Psalm 119:162
NKJV
I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure.
KJV
I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
Joy in the Treasure of Truth
My Notes
Scripture: “I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.” —Psalm 119:162 (NKJV)
David’s joy in God’s Word wasn’t casual—it was explosive, like the joy of a warrior stumbling upon unexpected spoil or someone uncovering buried treasure. “I rejoice at Your word…” Not just because it was true, but because it was his. He rejoiced that God had revealed His mind, that Israel had light while others sat in darkness, and that he himself had been given the understanding and experience of its power.
This joy was not separate from reverence. Just verses earlier, David declared, “My heart stands in awe of Your word.” Awe and joy are not opposites—they are companions. The deeper our reverence, the higher our rejoicing. When we tremble before God’s Word, we are also positioned to dance because of it.
Sometimes this joy comes through battle. Like a soldier who wins spoil through struggle, we often gain spiritual insight through wrestling against doubt, distraction, or spiritual dullness. Every doctrine we grasp, every promise we claim, every truth we apply has cost us something. And that cost makes the treasure sweeter.
Other times, joy comes unexpectedly. Like the lepers who found riches in the abandoned Syrian camp (2 Kings 7:8), we open Scripture and suddenly see grace we didn’t expect—truths that surprise us, comfort us, and change us. These are moments of divine delight, when the Spirit illuminates the Word and we realize: This is mine.
To rejoice in God’s Word is to treasure it above gold, to feast on it like honey, and to wield it like a sword. It is armor for battle, light for the path, and inheritance for the soul. And it is ours—not just to admire, but to possess.
Time to Reflect
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When was the last time you truly rejoiced in God’s Word?
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Do you approach Scripture with awe and expectancy—or with routine and indifference?
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How can you cultivate a heart that rejoices in the Word daily?
Prayer
Abba, Your Word is treasure—more precious than gold, more comforting than riches. I rejoice in it, not just because it is true, but because it is mine. Let me never grow dull to its beauty or indifferent to its power. Let awe and joy rise together in my heart. Teach me to fight for truth when it’s hard, and to receive it with gladness when it comes unexpectedly. Open my eyes to see incredible things in Your Word, prepare my ears to listen for the Holy Spirit, and my heart to receive what You are giving me. I ask for these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Cross References for Further Study (NKJV)
Joy and Treasure in God’s Word
Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
Psalm 19:8–10 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalm 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
Psalm 119:111 Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
Light, Discovery, and Spiritual Riches
Isaiah 9:2–3 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
2 Kings 7:8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.
Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Reverence and Worship
Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Victory and Spiritual Strength
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Seeking and Understanding
Proverbs 2:1–5 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
1 Corinthians 2:9–10 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Proverb for Today
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV
NOTE: Psalm 119 has 22 sections to which each section is represented by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Today, we’re looking at verse 162, which is in the 21st section, which is called “Shin (שׁ)” It is the twenty-first and penultimate letter of the Hebrew alphabet, representing the phonetic sounds “sh” when a dot is placed on its upper right side and “s” when the dot is on the upper left side, known as Sin (שׂ). It holds a numerical value of 300 in gematria, a system of assigning numerical values to letters.
In Hebrew, “Shin (שׁ)” is associated with deep symbolic and theological meanings. It is the first letter in the name “Shaddai,” a title for God meaning “Almighty,” emphasizing divine power and presence. The letter is also linked to concepts such as steadfastness, change for the good, return, and the year. Symbolically, Shin is often depicted as resembling a flame, representing the divine light and the burning bush encountered by Moses. It is commonly inscribed on mezuzahs (parchment scroll inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Tora, primarily Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21, which are part of the Shema prayer.), affixed to Jewish doorposts, as a sign of God’s protection and presence.
James Boice noted that this section represents a quiet obedience, waiting for God.
