Psalms 119:56 · Bible study
Psalms 119:56 Commentary: The Meaning of 'This I Had' in HETH Stanza
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Does the psalmist count the comfort from obedience or the act of obeying itself as his supreme blessing? Two readings explored.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Two primary readings: (1) 'All this comfort and steadfastness is mine because I kept your precepts.' (2) 'This, that I keep your precepts, is my supreme blessing.'
- Key words: Zot (this), refers anaphorically or cataphorically. Natsar (keep), guard, watch over. Piqqud (precept), statute, appointed order.
- Main debate: The referent of 'this', whether the psalmist speaks of blessings as the fruit of obedience or of obedience itself as the gift.
- Theological theme: Obedience as both the cause of blessing and the blessing itself; the grace of God that enables and rewards faithfulness.
- Best use: A meditative verse for personal reflection on the value of keeping God’s commands; a thematic summary for preaching on the HETH stanza.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
This is my practice, for I obey Your precepts.
WEB World English Bible 2000
This is my way, that I keep your precepts. HETH
KJV King James Version 1769
This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
This I have had, Because I have kept thy precepts. ח HHETH.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
This hath been to me, That Thy precepts I have kept!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
This I have had, because I have observed thy precepts.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Esto tuve, porque guardaba tus mandamientos.
Isto eu tenho feito, porque guardo teus mandamentos.
C’ est là ce qui m’ est propre,
Das ist mein Schatz, daß ich deine Befehle halte.
Dat is mij geschied, omdat ik Uw bevelen bewaard heb.
Questo bene mi è toccato, di osservare i tuoi precetti.
Toć mam z tego, że przestrzegam przykazań twoich.
我 所以如此，是 因 我守 你的訓詞。
This has been true of me, that I have kept your orders in my heart.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 119:56
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Psalm 119:56 serves as a summary statement for the HETH stanza, but they divide over what the pronoun 'this' (zot) actually points to. One reading, represented by Barnes and Clarke, takes the referent as everything described in verses 49, 55: comfort in affliction, steadfastness under derision, songs of joy, and nightly remembrance of God’s name. On this view the verse means 'All this good has been mine because I kept your precepts.' The alternative, championed by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil and Delitzsch, and Gill, sees the very fact of keeping the precepts as the psalmist's supreme privilege. Gill adds that even the ability to keep them is a gift from God. Both readings find support in the Hebrew, where the conjunction ki can be translated either 'that' or 'because.' The verse is thus a hinge: either obedience is the cause of blessing, or obedience itself is the blessing. Both point to the profound goodness of life lived in alignment with God’s word.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Blessings of obedience view: Emphasizes the preceding context (vv. 49–55) where the psalmist lists comforts, songs, and steadfastness; reads 'this' as summarizing those benefits and 'ki' as 'because.' Supported by Barnes, Clarke.
- Obedience as blessing view: Reads 'this' as the act of keeping precepts itself; 'ki' as 'that' (explicative); supported by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil and Delitzsch, Gill. The verse parallels the thought of Psalm 119:165 where loving the law brings peace.
What is clear: The psalmist rejoices in a life of faithful obedience to God's precepts and sees that life as intimately connected to God's goodness, whether as reward or as gift.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Referent of 'this' | Both traditions hold that the verse is a climactic statement of the psalmist's commitment to God's word. | Some (Barnes, Clarke) read 'this' as the cumulative blessings of the previous verses. Others (JFB, Keil & Delitzsch, Gill) read it as the act of keeping precepts itself. |
| Relationship of obedience to blessing | Christians affirm that obedience to God is connected to blessing (e.g., Psalm 119:165, 1 John 3:24). | Is obedience the condition that triggers blessing, or is obedience itself the blessing? The former emphasizes consequence; the latter emphasizes intrinsic value. |
| Role of divine grace | God is the source of both the ability to obey and the blessings that follow obedience. | Gill argues the verse teaches that the keeping of precepts is itself a gift from God. Barnes and Clarke focus on the blessings as rewards of obedience without denying grace but placing more emphasis on human effort. |
| Implication for suffering | The psalmist speaks from a context of affliction and persecution, yet finds joy in God’s word. | One reading encourages believers to expect tangible comfort in trials as a result of faithfulness; the other encourages believers to find the comfort in the very act of remaining faithful, even when feelings are absent. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 119 is an alphabetic acrostic poem, each stanza containing eight verses that all begin with the same Hebrew letter. The HETH stanza (verses 49, 56) is the eighth of twenty-two stanzas, and verse 56 brings this section to a close. The surrounding context is a psalm of sustained devotion and lament: the psalmist faces derision from the proud (v. 51), feels indignation at the wicked who forsake God’s law (v. 53), yet finds comfort in God’s ancient ordinances (v. 52) and makes God’s statutes his songs in this world of pilgrimage (v. 54). He remembers God’s name even at night and keeps the law (v. 55).
This was a period, perhaps exilic or post-exilic, when God’s people were scattered and suffering. The repeated emphasis on 'remembering' and 'keeping' suggests a community struggling to remain faithful while surrounded by hostility. Verse 56 crowns the stanza with a climatic claim. The Hebrew verb for 'keep' (natsar) means to guard, watch over, or preserve with vigilance. It is the same word used for a watchman protecting a city. So the psalmist’s obedience is not casual; it is a deliberate, sustained act of protection over the treasure of God’s commands.
