I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
Psalm 119:14 belongs to the early section of this great psalm where the Spirit teaches the blessed use of God’s word in youth, purity, desire, memory, speech, and delight. The psalmist has asked how a young man may cleanse his way, and he has answered that it is by taking heed according to God’s word (v.9). He has sought the LORD with his whole heart and prayed not to wander from His commandments (v.10). He has hidden God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against Him (v.11). He has blessed the LORD and asked to be taught His statutes (v.12). He has declared with his lips all the judgments of God’s mouth (v.13). Now he rises from duty to delight: “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.”
“I have rejoiced.” The psalmist does not say that he has submitted, listened, studied, or obeyed. He has rejoiced. This is holy pleasure in divine truth. The word of God is not a burden to the renewed heart. It is not a chain, a prison, or a dreary necessity. It is joy. Jeremiah found God’s words and ate them, and the word was unto him the joy and rejoicing of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16). The Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing after Philip preached Jesus to him from Scripture and baptized him upon his confession (Acts 8:35-39). When the word is received by faith, it gives joy that the world cannot create.
This rejoicing also proves the condition of the heart. Men rejoice in what they treasure. A covetous man rejoices in gain. A proud man rejoices in honour. A sensual man rejoices in pleasure. The psalmist rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies. His joy did not arise from vanity, applause, ease, or earthly increase, but from the revealed truth of Jehovah. This agrees with the first psalm, where the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2). The word had reached deeper than his ears. It had taken hold of his affections.
“In the way.” This phrase is important. The psalmist does not rejoice in Scripture as something to display, debate, or possess outwardly while the life remains unchanged. He rejoices in the way of God’s testimonies. The word gives a path to walk. Earlier he asked about cleansing his way (v.9). Later he will say that God’s word is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path (v.105). God’s testimonies are not given to entertain the mind while the life remains unchanged. They mark the road of faith, obedience, holiness, worship, separation, patience, and hope.
The “way” also shows that true joy is found in obedience, not in lawless imagination. Men often think the way of God is narrow, hard, and joyless, while the way of sin offers liberty. This is a lie. The broad way leads to destruction, and the narrow way leads unto life (Matthew 7:13-14). The way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15). But wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace (Proverbs 3:17). The psalmist had learned this. He did not rejoice while escaping God’s testimonies, but while walking in their way.
“Of thy testimonies.” Testimonies are God’s witness. In His testimonies, the LORD testifies of Himself, His holiness, His will, His works, His promises, His threatenings, His judgments, and His salvation. They are “thy testimonies,” because they belong to God. They are not religious guesses, inherited opinions, or human improvements. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, the testimonies of the LORD carry the authority of the LORD Himself. Love your Bible!
This makes the psalmist’s joy reasonable. He rejoices in God’s testimonies because they are sure, right, pure, and true. Psalm 19 declares that the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). The same passage says the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart (Psalm 19:8). The word does not merely command joy; it gives matter for joy. It reveals God truly, corrects man safely, directs the path wisely, warns faithfully, promises certainly, and comforts powerfully. No earthly treasure can do this.
“As much as in all riches.” Here the psalmist compares the joy of Scripture with the joy men take in wealth. “All riches” gathers together the whole mass of earthly treasure: money, lands, houses, jewels, possessions, increase, profit, and inheritance. Men labor, scheme, rise early, stay up late, travel far, and hazard much for riches. They rejoice when riches increase. But the psalmist says he rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies as much as in all riches. He found in God’s word a treasure equal to and greater than what the world counts most desirable.
This comparison does not flatter earthly riches. Riches are uncertain. Paul charged the rich not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God (1 Timothy 6:17). Riches make themselves wings and fly away as an eagle toward heaven (Proverbs 23:5). A man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses (Luke 12:15). But the testimonies of God do not fly away, fail, or perish. The word of the Lord endures for ever (1 Peter 1:25). Therefore, the joy found in Scripture rests on a better foundation than the joy found in wealth.
