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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
And that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity:
They walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us
To keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed
To keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed,
When I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes:
O forsake me not utterly.
By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
That I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord:
Teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared
All the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate in thy precepts,
And have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
That I may live, and keep thy word.
18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
Wondrous things out of thy law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth:
Hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul breaketh for the longing
That it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed,
Which do err from thy commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt;
For I have kept thy testimonies.
23 Princes also did sit and speak against me:
But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies also are my delight,
And my counsellors.
Quicken thou me according to thy word.
26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me:
Teach me thy statutes.
27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts:
So shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
28 My soul melteth for heaviness:
Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
29 Remove from me the way of lying:
And grant me thy law graciously.
30 I have chosen the way of truth:
Thy judgments have I laid before me.
31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies:
O Lord, put me not to shame.
32 I will run the way of thy commandments,
When thou shalt enlarge my heart.
And I shall keep it unto the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;
Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments;
For therein do I delight.
36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,
And not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
And quicken thou me in thy way.
38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant,
Who is devoted to thy fear.
39 Turn away my reproach which I fear:
For thy judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts:
Quicken me in thy righteousness.
Even thy salvation, according to thy word.
42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me:
For I trust in thy word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth;
For I have hoped in thy judgments.
44 So shall I keep thy law continually
Forever and ever.
45 And I will walk at liberty:
For I seek thy precepts.
46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments,
Which I have loved.
48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;
And I will meditate in thy statutes.
Upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction:
For thy word hath quickened me.
51 The proud have had me greatly in derision:
Yet have I not declined from thy law.
52 I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord:
And have comforted myself.
53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked
That forsake thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night,
And have kept thy law.
56 This I had,
Because I kept thy precepts.
I have said that I would keep thy words.
58 I entreated thy favor with my whole heart:
Be merciful unto me according to thy word.
59 I thought on my ways,
And turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
60 I made haste, and delayed not
To keep thy commandments.
61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me:
But I have not forgotten thy law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee
Because of thy righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee,
And of them that keep thy precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy:
Teach me thy statutes.
O Lord, according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge:
For I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray
But now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good:
Teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me:
But I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease:
But I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
That I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me
Than thousands of gold and silver.
Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me;
Because I have hoped in thy word.
75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right,
And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to thy word unto thy servant.
77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live:
For thy law is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause:
But I will meditate in thy precepts.
79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me,
And those that have known thy testimonies.
80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes;
That I be not ashamed.
But I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word,
Saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke;
Yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant?
When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me,
Which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful:
They persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth;
But I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy loving-kindness;
So shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
Thy word is settled in heaven.
90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations:
Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances:
For all are thy servants.
92 Unless thy law had been my delights,
I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93 I will never forget thy precepts:
For with them thou hast quickened me.
94 I am thine, save me;
For I have sought thy precepts.
95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me:
But I will consider thy testimonies.
96 I have seen an end of all perfection:
But thy commandment is exceeding broad.
It is my meditation all the day.
98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
For they are ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers:
For thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep thy precepts.
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
That I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments:
For thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding.
Therefore I hate every false way
And a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it,
That I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much:
Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
And teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand:
Yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me:
Yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever:
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes
Always, even unto the end.
But thy law do I love.
114 Thou art my hiding-place and my shield:
I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evil doers:
For I will keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live:
And let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe:
And I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes:
For their deceit is falsehood.
119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross:
Therefore I love thy testimonies.
120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee;
And I am afraid of thy judgments.
Leave me not to mine oppressors.
122 Be surety for thy servant for good:
Let not the proud oppress me.
123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation,
And for the word of thy righteousness.
124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy,
And teach me thy statutes.
125 I am thy servant; give me understanding,
That I may know thy testimonies.
126 It is time for thee, Lord, to work:
For they have made void thy law.
127 Therefore I love thy commandments
Above gold; yea, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right:
And I hate every false way.
Therefore doth my soul keep them.
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light;
It giveth understanding unto the simple.
