Psalms 119:57

Art - "Are"; second person singular.

Thou art my portion, O Lord - From the fifty-seventh to the sixtieth verse may be seen the progress of the work of grace on the human heart, from the first dawn of heavenly light till the soul is filled with the fullness of God. But as I consider this Psalm as notes selected from diaries of past experience, formed at different times; and that the author has been obliged, for the support of his acrostic plan, to interchange circumstances, putting that sometimes behind which in the order of grace comes before; because, to put it in its right place, the letters would not accord with the alphabetical arrangement; I shall therefore follow what I conceive to be its order in the connection of grace, and not in the order in which the words are here laid down.

Psalm 119:57Sixthly. To keep himself firm in his present resolutions, he binds himself unto the Lord. "I have said that I would keep thy words." Thy vows are upon me, and I must not add to my guilt by breaking them.

Seventhly. He did not seek in vain; God reveals himself in the fullness of blessedness to him, so that he is enabled to exclaim, Thou art my portion, O Lord! My whole soul trusts in thee, my spirit rests supremely satisfied with thee. I have no other inheritance, nor do I desire any. Here then is the way to seek, the way to find, and the way to be happy. Other effects of this conversion may be seen below.

Thou art my portion, O Lord - This begins a new division of the psalm, indicated by the Hebrew letter Cheth (ח ch), which may be represented in English by "ch." On the meaning of the language here, see the notes at Psalm 16:5. God was to him what other people seek in wealth, honor, pleasure, fame. To him, God was all and in all. He asked nothing else.

I have said - I have formed the purpose, and have expressed it. It is the deliberate and settled design of my life.

That I would keep thy words - That I would obey thee at all times; that I would keep all thy commandments.

119:57 Said - I have professed and owned it.