Psalms 119:62
in Psalms 119At midnight I rise to give You thanks for Your righteous judgments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee Because of thy righteous ordinances.
KJV
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIn petition one asks for mercy for one's sins, in thanksgiving you give thanks to your Father who is in heaven, while in praise you praise him for his works. At a time when you are in trouble, offer up petition, and when you are well supplied with good things, you should give thanks to the Giver, and when your mind rejoices, offer up praise. Make all these prayers of yours with discernment to God. See how David was always saying, "I have risen to give thanks to you for your judgments, O just One."
This site's exposition
The LORD is my portion
on Psalms 119:57-64
Portion is priestly language: at Numbers 18:20 the LORD tells Aaron that He Himself is Aaron's portion and inheritance. Here an ordinary worshiper claims it. He turns his steps at once, hurrying without hesitating, and rises at midnight to give thanks.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"At midnight," he says, "I rise to give thanks unto You: because of Your righteous judgments" [Psalm 119:62]. This very fact, that the bands of the ungodly surround the righteous, is one of the righteous judgments of God. On which account the Apostle Peter says, "The time has come when judgment must begin at the house of the Lord." [1 Peter 4:17] For he says this of the persecutions which the Church suffered, when the bands of the ungodly surrounded them. I suppose, therefore, that by "midnight" we should understand the heavier seasons of tribulation. In which he said, "I arose:" since He did not so afflict him, as to cast him down; but tried him, so that he arose, that is, that through this very tribulation he might advance unto a bolder confession.
Accordingly, let us condition ourselves to not be easily distracted from the task of approaching God constantly with our prayers day and night, and especially at night. Night is the time when there is no one to hinder us, when there is great peace of mind, when there is complete repose. It is also the time when all turmoil is left outside the house, when no one is likely to put us off or distract us from entreaty, and when our mind happens to be set at rest and is able to propose everything precisely to the physician of souls. I mean, if blessed David, king as he was as well as inspired author and beset with so many worries, clad in mantle and crown, could say, "At midnight I rise to praise you for the rulings of your justice," what should we say who, despite leading a private and carefree life, do not even do the same as he? In other words, since by day he had much on his mind, a great mass of business, terrible confusion, and could not find a suitable time for the proper kind of prayer, he prayed during the time of respite that others devote to sleep, lying on soft beds, tossing and turning. On the contrarythe king, though caught up in such responsibility, devoted the time to prayer, conversing privately with God, directing sincere entreaties to him of the most intense kind, and thus he achieved whatever he set his mind to. Through these prayers he was successful in wars, inflicting defeat and adding victory to victory. He enjoyed, you see, an invincible weaponry, an ally from on high sufficient not merely for battles conducted by human beings but also for the cohorts of the demons.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Prayer offered up at night possesses a great power, more so than the prayer of the daytime. Therefore all the righteous prayed during the night, while combating the heaviness of the body and the sweetness of sleep and repelling corporeal nature. And this the prophet …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,.... Not only send up an ejaculatory thanksgiving upon his bed, but rise up from it and shake off his sleep, and in a set, serious, solemn manner, praise the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
At midnight--HENGSTENBERG supposes a reference to the time when the Lord went forth to slay the Egyptian first-born (Ex 11:4; 12:29; compare Job 34:20). But it rather refers to the Psalmist's own praises and prayers in the night time.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments." He was not afraid of the robbers; he rose, not to watch his house, but to praise his God. Midnight is the hour for burglars, and there were bands of them around David, but they did not occupy his thoughts; these were all up and away with the Lord his God. He thought not of thieves, but of thanks; not of what they would steal, but of what he would give to his God.
"At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments." He was not afraid of the robbers; he rose, not to watch his house, but to praise his God. Midnight is the hour for burglars, and there were bands of them around David, but they did not occupy his thoughts; these were all up and away with the Lord his God. He thought not of thieves, but of thanks; not of what they would steal, but of what he would give to his God. A thankful heart is such a blessing that it drives out fear and makes room for praise. Thanksgiving turns night into day, and consecrates all hours to the worship of God. Every hour is canonical to a saint. The Psalmist observed posture; he did not lie in bed and praise. There is not much in the position of the body, but there is something, and that something is to be observed whenever it is helpful to devotion and expressive of our diligence or humility. Many kneel without praying, some pray without kneeling; but the best is to kneel and pray: so here, it would have been no virtue to rise without giving thanks, and it would have been no sin to give thanks without rising; but to rise and give thanks is a happy combination. As for the season, it was quiet, lonely, and such as proved his zeal. At midnight he would be unobserved and undisturbed; it was his own time which he saved from his sleep, and so he would be free from the charge of sacrificing public duties to private devotions. Midnight ends one day and begins another, it was therefore meet to give the solemn moments to communion with the Lord. At the turn of the night he turned to his God. He had thanks to give for mercies which God had given: he had on his mind the truth of Psa 119:57, "Thou art my portion, "and if anything can make a man sing in the middle of the night that is it. The righteous doings of the great Judge gladdened the heart of this godly man.
At midnight I will rise - We are so overpowered with a sense of thy goodness, that in season and out of season we will return thee thanks.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee - In the usual times of repose; when men are commonly lying in unconscious slumber. My heart is so interested in thy law - my soul is so full - that I am kept wakeful by meditating upon it, and I arise from my bed and offer thee praise. The Hebrew here means, literally, “the half,” or “halving of the night,” the night considered as divided into two equal portions. The idea is, that his mind was so full of the subject that he would take this unusual time to give vent to his feelings. The mind may be so full of love to the law - the word - of God, that nothing will satisfy it but such unusual acts of devotion. The Saviour rose up a great while before day, and went out into a solitary place and there prayed Mar 1:35; and on one occasion at least he continued all night in prayer to God Luk 6:12. Because of thy righteous judgments - I do this on account of the interest which I have in those judgments or laws of righteousness. I love them as laws; I love them as righteous laws.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חֲצֽוֹת־ | chatzot- | [the] middle of | H2676 → | |
| לַ֗יְלָה | laylah | [the] night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| אָ֭קוּם | ʾakum | I arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לְהוֹד֣וֹת | lehodot | to give thanks | H3034 → | 114 times |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | to you | ||
| עַ֝֗ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י | mishpetei | [the] judgments of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| צִדְקֶֽךָ׃ | tzidkecha | righteousness your | H6664 → | 119 times |
חֲצֽוֹת־[the] middle of
chatzot-H2676 →
לַ֗יְלָה[the] night
laylahH3915 →233 times
אָ֭קוּםI arise
ʾakumH6965 →628 times
לְהוֹד֣וֹתto give thanks
lehodotH3034 →114 times
לָ֑ךְto you
lakh
עַ֝֗לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י[the] judgments of
mishpeteiH4941 →422 times
צִדְקֶֽךָ׃righteousness your
tzidkechaH6664 →119 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
Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
it leads to
- Luke 6:12
In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
- Luke 5:16
Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
- Luke 22:39–46
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.
- Luke 6:12
Through
Acts 16:25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Rejoice at all times.
- James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
- Romans 5:3
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- 1 Peter 1:6–8
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials
- Philippians 4:4–7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATIONS 4:17; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 75; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 30:17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.