131 I opened my mouth, and panted:
For I longed for thy commandments.
132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me,
As thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133 Order my steps in thy word:
And let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Deliver me from the oppression of man:
So will I keep thy precepts.
135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;
And teach me thy statutes.
136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes,
Because they keep not thy law.
And upright are thy judgments.
138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous
And very faithful.
139 My zeal hath consumed me,
Because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
140 Thy word is very pure:
Therefore thy servant loveth it.
141 I am small and despised:
Yet do not I forget thy precepts.
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And thy law is the truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me:
Yet thy commandments are my delights.
144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting.
Give me understanding, and I shall live.
I will keep thy statutes.
146 I cried unto thee; save me,
And I shall keep thy testimonies.
147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried:
I hoped in thy word.
148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches,
That I might meditate in thy word.
149 Hear my voice according unto thy loving-kindness:
O Lord, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150 They draw nigh that follow after mischief:
They are far from thy law.
151 Thou art near, O Lord;
And all thy commandments are truth.
152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old
That thou hast founded them forever.
For I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me:
Quicken me according to thy word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked:
For they seek not thy statutes.
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord:
Quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies;
Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved;
Because they kept not thy word.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts:
Quicken me, O Lord, according to thy loving-kindness.
160 Thy word is true from the beginning:
And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.
But my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162 I rejoice at thy word,
As one that findeth great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor lying:
But thy law do I love.
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee,
Because of thy righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have they which love thy law:
And nothing shall offend them.
166 Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation,
And done thy commandments.
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies;
And I love them exceedingly.
168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies:
For all my ways are before thee.
Give me understanding according to thy word.
170 Let my supplication come before thee:
Deliver me according to thy word.
171 My lips shall utter praise,
When thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172 My tongue shall speak of thy word:
For all thy commandments are righteousness.
173 Let thine hand help me;
For I have chosen thy precepts.
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord;
And thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live and it shall praise thee;
And let thy judgments help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant;
For I do not forget thy commandments.
The carrying out of this artificial plan through such a long series of verses with great comparative simplicity, has not only occasioned many repetitions, with but slight changes in expression and shades of thought, but has made it questionable whether there can be any internal structural connection or progress of thought. It is certainly saying too much to maintain that there is no connection whatever (De Wette) and to designate the Psalm as the most monotonous and barren in thought of all aphoristic collections and a specimen of the trifling of later times (Hupfeld), or a mnemonic book of devotion (Köster), at the same time denying any reference to a special situation or mental posture of the author. But even if the notion be abandoned that there is any regularity of plan, or any inner progress of thought (Hengst.), the Psalm is, at all events, not a collection of apophthegms, but is evidently a Psalm of supplication composed not by an old man (Ewald), but, according to Psa_119:9 f., 99, 100, by a young man (Del.), who prays, particularly after Psa_119:84, for steadfastness in the midst of great trouble, surrounded by evil men and persecutors. Yet it must be allowed that, along with the praise of God’s word and law, which is repeated almost like a refrain, there are interwoven prayers for enlightenment to understand them, and strength to be faithful to them, intermingled here and there with complaints, promises, and hopes, and also with supplications for Divine assistance against mighty and crafty oppressors and persecutors. All these occur so frequently that it is unadvisable to limit the connection of thought to a narrow range.
Whether the author was in imprisonment, and shortened the time by thus weaving together his complaints and comforting thoughts (Hitzig, Del.) cannot be known with any degree of certainty. The same remark applies to the time of composition and the person of the composer. It is only certain that the Poet did not speak for the Jewish people (Rudinger), and that the Psalm is to be reckoned among the latest of the whole collection (Ewald). Some of the older commentators have assigned it to a Jew living in captivity among the Syrians (Sylloge commentt. theoll. ed. Pott. I., p. 314 ff.). There is also something to be said in favor of referring it to the period of Grecian rule, under which the government was unfriendly, and a large party among the Jews themselves, who favored the government, persecuted the pronounced professors of the Thora (Del.). If we go down to the time of the Maccabees, an historical connection is presented with the imprisonment of Jonathan, 1Ma_12:48 (Hitzig). But the closing period of the Persian supremacy affords the contrasts presented here, between a worldly government, hostile to the religion of Jehovah and the Divine dominion revealed in the Law; between that party of presumptuous blasphemers, who appear as national enemies, and the pious worshippers of Jehovah; between disloyal, unfaithful, covenant-breaking Jews, and the friends of the Law, whose companion the Poet is (Ehrt, Abfassungszeit und Abschluss des Psalters, p. 191).
