Psalms 119:151
in Psalms 119You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are true.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou art nigh, O Jehovah; And all thy commandments are truth.
KJV
Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I call with all my heart
on Psalms 119:145-152
The praying runs from before dawn into the night watches. Verse 150 has those who follow wickedness drawing near, and verse 151 has the LORD near with all His commandments true. Verse 152 says the testimonies were established long ago.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Lastly, it follows, "You are near at hand, O Lord, and all Your ways are truth" [Psalm 119:151]. Even in their troubles, it has been a wonted confession of the saints, to ascribe truth unto God, because they suffer them not undeservedly. So did Queen Esther, [Esther 14:6-7] so did holy Daniel, [Daniel 9:4, 16] so did the three men in the furnace, so do other associates in their sanctity confess. But it may be asked, in what sense it is here said, "All Your ways are truth;" since in another Psalm it is read, "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth." But towards the saints, All the ways of the Lord are at once mercy and truth: since He aids them even in judgment, and thus mercy is not wanting; and in having mercy upon them, He performs that which He has promised, so that truth is not wanting. But towards all, both those whom He frees, and those whom He condemns, all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth; because where He does not show mercy, the truth of His vengeance is displayed. For He frees many who have not deserved, but He condemns none who has not deserved it.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thou art near, O Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Though the wicked are near to injure, because far from God's law, He is near to help, and faithful to His word, which abides for ever.
"Thou art near, O Lord." Near as the enemy might be, God was nearer: this is one of the choicest comforts of the persecuted child of God. The Lord is near to hear our cries, and to speedily afford us succour. He is near to chase away our enemies, and to give us rest and peace. "And all thy commandments are truth." God neither commands a lie, nor lies in his commands. Virtue is truth in action, and this is what God commands. Sin is falsehood in action, and this is what God forbids. If all God's commands are truth, then the true man will be glad to keep near to them, and therein he will find the true God near him. This sentence will be the persecuted man's protection from the false hearts that seek to do him mischief: God is near and God is true, therefore his people are safe. If at any time we fall into danger through keeping the commands of God we need not suppose that we have acted unwisely: we may, on the contrary, be quite sure that we are in the right way; for God's precepts are right and true. It is for this very reason that wicked men assail us: they hate the truth, and therefore hate those who do the truth. Their opposition may be our consolation; while God's presence upon our side is our glory and delight.
"Thou art near, O Lord." Near as the enemy might be, God was nearer: this is one of the choicest comforts of the persecuted child of God. The Lord is near to hear our cries, and to speedily afford us succour. He is near to chase away our enemies, and to give us rest and peace. "And all thy commandments are truth." God neither commands a lie, nor lies in his commands. Virtue is truth in action, and this is what God commands. Sin is falsehood in action, and this is what God forbids.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thou art near - As they are near to destroy, so art thou near to save. When the enemy comes in as a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou art near, O Lord - God was present with him; he was ready to hear his cry; he was at hand to save him. Compare Psa 145:18. The psalmist had the assurance, springing from deep feeling, and the conscious presence of God, which the people of God often have, that God is very near to them; that he is ready to hear them; that their prayers are answered; that they are in the presence of a heavenly Friend. Such are among the precious experiences of the life of a religious man. And all thy commandments are truth - All that thou hast ordained; all that thou hast promised. The psalmist felt this. He was experiencing the truth of what God had assured him of. Not a doubt came into his mind - for God was near him. This conviction that God is “near” us - this manifestation of God to the soul as a present God - is one of the most certain assurances to our own minds of the truth of religion, and of our acceptance with him.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קָר֣וֹב | karov | [are] near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְֽכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִצְוֹתֶ֥יךָ | mitzvoteikha | commandments your | H4687 → | 181 times |
| אֱמֶֽת׃ | ʾemet | [are] truth | H571 → | 127 times |
קָר֣וֹב[are] near
karovH7138 →77 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
יְהוָ֑הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְֽכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מִצְוֹתֶ֥יךָcommandments your
mitzvoteikhaH4687 →181 times
אֱמֶֽת׃[are] truth
ʾemetH571 →127 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
Psalms 34:18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
it leads to
- Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Psalms 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,…
- Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
- Psalms 147:3
Through
Psalms 145:18The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Psalms 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
- Deuteronomy 4:7
For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).