Psalms 119:167

My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
soul	נַ֭פְשִׁי Naf.shi	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
kept	שָֽׁמְרָ֣ה sha.me.Rah	H8104	properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
testimonies	עֵדֹתֶ֑יךָ 'e.do.Tei.kha	H5713	testimony · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
love	וָאֹהֲבֵ֥ם va.'o.ha.Vem	H157	to have affection for (sexually or otherwise) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
exceedingly	מְאֹֽד me.'Od	H3966	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Romans 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds w…
John 14:21-24 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love…
Psalms 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Psalms 119:111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
Psalms 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:167-168

David's conscience here witnesses for him, I. That his practices were good. 1. He loved God's testimonies, he loved them exceedingly. Our love to the word of God must be a superlative love (we must love it better than the wealth and pleasure of this world), and it must be a victorious love, such as will subdue and mortify our lusts and extirpate carnal affections. 2. He kept them, his soul kept them. Bodily exercise profits little in religion; we must make heart-work of it or we make nothing of it. The soul must be sanctified and renewed, and delivered into the mould of the word; the soul must be employed in glorifying God, for he will be worshipped in the spirit. We must keep both the prece…

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John Gill on Psalms 119:167

My soul hath kept thy testimonies,.... The word of God, which he kept cordially and heartily; and in his heart, laid it up there; and with his whole soul observed the doctrines and kept the precepts of it; and I love them exceedingly; and kept them from a principle of love, and not with mercenary and selfish views; and this love was exceeding great, not cold nor lukewarm, but ardent and fervent, love in the superlative degree.

John Calvin on Psalms 119:161-168

Psalm 119:161-168 161. s Princes have persecuted me without a cause; yet my heart hath beer, afraid at thy word 162. s I have rejoiced at thy word as one who hath found great spoil. 163. s I have hated and abhorred deceit; but I have loved thy law. 164. s Seven times a day have I praised thee, because of thy righteous judgments. [32] 165. s Great peace have them that love thy law, and there will be no stumbling-block for them. [33] 166. s Jehovah I have waited for thy salvation and have done thy commandments. 167. s My soul hath kept thy testimonies, and I have loved them exceeding. 168. s I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies; for all my ways are before thee. 161 Princes have p…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:161-168

The Church Fathers

"My soul hath kept Thy testimonies, and I have loved them exceedingly:" or, as some copies read, "hath loved them," understanding, "my soul" (ver. 167). The testimonies of God are kept, while they are not denied. This is the office of Martyrs, for testimonies are called Martyria in Greek. But since it profiteth nothing, even to be burnt with flames without charity, he addeth, "and I have loved them exceedingly." ...For he who loveth, keepeth them in the Spirit of truth and faithfulness. But generally, while the commandments of God are kept, they against whose will they are kept become our foes: then, indeed, His testimonies also must be kept courageously, lest they be denied when the enemy persecuteth.
— Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 119

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Affections · Should be set upon the commandments of God — Should be set upon the commandments of God
Affections, The · Should be set: Upon the commandments of God — Should be set: Upon the commandments of God
Obedience · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Scriptures, The · Saints: Love exceedingly — Saints: Love exceedingly

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:167-168

John Gill on Psalms 119:167

John Calvin on Psalms 119:161-168

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:161-168

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:167-168

John Gill on Psalms 119:167

John Calvin on Psalms 119:161-168

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:161-168

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 119:161-168