This is why the psalmist can speak so highly elsewhere. He says the law of God’s mouth is better unto him than thousands of gold and silver (v.72). He loves God’s commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold (v.127). He esteems all God’s precepts concerning all things to be right and hates every false way (v.128). His valuation is settled. God’s truth is not a small religious comfort added to life; it is greater treasure than all earthly increase. A poor man with God’s testimonies is richer than a rich man without them.
There is also a warning here. Many profess to believe the Bible, but their joy reveals their treasure. They are stirred more by profit than by precepts, more by business than by truth, more by earthly increase than by divine instruction. Jesus said that where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also (Matthew 6:21). If a man can rejoice greatly over money and remain cold toward Scripture, Psalm 119:14 condemns him. The word has not yet taken the place it held in the psalmist’s heart.
This verse also helps explain why the psalmist hid God’s word in his heart (v.11). Men hide treasure because they value it. The word was not hidden like a forgotten object in a closet, but like precious treasure laid up safely within the soul. The psalmist rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies as much as in all riches, and therefore he treasured the word inwardly. The heart will store what it loves.
The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly valued the word and will of God. He lived by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). He delighted to do the Father’s will, and God’s law was within His heart (Psalm 40:8). He chose obedience, suffering, and the joy set before Him rather than the kingdoms of this world offered by Satan (Matthew 4:8-10; Hebrews 12:2). In Him we see the perfect man whose joy was never ruled by earthly riches, but by the will and glory of God.
Psalm 119:14 calls every believer to examine his joy. Do you own a Bible while lacking delight in the way of God’s testimonies? Do you defend Scripture with your mouth while failing to rejoice in walking by it? Do you measure riches by money, or by the treasure God has put in His word? Let the saints learn the psalmist’s valuation. The testimonies of Jehovah are better than all riches, for they reveal God, cleanse the way, guard the heart, direct the feet, comfort the soul, and lead the believer in the path of life.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
Psalm 119:14 belongs to the early section of this great psalm where the Spirit teaches the blessed use of God’s word in youth, purity, desire, memory, speech, and delight. The psalmist has asked how a young man may cleanse his way, and he has answered that it is by taking heed according to God’s word (v.9). He has sought the LORD with his whole heart and prayed not to wander from His commandments (v.10). He has hidden God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against Him (v.11). He has blessed the LORD and asked to be taught His statutes (v.12). He has declared with his lips all the judgments of God’s mouth (v.13). Now he rises from duty to delight: “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.”
“I have rejoiced.” The psalmist does not say that he has submitted, listened, studied, or obeyed. He has rejoiced. This is holy pleasure in divine truth. The word of God is not a burden to the renewed heart. It is not a chain, a prison, or a dreary necessity. It is joy. Jeremiah found God’s words and ate them, and the word was unto him the joy and rejoicing of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16). The Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing after Philip preached Jesus to him from Scripture and baptized him upon his confession (Acts 8:35-39). When the word is received by faith, it gives joy that the world cannot create.
This rejoicing also proves the condition of the heart. Men rejoice in what they treasure. A covetous man rejoices in gain. A proud man rejoices in honour. A sensual man rejoices in pleasure. The psalmist rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies. His joy did not arise from vanity, applause, ease, or earthly increase, but from the revealed truth of Jehovah. This agrees with the first psalm, where the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2). The word had reached deeper than his ears. It had taken hold of his affections.
“In the way.” This phrase is important. The psalmist does not rejoice in Scripture as something to display, debate, or possess outwardly while the life remains unchanged. He rejoices in the way of God’s testimonies. The word gives a path to walk. Earlier he asked about cleansing his way (v.9). Later he will say that God’s word is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path (v.105). God’s testimonies are not given to entertain the mind while the life remains unchanged. They mark the road of faith, obedience, holiness, worship, separation, patience, and hope.
