good (as a noun) · noun, common masculine singular construct
judgment
טַ֣עַםTa.'am
H2940
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
knowledge
וָדַ֣עַתva.Da.'at
H1847
knowledge · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
believed
הֶאֱמָֽנְתִּיhe.'e.Ma.ne.ti
H539
properly · verb, hiphil perfect, 1st person common singular
commandments
בְמִצְוֹתֶ֣יךָve.mitz.vo.Tei.kha
H4687
a command · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
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
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Proverbs 2:1-9 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
1 Kings 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge thi…
James 3:13-18 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Psalms 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Psalms 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
Psalms 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Psalms 119:172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:65-66
Here, 1. David makes a thankful acknowledgment of God's gracious dealings with him all along: Thou hast dealt well with thy servant. However God has dealt with us, we must own he has dealt well with us, better than we deserve, and all in love and with design to work for our good. In many instances God has done well for us beyond our expectations. He has done well for all his servants; never any of them complained that he had used them hardly. Thou hast dealt well with me, not only according to thy mercy, but according to thy word. God's favours look best when they are compared with the promise and are seen flowing from that fountain. 2. Upon these experiences he grounds a petition for divine…
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,.... Or, "a good taste" (p): of the Lord himself, how good and gracious he is; of his grace and love, which is better than wine; of his word and the truths of it, which are sweeter to a spiritual taste than honey or the honeycomb; and of the things of the Spirit of God, which are seventy to a spiritual man, a distinguishing taste of things; for as "the taste discerns perverse things" in food, so a man of a spiritual taste distinguishes good from evil, truth from error; discerns things that differ, and approves of those that are most excellent, and abides by them. Or, "a good sense" (q), as it may be rendered; a good sense of the Scriptures, the true and r…
Psalm 119:65-72
t 65. O Jehovah! thou hast done good to thud servant, according to thy word. t 66. Teach, thee goodness of taste and knowledge: for I have believed the commandments. t 67. Before I was brought low I went astray: but now I keep thy word. t 68. Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. t 69. The proud have weaved lies against me: but I will keel, thy statutes with my whole heart. t 70. Their heart is fat as grease: but I delight in thy law. t 71. It has been good for me that I was affected; that I might learn thy statutes. t 72. The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.
65. O Jehovah! thou hast done good to thy servant. Some understan…
The Church Fathers
"O learn me sweetness, and understanding, and knowledge," he saith, "for I have believed Thy commandments" [Psalm 119:66]. He prayeth these things may be increased and perfected. For they who said, "Lord, increase our faith," [Luke 17:5] had faith. And as long as we live in this world, these are the words of those who are making progress. But he addeth, "understanding," or, as most copies read, "discipline." Now the word discipline, for which the Greeks use παιδεία, is employed in Scripture, where instruction through tribulation is to be understood: according to the words, "Whom the Lord loveth He disciplineth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." [Hebrews 12:6] In the literature of the Church this is usually called discipline. For this word, παιδεία, is used in the Greek in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the Latin translator saith, "No discipline for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous," etc. [Hebrews 12:11] He therefore toward whom the Lord dealeth in sweetness, that is, he in whom He mercifully inspires delight in that which is good, ought to pray instantly, that this gift may be so increased unto him, that he may not only despise all other delights in comparison with it, but also that he may endure any amount of sufferings for its sake. Thus is discipline healthfully added to sweetness. This discipline ought not to be desired, and prayed for, for a small measure of grace and goodness, that is, holy love; but for so great, as may not be extinguished by the weight of the chastening: ...so much in fact as to enable him to endure with the utmost patience the discipline. In the third place is mentioned knowledge; since, if knowledge in its greatness outstrips the increase of love, it doth not edify, but "puffeth up." [1 Corinthians 8:1] ... But in that he saith, not, Give unto me; but, "O learn me;" how is the sweetness taught, if it be not given? Since many know what doth not delight them, and find no sweetness in things of which they have knowledge. For sweetness cannot be learnt, unless it please. Also discipline, which signifieth the tribulation which chasteneth, is learnt by receiving; that is, not by hearing, or reading, or thinking, but by feeling. ... He addeth, "for I have believed Thy commandments," and herein we may justly enquire, why he said not, I obeyed, rather than, I believed. For commandments are one thing, promises…
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,…
Knowledge · General references — General references
Scriptures, The · Saints: Pray to be taught — Saints: Pray to be taught
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).
The eightfold Teth. The good word of the gracious God is the fountain of all good; and it is learned in the way of lowliness. He reviews his life, and sees in everything that has befallen him the good and well-meaning appointment of the God of salvation in accordance with the plan and order of salvation of His word. The form עבדּך, which is the form out of pause, is retained in Psa 119:65 beside Athnach, although not preceded by Olewejored (cf. Psa 35:19; Psa 48:11; Pro 30:21). Clinging believingly to the commandments of God, he is able confidently to pray that He would teach him "good discernment" and "knowledge." טעם is ethically the capacity of distinguishing between good and evil, and of…
Teth (ט): The psalmist describes himself as a penitent sinner who gratefully accepts the Lord’s discipline.
119:65-68 Good judgment and knowledge come from wisdom (111:10). • The psalmist admits that he used to wander off like a stray sheep (119:176). • you disciplined me: See 119:25-29. • You are good and do only good: God’s character is perfect (97:2; Jas 1:17; 1 Jn 1:5).
