Bible Strands
Psalms 119:20
My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, positioning himself as a stranger on earth who requires divine instruction to navigate a culture that scorns obedience.
The words — The Hebrew גָּרְסָה (ga.re.Sah) literally means "it is crushed," describing the psalmist's נַפְשִׁי (naf.shi), or "soul/self," as being pressed down by an unceasing desire.
The thread — This motif of soul-deep yearning appears in Psalms 42:1, 84:2, and 63:1, where the psalmist's spiritual thirst mirrors physical thirst for God's presence and commands.
Why it lands — It demands that a reader examine whether their desire for God's word operates continuously rather than intermittently, and whether that desire outweighs earthly comfort or peer pressure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
Cross-references
- Psalms 42:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Psalms 84:2 My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
- Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Job 23:11 My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.
- Psalms 119:131 I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments.
- Psalms 119:40 How I long for Your precepts! Revive me in Your righteousness.
- Psalms 119:174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight.
- Job 27:10 Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?
- Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
- Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!