Delitzsch gives the inner progress of thought through the several strophes as follows: After the Poet has praised fidelity to God’s word (1), and characterized it as the virtue of all virtues, which is a blessing to the young, and which he himself labors to gain (2), he prays, in the midst of scornful and persecuting companions, for the mercies of enlightenment (3), of strengthening (4), of preservation (5), of suitable and joyful profession of his faith (6); God’s word is the object of his striving and aspirations (7), he loves the friendship of those who fear God (8), and, though recognizing the salutary influences of his humiliation (9), is yet in need of consolation (10), and sighs: how long! (11). Without the immovable and mighty word of God he would despond (12); it is his wisdom in situations of distress (13); he has sworn to be faithful to it, and in persecution remains faithful (14); he abhors and despises the faithless; he is oppressed, but God will not leave him under oppression (16), or permit a godless conduct, which forces rivers of tears from his eyes, to prevail over him (17), over him who is small (youthful) and despised, whom zeal, on account of the prevailing forgetfulness of God, is consuming (18); he entreats that God might hear his crying by day and by night (19), might soon revive him with His helpful compassion (20), as he remains firm in his fidelity to God, though persecuted by princes (21), and seek the lamb, that was separated from the flock and exposed to such dangers (22).—This is, at least, a guiding thread in the efforts which are necessary to connect the several strophes. The sections are then more or less individualized in their single verses.
[Hengstenberg, holding the view given above under his name, sums up the contents of the Psalm thus: “The praise of God’s word, the assertion that it is the infinitely sure way of salvation, and the only comfort in suffering, the determination to be faithful to God’s word and law, prayer for the spiritual understanding of the law, and for strength to fulfil it, and supplications for the salvation promised in it, form the contents of this Psalm.” With reference to the stand-point of the author, Hengstenberg considers it entirely national, referring to Psa_119:23; Psa_119:46; Psa_119:87, with which he compares Psa_115:14, and Psa_119:161. He therefore considers large portions of it, which appear to represent only individual feelings, as bearing a hortatory character. But the true view appears to me to be that of Alexander: “There is no Psalm in the whole collection which has more the appearance of having been exclusively designed for practical and personal improvement, without any reference to national or even to ecclesiastical relations than the one before us.” After citing some of Hengstenberg’s arguments for the opposite view, he continues: “The opinion that the ideal speaker throughout this Psalm is Israel, considered as the Church or chosen people, will never commend itself as natural or likely to the mass of readers, and is scarcely consistent with such passages as Psa_119:63; Psa_119:74; Psa_119:79, and others, where the speaker expressly distinguishes himself from the body of the people. The same difficulty, in a less degree, attends the national interpretation of the Psalms immediately preceding. Perhaps the best mode of reconciling the two views is by supposing that this Psalm was intended as a manual of pious and instructive thoughts, designed for popular improvement, and especially for that of the younger generation, after the return from exile, and that the person speaking is the individual believer, not as an isolated personality, but as a member of the general body, with which he identifies himself so far, that many expressions of the Psalm are strictly applicable only to the whole as such considered, while others are appropriate only to certain persons or to certain classes in the ancient Israel. To this design of popular instruction, and especially to that of constant repetition and reflection, the Psalm is admirably suited by its form and structure. The alphabetical arrangement, of which it is at once the most extended and the most perfect specimen, and the aphoristic character, common to all alphabetic Psalms, are both adapted to assist the memory as well as to give point to the immediate impression. It follows, of course, that the Psalm was rather meant to be a storehouse of materials for pious meditation, than a discourse for continuous perusal.” On this last question Perowne also agrees with most commentators, against the opinion of Delitzsch that there is a continuity of thought in the Psalm.
