Psalms 119:20

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
soul	נַפְשִׁ֣י naf.Shi	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
breaketh	גָּרְסָ֣ה ga.re.Sah	H1638	to crush · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
longing	לְתַאֲבָ֑ה le.ta.'a.Vah	H8375	desire · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
judgments	מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ mish.pa.Tei.kha	H4941	properly · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
times	עֵֽת 'Et	H6256	time · noun, common both genders 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 42:1-2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Psalms 84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Psalms 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no wa…
Job 23:11-12 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
Psalms 119:131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Psalms 119:40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
Psalms 119:174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
Job 27:10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:20

David had prayed that God would open his eyes (Psa 119:18) and open the law (Psa 119:19); now here he pleads the earnestness of his desire for knowledge and grace, for it is the fervent prayer that avails much. 1. His desire was importunate: My soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thy judgments, or (as some read it) "It is taken up, and wholly employed, in longing for thy judgments; the whole stream of its desires runs in this channel. I shall think myself quite broken and undone if I want the word of God, the direction, converse, and comfort of it." 2. It was constant - at all times. It was not now and then, in a good humour, that he was so fond of the word of God; but it is the habitua…

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John Gill on Psalms 119:20

My soul breaketh for the longing,.... His heart was just ready to break, and his soul fainted; he was ready to die, through a vehement desire of enjoying the object longed for, after mentioned; "hope deferred makes the heart sick", Proverbs 13:1; the phrase is expressive of the greatness, vehemence, and eagerness of his mind after the thing he desired, which follows: that it hath unto thy judgments at all times; not the judgments of God on wicked men, though these are desirable for the glorifying of his justice; nor his dark dispensations of providence, though good men cannot but desire and long for the time when these judgments shall be made manifest: but rather the righteous laws and prec…

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John Calvin on Psalms 119:17-24

Psalm 119:17-24 g 17. Do good to thy servant, that! may live, and keep thy word. g 18. Open my eyes, and I shall see the marvelous things of thy law. g 19. I am a stranger on the earth: do not conceal from me thy commandments. g 20. My soul is rent with the desire it hath at all times unto thy judgments. g 21. Thou hast destroyed the proud, they are accursed that wander from thy commandments. g 22. Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. g 23. Princes also did sit, they spoke against me: thy servant meditated on thy statutes. g 24. Also thy testimonies are my delights, the men of my counsel. 17. Do good to thy servant The term gml gamal, which some render to…

The Church Fathers

The right will is, therefore, well-directed love, and the wrong will is ill-directed love. Love, then, yearning to have what is loved, is desire; and having and enjoying it, is joy; fleeing what is opposed to it, it is fear; and feeling what is opposed to it, when it has befallen it, it is sadness. Now these motions are evil if the love is evil; good if the love is good. What we assert let us prove from Scripture. The apostle "desires to depart, and to be with Christ." And, "My soul desired to long for Thy judgments;" or if it is more appropriate to say, "My soul longed to desire Thy judgments." And, "The desire of wisdom bringeth to a kingdom."
— Augustine of Hippo, City of God 14.7

But what is loved by loving, if love itself be not loved? Whence by consequence that stranger upon earth, after praying that the commandments of God might not be hidden from him, wherein love is enjoined either solely or principally; declareth that he desireth to have a love for love itself, saying, "My soul hath coveted to have a desire alway after Thy judgments" (ver. 20). This coveting is worthy of praise, not of condemnation. ...But he saith not, "coveteth," only; but, "My soul hath coveted to desire Thy judgments." For there is no obstacle to possessing the judgments of God, save that they are not desired, while love hath no warmth toward winning them, though their light is so clear and shining. ...
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on 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

Judgments of God — (1.) The secret decisions of God’s will (Ps. 110:5; 36:6). (2.) The revelations of his will (Ex. 21:1; Deut. 6:20; Ps. 119:7-175). (3.) The infliction of punishment on the wicked (Ex. 6:6; 12:12;…
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
Desire · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL

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).

Psalms 119:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:20

John Gill on Psalms 119:20

John Calvin on Psalms 119:17-24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 119:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:20

John Gill on Psalms 119:20

John Calvin on Psalms 119:17-24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:17-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 119:20-21