Psalm 119:47 NKJV
47
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
Understanding David’s Love for God’s Word
My Thoughts
In Psalm 119:47, David expresses a commitment to delight in God’s commandments, emphasizing that this joy stems from a deep love for them. Commentators like Charles Spurgeon and Matthew Henry reflect on how such delight is rooted in the will and leads to personal fulfillment. They assert that true love for God’s law encompasses feelings, respect, and a desire for engagement. David shows the difference in pleasure derived from God’s commandments and the temptations found in worldly pursuits. Simply put, the thing that we delight in the most is where are love is.
Note: Psalm 119 is an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; each of the 22 sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter. Today, we’re looking at verse 47, which is in the 6th section, which is called “VAV.ו”. According to the hebrews4christians.com website, the letter Vav (“WAW” in several versions of the Bible) is the 6th letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of six. The pictograph for VAV looks like a tent peg. Since VAV represents the number six, it has long been associated with the number of man in the Jewish tradition:
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Man was created on the sixth day
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Man works for six days
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The “beast” is identified as the “number of a man” – 666 (Revelation 13:18)
Since it looks like a tent peg, it is also used for connecting things. So, in it, we can think of the connection between spiritual and earthly matters.
……..Bill
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Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
And I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved.
Next to liberty and courage comes delight. When we have done our duty, we find great reward in it. If David hadn’t spoken for his Master before kings, he would have been afraid to think about the law he had neglected; but after speaking up for his Lord, he felt a sweet serenity of heart when reflecting upon the Word. Obey the command, and you will love it; carry the yoke, and it will be easy, and rest will come by it.
After speaking about the law, the psalmist wasn’t tired of his theme, but rather he retired to meditate on it. He discussed it and then he delighted in it. He preached it, and then went to his study to renew his strength by feeding on the precious truth yet again. Whether he delighted others or not when he was speaking, he never failed to delight himself when he was meditating on the Word of the Lord.
David declares that he loved the Lord’s commands, and by his own admission, he unveils the reason for his delight in them: where our love is, there is our delight. David did not delight in the courts of kings, for there he found much that might tempt him and result in his being ashamed of himself. His heart was in the Lord’s commands, and they gave him supreme pleasure. No wonder he spoke about keeping the law, which he loved. Jesus says, He who loves me will keep my words (John 14:23). No wonder he spoke about walking in liberty and speaking boldly, for true love is forever free and fearless. Love is the fulfilling of the law, and where love of the law of God reigns in the heart, the life must be full of blessedness. Lord, let Your mercies come to us, that we may love Your Word and way and find our entire delight in them.
Verse 47 is in the future, and consequently, it sets forth not only what David had done but also what he would do. In time, he would come to delight in his Lord’s commands. He knew they would neither change nor fail to provide him joy. He also knew that grace would keep the condition of his heart the same toward the precepts of the Lord, so that he could take supreme delight in holiness throughout his whole life. His heart was so fixed in love toward God’s will that he was sure that grace would always keep him under its delightful influence.
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Enduring Word
And I will delight myself in Your commandments: That he set this in an I will statement shows that delighting in God’s word is a choice, a matter of the will. The psalmist didn’t wait for a feeling of delight to overcome him; he simply said, I will delight myself in Your commandments. (Guzik)
i. In Psalm 119:44, the psalmist proclaimed: So shall I keep Your law continually. In the verses following he lists at least three things that come from this life of obedience: liberty, confidence (will not be ashamed), and delight. These are blessings of the obedient life – blessings not earned by our obedience, but simply enjoyed by those of us who will keep His law continually. (Guzik)
Which I love…which I love: The strength and the depth of the psalmist’s love for God’s word are impressive. That love is manifested not only in the feeling of delight, but also in an act of honor (My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments), and time and energy spent with God’s word (I will meditate). (Guzik)
i. We may say that all true love has these three components: feeling, the giving of honor, and the desire to spend time and energy in knowing the beloved. This is a good measure of our love for God’s word. (Guzik)
ii. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments: “A bold expression of yearning for God’s revelation in Scripture.” (Kidner)
iv. “Why then is the Bible read only – not meditated on? Because it is not loved. We do not go to it, as the hungry man to his food, as the miser to his treasure. The loss is incalculable.” (Bridges)
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Matthew Henry
That he should be cheerful and pleasant in his duty (v. 47): “I will delight myself in thy commandments, in conversing with them, in conforming to them. I will never be so well pleased with myself as when I do that which is pleasing to God.” The more delight we take in the service of God, the nearer we come to the perfection we aim at.
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Adam Clarke
“O shame to Christians who feel so little affection to the Gospel of Christ, when we see such cordial, conscientious, and inviolate attachment in a Jew to the laws and ordinances of Moses, that did not afford a thousandth part of the privileges!”
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Matthew Poole
And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
Whereas other princes place their delight in the glories and vanities of this world, and the study and practice of religion is generally irksome and loathsome to them, thy law shall be my chief delight and recreation.
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. 2 (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853), 185.
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Cross-References
Psalm 119:16 (KJV)
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
Psalm 119:167 (KJV)
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies;
And I love them exceedingly.
Psalm 119:140 (KJV)
140 Thy word is very pure:
Therefore thy servant loveth it.
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Closing Thoughts
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV
ו VAV – Connecting spiritual and earthly matters.
41
Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.
42
So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
44
So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
46
I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
47
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
48
My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes.
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