Psalms 119:68
in Psalms 119You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou art good, and doest good; Teach me thy statutes.
KJV
Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIf the soul, with its capacity for pleasure and delight, has tasted this true and highest good and has adhered to both with the means at its disposal, putting away sorrow and fear, then it is wonderfully inflamed. Having embraced the Word of God, it knows no bounds, it knows no satiety, and says, "You are sweet, O Lord, and in your joy teach me your laws."
This site's exposition
You are good to Your servant
on Psalms 119:65-72
Affliction is named a teacher here: before it he went astray, and after it he keeps the word. Verse 71 says the affliction was good for him. The law from God's mouth outweighs thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Sweet art Thou, O Lord;" or, as many have it, "Sweet art Thou, even Thou, O Lord" [Psalm 119:68]. Some also, "Sweet art Thou," or, "Good art Thou:" as we have before treated of this word: "and in Thy sweetness teach me Thy statutes." He truly desireth to do the righteousnesses of God, since he desireth to learn them in His sweetness from Him unto whom he hath said, "Sweet art Thou, O Lord."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thou art good, and doest good,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The crafty malice of the wicked, in slandering him, so far from turning him away, but binds him closer to God's Word, which they are too stupid in sin to appreciate. HENGSTENBERG refers the "lie" to such slanders against the Jews during the captivity, as that in Ezr 4:1-6, of sedition.
"Thou art good, and doest good." Even in affliction God is good, and does good. This is the confession of experience. God is essential goodness in himself, and in every attribute of his nature he is good in the fullest sense of the term; indeed, he has a monopoly of goodness, for there is none good but one, that is God. His acts are according to his nature: from a pure source flow pure streams. God is not latent and ill active goodness; he displays himself by his doings, he is actively beneficent, he does good. How much good he does no tongue can tell! How good he is no heart can conceive! It is well to worship the Lord as the poet here does by describing him. Facts about God are the best praise of God. All the glory we can give to God is to reflect his own glory upon himself. We can say no more good of God than God is and does. We believe in his goodness, and so honour him by our faith; we admire that goodness, and so glorify him by our love; we declare that goodness, and so magnify him by our testimony. "Teach me thy statutes." The same prayer as before, backed with the same argument. He prays, "Lord be good, and do good to me that I may both be good and do good through thy teaching." The man of God was a learner, and delighted to learn: he ascribed this to the goodness of the Lord, and hoped that for the same reason he would be allowed to remain in the school and learn on till he could perfectly practise every lesson. His chosen class book was the royal statutes, he wanted no other. He knew the sad result of breaking those statutes, and by a painful experience he had been led back to the way of righteousness; and therefore he begged as the greatest possible instance of the divine goodness that he might be taught a perfect knowledge of the law, and a complete conformity to it.
"Thou art good, and doest good." Even in affliction God is good, and does good. This is the confession of experience. God is essential goodness in himself, and in every attribute of his nature he is good in the fullest sense of the term; indeed, he has a monopoly of goodness, for there is none good but one, that is God. His acts are according to his nature: from a pure source flow pure streams. God is not latent and ill active goodness; he displays himself by his doings, he is actively beneficent, he does good.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thou art good - And because thou art good, thou doest good; and because thou delightest to do good, teach me thy statutes.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou art good - See the Psa 100:5, note; Psa 107:1, note. And doest good - As the expression or manifestation of goodness. The goodness of God is not a mere sentiment; not mere feeling; not an inactive principle; not a mere wish: it finds expression in acts which tend to promote the happiness of his creatures everywhere. Teach me thy statutes - See Psa 119:12, note; Psa 119:26, note. As one of the acts of the divine goodness, the psalmist prays that God will make him more and more acquainted with his law.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טוֹב־ | tov- | [are] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| אַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּמֵטִ֗יב | umetiv | and [are] doing good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| לַמְּדֵ֥נִי | lamedeni | teach me | H3925 → | 85 times |
| חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃ | chukeicha | decrees your | H2706 → | 127 times |
טוֹב־[are] good
tov-H2896 →538 times
אַתָּ֥הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וּמֵטִ֗יבand [are] doing good
umetivH3190 →117 times
לַמְּדֵ֥נִיteach me
lamedeniH3925 →85 times
חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃decrees your
chukeichaH2706 →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 86:5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:8–9
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
- Joel 2:13
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Exodus 34:6
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Nehemiah 9:17
They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a…
- Psalms 103:8
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 145:8–9
Through
Psalms 106:1Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 105:1
Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); Ambrose of Milan, Letter 79; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS, Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).