. And so the very law which is our despair is our comfort also, for if that be perfect we must become perfect; its perfection is the pledge of ours. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v97 Mem. God’s Word the Essence of True Wisdom. —
Mem. God’s Word the Essence of True Wisdom. —
v. 97. Oh, how love I Thy Law! the entire instruction in God’s holy Word, as the revelation of His holy will. It is my meditation all the day; the longer he ponders upon it, the dearer it becomes to him.
Read full note →
v. 98. Thou through Thy commandments, by which He directed the entire conduct of His servant, hast made me wiser than mine enemies, who believed themselves to be people of superior intelligence in possessing a large measure of this world’s wisdom; for they are ever with me, the directions of God’s words, which the psalmist made his companions, enabled him to vanquish the enemies in the field of knowledge, where they thought themselves supreme.
v. 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers, those who taught a mere worldly wisdom; for Thy testimonies are my meditation, and with the knowledge which he had gained from studying the Word of God he was able to show the insufficiency of mere worldly knowledge.
v. 100. I understand more than the ancients, those advanced in years, for age is no help against stupidity, if old people refuse to bow to the wisdom of God’s Word, because I keep Thy precepts, the Bible being the basis and key of all true knowledge.
v. 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, having gained the ability to mark and to shun wickedness in every form, that I might keep Thy Word, through which both knowledge and strength are given.
v. 102. I have not departed from Thy judgments, making it a point to watch God’s decisions of approval and condemnation; for Thou hast taught me. The Word of God is very clear on that point; one must but do what it teaches.
v. 103. How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! pleasant for spiritual edification; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth, for such is the effect of the Gospel promises upon every believer.
v. 104. Through Thy precepts, as related to his entire conduct, I get understanding, practical knowledge in all matters pertaining to this world and to the world to come; therefore I hate every false way, he is able immediately to recognize any false tendency of the times and Will promptly withdraw from anything which might implicate him, even as all Christians love the good and hate the evil.
Psa 119:105-112
Nun. Trusting in the Leadership of God’s Word. —
v. 105. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, guiding his footsteps past the abysses of so many and severe dangers, and a light unto my path, not with a dim and uncertain illumination, but with a direct and clear ray, which makes every foot of the way unmistakable. Cf 2Pe 1:19.
v. 106. I have sworn, with a solemn oath, and I will perform it, that I will keep Thy righteous judgments, observing with great care all those things which, according to God’s righteousness, meet with His approval.
v. 107. I am afflicted very much, bent down to the earth under the heavy burden of misery laid upon him; quicken me, O Lord, filling him with new spiritual life and strength, according unto Thy Word.
v. 108. Accept, I beseech Thee, the free-will offerings of my mouth, O Lord, for such is the nature of all his prayers, vows, and confessions, freely flowing out from faith, and teach me Thy judgments, so that his knowledge of the Word may increase in proportion to his needs.
v. 109. My soul is continually in my hand, he realizes that death may seize him at any time, and therefore is always prepared for it; yet do I not forget Thy Law, his constant remembrance of the Word of God, in fact, giving him the strength to meet death without flinching, if die he must.
v. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me, to destroy him unawares; yet I erred not from Thy precepts, not daring to wander away from his one certain source of comfort and strength, the Word of God.
v. 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever, making them his most cherished possession. which he would not relinquish; for they are the rejoicing of my heart, they only work true happiness.
v. 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes alway, even unto the end, for only he that endureth unto the end shall be saved, as our Lord Himself says, Mat 24:13.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv97, 99 This is the name of the thirteenth letter of…
MEM
This is the name of the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Hebrew language, each line of verses 97-104 begins with this letter.
Read full note →
your commandments are always with me
Constantly thinking about God's commandments is spoken of as if the commandments were an object that the writer keeps with him always. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
love
law
meditate
command
wise
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 vv96–97 119:96 Even perfection has its limits: Humans cannot fully…
119:96 Even perfection has its limits: Humans cannot fully understand God’s ways (see Eccl 3:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.