Cross-references reinforce this. In Psalm 18:22 David says, 'For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away his statutes from me.' The result is that God becomes his support (18:18). Psalm 119:165 echoes the same logic: 'Those who love your law have great peace.' The psalmist’s claim in verse 56 is the distillation of a life lived in covenant faithfulness, whether the gift he receives is peace itself or the very ability to obey.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 119:56. The Hebrew zot is unambiguous, and the construction hayetah li appears in other biblical passages (e.g., Psalm 4:8). The only translation-level decision concerns the conjunction ki, which can be rendered as 'that' (explicative) or 'because' (causal). This is a matter of interpretation, not textual corruption.
Reception History
Early Jewish and Christian readings tended to see the verse as a statement of the rewards of Torah obedience. The Talmud (e.g., Avodah Zarah 19a) cites the verse to show that study and observance of Torah bring both peace and protection. Church fathers such as Augustine read it as an expression of the believer's delight in God's law, which the Holy Spirit makes possible.
During the Reformation, Matthew Henry treated the verse as evidence that 'God’s work is its own wages,' while Calvin used the broader psalm to exhort believers to a holy life grounded in Scripture. In later Protestant devotional writings, the verse frequently appears in reflections on the 'secret of contentment', finding satisfaction in simple obedience rather than in outward success. More recent evangelical commentaries emphasize the grace dimension, following Gill’s insight that even the desire and ability to obey are gifts of God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Gift of Obedience, The psalmist marvels that keeping God’s precepts has become his possession. Whether he sees this as the result of blessing or the blessing itself, he recognizes that faithful obedience comes from God’s grace working in him (Gill: 'it was all owing to grace and strength received from Him').
- Obedience as the Source of Comfort, Barnes catalogs the blessings described in the surrounding verses: comfort in affliction, stability under mockery, joy in the house of pilgrimage, and nightly peace. All flow from a life of obedience.
- Obedience as the Supreme Blessing, The alternative reading (JFB, Keil & Delitzsch) makes this verse the high point: while others may have prosperity or ease, the psalmist counts the very act of keeping God’s precepts as his greatest treasure. It is the 'one needful thing' (Lange).
Five-point outline
- This, Identify 'this' from the immediate context: comfort (v. 49, 52), songs (v. 54), nightly remembrance (v. 55), and the wholehearted pursuit of God’s word.
- My way, Not a path of self-made righteousness, but a pattern of life shaped by God’s precepts.
- That I keep your precepts, The Hebrew verb natsar implies diligent guarding. Keeping is both action and attitude.
- Because of grace, Gill underscores that even this keeping is a divine gift. The psalmist does not boast; he gives thanks.
- For the congregation, This verse invites believers to examine what they truly consider their 'portion.' Is it comfort from God, or God himself and his ways?
Illustration hooks
- A marathon runner who says the discipline of training itself is as rewarding as the finish line.
- A parent who finds that the daily work of caring for a child becomes its own deepest joy, not just the results.
- A craftsman who takes pride not only in the finished product but in the careful, repeated acts of skill that shape it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is obeying God really its own reward when life is painful and obedience doesn't seem to fix anything?
- How can I tell if I am obeying God out of love or out of a sense of duty?
- What does it mean practically to count God’s precepts as my 'any portion' or 'this I have'?
Leading a Discussion
The verse appears simple, but the Hebrew leaves room for two different emphases. Which one we adopt shapes how we talk about the relationship between obedience and blessing. This discussion will help your group explore both possibilities and what they mean for everyday faith.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 119:49, 55 aloud. List all the good things the psalmist describes in these verses. What do they have in common?
- How would you paraphrase verse 56 if 'this' refers to everything in verses 49, 55? How would your paraphrase change if 'this' refers to the act of keeping the precepts itself?
- The Hebrew word natsar (keep) can mean 'to guard' or 'to preserve.' How does that nuance affect the way you understand the psalmist’s obedience?
- Gill writes that even the ability to keep God’s precepts is a gift. How does that insight shape your view of obedience as a blessing?
- If obedience itself is the supreme blessing, what does that say about seasons when God seems distant and obedience feels barren?
- Psalm 119:165 says those who love God's law have great peace. How does that verse connect to the two readings of verse 56?
- What is one practical step you can take this week to treasure God's precepts as 'this I have' in your own life?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 18:18 | They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. |
| Psalms 18:22 | For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away his statutes from me. |
| Psalms 119:165 | Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble. |
| I John 3:19 | And by this we know that we are of the truth and persuade our hearts before him, |
| I John 3:24 | He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the comfort the psalmist refers to came directly from obeying God's commands. Even when God allowed enemies to have power over His people, He still granted the consolations of the Holy
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that the "this" refers to all the blessings listed just before: joyful remembrance, stability, comfort, peace, and consolation. These are not random gifts; they are the proper fruit of keeping God's precepts, granted specifically because of obedience.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin pushes back against the common assumption that Psalm 119 is a jumble of unrelated thoughts. He insists the psalm has a coherent twofold aim: urging believers toward godly living and laying out the true pattern of worship by centering on God's law. The variations in topic do not mean it lacks connection.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools notes a possible double meaning in the psalmist's declaration. The phrase "This I have had" could refer either to the comfort and joy that come from keeping God's precepts, or to the very act of keeping those precepts as the supreme privilege itself. The second reading is preferred as it sets the tone for the following stanza.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists that the psalmist's very keeping of God's precepts was a gift from God, not his own doing. The phrase "this I had" points to grace and strength received from the Lord that enabled all his obedience. Human faithfulness, then, traces entirely back to divine enablement.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB reads
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch draw a careful distinction: the psalmist
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights the reciprocal link between remembering God's name, especially during nighttime reflection, and actively keeping His law. He finds that obedience brings its own reward: the comfort of keeping God's law comes from actually keeping it, and the more a person obeys, the more able they become to continue obeying.