Psalms 119:137-176

Tsade

137 You are righteous, Lord, and Your judgments are just.

138 The decrees You issue are righteous and altogether trustworthy.

139 My anger overwhelms me because my foes forget Your words.

140 Your word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it.

141 I am insignificant and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your instruction is true.

143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me, but Your commands are my delight.

144 Your decrees are righteous forever. Give me understanding, and I will live.

Qof

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord. I will obey Your statutes.

146 I call to You; save me, and I will keep Your decrees.

147 I rise before dawn and cry out for help; I put my hope in Your word.

148 I am awake through each watch of the night to meditate on Your promise.

149 In keeping with Your faithful love, hear my voice. Lord, give me life, in keeping with Your justice.

150 Those who pursue evil plans^[a] come near; they are far from Your instruction.

151 You are near, Lord, and all Your commands are true.

152 Long ago I learned from Your decrees that You have established them forever.

Resh

153 Consider my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten Your instruction.

154 Defend my cause, and redeem me; give me life, as You promised.

155 Salvation is far from the wicked because they do not seek Your statutes.

156 Your compassions are many, Lord; give me life, according to Your judgments.

157 My persecutors and foes are many. I have not turned from Your decrees.

158 I have seen the disloyal and feel disgust because they do not keep Your word.

159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Lord, give me life, according to Your faithful love.

160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

Sin/Shin

161 Princes have persecuted me without cause, but my heart fears [only] Your word.

162 I rejoice over Your promise like one who finds vast treasure.

163 I hate and abhor falsehood, [but] I love Your instruction.

164 I praise You seven times a day for Your righteous judgments.

165 Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction; nothing makes them stumble.

166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation and carry out Your commands.

167 I obey Your decrees and love them greatly.

168 I obey Your precepts and decrees, for all my ways are before You.

Tav

169 Let my cry reach You, Lord; give me understanding according to Your word.

170 Let my plea reach You; rescue me according to Your promise.

171 My lips pour out praise, for You teach me Your statutes.

172 My tongue sings about Your promise, for all Your commandments are righteous.

173 May Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts.

174 I long for Your salvation, Lord, and Your instruction is my delight.

175 Let me live, and I will praise You; may Your judgments help me.

176 I wander like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commands.

Psalms 119:137-176 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 119

This psalm is generally thought to be written by David, but when is uncertain; very probably towards the decline of life; and, as some think, for the sake or his son Solomon. It seems to be a collection of observations on the word of God and its precepts, the usefulness and excellency of it, he had made in the course of his life; interspersed with various petitions for the grace of God, to enable him to observe it. The psalm is a very extraordinary one; partly on account of the unusual length of it, it being more than double the length of the longest psalm in the whole book; and partly on account of its curious composition. It consists of twenty two parts, according to the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet; the names of which letters stand between each part; and every part consists of eight verses, all of which begin with the same letter: thus, for instance, the first eight verses begin with the letter a, "aleph", and the second eight verses begin with the letter b, "beth", and so on throughout; hence the Masorah calls this psalm the Great Alphabet. This the psalmist did, perhaps to excite attention to what he said, and also to help the memory. And it is observable that there are very few verses in the whole, not more than one or two, but what has something in it concerning the word of God, and its precepts and ordinances; there are nine or ten different words used relative to it, which signify much one and the same thing; as laws, statutes, judgments, testimonies Luther {m} observes, that neither Cicero, nor Virgil, nor Demosthenes, are to be compared with David for eloquence, as we see in the hundred nineteenth Psalm, where he divideth one sense and meaning into twenty two sorts. And it may also be remarked, that there is nothing in it concerning the tabernacle worship, or the rites and ceremonies of the legal dispensation; so that it seems to be calculated for, and is suited to, the word of God, and the ordinances of it, as we now have them in their full perfection: and the design of the whole is to show the fervent affection the psalmist had for the word of God, and to stir up the same in others.

{m} Mensal. Colloqu. c. 32. p. 365.

a, \\ALEPH.--The First Part\\.

Footnotes

• [a]. Some Hb mss, LXX, Sym, Jer read who maliciously persecute me