Psalms 119:96
I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse contrasts the limits of everything else we might call "perfect" – human achievements, wisdom, or even created things – with the immeasurable scope of God's Word. It's not just that God's commandment is vast, but that everything else has a defined ending point, a boundary that the divine revelation transcends.
The psalmist, moving through the acrostic poem dedicated to God's Law, reflects on the limited nature of all earthly achievements and experiences. Having just affirmed the eternal stability of God's word, he now contrasts it with the transience he's observed in everything else, from worldly power to human wisdom. He concludes that while all created things and human endeavors have an end, God's commandment is boundless in its scope, depth, and enduring relevance.
Ever feel like the 'best' things in life just don't last? The Psalmist felt that too.
The verse opens with a profound observation about the world: 'I have seen an end of all perfection.' This isn't about seeing something bad, but about recognizing the inherent limits of everything created or devised by humans.
What has limits?
The Psalmist, through experience and divine insight, understood that any 'perfection' we find outside of God is temporary and incomplete.
If everything else is limited, where can we find something that truly satisfies and endures?
In stark contrast to the limited nature of the world, the Psalmist declares, 'but your commandment is exceedingly broad.' This 'commandment' isn't just a list of rules; it represents God's entire revealed will – His Word, His truth, His character.
What makes it 'exceedingly broad'?
Understand the original words
killâh · Hebrew Noun
In this context, it refers to the entirety of human achievement, finite accomplishments, or earthly excellence. It denotes the boundary or end-point of what is created or fallible.
tiklâh · Hebrew Noun
The state of being complete or faultless. In Scripture, it often points to moral integrity or the fullness of something, though here it signifies the inherent boundaries of worldly or human attainment.
mitsvâh · Hebrew Noun
Divine injunctions, rules, or statutes given by God for His people. It represents the binding authority and revealed will of God that guides human life.
This passage directly contrasts the 'perfection' of this world, which is limited and temporal, with the 'exceeding broad' perfection found in God's will, urging believers not to be conformed to the former but transformed by the latter.
Matthew 5:48Jesus calls believers to 'be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,' highlighting a divine standard of perfection that is 'exceeding broad' and immeasurable, echoing the Psalmist's sentiment.
1 Peter 1:24-25This passage illustrates the limited and fleeting nature of earthly glory ('all flesh is like grass'), directly paralleling the Psalmist's observation that 'all perfection' has an end, while contrasting it with the enduring nature of God's word.
Colossians 2:9-10Paul speaks of being 'complete' in Christ, suggesting that true spiritual 'perfection' is found not in human wisdom or limitations, but in the fullness of Christ, which is 'exceeding broad' and all-sufficient.
gillPsalms 119:96: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
I have seen an end of all perfection,.... An end, limit, or border, to every country, as the Syriac version; as there is to every kingdom and state, and to the whole world; but none to the commandment of God: or an end of all created beings, the finished works of God, the most perfect in their kind. Manythings had already fallen under the observation of the psalmist: he had seen men of the greatest st…
poolePsalms 119:96: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
I have seen an end of all perfection; I have observed by my experience that the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, the greatest glory, and riches, and power, and wisdom, are too narrow and shortlived to make men happy. Thy commandment; thy word; one part of it being synecdochically put for the whole. Broad, or large , both for extent and for continuance; it is usef…
The verse contrasts the limits of everything else we might call "perfect" – human achievements, wisdom, or even created things – with the immeasurable scope of God's Word. It's not just that God's commandment is vast, but that everything else has a defined ending point, a boundary that the divine revelation transcends.
The psalmist, moving through the acrostic poem dedicated to God's Law, reflects on the limited nature of all earthly achievements and experiences. Having just affirmed the eternal stability of God's word, he now contrasts it with the transience he's observed in everything else, from worldly power to human wisdom. He concludes that while all created things and human endeavors have an end, God's commandment is boundless in its scope, depth, and enduring relevance.
The psalmist, moving through the acrostic poem dedicated to God's Law, reflects on the limited nature of all earthly achievements and experiences. Having just affirmed the eternal stability of God's word, he now contrasts it with the transience he's observed in everything else, from worldly power to human wisdom. He concludes that while all created things and human endeavors have an end, God's commandment is boundless in its scope, depth, and enduring relevance.
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This 'breadth' means God's Word is sufficient for every need, a vast ocean of truth and life compared to the shallow puddles of worldly perfection.
"I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Mem" — The verse contrasts the limits of everything else we might call "perfect" – human achievements, wisdom, or even created things – with the immeasurable scope of God's Word. It's not just that God's co…