PSALMS 119:164 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.”
Seven times a day the psalmist praises God for righteous ordinances, establishing a pattern of frequent, regular prayer distributed throughout the day. This verse illustrates discipline of perpetual consciousness of God's presence through prayer: seven times suggests completeness rather than literalism, indicating prayer integrated throughout all daily activity. The praise is specifically for righteous ordinances, directing gratitude toward God's law rather than toward temporal blessings. The regularity of this prayer (seven times daily) prevents understanding commitment to God's law as occasional spiritual exercise but establishes it as basic rhythm of existence. This verse inspires contemplatives toward developing regular prayer practice, finding in it the means to maintain consciousness of God's law amid competing demands. The frequency of praise indicates that meditation on Scripture should shape the texture of daily life.
Church Fathers on Psalms 119:164
1. From its commencement, dearly beloved, does this great Psalm exhort us unto bliss, which there is no one who desires not....And therefore this is the lesson which he teaches, who says, “Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord” Psalm 118:1. As much as to say, I know what you wish, you are seeking bliss: if then you would be blessed, be undefiled. For the former all desire, the latter fear: yet without it what all wish cannot be…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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