Psalms 119:24-74

24 Your unchanging word is my delight, and the guide of my footsteps.

25 My soul is joined to the dust: O give me life, in keeping with your word.

26 I put the record of my ways before you, and you gave me an answer: O give me knowledge of your rules.

27 Make the way of your orders clear to me; then my thoughts will be ever on your wonders.

28 My soul is wasted with sorrow; give me strength again in keeping with your word

29 Take from me every false way; and in mercy give me your law.

30 I have taken the way of faith: I have kept your decisions before me.

31 I have been true to your unchanging word; O Lord, do not put me to shame.

32 I will go quickly in the way of your teaching, because you have given me a free heart.

33 O Lord, let me see the way of your rules, and I will keep it to the end.

34 Give me wisdom, so that I may keep your law; going after it with all my heart.

35 Make me go in the way of your teachings; for they are my delight.

36 Let my heart be turned to your unchanging word, and not to evil desire.

37 Let my eyes be turned away from what is false; give me life in your ways.

38 Give effect to your word to your servant, in whose heart is the fear of you.

39 Take away the shame which is my fear; for your decisions are good.

40 See how great is my desire for your orders: give me life in your righteousness.

41 Let your mercies come to me, O Lord, even your salvation, as you have said.

42 So that I may have an answer for the man who would put me to shame; for I have faith in your word.

43 Take not your true word quite out of my mouth; for I have put my hope in your decisions.

44 So that I may keep your law for ever and ever;

45 So that my way may be in a wide place: because my search has been for your orders.

46 So that I may give knowledge of your unchanging word before kings, and not be put to shame.

47 And so that I may take delight in your teachings, to which I have given my love.

48 And so that my hands may be stretched out to you; and I will give thought to your rules.

49 Keep in mind your word to your servant, for on it has my hope been fixed.

50 This is my comfort in my trouble; that your sayings have given me life.

51 The men of pride have made great sport of me; but I have not been turned from your law.

52 I have kept the memory of your decisions from times past, O Lord; and they have been my comfort.

53 I am burning with wrath, because of the sinners who have given up your law.

54 Your rules have been melodies to me, while I have been living in strange lands.

55 I have given thought to your name in the night, O Lord, and have kept your law.

56 This has been true of me, that I have kept your orders in my heart.

57 The Lord is my heritage: I have said that I would be ruled by your words.

58 I have given my mind to do your pleasure with all my heart; have mercy on me, as you have said.

59 I gave thought to my steps, and my feet were turned into the way of your unchanging word.

60 I was quick to do your orders, and let no time be wasted.

61 The cords of evil-doers are round me; but I have kept in mind your law.

62 In the middle of the night I will get up to give you praise, because of all your right decisions.

63 I keep company with all your worshippers, and those who have your orders in their memory.

64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy: give me knowledge of your rules.

65 You have done good to your servant, O Lord, in keeping with your word.

66 Give me knowledge and good sense; for I have put my faith in your teachings.

67 Before I was in trouble I went out of the way; but now I keep your word.

68 You are good, and your works are good; give me knowledge of your rules.

69 The men of pride have said false things about me; but I will keep your orders in my heart.

70 Their hearts are shut up with fat; but my delight is in your law.

71 It is good for me to have been through trouble; so that I might come to the knowledge of your rules.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.

73 Your hands have made me, and given me form: give me wisdom, so that I may have knowledge of your teaching.

74 Your worshippers will see me and be glad; because my hope has been in your word.

Psalms 119:24-74 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\\.