Psalms 119:40
in Psalms 119How I long for Your precepts! Revive me in Your righteousness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness. ו VAV.
KJV
Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBehold, I have longed after thy precepts,.... After a greater degree of knowledge of them, and an opportunity of hearing them explained and enforced, and of yielding obedience to them; see Psa 119:7; quicken me in thy righteousness: in the way of righteousness, according to the word of righteousness, the Gospel, and with the righteousness of Christ revealed in it; and which is unto life, and quickens and comforts the heart, and from whence abundance of peace and joy flows.
This site's exposition
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes
on Psalms 119:33-40
Every verse here is a request put to God: teach, give understanding, direct, turn, establish, revive. The asking runs both ways, toward the commandments and away from covetous gain and worthless things. The verbs are all God's to do.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Behold, I have coveted Thy commandments: O quicken Thou me in Thy righteousness" (ver. 40). Behold, I have coveted to love Thee with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and my neighbour as myself, but, "O quicken Thou me" not in my own, but "in Thy righteousness," that is, fill me with that love which I have longed for. Aid me that I may do that which Thou chargest me: Thyself give what Thou dost command. "O quicken Thou me in Thy righteousness:" for in myself I had that which would cause my death: but I find not save in Thee whence I may live. Christ is Thy righteousness, "Who of God is made unto us wisdom," etc. And in Him I find Thy commandments, which I have coveted, that in Thy righteousness, that is, in Him, Thou mayest quicken me. For the Word Himself is God; and "the Word was made flesh," that He Himself also might be my neighbour.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"Behold, I have longed after thy precepts." He can at least claim sincerity. He is deeply bowed down by a sense of his weakness and need of grace; but he does desire to be in all things conformed to the divine will. Where our longings are, there are we in the sight of God. If we have not attained perfection, it is something to have hungered after it. He who has given us to desire, will also grant us to obtain. The precepts are grievous to the ungodly, and therefore when we are so changed as to long for them we have clear evidence of conversion, and we may safely conclude that he who has begun the good work will carry it on. "Quicken me in thy righteousness." Give me more life wherewith to follow thy righteous law; or give me more life because thou hast promised to hear prayer, and it is according to thy righteousness to keep thy word. How often does David plead for quickening! But never once too often. We need quickening every hour of the day, for we are so sadly apt to become slow and languid in the ways of God. It is the Holy Spirit who can pour new life into us; let us not cease crying to him. Let the life we already possess show itself by longing for more. The last verses of the octaves have generally exhibited an onward look of resolve, hope, and prayer. Here past fruits of grace are made the plea for further blessing. Onward in the heavenly life is the cry of this verse.
"Behold, I have longed after thy precepts." He can at least claim sincerity. He is deeply bowed down by a sense of his weakness and need of grace; but he does desire to be in all things conformed to the divine will. Where our longings are, there are we in the sight of God. If we have not attained perfection, it is something to have hungered after it. He who has given us to desire, will also grant us to obtain.
Behold, I have longed - Thou searchest the heart; thou knowest that I have long desired thy salvation; thou seest that this desire still remains. Behold it! it is thy work; and through thy mercy I breathe after thy mercy. Quicken me - I am dying; O give me the spirit of life in Christ Jesus!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, I have longed after thy precepts - I have earnestly desired them. See the notes at Psa 119:20. Quicken me in thy righteousness - Make me to live; to live in obedience to thy righteous laws. See Psa 119:25, note; Psa 119:37, note.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִ֭נֵּה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| תָּאַ֣בְתִּי | taavti | I long | H8373 → | |
| לְפִקֻּדֶ֑יךָ | lefikudeicha | for precepts your | H6490 → | 24 times |
| בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֥ | betzidkatecha | in righteousness your | H6666 → | 157 times |
| חַיֵּֽנִי׃ | chaiyeni | preserve alive me | H2421 → | 282 times |
הִ֭נֵּהhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
תָּאַ֣בְתִּיI long
taavtiH8373 →
לְפִקֻּדֶ֑יךָfor precepts your
lefikudeichaH6490 →24 times
בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֥in righteousness your
betzidkatechaH6666 →157 times
חַיֵּֽנִי׃preserve alive me
chaiyeniH2421 →282 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
John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
it leads to
- Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is…
- John 12:47
As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
- John 3:17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
- John 6:33
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- Luke 19:10
Through
2 Corinthians 7:1Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
- 1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7
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); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.