Psalm 119:65-72 Teth -
Gleanings from Historical CommentariesCollectedby
Jack Kettler
Psalm 119:65-72
introductory observations from The
Treasury of David:
“In
this ninth section the verses all begin with
the letter Teth. They are the witness of
experience, testifying to the goodness of God,
the graciousness of his dealings, and the
preciousness of his word. Especially the
Psalmist proclaims the excellent uses of
adversity, and the goodness of God in
afflicting him. Psalm 119:65 is the text of
the entire octave.” (1)
65
Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord,
according unto thy word.
From Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible:
“TETH.--The
Ninth Part.
TETH.
Thou hast dealt well with thy servant,.... In
a providential way, ever since he had a being;
by the protection and preservation of him, by
following and loading him with benefits, by
raising him from a low estate to the throne of
Israel, by delivering him from many dangers
and enemies, and by giving him rest from them
all; and in a way of special grace and mercy,
by making an everlasting covenant with him, by
blessing him with all spiritual blessings, by
giving him an interest in salvation by Christ,
and hope of eternal glory. And thus he deals
with all his servants; he does all things well
by them; he deals well with them even when he
afflicts them; he treats them as his David’s,
his beloved and chosen ones, and his children.
The Syriac version renders it as a petition,
“do good with thy servant”; bestow benefits on
him, or deal bountifully with him, as in Psalm
119:17;
O Lord, according unto thy
word; thy word of promise: providential
mercies are according to promise, for
godliness or goodly persons have the promise
of the things of this life; and so are
spiritual blessings, they are laid up in
exceeding great and precious promises, which
are yea and amen in Christ; and so is eternal
glory and happiness; it is a promise which
God, that cannot lie, made before the world
began; so that there is a solid foundation
laid for faith and hope as to these things;
and this confirms and commends the
faithfulness of God to his people.” (2)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
Good
ט֭וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Noun
- masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 2896: adj 1) good, pleasant, agreeable
1a) pleasant, agreeable (to the senses) 1b)
pleasant (to the higher nature) 1c) good,
excellent (of its kind) 1d) good, rich,
valuable in estimation 1e) good, appropriate,
becoming 1f) better (comparative) 1g) glad,
happy, prosperous (of man's sensuous nature)
1h) good understanding (of man's intellectual
nature) 1i) good, kind, benign 1j) good, right
(ethical) n m 2) a good thing, benefit,
welfare 2a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 2b)
good things (collective) 2c) good, benefit 2d)
moral good n f 3) welfare, benefit, good
things 3a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 3b)
good things (collective) 3c) bounty
66
Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I
have believed thy commandments.
From The
Pulpit Commentary:
“Verse
66. - Teach me good judgment and knowledge;
i.e. give me sound judgment and wisdom, to
discern right from wrong. For I have believed
thy commandments. I have looked to them, and
trusted in them as my guides in the way of
righteousness (comp. ver. 105).” (3)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
I believe
הֶאֱמָֽנְתִּי׃ (he·’ĕ·mā·nə·tî)
Verb
- Hifil
- Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's
Hebrew 539: 1) to support, confirm, be
faithful 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to support, confirm,
be faithful, uphold, nourish 1a1a)
foster-father (subst.) 1a1b) foster-mother,
nurse 1a1c) pillars, supporters of the door
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be established, be faithful, be
carried, make firm 1b1a) to be carried by a
nurse 1b1b) made firm, sure, lasting 1b1c)
confirmed, established, sure 1b1d) verified,
confirmed 1b1e) reliable, faithful, trusty 1c)
(Hiphil) 1c1) to stand firm, to
trust, to be certain, to believe in 1c1a)
stand firm 1c1b) trust, believe
Cross-References
for verse 66: Philippians 1:9; Psalm 119:65
67
Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now
have I kept thy word.
From Barnes'
Notes on the Bible:
“Before
I was afflicted - The Septuagint and the Latin
Vulgate, ‘Before I was humbled.’ The Hebrew
word has the general sense of being afflicted,
and may refer to any kind of trial.
I went astray - The Hebrew
word means to wander; to err; to do wrong; to
transgress. Numbers 15:28; Job 12:16. It here
means that he forgot his duty; that he fell
into sin; that he departed from what was
right; that he embraced erroneous views; that
he lived in the neglect of his soul, the
neglect of duty, and the neglect of God.
Prosperity had not led him to fulfill duty; to
seek salvation; to trust in God. This was, in
his case, as it is in thousands of others, the
experience of his life. Hence, affliction
often becomes so necessary to check us when we
are going astray, and so useful in recalling
us to the ways of duty and of truth.
