Psalms 49:3
in Psalms 49My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
KJV
My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
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This verse in Psalms 49
Commentary
11 notes on this verseMy mouth shall speak of wisdom,.... Or "wisdoms" (m); of Christ, who is so called, Pro 1:20. He being as a divine Person the wisdom of God, and the only wise God; and having all the treasures of wisdom in him, as man and Mediator: of him the prophet spake, and of him the apostles and all Gospel ministers speak; of the glories of his Person, of the fulness of his grace, and of his wonderful works; especially of that of redemption and salvation by him, in which there is an abounding of wisdom and prudence.
This site's exposition
Hear this, all you peoples
on Psalms 49:1-4
Hear this, all you peoples reaches past Israel to everyone alive. Both low and high, rich and poor stand in the audience before a word of the teaching begins. The psalm calls its own teaching a proverb and a riddle, and it plays the riddle on the harp.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
And what is it they are now to hear? "My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the meditation of my heart understanding" (ver. 3). And this repetition is perhaps made, lest perchance if he had said only "my mouth," thou shouldest suppose that one spake to thee who had understanding but in his lips. For many have understanding in their lips, but have not in their heart, of whom the Scripture saith, "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." What saith he then who speaketh to thee? when he hath said, "My mouth shall speak of wisdom," in order that thou mayest know that what is poured forth from the mouth floweth from the bottom of the heart, he hath added, "And the meditation of my heart of understanding."
If the meditation is wisdom, what will the message be? When the meditation of the heart is wisdom, wicked thoughts will not come within it, nor is a place given to the devil or those things that defile people.
All wisdom comes to be known by reflection and dissemination. So his meaning is, I deliberate on some wise ideas, and with the intention of disseminating them I want you all to be hearers of what is said by me. Hence his reference to "pondering," …
The Medieval Church1 voice
"My mouth." Here he renders them attentive through the promise of the things to be said. Whoever teaches, either teaches things or teaches words. When we preach faith and morals, we teach things; when we expound Scripture, we teach words. First, therefore, he speaks of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is wisdom and understanding; it will make those wise and intelligent that receive it and submit to it. It is not doubtful but certain, not trivial but weighty, not a matter of nice speculation but of admirable use to guide us in the right way to our great end. It was what he had himself well digested.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
My mouth shall speak of wisdom. Inspired and therefore lifted beyond himself, the prophet is not praising his own attainments, but extolling the divine Spirit which spoke in him. He knew that the Spirit of truth and wisdom spoke through him. He who is not sure that his matter is good has no right to ask a hearing. And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. The same Spirit who made the ancient seers eloquent, also made them thoughtful. The help of the Holy Ghost was never meant to supersede the use of our own mental powers.
My mouth shall speak of wisdom. Inspired and therefore lifted beyond himself, the prophet is not praising his own attainments, but extolling the divine Spirit which spoke in him. He knew that the Spirit of truth and wisdom spoke through him. He who is not sure that his matter is good has no right to ask a hearing. And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. The same Spirit who made the ancient seers eloquent, also made them thoughtful. The help of the Holy Ghost was never meant to supersede the use of our own mental powers. The Holy Spirit does not make us speak as Balaam's ass, which merely uttered sounds, but never meditated; but he first leads us to consider and reflect, and then he gives us the tongue of fire to speak with power.
In these four verses the poet prophet calls universal humanity to listen to his didactic hymn.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My mouth shall speak of wisdom - That is, I will utter sentiments that are wise, or that are of importance to all; sentiments that will enable all to take a just view of the subject on which I speak. This indicates “confidence” in what he was about to utter, as being eminently deserving of attention. And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding - What I reflect on, and what I give utterance to, in the matter under consideration. The idea is, that he had meditated on the subject, as to what was real wisdom in the matter, and that he would now give utterance to the result of his meditations. It was not wisdom in general, or intelligence or understanding as such on which he designed to express the results of his thoughts, but it was only in respect to the proper value to be attached to wealth, and as to the fact of its causing fear Psa 49:5 in those who were not possessed of it, and who might be subjected to the oppressive acts of those who were rich.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פִּ֭י | pi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֣ר | yedaber | it will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| חָכְמ֑וֹת | chakhemot | wisdom<s> | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וְהָג֖וּת | vehagut | and [the] meditation of | H1900 → | |
| לִבִּ֣י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| תְבוּנֽוֹת׃ | tevunot | [will be] understanding<s> | H8394 → | 42 times |
פִּ֭יmouth my
piH6310 →498 times
יְדַבֵּ֣רit will speak
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
חָכְמ֑וֹתwisdom<s>
chakhemotH2451 →153 times
וְהָג֖וּתand [the] meditation of
vehagutH1900 →
לִבִּ֣יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
תְבוּנֽוֹת׃[will be] understanding<s>
tevunotH8394 →42 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 19:14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
it leads to
- Psalms 104:34
May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
- Psalms 51:15
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
- Psalms 119:108
Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your judgments.
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 66:18–20
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Psalms 104:34
Through
Matthew 12:35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
it leads to
- Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Proverbs 15:4
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 15:28
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
- Colossians 4:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS - Psalm 49; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Diodorus of Tarsus, COMMENTARY ON PSALM 49; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 49:4-5 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.