Psalm 119:89-176

89 Forever, O Lord, your ¹word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

90 Your ²faithfulness endures to all generations; you have ³established the earth, and it ⁴stands fast.

91 By your ⁵appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

92 If your law had not been my ⁶delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have ⁷given me life.

94 I am yours; save me, ⁸for I have sought your precepts.

95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.

96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly ⁹broad. Mem

97 Oh how ¹⁰I love your law! It is my ¹¹meditation all the day.

98 Your commandment makes me ¹²wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for ¹³your testimonies are my meditation.

100 I understand more than ¹⁴the aged, ^[a] for I ¹⁵keep your precepts.

101 I ¹⁶hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

102 I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.

103 How ¹⁷sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore ¹⁸I hate every false way. Nun

105 ¹⁹Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

106 I have ²⁰sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your ²¹righteous rules.

107 I am severely ²²afflicted; ²³give me life, O Lord, according to your word!

108 Accept ²⁴my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and ²⁵teach me your rules.

109 I hold my life ²⁶in my hand continually, but I do not ²⁷forget your law.

110 The wicked have laid ²⁸a snare for me, but ²⁹I do not stray from your precepts.

111 Your testimonies are ³⁰my heritage forever, for they are ³¹the joy of my heart.

112 I ³²incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, ³³to the end. ^[b] Samekh

113 I hate ³⁴the double-minded, but I love ³⁵your law.

114 You are my ³⁶hiding place and my ³⁷shield; I ³⁸hope in your word.

115 ³⁹Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may ⁴⁰keep the commandments of my God.

116 Uphold me ⁴¹according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be ⁴²put to shame in my ⁴³hope!

117 ⁴⁴Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!

118 You ⁴⁵spurn all who ⁴⁶go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.

119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like ⁴⁷dross, therefore ⁴⁸I love your testimonies.

120 My flesh ⁴⁹trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin

121 I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.

122 Give your servant ⁵⁰a pledge of good; let not ⁵¹the insolent oppress me.

123 My ⁵²eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and ⁵³teach me your statutes.

125 I am your ⁵⁴servant; ⁵⁵give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!

126 It is time for the Lord to act, for your law has been broken.

127 Therefore I ⁵⁶love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.

128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every ⁵⁷false way. Pe

129 Your testimonies are ⁵⁸wonderful; therefore my soul ⁵⁹keeps them.

130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts ⁶⁰understanding to the simple.

131 I ⁶¹open my mouth and ⁶²pant, because I ⁶³long for your commandments.

132 ⁶⁴Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.

133 ⁶⁵Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity ⁶⁶get dominion over me.

134 ⁶⁷Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

135 ⁶⁸Make your face shine upon your servant, and ⁶⁹teach me your statutes.

136 My eyes ⁷⁰shed streams of tears, because people ⁷¹do not keep your law. Tsadhe

137 ⁷²Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules.

138 You have appointed your testimonies in ⁷³righteousness and in all ⁷⁴faithfulness.

139 My ⁷⁵zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.

140 Your promise is well ⁷⁶tried, and your servant ⁷⁷loves it.

141 I am small and despised, yet I do not ⁷⁸forget your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is ⁷⁹true.

143 Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my ⁸⁰delight.

144 Your testimonies are righteous forever; ⁸¹give me understanding that I may ⁸²live. Qoph

145 With my ⁸³whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will ⁸⁴keep your statutes.

146 I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.

147 I rise before ⁸⁵dawn and cry for help; I ⁸⁶hope in your words.

148 My eyes are awake before ⁸⁷the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.

149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, ⁸⁸according to your justice ⁸⁹give me life.

150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.

151 But ⁹⁰you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are ⁹¹true.

152 Long have I known from your testimonies that you have ⁹²founded them forever. Resh

153 Look on my ⁹³affliction and deliver me, for ⁹⁴I do not forget your law.

154 ⁹⁵Plead my cause and redeem me; ⁹⁶give me life according to your promise!

155 ⁹⁷Salvation is far from the wicked, ⁹⁸for they do not seek your statutes.

156 ⁹⁹Great is your mercy, O Lord; ¹⁰⁰give me life according to your rules.

