Psalm 119:62 NKJV
62
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
Rising at Midnight: Thanksgiving in Psalm 119
My Notes
As I’ve gotten older, it has become more common for me to wake in the middle of the night. And for the most part, I wonder why am I awake and I struggle and eventually go back to sleep, sometimes quickly, sometimes not so quickly. After reading this verse, my thought process now is that maybe I’m missing out on something the Lord is wanting me to do? I wonder how many others have had the same experience, because I am convinced that I am not alone in this.
So maybe it’s something I need to learn? In 1st Samuel, the Lord called Samuel 4 times before Samuel, at the instructions of Eli answered “Speak, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10). Or is the Lord giving me an opportunity to pray in private when I’m alone and it’s just the Lord and me? In (Matthew 6:6) Jesus told his disciples, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Jesus would go out at night to pray. In (Luke 6:12 NKJV) it is recorded that He spent the night praying.
David understood the importance of prayer; he knew that the business of life did not give him enough time to thank God properly, so he would rather pray during the time when most men slept, and it was also a chance to offer prayers to the Lord when it was just David and the Lord. We can do the same when we are in a private place alone, where the Father sees us and knows that our heart is devoted to seeking him (Matthew 6:6 NKJV)
Psalm 119:62 reflects David’s deep commitment to thank God, stating he will rise at midnight for this purpose, focusing not on personal favors but on God’s righteous judgments. Commentators emphasize the significance of his choice to express gratitude during typically quiet hours, illustrating that his devotion transcends conventional worship routines. David’s appreciation stems from admiration for God’s justice, showcasing how true devotion prioritizes spiritual connection over physical comfort, such as sleep. This act of gratitude symbolizes an earnest acknowledgment of divine authority, reinforcing that genuine worship occurs both publicly and privately, illustrating a heartfelt relationship with God.
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 62, which is in the 8th section, which is called “Heth ח”. According to the hebrews4christians.com website, this letter is listed as “CHET where the NKJV lists it as “HETH”, the letter Heth ח is the 8th letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of eight. The pictograph for Heth ח looks like a wall or fence, whereas the classical Hebrew script is constructed of the preceding two letters, Vav and Zayin joined at the top with a thin connecting line.
Hebrewtoday.com lists this as the letter “HET” and has this to say:
The Hebrew letter Het is associated with a number of positive character traits. For example, the Hebrew word “hohma” (חוכמה), meaning “wisdom,” begins with the letter Het, as does the word “hasidut” (חסידות), which means “righteousness,” and “hen” (חן,) meaning “grace.” The numerical value of the letter Het is eight, which is often associated with super-spirituality or holiness, as it is one more than seven, which represents the holy realm of the Sabbath. When Jewish boys are circumcised and enter into their faith’s holy ancient covenant, it is commanded to be performed on the eighth day.
……..Bill
Commentaries:
Matthew Henry
Though David is, in this psalm, much in prayer, yet he did not neglect the duty of thanksgiving; for those that pray much will have much to give thanks for. See,
1. How much God’s hand was eyed in his thanksgivings. He does not say, “I will give thanks because of thy favors to me, which I have the comfort of,” but, “Because of thy righteous judgments, all the disposals of thy providence in wisdom and equity, which thou hast the glory of.” We must give thanks for the asserting of God’s honor and the accomplishing of his word in all he does in the government of the world.
2. How much David’s heart was set upon his thanksgivings. He would rise at midnight to give thanks to God. Great and good thoughts kept him awake and refreshed him, instead of sleep; and so zealous was he for the honor of God that when others were in their beds he was upon his knees at his devotions. He did not affect to be seen of men in it, but gave thanks in secret, where our heavenly Father sees. He had praised God in the courts of the Lord’s house, and yet he will do it in his bed-chamber. Public worship will not excuse us from secret worship. When David found his heart affected with God’s judgments, he immediately offered up those affections to God, in actual adorations, not deferring, lest they should cool. Yet observe his reverence; he did not lie still and give thanks, but rose out of his bed, perhaps in the cold and in the dark, to do it the more solemnly. And see what a good husband he was of time; when he could not lie and sleep, he would rise and pray.
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Charles Spurgeon
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.” He was not afraid of the robbers; he rose, not to watch his house, but to praise his God. Midnight is the hour for burglars, and there were bands of them around David, but they did not occupy his thoughts; these were all up and away with the Lord his God. He thought not of thieves, but of thanks; not of what they would steal, but of what he would give to his God. A thankful heart is such a blessing that it drives out fear and makes room for praise. Thanksgiving turns night into day, and consecrates all hours to the worship of God. Every hour is canonical to a saint.
The Psalmist observed posture; he did not lie in bed and praise. There is not much in the position of the body, but there is something, and that something is to be observed whenever it is helpful to devotion and expressive of our diligence or humility. Many kneel without praying, some pray without kneeling; but the best is to kneel and pray: so here, it would have been no virtue to rise without giving thanks, and it would have been no sin to give thanks without rising; but to rise and give thanks is a happy combination. As for the season, it was quiet, lonely, and such as proved his zeal. At midnight, he would be unobserved and undisturbed; it was his own time which he saved from his sleep, and so he would be free from the charge of sacrificing public duties to private devotions. Midnight ends one day and begins another; it was therefore meet to give the solemn moments to communion with the Lord. At the turn of the night, he turned to his God. He had thanks to give for mercies which God had given: he had on his mind the truth of Psa 119:57, “Thou art my portion, “and if anything can make a man sing in the middle of the night that is it.