But
now have I kept thy word - Since I was
afflicted. The effect has been to recall me
from my wanderings, and to turn me to paths of
duty and holiness. This is an effect often -
very often - experienced; this is language
which can be used by many a child of God. Of
those who are the children of God it may be
said that they are ‘always’ benefited ‘sooner’
or ‘later’ by afflictions. It may not be at
the time of the affliction (compare Hebrews
12:11), but the ‘ultimate’ effect is in all
cases to benefit them. Some error is
corrected; some evil habit changed; some mode
of life not consistent with religion is
forsaken; pride is humbled; the heart is
quickened in duty; habits of prayer are
resumed or formed; the affections are fixed on
a better world; the soul is made more gentle,
calm, humble, spiritual, pure. Afflictions are
among the most precious means of grace. They
are entirely under the direction of God. They
may be endlessly varied, and adapted to the
case of every individual.
God
knows every heart, and the best way to reach
any heart. By sickness; by disappointment; by
loss of property; by bereavement; by blighted
hopes; by the ingratitude of others; by the
unkindness of professed friends, and the
malice of enemies; by domestic troubles; by
the misconduct of children - perhaps the most
severe of all human ills, and the hardest to
bear; in ten thousand ways God can reach the
heart, and break and crush it, and make it
ready for the entrance of truth - as the
farmer breaks and pulverizes the soil by the
plow and the harrow, so that it shall be
prepared to receive the seed. Compare the
notes at Isaiah 28:24-29. Among those things
for which good men have most occasion for
thankfulness are afflictions; and when we lie
down on the bed of death, and look over life
and the divine dealings with us through life,
as the glories of heaven are about to open
upon us, we shall feel that among the chiefest
mercies of God are those dealings of his holy
hand, trying at the time, which kept us from
going astray, or which recalled us when we had
wandered from him - and ‘that in our life, now
closing, there has not been one trial too
much.’” (4)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
I keep
שָׁמָֽרְתִּי׃ (šā·mā·rə·tî)
Verb
- Qal
- Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's
Hebrew 8104: 1) to keep, guard, observe, give
heed 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to keep, have charge
of 1a2) to keep, guard, keep watch and ward,
protect, save life 1a2a) watch, watchman
(participle) 1a3) to watch for, wait for 1a4)
to watch, observe 1a5) to keep, retain,
treasure up (in memory) 1a6) to keep (within
bounds), restrain 1a7) to observe, celebrate,
keep (sabbath or covenant or commands),
perform (vow) 1a8) to keep, preserve, protect
1a9) to keep, reserve 1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be on one's guard, take heed, take
care, beware 1b2) to keep oneself, refrain,
abstain 1b3) to be kept, be guarded 1c) (Piel) to keep, pay heed 1d) (Hithpael)
to keep oneself from
Your word.
אִמְרָתְךָ֥ (’im·rā·ṯə·ḵā)
Noun
- feminine singular construct | second person
masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 565: 1) utterance, speech, word 1a)
word of God, the Torah
70
Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight
in thy law.
From the Pulpit
Commentary:
“Verse
70. - Their heart is as fat as grease; i.e.
dull, gross, insensible to spiritual things
(see Psalm 17:10; Isaiah 6:10). But I delight
in thy Law. My heart is unlike theirs. Thy Law
is a "delight" to it (comp. yore. 16, 24, 35,
etc.).” (7)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
But I
אֲ֝נִ֗י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun
- first person common singular
Strong's
Hebrew 589: 1) I (first pers. sing. -usually
used for emphasis)
Delight
שִֽׁעֲשָֽׁעְתִּי׃ (ši·‘ă·šā·‘ə·tî)
Verb
- Piel
- Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's
Hebrew 8173: 1) to stroke, be smeared over, be
blinded 1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be smeared over, be blinded 1a2) to
smear eyes shut 1b) (Hiphil)
to besmear (of eyes), smear over eyes 1c) (Hithpalpel)
to blind oneself, be blinded 2) to sport, take
delight in 2a) (Pilpel)
to sport, delight in, take delight in, delight
oneself 2b) (Palpal)
to be fondled 2c) (Hithpalpel)
to delight oneself
In
Your law.