157 ¹⁰¹Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not ¹⁰²swerve from your testimonies.

158 I look at ¹⁰³the faithless with ¹⁰⁴disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

159 Consider how I ¹⁰⁵love your precepts! ¹⁰⁶Give me life according to your steadfast love.

160 ¹⁰⁷The sum of your word is ¹⁰⁸truth, and every one of your ¹⁰⁹righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin

161 ¹¹⁰Princes persecute me ¹¹¹without cause, but my heart ¹¹²stands in awe of your words.

162 I ¹¹³rejoice at your word like one who ¹¹⁴finds great spoil.

163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love ¹¹⁵your law.

164 Seven times a day I praise you for your ¹¹⁶righteous rules.

165 Great ¹¹⁷peace have those who love your law; ¹¹⁸nothing can make them stumble.

166 I ¹¹⁹hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do your commandments.

167 My soul keeps your testimonies; I ¹²⁰love them exceedingly.

168 I keep your precepts and testimonies, ¹²¹for all my ways are before you. Taw

169 Let my ¹²²cry come before you, O Lord; ¹²³give me understanding ¹²⁴according to your word!

170 Let my plea come before you; ¹²⁵deliver me according to your word.

171 My lips will ¹²⁶pour forth praise, for you ¹²⁷teach me your statutes.

172 My tongue will sing of your word, for ¹²⁸all your commandments are right.

173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have ¹²⁹chosen your precepts.

174 I ¹³⁰long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my ¹³¹delight.

175 Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.

176 I have ¹³²gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not ¹³³forget your commandments.

Psalm 119:89-176 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\\.

