Psalms 119:111
in Psalms 119Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
KJV
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thy testimonies - Thy law; thy revealed will; the revelation which thou hast given considered as thy solemn “testimony” as to what is true and right. Have I taken as an heritage for ever - As my inheritance; as my property; as that which I consider to be of real and permanent value. The Hebrew word used here - נחל nachal - means to receive as a possession; to acquire; to possess as wealth; and then, to inherit. It is usually applied to the possession of the promised land as an inheritance. Here it means that the law of God was to him as such a possession. He regarded it as one does a rich inheritance. He chose it as his portion above all things else. For they are the rejoicing of my heart - My happiness is in them. I find constant comfort in them. See Psa 119:77, Psa 119:92. Compare the notes at Psa 1:2.
This site's exposition
Your word is a lamp to my feet
on Psalms 119:105-112
A lamp shows the next step and a light shows the road, and both are said of the word in one verse. He has sworn to keep the judgments and calls the testimonies his heritage. Verse 109 has him carrying his life in his hands.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Your testimonies have I gained in heritage for ever" [Psalm 119:111]. Some wishing to express in one word what is put in one word in the Greek, have translated it hereditavi. Which although it might be Latin, yet would rather signify one who gave an inheritance than one who received it, hereditavi being like ditavi. Better, therefore, the whole sense is conveyed in two words, whether we say, "I have possessed in heritage," or, "I have gotten in heritage:" not gotten heritage, but "gotten in heritage." If it be asked, what he gained in heritage, he replies, "Your testimonies." What does he wish to be understood, save that he might become a witness of God, and confess His testimonies, that is, that he might become a Martyr of God, and might declare His testimonies, as the Martyrs do, was a gift bestowed upon him by the Father, of whom he is heir?...But even their wish was prepared by the Lord. For this reason he says he has gained them in heritage, and this "for ever;" because they have not in them the temporal glory of men who seek vain things, but the eternal glory of those who suffer for a short season, and who reign without end. Whence the next words, "Because they are the very joy of my heart:" although the affliction of the body, yet the very joy of the heart.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever,.... The Scriptures, which testify of Christ and of his grace, and of the mind and will of God, are a portion of themselves; and a goodly heritage they are, better than thousands of gold and silver, preferable to all worldly inheritances; as they have been to many, who have forsaken all for Christ and his Gospel.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever." He chose them as his lot, his portion, his estate; and what is more, he laid hold upon them and made them so,—taking them into possession and enjoyment. David's choice is our choice. If we might have our desire, we would desire to keep the commands of God perfectly. To know the doctrine, to enjoy the promise, to practise the command,—be this a kingdom large enough for me.
"Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever." He chose them as his lot, his portion, his estate; and what is more, he laid hold upon them and made them so,—taking them into possession and enjoyment. David's choice is our choice. If we might have our desire, we would desire to keep the commands of God perfectly. To know the doctrine, to enjoy the promise, to practise the command,—be this a kingdom large enough for me. Here we have an inheritance which cannot fade and cannot be alienated; it is for ever, and ours for ever, if we have so taken it. Sometimes, like Israel at the first coming into Canaan, we have to take our heritage by hard fighting, and, if so, it is worthy of all our labour and suffering; but always it has to be taken by a decided choice of the heart and grip of the will. What God gives we must take. "For they are the rejoicing of my heart." The gladness which had come to him through the word of the Lord had caused him to make an unalterable choice of it. All the parts of Scripture had been pleasing to David, and were so still and therefore he stuck to them, and meant to stick to them for ever. That which rejoices the heart is sure to be chosen and treasured. It is not the head knowledge but the heart experience which brings the joy. In this verse, which is the seventh of its octave, we have reached the same sweetness as in the last seventh (Psa 119:103): indeed, in several of the adjoining sevenths, delight is evident. How good a thing it is when experience ripens into joy, passing up through sorrow, prayer, conflict, hope, decision, and holy content into rejoicing! Joy fixes the spirit: when once a man's heart rejoices in the divine word, he greatly values it, and is for ever united to it.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2415: “The Believer's Heritage of Joy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHEN David wrote these words, he was not in a condition of ease and luxury. He was not in a position of assured safety, for he says in the 109th verse, "My soul is continually in my hand." You know what we mean when we say that a man carries his life in his hand—that is to say, he expects death, he is in imminent peril—and may, at any moment, be cut off from his fellows.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2415: “The Believer's Heritage of Joy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHEN David wrote these words, he was not in a condition of ease and luxury. He was not in a position of assured safety, for he says in the 109th verse, "My soul is continually in my hand." You know what we mean when we say that a man carries his life in his hand—that is to say, he expects death, he is in imminent peril—and may, at any moment, be cut off from his fellows. It was when David was in such a condition as that, hunted, as he tells us in another place, like a partridge upon the mountains, that he could say, "Your testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever." He was rich in his poverty, he was enthroned in his exile, he was happy in his sorrow and they who have enjoyed a similar experience in their times of distress know how this can be! I. With no further preface, I want to talk to you about our text under four heads, the first of which will be, LET US MAKE A MAP OF THIS ESTATE—"Your testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever." There was David's heritage, that portion of goods that fell to him, that piece of goodly land that was his lot— "Your testimonies." Ah, Brothers and Sisters, I cannot draw a complete map of this estate, it is so large, so wonderful, but, thank God, you can go and see it for yourselves! Walk over its broad acres, lie down in its green pastures, rest beside its still waters. It is, indeed, a wealthy country that is described in those two words, "Your testimonies." But what does the Psalmist mean by this declaration? He means, first, that he had a heritage of truth in the testimonies of God. A man's mind is rich very much in proportion to the truth he knows. He who knows the Word of God is mentally rich—he has a large heritage. There are persons, I am told—deists—who believe in God, but who do not believe in the Word of God.
As a heritage - In Psa 119:57 he says, God is my portion, חלקי chelki. In this he says, Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage, נחל nachal. To these he was heir; he had inherited them from his fathers, and he was determined to leave them to his family for ever. If a man can leave nothing to his child but a Bible, in that he bequeaths him the greatest treasure in the universe.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נָחַ֣לְתִּי | nachalti | I have inherited | H5157 → | 59 times |
| עֵדְוֹתֶ֣יךָ | ʾedevoteikha | testimonies your | H5715 → | 59 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֑ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שְׂשׂ֖וֹן | seson | [are] [the] joy of | H8342 → | 22 times |
| לִבִּ֣י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| הֵֽמָּה׃ | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
נָחַ֣לְתִּיI have inherited
nachaltiH5157 →59 times
עֵדְוֹתֶ֣יךָtestimonies your
ʾedevoteikhaH5715 →59 times
לְעוֹלָ֑םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שְׂשׂ֖וֹן[are] [the] joy of
sesonH8342 →22 times
לִבִּ֣יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
הֵֽמָּה׃they
hemahH1992 →553 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 15:16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
it leads to
- Revelation 10:9–10
And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as…
- Ezekiel 3:1–3
“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
- Psalms 119:101–103
I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word.
- Job 23:12
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- Psalms 19:10
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
- Revelation 10:9–10
Through
Psalms 16:5The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.
it leads to
- Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Psalms 142:5
I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Psalms 73:26
Through
1 Peter 1:4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
it leads to
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Revelation 21:27
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2415: “The Believer's Heritage of Joy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).