Psalms 119:17-40

17 Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees.
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, LORD; do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.
33 Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.[a]
34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.[b]
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.

Images for Psalms 119:17-40

Psalms 119:17-40 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\\.

Cross References 39

  • 1. Psalms 13:6; Psalms 116:7
  • 2. ver 67; Psalms 103:20
  • 3. S Genesis 23:4; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 39:12; 2 Corinthians 5:6; Hebrews 11:13
  • 4. Psalms 42:2; Psalms 84:2
  • 5. ver 131; S Psalms 63:1; Isaiah 26:9
  • 6. ver 51; Job 30:1; Psalms 5:5; Jeremiah 20:7; Jeremiah 50:32; Daniel 4:37; Malachi 3:15
  • 7. Deuteronomy 27:26
  • 8. S ver 10
  • 9. Psalms 39:8
  • 10. ver 2
  • 11. Psalms 44:25
  • 12. ver 50,107; Psalms 143:11
  • 13. ver 9
  • 14. Psalms 25:4; Psalms 27:11; Psalms 86:11
  • 15. Psalms 105:2; Psalms 145:5
  • 16. Psalms 6:7; Psalms 116:3; Isaiah 51:11; Jeremiah 45:3; Psalms 107:26
  • 17. Psalms 18:1; Isaiah 40:29; Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 20:2; 1 Peter 5:10
  • 18. ver 9
  • 19. Psalms 26:4
  • 20. S Numbers 6:25
  • 21. S Joshua 24:22
  • 22. S Psalms 26:3
  • 23. S Psalms 108:1
  • 24. S Deuteronomy 10:20; Deuteronomy 11:22
  • 25. ver 12
  • 26. ver 27,73,144,169; S Job 32:8; Proverbs 2:6; Daniel 2:21; James 1:5
  • 27. S Deuteronomy 6:25
  • 28. ver 69
  • 29. Psalms 25:4-5
  • 30. ver 32
  • 31. S Psalms 1:2
  • 32. S Joshua 24:23; 1 Kings 8:58
  • 33. Ezekiel 33:31; Mark 7:21-22; Luke 12:15; Hebrews 13:5
  • 34. ver 25; Psalms 71:20; Isaiah 33:15
  • 35. ver 9
  • 36. S Numbers 23:19; 2 Samuel 7:25
  • 37. ver 22; Psalms 69:9; Psalms 89:51; Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 51:7; Isaiah 54:4
  • 38. ver 20
  • 39. ver 25,149,154

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or "follow it for its reward"
  • [b]. Two manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Dead Sea Scrolls; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text "life in your way"
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