The “way” also shows that true joy is found in obedience, not in lawless imagination. Men often think the way of God is narrow, hard, and joyless, while the way of sin offers liberty. This is a lie. The broad way leads to destruction, and the narrow way leads unto life (Matthew 7:13-14). The way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15). But wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace (Proverbs 3:17). The psalmist had learned this. He did not rejoice while escaping God’s testimonies, but while walking in their way.
“Of thy testimonies.” Testimonies are God’s witness. In His testimonies, the LORD testifies of Himself, His holiness, His will, His works, His promises, His threatenings, His judgments, and His salvation. They are “thy testimonies,” because they belong to God. They are not religious guesses, inherited opinions, or human improvements. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, the testimonies of the LORD carry the authority of the LORD Himself. Love your Bible!
This makes the psalmist’s joy reasonable. He rejoices in God’s testimonies because they are sure, right, pure, and true. Psalm 19 declares that the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). The same passage says the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart (Psalm 19:8). The word does not merely command joy; it gives matter for joy. It reveals God truly, corrects man safely, directs the path wisely, warns faithfully, promises certainly, and comforts powerfully. No earthly treasure can do this.
“As much as in all riches.” Here the psalmist compares the joy of Scripture with the joy men take in wealth. “All riches” gathers together the whole mass of earthly treasure: money, lands, houses, jewels, possessions, increase, profit, and inheritance. Men labor, scheme, rise early, stay up late, travel far, and hazard much for riches. They rejoice when riches increase. But the psalmist says he rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies as much as in all riches. He found in God’s word a treasure equal to and greater than what the world counts most desirable.
This comparison does not flatter earthly riches. Riches are uncertain. Paul charged the rich not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God (1 Timothy 6:17). Riches make themselves wings and fly away as an eagle toward heaven (Proverbs 23:5). A man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses (Luke 12:15). But the testimonies of God do not fly away, fail, or perish. The word of the Lord endures for ever (1 Peter 1:25). Therefore, the joy found in Scripture rests on a better foundation than the joy found in wealth.
This is why the psalmist can speak so highly elsewhere. He says the law of God’s mouth is better unto him than thousands of gold and silver (v.72). He loves God’s commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold (v.127). He esteems all God’s precepts concerning all things to be right and hates every false way (v.128). His valuation is settled. God’s truth is not a small religious comfort added to life; it is greater treasure than all earthly increase. A poor man with God’s testimonies is richer than a rich man without them.
There is also a warning here. Many profess to believe the Bible, but their joy reveals their treasure. They are stirred more by profit than by precepts, more by business than by truth, more by earthly increase than by divine instruction. Jesus said that where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also (Matthew 6:21). If a man can rejoice greatly over money and remain cold toward Scripture, Psalm 119:14 condemns him. The word has not yet taken the place it held in the psalmist’s heart.
This verse also helps explain why the psalmist hid God’s word in his heart (v.11). Men hide treasure because they value it. The word was not hidden like a forgotten object in a closet, but like precious treasure laid up safely within the soul. The psalmist rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies as much as in all riches, and therefore he treasured the word inwardly. The heart will store what it loves.
The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly valued the word and will of God. He lived by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). He delighted to do the Father’s will, and God’s law was within His heart (Psalm 40:8). He chose obedience, suffering, and the joy set before Him rather than the kingdoms of this world offered by Satan (Matthew 4:8-10; Hebrews 12:2). In Him we see the perfect man whose joy was never ruled by earthly riches, but by the will and glory of God.
Psalm 119:14 calls every believer to examine his joy. Do you own a Bible while lacking delight in the way of God’s testimonies? Do you defend Scripture with your mouth while failing to rejoice in walking by it? Do you measure riches by money, or by the treasure God has put in His word? Let the saints learn the psalmist’s valuation. The testimonies of Jehovah are better than all riches, for they reveal God, cleanse the way, guard the heart, direct the feet, comfort the soul, and lead the believer in the path of life.