Cross References

• 1. 119:89 ver. 152; [Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:25]; [Jer. 31:35-37]
• 2. 119:90 See Ps. 36:5
• 3. 119:90 [Ps. 148:6]
• 4. 119:90 Eccles. 1:4
• 5. 119:91 Jer. 33:25
• 6. 119:92 ver. 77
• 7. 119:93 ver. 25; See Ps. 71:20
• 8. 119:94 ver. 45
• 9. 119:96 [Ps. 18:19]
• 10. 119:97 ver. 113, 163, 165; [Ps. 1:2]
• 11. 119:97 ver. 15
• 12. 119:98 [Deut. 4:6]
• 13. 119:99 [2 Tim. 3:15]
• 14. 119:100 See Job 32:7-9
• 15. 119:100 ver. 56, 69
• 16. 119:101 Prov. 1:15
• 17. 119:103 Ps. 19:10
• 18. 119:104 ver. 128
• 19. 119:105 Prov. 6:23
• 20. 119:106 Neh. 10:29
• 21. 119:106 ver. 7
• 22. 119:107 [ver. 25, 50]
• 23. 119:107 ver. 88; See Ps. 71:20
• 24. 119:108 [Hos. 14:2]
• 25. 119:108 ver. 12
• 26. 119:109 See Judg. 12:3
• 27. 119:109 ver. 83
• 28. 119:110 See Ps. 91:3
• 29. 119:110 ver. 10
• 30. 119:111 Deut. 33:4
• 31. 119:111 ver. 14, 162
• 32. 119:112 ver. 36
• 33. 119:112 See ver. 33
• 34. 119:113 [1 Kgs. 18:21; James 1:8; 4:8]
• 35. 119:113 ver. 97
• 36. 119:114 See Ps. 32:7
• 37. 119:114 See Ps. 3:3
• 38. 119:114 ver. 74
• 39. 119:115 See Ps. 6:8
• 40. 119:115 [ver. 22]
• 41. 119:116 ver. 41
• 42. 119:116 ver. 31; See Ps. 25:2
• 43. 119:116 Ps. 146:5
• 44. 119:117 [Ps. 20:2]
• 45. 119:118 Lam. 1:15
• 46. 119:118 ver. 10, 21, 110
• 47. 119:119 Isa. 1:25; [Ezek. 22:18; Mal. 3:2, 3]
• 48. 119:119 ver. 97
• 49. 119:120 [Job 4:14; Hab. 3:16]
• 50. 119:122 See Job 17:3
• 51. 119:122 ver. 51
• 52. 119:123 ver. 82
• 53. 119:124 ver. 12
• 54. 119:125 See Ps. 116:16
• 55. 119:125 ver. 27
• 56. 119:127 ver. 72; Ps. 19:10
• 57. 119:128 ver. 104
• 58. 119:129 ver. 18, 27
• 59. 119:129 ver. 22
• 60. 119:130 See Ps. 19:7
• 61. 119:131 Ps. 81:10; Job 29:23
• 62. 119:131 Ps. 42:1
• 63. 119:131 ver. 20
• 64. 119:132 See Ps. 25:16
• 65. 119:133 [Ps. 17:5]
• 66. 119:133 Ps. 19:13
• 67. 119:134 [Luke 1:74]
• 68. 119:135 See Ps. 4:6
• 69. 119:135 ver. 12
• 70. 119:136 Jer. 9:1, 18; 14:17; Lam. 3:48; [Ezek. 9:4; Phil. 3:18]
• 71. 119:136 ver. 158
• 72. 119:137 See Ps. 116:5
• 73. 119:138 ver. 75, 172; See Ps. 19:7-9
• 74. 119:138 ver. 86
• 75. 119:139 See Ps. 69:9
• 76. 119:140 See Ps. 12:6
• 77. 119:140 ver. 97
• 78. 119:141 ver. 83
• 79. 119:142 ver. 151, 160; John 17:17; [Ps. 19:2]
• 80. 119:143 ver. 24
• 81. 119:144 ver. 27
• 82. 119:144 ver. 17
• 83. 119:145 ver. 2, 10
• 84. 119:145 ver. 22, 33
• 85. 119:147 See Ps. 5:3
• 86. 119:147 ver. 74
• 87. 119:148 See Ps. 42:8
• 88. 119:149 ver. 156; [ver. 40]
• 89. 119:149 ver. 25; See Ps. 71:20
• 90. 119:151 See Ps. 145:18
• 91. 119:151 See ver. 142
• 92. 119:152 ver. 89, 160; [Matt. 5:18]
• 93. 119:153 Job 36:15
• 94. 119:153 ver. 83
• 95. 119:154 Ps. 35:1
• 96. 119:154 ver. 25
• 97. 119:155 Job 5:4
• 98. 119:155 [ver. 150]
• 99. 119:156 2 Sam. 24:14
• 100. 119:156 [See ver. 154 above]
• 101. 119:157 Ps. 3:1, 2
• 102. 119:157 See ver. 51
• 103. 119:158 [Jer. 3:20]
• 104. 119:158 Ps. 139:21; [ver. 136]
• 105. 119:159 ver. 97
• 106. 119:159 [See ver. 154 above]
• 107. 119:160 Ps. 139:17
• 108. 119:160 [ver. 142, 172]
• 109. 119:160 ver. 7
• 110. 119:161 ver. 23; [1 Sam. 24:11; 26:18]
• 111. 119:161 See Ps. 69:4
• 112. 119:161 [Ps. 2:11]
• 113. 119:162 [See ver. 161 above]
• 114. 119:162 1 Sam. 30:16; Isa. 9:3; [Matt. 13:44]
• 115. 119:163 ver. 97
• 116. 119:164 [See ver. 160 above]
• 117. 119:165 Ps. 37:11, 37; [Prov. 3:2]
• 118. 119:165 Prov. 3:23; 1 John 2:10; [Matt. 13:41]
• 119. 119:166 ver. 174; Gen. 49:18
• 120. 119:167 [See ver. 163 above]
• 121. 119:168 Ps. 139:3; Prov. 5:21
• 122. 119:169 [ver. 145]
• 123. 119:169 See ver. 34
• 124. 119:169 ver. 65
• 125. 119:170 ver. 41
• 126. 119:171 Ps. 145:7
• 127. 119:171 ver. 12
• 128. 119:172 [ver. 160]
• 129. 119:173 Josh. 24:22; [Prov. 1:29]
• 130. 119:174 ver. 20
• 131. 119:174 ver. 24
• 132. 119:176 Isa. 53:6; 1 Pet. 2:25; [Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4]
• 133. 119:176 ver. 83

Footnotes

• [a] 119:100 Or 'the elders'
• [b] 119:112 Or 'statutes; the reward is eternal'