תּוֹרָתְךָ֥ (tō·w·rā·ṯə·ḵā)
Noun
- feminine singular construct | second person
masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 8451: 1) law, direction, instruction
1a) instruction, direction (human or divine)
1a1) body of prophetic teaching 1a2)
instruction in Messianic age 1a3) body of
priestly direction or instruction 1a4) body of
legal directives 1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt
offering 1b2) of special law, codes of law 1c)
custom, manner 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic
Law
Cross-References
for verse 70: Matthew 13:15; Acts 28:27;
Deuteronomy 32:15; Job 15:27; Psalm 17:10;
Psalm 119:16; Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 5:28
71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
that I might learn thy statutes.
From Keil
and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the
Old Testament:
“The
eightfold Teth. The good word of the gracious
God is the fountain of all good; and it is
learned in the way of lowliness. He reviews
his life, and sees in everything that has
befallen him the good and well-meaning
appointment of the God of salvation in
accordance with the plan and order of
salvation of His word. The form עבדּך,
which is the form out of pause, is retained in
Psalm 119:65 beside Athnach, although not preceded
by Olewejored (cf. Psalm 35:19;
Psalm 48:11; Proverbs 30:21). Clinging
believingly to the commandments of God, he is
able confidently to pray that He would teach
him “good discernment” and “knowledge.” טעם is ethically the capacity of
distinguishing between good and evil, and of
discovering the latter as it were by touch; טוּב טעם, good discernment, is a
coupling of words like טוּב לב,
a happy disposition, cheerfulness. God has
brought him into this relationship to His word
by humbling him, and thus setting him right
out of his having gone astray. אמרה
in Psalm 119:67, as in Psalm 119:11, is not
God's utterance conveying a promise, but
imposing a duty. God is called טּוב
as He who is graciously disposed towards man,
and מתיב
as He who acts out this disposition; this
loving and gracious God he implores to become
his Teacher. In his fidelity to God's word he
does not allow himself to be led astray by any
of the lies which the proud try to impose upon
him (Bttcher), or better absolutely (cf. Job
13:4): to patch together over him, making the
true nature unrecognisable as it were by means
of false plaster or whitewash (טפל,
to smear over, bedaub, as the Targumic,
Talmudic, and Syriac show). If the heart of
these men, who by slander make him into a
caricature of himself, is covered as it were
with thick fat (a figure of insensibility and
obduracy, Psalm 17:10; Psalm 73:7; Isaiah
6:10, lxx ἐτυρώθη,
Aquila ἐλιπάνθη,
Symmachus ἐμυαλώθη)
against all the impressions of the word of
God, he, on the other hand, has his delight in
the law of God (שׁעשׁע
with an accusative of the object, not of that
which is delighted, Psalm 94:19, but of that
which delights). How beneficial has the school
of affliction through which he has attained to
this, been to him! The word proceeding from
the mouth of God is now more precious to him
than the greatest earthly riches.” (8)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
It
was good
טֽוֹב־ (ṭō·wḇ-)
Verb
- Qal
- Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 2896: adj 1) good, pleasant, agreeable
1a) pleasant, agreeable (to the senses) 1b)
pleasant (to the higher nature) 1c) good,
excellent (of its kind) 1d) good, rich,
valuable in estimation 1e) good, appropriate,
becoming 1f) better (comparative) 1g) glad,
happy, prosperous (of man's sensuous nature)
1h) good understanding (of man's intellectual
nature) 1i) good, kind, benign 1j) good, right
(ethical) n m 2) a good thing, benefit,
welfare 2a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 2b)
good things (collective) 2c) good, benefit 2d)
moral good n f 3) welfare, benefit, good
things 3a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 3b)
good things (collective) 3c) bounty
For
me to
כִֽי־ (ḵî-)
Conjunction
Strong's
Hebrew 3588: 1) that, for, because, when, as
though, as, because that, but, then,
certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1)
yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if,
though (with a concessive force) 1c) because,
since (causal connection) 1d) but (after
negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for
though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except
that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j)
that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m)
forasmuch as, for therefore
Be afflicted,
עֻנֵּ֑יתִי (‘un·nê·ṯî)
Verb
- Pual
- Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's
Hebrew 6031: 1) (Qal)
to be occupied, be busied with 2) to afflict,
oppress, humble, be afflicted, be bowed down
2a) (Qal)
2a1) to be put down, become low 2a2) to be
depressed, be downcast 2a3) to be afflicted
2a4) to stoop 2b) (Niphal)
2b1) to humble oneself, bow down 2b2) to be
afflicted, be humbled 2c) (Piel)
2c1) to humble, mishandle, afflict 2c2) to
humble, be humiliated 2c3) to afflict 2d4) to
humble, weaken oneself 2d) (Pual)
2d1) to be afflicted 2d2) to be humbled 2e) (Hiphil) to afflict 2f) (Hithpael)
2f1) to humble oneself 2f2) to be afflicted
72
The law of thy mouth is better unto me than
thousands of gold and silver.