On the opinion of Delitzsch and Ewald, referred to above, with regard to the period of the author’s life at the time of the composition, Perowne argues: “The language of ver 9 is rather that of one, who looking back on his own past life, draws the inference, which he seeks to impress upon the young, that youthful purity can only be preserved by those, who from early years take God’s word as their guide. When it is said in Psa_119:99-100 that the Psalmist is wiser than his teachers, wiser than the aged, the only conclusion that can be drawn is, that he is not advanced in life. It is plain that the writer is not an old man, as Ewald would have us believe, or he would not compare his knowledge of the law with the knowledge of the aged. But it does not follow that he is a young man. The teachers whom he had outstript may have been those, whose disciple he once was, not those whose disciple he still is, or he may refer to authorized teachers, to whom he listened because they taught in Moses’ seat, though he felt that they had really nothing to teach him. Indeed the whole strain of the Psalm, its depth and breadth of spiritual life, and the long acquaintance, which is everywhere implied in it, with the word of God, can leave us no doubt that it was written by a man who was no longer young, who had at least reached ‘the middle arch of life.’ ”
The spiritual worth and beauty of the Psalm are not impaired by its artificial form. “If we would fathom the depth of meaning in the written law of Israel: if we would measure the elevation of soul, the hope, the confidence, even before princes and kings, which pious Jews derived from it, we must turn to this Psalm. Here is an epitome of all true religion as conceived by the best spirits of that time. To such a loving study and meditation on the law, the alphabetical arrangement is not inappropriate, and if the poem be necessarily somewhat cramped, it is nevertheless pervaded by the glow of love, and abounds in spiritual life.” (The Psalms Chronologically Arranged by Four Friends, p. 385; quoted by Perowne). See also an estimate of its spiritual teaching in Edwards on the Religious Affections, Part III. Sec. 3.—J. F. M.].
Aleph. Psa_119:1-4. This Psalm in accordance with the more extended treatment of its topics, has a double ascription of blessedness, instead of the single one in Psa_1:1; Psa_112:1. The præterites, mingled as they are with futures in the sense of the present, express the constancy of the relation described.—[The rendering of Psa_119:1 a, in E. V. is not sufficiently perspicuous. The literal translation is: Blessed are those who are blameless in their ways. Its rendering of Psa_119:4 is also incorrect, neglecting the division of the verse according to the accents. It should be: Thou hast enjoined thy precepts; to observe them diligently. The explanation follows.—J. F. M.]. In Psa_119:4 b, the design in enjoining the precepts is given, with the implication that their observance is as earnestly enjoined, as it is difficult to practise.
Psa_119:5-7. The Psalmist does not say that he would have his ways directed to the object expressed in Psa_119:5 b. (Sept., De Wette, Del.), or that he would have them established, standing fast, for the sake of the object to be gained (Hupfeld), Pro_4:26. [The former view which is expressed in E. V. is also that of Alexander. That of Dr. Moll is probably more correct. It is expressed in his translation: Oh that my ways were firmly set, to keep Thy statutes! The difference between the two views is very slight.—J. F. M.] àַçֲìַé , for which in 2Ki_5:3, occurs àַçֲìֵé , is equivalent to Oh if! a sigh of desire. Psa_119:7. The judgments of thy righteousness [E. V. righteous judgments] are those decisions with regard to justice and injustice, which express and fulfil God’s righteousness, and which are to be learnt from Scripture in connection with History (Del.) Exo_21:1; Exo_24:3; Leviticus 18; Lev_19:19 f., and which form the object of praise.
