Psalms 119:52
in Psalms 119I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD, and in them I find comfort.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have remembered thine ordinances of old, O Jehovah, And have comforted myself.
KJV
I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"For I was mindful of Your judgments from the beginning of the world, O Lord, and received comfort" [Psalm 119:52]; or, as other copies have it, "and I was exhorted," that is, received exhortation. For either might be rendered for the Greek pareklhqhn. "From the beginning of the world," that is, from the birth of the human race, "I was mindful of Your judgments" upon the vessels of wrath, which are fitted unto perdition: "and I received comfort," since through these also have You shown the riches of Your glory on the vessels of Your mercy. [Romans 9:22-23]
This site's exposition
Remember Your word to Your servant
on Psalms 119:49-56
The asking starts with God's own memory, that He remember the word He gave. The comfort named in verse 50 is that the promise gave him life, and the statutes in verse 54 are songs he sings in the house of his pilgrimage. In the night he remembers the name of the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The pious take comfort, when harassed and distressed by wickedness of men who forsake God's law, in remembering that the great principles of God's truth will still abide; and also God's judgments of old--that is, His past interpositions in behalf of His people are a pledge that He will again interpose to deliver them; and they become the theme of constant and delightful meditation.
"I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself." He had asked the Lord to remember, and here he remembers God and his judgments. When we see no present display of the divine power it is wise to fall back upon the records of former ages, since they are just as available as if the transactions were of yesterday, seeing the Lord is always the same. Our true comfort must be found in what our God works on behalf of truth and right, and as the histories of the olden times are full of divine interpositions it is well to be thoroughly acquainted with them. Moreover, if we are advanced in years we have the providence of our early days to review, and these should by no means be forgotten or left out of our thoughts. The argument is good and solid: he who has shown himself strong on behalf of his believing people is the immutable God, and therefore we may expect deliverance at his hands. The grinning of the proud will not trouble us when we remember how the Lord dealt with their predecessors in by gone periods; he destroyed them at the deluge, he confounded them at Babel, he drowned them at the Red Sea, he drove them out of Canaan: he has in all ages bared his arm against the haughty, and broken them as potters' vessels. While in our own hearts we humbly drink of the mercy of God in quietude, we are not without comfort in seasons of turmoil and derision; for then we resort to God's justice, and remember how he scoffs at the scoffers: "He that sitteth in the heavens doth laugh, the Lord doth have them in derision." When he was greatly derided the Psalmist did not sit down in despair, but rallied his spirits He knew that comfort is needful for strength in service, and for the endurance of persecution, and therefore he comforted himself.
"I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself." He had asked the Lord to remember, and here he remembers God and his judgments. When we see no present display of the divine power it is wise to fall back upon the records of former ages, since they are just as available as if the transactions were of yesterday, seeing the Lord is always the same.
I remembered thy judgments of old - The word judgments is here taken for providential dealing; and indeed kind treatment; that which God showed to the Hebrews in bearing with and blessing them. And it was the recollection of these judgments that caused him to comfort himself.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I remembered - In my troubles. Thy judgments of old - The word “judgments” here seems to refer to the divine dealings, whether expressed in the law of God, or in the actual administration of his government over the world. The words “of old” do not seem here to refer to the “eternity past,” as the phrase sometimes does now, but to the constancy and uniformity of the principles of the divine administration. The psalmist remembered that the principles of that administration had been always the same; that the law of God was always the same; and that, therefore, he might confide in God. What God had done formerly he would do now; the favor which he had shown in times past he would continue to show now. In the trials of life, in the changes which occur, in the apparent wreck of things, in the fearful prospect of disaster and ruin at any time, it is well for us to think of the unchanging principles which mark the divine dealings. Under such an administration, all who put their trust in God must be safe. And have comforted myself - I have found consolation in this. When all else seemed to fail, it was a comfort to reflect that an unchangeable God presided over the affairs of people. We could not put confidence in a God given to change.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָ֘כַ֤רְתִּי | zakharti | I remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ | mishpateikha | judgments your | H4941 → | 422 times |
| מֵעוֹלָ֥ם׀ | meolam | from long ago | H5769 → | 438 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם׃ | vaetnecham | and I have comforted myself | H5162 → | 108 times |
זָ֘כַ֤רְתִּיI remember
zakhartiH2142 →230 times
מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָjudgments your
mishpateikhaH4941 →422 times
מֵעוֹלָ֥ם׀from long ago
meolamH5769 →438 times
יְהוָ֗הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם׃and I have comforted myself
vaetnechamH5162 →108 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 105:5Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
it leads to
- Psalms 77:11
I will remember the works of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
- Psalms 119:13
With my lips I proclaim all the judgments of Your mouth.
- Deuteronomy 32:7
Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.
- Luke 22:19
And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
- Isaiah 43:18–19
“Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.
- Psalms 77:11
Through
Psalms 103:18to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Psalms 132:12
If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever.”
- Deuteronomy 7:9
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).