……..Bill
Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 119:162 reveals David’s deep joy in God’s Word, likening it to the exhilaration of discovering great spoil after battle. Spurgeon emphasizes that this joy is not diminished by reverence—it is nourished by it. Whether truth is gained through struggle or found unexpectedly, it becomes a treasure to the believer. The Word offers more than knowledge; it brings victory, comfort, and spiritual riches. Like a soldier rejoicing in hard-won plunder or one surprised by hidden treasure, the believer delights in Scripture’s promises, doctrines, and revelations. True joy in the Word flows from awe, discovery, and the Spirit’s witness within.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” His awe did not prevent his joy; his fear of God was not of the kind which perfect love casts out, but of the sort which it nourishes. He trembled at the word of the Lord, and yet rejoiced at it. He compares his joy to that of one who has been long in battle, and has at last won the victory and is dividing the spoil. This usually falls to the lot of princes, and though David was not one with them in their persecutions, yet he had his victories, and his spoil was equal to their greatest gains. The profits made in searching the Scriptures were greater than the trophies of war. We too have to fight for divine truth; every doctrine costs us a battle, but when we gain a full understanding of it by personal struggles, it becomes doubly precious to us. In these days, godly men have a full share of battling for the word of God; may we have for our spoil a firmer hold upon the priceless word. Perhaps, however, the Psalmist may have rejoiced as one who comes upon hidden treasure for which he had not fought, in which case we find the analogy in the man of God who, while reading the Bible, makes grand and blessed discoveries of the grace of God laid up for him,—discoveries which surprise him, for he looked not to find such a prize. Whether we come by the truth as finders or as warriors fighting for it, the heavenly treasure should be equally dear to us. With what quiet joy does the ploughman steal home with his golden find! How victors shout as they share the plunder! How glad should that man be who has discovered his portion in the promises of holy writ, and is able to enjoy it for himself, knowing by the witness of the Holy Spirit that it is all his own.
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Enduring Word
I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure: The psalmist loved God’s word as some people love treasure. He knew it was precious and enriching to life. Yet the original Hebrew has treasure in the sense of spoil or plunder from battle. (Guzik)
i. Rejoice at Your word: “I will go to the length of saying that unless we do have deep awe of the word we shall never have high joy over it. Our rejoicing will be measured by our reverencing.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “This appears to refer to such spoil as is acquired by stripping the dead in a field of battle, taking the rich garments of the slain chiefs; or it may refer to plunder in general. As God opened his eyes, he beheld wonders in his law; and each discovery of this kind was like finding a prize.” (Clarke)
iii. Sometimes spoil is fought for, and riches from God’s word must be fought for. Other times spoil is found, and the riches from God’s word are simply received.
· If riches from the Bible are like spoil from battle, the battle is over.
· If riches from the Bible are like spoil from battle, the enemy has less to fight with.
· If riches from the Bible are like spoil from battle, there is a sense of victory.
· If riches from the Bible are like spoil from battle, there is profit, pleasure, and honor.
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John Gill
I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. At having it, which is a distinguishing blessing; all are not favored with it; and is an inestimable treasure, a field in which a treasure lies; which those that find rejoice at, and especially at the understanding of it, as Kimchi notes: for such only delight in it who spiritually understand it, or have an application of it to them; find it, and eat it, and then it is the joy and rejoicing of their hearts. The doctrines of it are matter of great joy, particularly which concern the grace of God, the person of Christ, and peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by him; and each of its promises, which are exceeding great and precious; and, when opened and applied in a time of need, occasion great joy; such as is expressed at finding a great spoil, when much substance comes into the hands of the conqueror, as well as victory. The word is a part of the believer’s spiritual armor, by which he overcomes his enemies; as well as it acquaints him with the conquest Christ has obtained over them, and made him a sharer in; and directs him to unsearchable riches, to things more valuable than thousands of gold and silver; so that he has great reason to rejoice at it in such a manner indeed! See Isaiah 9:2.
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Matthew Henry
Here is,
The pleasure David took in the word of God. He rejoiced at it, rejoiced that God had made such a discovery of his mind, that Israel was blessed with that light when other nations sat in darkness, that he was himself let into the understanding of it and had had experience of the power of it. He took a pleasure in reading it, hearing it, and meditating on it, and everything he met with in it was agreeable to him. He had just now said that his heart stood in awe of his word, and yet here he declares that he rejoiced in it. The more reverence we have for the word of God, the more joy we shall find in it.
The degree of that pleasure: as one that finds great spoil. This supposes a victory over the enemy. It is through much opposition that a soul comes to this, to rejoice in God’s word. But, besides the pleasure and honor of a conquest, there is great advantage gained by the plunder of the field, which adds much to the joy. By the word of God, we become more than conquerors, that is, unspeakable gainers.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” He never came to an ordinance but as a soldier to the spoil, after a great battle, as having a constant warfare with his corruptions that fought against his soul. Now he comes to see what God will say to him, and he will make himself a saver [or gainer], and get a booty out of every commandment, promise, or threatening he hears.
—John Cotton (1585-1652), in “The Way of Life“
Sometimes—as the spoil with which the lepers enriched themselves in the Syrian camp—it may be found unexpectedly. Sometimes we see the riches and treasures contained in a passage or doctrine, long before we can make it our own. And often when we gird ourselves to the conflict with indolence, and wanderings, under the weakness of our spiritual perceptions and the power of unbelief, many a prayer, and many a sigh is sent up for Divine aid, before we are crowned with victory, and are enabled, as the fruit of our conquest joyfully to appropriate the word to our present need and distress.
—Charles Bridges.
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