The righteous doings of the great Judge gladdened the heart of this godly man. His judgments are the terrible side of God, but they have no terror to the righteous; they admire them, and adore the Lord for them: they rise at night to bless God that he will avenge his own elect. Some hate the very notion of divine justice, and in this they are wide as the poles asunder from this man of God, who was filled with joyful gratitude at the memory of the sentences of the Judge of all the earth. Doubtless in the expression, “thy righteous judgments, “David refers also to the written judgments of God upon various points of moral conduct; indeed, all the divine precepts may be viewed in that light; they are all of them the legal decisions of the Supreme Arbiter of right and wrong. David was charmed with these judgments. Like Paul, he could say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.“ He could not find time enough by day to study the words of divine wisdom, or to bless God for them, and so he gave up his sleep that he might tell out his gratitude for such a law and such a Lawgiver.
This verse is an advance upon the sense of Psa 119:52, and contains in addition the essence of Psa 119:55. Our author never repeats himself: though he runs up and down the same scale, his music has an infinite variety. The permutations and combinations which may be formed in connection with a few vital truths are innumerable.
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Enduring Word
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You: The heart and the mind of the psalmist are so filled with thanks and appreciation toward God that he finds his sleep interrupted by these high thoughts. (Guzik)
i. I will rise: Thomas Manton (cited in Spurgeon) listed several notable lessons to be drawn from the psalmist’s midnight devotion:
· His devotion was earnest and passionate; the daylight hours did not give him enough time to thank God.
· His devotion to God was sincere, shown by its secrecy. He was willing to thank God when no one else could see him or be impressed by his devotion.
· He regarded time as precious; he even used the hours normally given to sleep for devotion to God.
· He regarded devotion to God as more important than natural refreshment. He was willing to sacrifice a legitimate thing (sleep) for the pursuit of God.
· He showed great reverence to God even in secret devotion by rising up to praise Him. Praise requires something of both soul and body.
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Albert Barnes
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee – In the usual times of repose; when men are commonly lying in unconscious slumber. My heart is so interested in thy law – my soul is so full – that I am kept wakeful by meditating upon it, and I arise from my bed and offer thee praise. The Hebrew here means, literally, “the half,” or “halving of the night,” the night considered as divided into two equal portions. The idea is that his mind was so full of the subject that he would take this unusual time to give vent to his feelings. The mind may be so full of love to the law – the word – of God, that nothing will satisfy it but such unusual acts of devotion. The Savior rose up a great while before day, and went out into a solitary place and there prayed Mark 1:35; and on one occasion at least he continued all night in prayer to God Luke 6:12.
Because of thy righteous judgments – I do this on account of the interest which I have in those judgments or laws of righteousness. I love them as laws; I love them as righteous laws.
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John Gill
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,…. Not only send up an ejaculatory thanksgiving upon his bed, but rise up from it and shake off his sleep, and in a set, serious, solemn manner, praise the Lord. This shows a great regard to him, and affection to this work, since it is with difficulty men prevail upon themselves to rise at midnight upon any occasion; at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sung praises to God, Acts 16:25;
because of thy righteous judgments; upon the wicked, as Aben Ezra; the hands and troops of them that encompassed him about, and robbed him; but God avenged him of them, and for this he gave thanks, or for such like things. Sometimes the judgments of God have been executed at midnight; as the destruction of the firstborn in Egypt, and of Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, when Israel sang his praise, Exodus 12:29; and for the judgments of God upon antichrist the church will rejoice and give thanks, Revelation 18:20. Or rather by these may be meant the word of God, the precepts and ordinances of it, which are all just and good; such is the law of God, and such are the ordinances of Christ, Psalm 19:9.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks,” etc. In these words, observe three things:—
1. David’s holy employment, or the duty promised, giving thanks to God.
2. His earnestness and fervency implied in the time mentioned, “At midnight I will rise;” he would rather interrupt his sleep and rest, than God should want his praise.
3. The cause or matter of his thanksgiving, “because of thy righteous judgments:” whereby he meaneth the dispensations of God’s providence in delivering the godly and punishing the wicked, according to his word.
—Thomas Manton.
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks.” Cares of this world, impatience of wrongs, a bad conscience, keep awake the ungodly and disturb their sleep (Rivetus); but what I awake for is to give thanks to thee.
—A. R. Faussett.
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Cross-References
Psalm 42:8 (KJV)
8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night his song shall be with me,
And my prayer unto the God of my life.
Mark 1:35 (KJV)
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Psalm 63:6 (KJV)
6 When I remember thee upon my bed,
And meditate on thee in the night watches.
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Closing Thoughts
Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 1Sam 3:10 NKJV
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Luke 6:12 NKJV
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matt 6:6 NKJV
ח HETH – Hurrying to God with all my heart.
57
You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
58
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
59
I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60
I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61
The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
63
I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64
The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.
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