From Matthew
Poole's Commentary:
“Not
only thy promises, but even thy precepts,
which are so unpleasant and hard to ungodly
men, to me they are more desirable and more
needful and profitable, because they do not
only give me abundant satisfaction and comfort
in this life, but also they conduct me with
safety and delight unto that eternal and most
blessed life, where gold and silver bear no
price.” (9)
Gleanings from Strong's
Lexicon:
The law
תֽוֹרַת־ (ṯō·w·raṯ-)
Noun
- feminine singular construct
Strong's
Hebrew 8451: 1) law, direction, instruction
1a) instruction, direction (human or divine)
1a1) body of prophetic teaching 1a2)
instruction in Messianic age 1a3) body of
priestly direction or instruction 1a4) body of
legal directives 1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt
offering 1b2) of special law, codes of law 1c)
custom, manner 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic
Law
From
Your mouth
פִּ֑יךָ (pî·ḵā)
Noun
- masculine singular construct | second person
masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 6310: peh
1) mouth 1a) mouth (of man) 1b) mouth (as
organ of speech) 1c) mouth (of animals) 1d)
mouth, opening, orifice (of a well, river,
etc) 1e) extremity, end pim
2) a weight equal to one third of a shekel,
occurs only in 1Sa 13:21
Is
more precious
טֽוֹב־ (ṭō·wḇ-)
Adjective
- masculine singular
Strong's
Hebrew 2896: adj 1) good, pleasant, agreeable
1a) pleasant, agreeable (to the senses) 1b)
pleasant (to the higher nature) 1c) good,
excellent (of its kind) 1d) good, rich,
valuable in estimation 1e) good, appropriate,
becoming 1f) better (comparative) 1g) glad,
happy, prosperous (of man's sensuous nature)
1h) good understanding (of man's intellectual
nature) 1i) good, kind, benign 1j) good, right
(ethical) n m 2) a good thing, benefit,
welfare 2a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 2b)
good things (collective) 2c) good, benefit 2d)
moral good n f 3) welfare, benefit, good
things 3a) welfare, prosperity, happiness 3b)
good things (collective) 3c) bounty
Concluding summary from Matthew
Henry’s Bible Concise Commentary Psalm
119:49-56:
“119:65-72
However God has dealt with us, he has dealt
with us better than we deserve; and all in
love, and for our good. Many have knowledge,
but little judgment; those who have both, are
fortified against the snares of Satan, and
furnished for the service of God. We are most
apt to wander from God, when we are easy in
the world. We should leave our concerns to the
disposal of God, seeing we know not what is
good for us. Lord, thou art our bountiful
Benefactor; incline our hearts to faith and
obedience. The psalmist will go on in his duty
with constancy and resolution. The proud are
full of the world, and its wealth and
pleasures; these make them senseless, secure,
and stupid. God visits his people with
affliction, that they may learn his statutes.
Not only God's promises, but even his law, his
percepts, though hard to ungodly men, are
desirable, and profitable, because they lead
us with safety and delight unto eternal life.”
(10)
Notes
on Psalm 119:65-72 Teth:
C. H. Spurgeon,
The
Treasury of David, Vol. II,
(Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p.
270.
2.John
Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New Testaments, Psalms,
(Grace Works, Multi-Media Labs), 2011, p.
1398.
3.H.
D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Psalms, Vol.8.,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans Publishing
Company reprint 1978), p. 107.
4.Albert
Barnes, THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARYCOMMENTARY, Barnes’
Notes on the Bible, Psalms, Vol. 5
p.1817.
5.Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown, Commentary
on the Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Zondervan, 1977) p. 451.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
on the Holy Bible, vol. 2, (Peabody,
Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)
p. 186.
7.H.
D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Psalms, Vol.8.,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans Publishing
Company reprint 1978), p. 106.
8.Keil-Delitzsch, Commentary
on the Old Testament, Psalms, vol. 5,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, Reprinted 1985), p.
251-252.
9.Matthew
Poole's Commentary
on the Holy Bible, vol. 2, (Peabody,
Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)
p. 186.
Matthew Henry, Concise
Commentary, Psalms, (Nashville,
Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p. 959.
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend the
Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr. Kettler is
the author of the book defending the Reformed
Faith against attacks, titled: The
Religion That Started in a Hat. Available
at: http://www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com