Psalms 119:152

Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. CONCERNING THY TESTIMONIES, I HAVE KNOWN OF OLD THAT THOU HAST FOUNDED THEM FOREVER - unchangeable and eternal ()....

152_. I have known from thy testimonies _(24) _from the beginning. _Others here translate, _I have known long ago of thy testimonies. _(25) This translation I would not directly reject; but I am more inclined to retain the sense which I have given, namely, That the Prophet not only knew the everlasting steadfastness which characterizes the testimonies of God; but that he had also derived this knowledge from the testimonies themselves. When the Hebrews would express the meaning conveyed by the Latin preposition _de, _they frequently use the particle מן, or the letter ב, _beth. _He therefore says, that he had learned from God’s testimonies, or had been taught by them, that _they are established for ever _(26) This indeed is the chief point of faith,

89-96 The settling of God's word in heaven, is opposed to the changes and revolutions of the earth. And the engagements of God's covenant are established more firmly than the earth itself. All the creatures answer the ends of their creation: shall man, who alone is endued with reason, be the only unprofitable burden of the earth? We may make the Bible a pleasant companion at any time. But the word, without the grace of God, would not quicken us. See the best help for bad memories, namely, good affections; and though the exact words be lost, if the meaning remain, that is well. I am thine, not my own, not the world's; save me from sin, save me from ruin. The Lord will keep the man in peace, whose mind is stayed on him. It is poor perfection which one sees and end of. Such are all things in this world, which pass for perfections. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. The psa...

Verse Psalms 119:152. _CONCERNING THY TESTIMONIES, I HAVE KNOWN OF OLD_] קדם ידעתי _kedem yedati_, "Long ago I have known concerning thy testimonies." Thou hast designed that thy testimonies should bear reference to, and evidence of, those glorious things which thou hast provided for the salvation of men; and that this should be an everlasting testimony. They continue, and Christ is come. ANALYSIS OF LETTER KOPH. - _NINETEENTH DIVISION_ I. The psalmist is earnest in his prayers for deliverance. II. He shows the _end_ for which he desires it. III. The _necessity_ of its being speedy, as his enemies were at hand. I. 1. His prayer was _earnest_; it was a _cry_, rather than a _petition_. 2. It was _sincere_: "I cried

CONCERNING THY TESTIMONIES - In regard to all that thou hast testified to as true and best. Every command of God is in fact a testimony of his as to what is right; every promise is a testimony of his own purpose in regard to mankind. I HAVE KNOWN OF OLD - The word used here is a noun, and means properly, “the front,” what is “before;” then, the East; then, what pertains to olden time or ancient days - “before” the present. The meaning here is, that he had known this “before” what had now occurred; it was not a new thing - a new experience. It was deeply impressed on his mind as the result of all his reflection and observation. THAT THOU HAST FOUNDED THEM FOR EVER - “From” eternity, and “for” eternity. They were laid in the eternity past; they will continue in the eternity to come. They are based on eternal principles of right; they will never be changed. Such

EXPOSITION This is an "alphabetic psalm" of a more stringent character than any other. It consists of twenty-two stanzas, each of eight verses, every verse in each stanza beginning with its own proper letter—those of stanza 1 with _aleph_,_ _the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; those of stanza 2 with _both_,_ _the second letter; and so on. The writer, having thus fettered himself, moves with some difficulty, but still has produced what has been justly called "a sweetly monotonous meditation" (Cheyne). He takes the Law for his one and only subject, and, further, seems to have bound himself, almost absolutely, to introduce the word "Law," or something which he regards as a synonym of "Law," into every verse. The synonyms are nine in number— 1. TORAH, "the Law"_ _itself; but not merely the Law given on Mount Sinai; rather, God's law in the widest sense, all whereby he

CONCERNING THY TESTIMONIES, I HAVE KNOWN OF OLD,.... Or, "from thy testimonies, I have known of old" d: by carefully reading the Scriptures which testify of God, his mind an will, and frequently meditating on them, he had learned a long time ago, even from his youth, what follows, THAT THOU HAST FOUNDED THEM FOR EVER; that the things contained in them are sure and certain, established and eternal truths; the moral law and the precepts of it are eternal, and of perpetual obligation; not one jot or tittle of them shall ever fail; the Gospel, and the truths of it, are everlasting, and shall ever remain; in spite of all the opposition, craft and cunning, fury and force of men, to undermine and root them out; see Psalms 119:89. d מעדתיך "ex obtestationibus tuis", Tigurine version; so Cocceius, Gejerus....

Psalms 119:137. _Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments._ It is well to be able to say this when you are being tried, when the hand of God lies heavy upon you; it is hard to kick against the pricks, but it is very sweet to submit, and to say, «Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments.» Psalms 119:138. _Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful._ «Righteous» for the present, «faithful» for the future. There is no mistake about God's Word, it will never fail, we may trust it implicitly, and we shall never be disappointed. Psalms 119:139. _My zeal hath consumed me,_ The

Psalms 119 The Law Written on Their Hearts and the Praise of the Word This is the longest and most perfect Psalm in the whole collection. It is an alphabetical acrostic. It is composed of 22 sections, each having eight verses, 176 verses in all. Each section begins with a different letter of the alphabet and each verse of the different sections begins also with the corresponding letter of the section. Eight times each letter of the alphabet is mentioned in the 22 sections. The number eight in the Word has the meaning of resurrection, death is gone and life has come. Israel has passed from death to life and now extols the Word and the Law of God. The time has come when it is fulfilled what the Lord spoke through Jeremiah concerning the new covenant, “I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts.” We behold then in this Psalm the joy of Israel in knowing the Word

CXIX. PRAISE OF THE LAW. This is the longest and most artificial Ps. in the whole collection. It is divided into twenty-two strophes, each beginning with one of the twenty-two letters of the Heb. alphabet in regular order. Again each strophe contains eight verses, and each verse begins with the same letter which introduces the strophe. The number of strophes then is determined by the number of the Heb. letters. But what of the eight verses in each strophe? The Psalmist had derived from a kindred Ps., viz. Psalms 19, the eight synonyms for the conception Word of God and impresses these terms on his readers by introducing them all into each stanza of his work. So Cheyne, in his _Book of Psalms_ (1904), following D. H. Mü ller. It is right, however, to bear in mind that this theory involves considerable, though by no means extravagant or arbitrary, changes in the received text both of Psalm...