Beth. Psa_119:9. In Psa_119:9 b, the answer given, in the gerund, to the question in Psa_119:9 a, has a form which is not quite suitable (Olshausen). After ùׁîø may be supplied according to the analogy of the Psalm: it, that is, the way, or the law (Aben Ezra, J. H. Mich., Rosenmüller, Hupfeld, Hitzig). The reflexive construction (Luther, De Wette, Hengst., Del.) is likewise admissible, Jos_6:18. The cleansing of the way (Psa_73:13; Pro_20:9) alludes to the defilement of sin. [Alexander differs from all these critics. He considers the construction of the infin. as a gerund to be too rare and doubtful to be assumed without necessity, and renders the second member: “(so) as to keep it according to thy word.” He says, “It is much more simple and agreeable to usage, to regard the whole as one interrogative, and the second clause as supplementary to the first. The answer is suppressed, or rather, left to be inferred from the whole tenor of the psalm, which is, that men, and especially young men, whose passions and temptations are strong in proportion to their inexperience, can do nothing of themselves, but are dependent on the grace of God. The omission of an answer, which is thus suggested by the whole psalm, rather strengthens than impairs the impression on the reader.”—J. F. M.]
Psa_119:14. The Law is equalled in value to all possible riches; that is, to all blessings that can be conceived, and that are most highly prized by men. The rendering should not be: as it were more than all riches (Olsh.), but: as above all riches (comp. Psa_119:162).
Gimel. Psa_119:17-18. In Psa_119:17, according to the accentuation, àֶçְéֶä belongs to the first member, and indicates the end for which the divine bounties are entreated: “that I may live.” Attached to the second member, with the translation: if I live, I will keep (held to be possible by Hupfeld), the vow of obedience, prompted by the divine gift of life, would be uttered. Or, if we adopt the construction: may I live and keep (Hitzig), both of these ends are distinguished in one supplication, as simultaneous objects of entreaty. [According to the accents, the best translation is: Grant to thy servant (that) I may live, and I will keep thy word. So most translators. Alexander remarks that there may be an allusion to the way in which the Law connects life and obedience, and refers to Lev_18:5; Deu_6:24. Hengstenberg, in accordance with his hypothesis given above, holds that it is the preservation of the national existence that is meant.—J. F. M.] The wondrous things in Psa_119:18 are not events in which the direction given by God is shown unexpectedly to have been right (Hitzig), but truths disclosed to faith, and revelations concerning God, lying in the law beneath the veil of the letter, and perplexing to the common understanding, to the knowledge of which the removal of the veil suspended over the eyes by nature is also necessary.
Psa_119:19 ff. On earth we are only lodging as strangers, and, as it were, in a foreign land (1Ch_29:15; Psa_39:13). Nor do we know beforehand what is established there as right and law. This we would faint discover; for the anger of God, which does not concern itself about our ignorance, dwells there too (Hitzig). Therefore we do not need speedy compassion on account of the fleetness of life (Hupfeld); we need instruction (De Wette) in our helplessness (Luther, Hengst., Del.) [Luther explains: “I have no inheritance but thy word; therefore forsake me not.”—J. F. M.]—In Psa_119:22 âַì is not instead of ðֹì , from âìì to roll off, Jos_5:9 (Isaaki, Ros., De Wette, Hengst.), but it is from ðìç , to uncover, draw away the covering (Geier, J. H. Mich.), here that of contempt, [which is regarded as if it were a garment or cloak.—J. F. M.]
Daleth. Psa_119:25-28. The reviving in Psa_119:25 refers as usual, not to the strengthening of the spiritual, but to the restoration of the physical life, welfare, and prosperity, by deliverance from distress and danger. [Alexander: “The first clause seems intended to suggest two consistent but distinct ideas: that of deep degradation as in Psa_44:26, and that of death as in Psa_22:30. The first would be more obvious in itself and in connection with the parallel referred to; but the other seems to be the prominent idea, from the correlative petition in the last clause.…Thy word, the promise annexed to Thy commandment, see Psa_119:28.” Psa_119:28 a, should probably be rendered: My soul weeps from sorrow. The verb means to drop. In Job_16:20 it is applied to the eye.—J. F. M.]
Psa_119:30 ff. In Psa_119:30 ùֵׁåִּéúִé is scarcely to be explained as a setting before the mind; i.e. acknowledging as binding (Köster), or as a mental agreement; i.e. approving (Hitzig), but is to be understood of the act of the subject, by which something was placed before the eyes as a standard of action (Hengst., Del.). That which should be contemplated is contemplated (Ewald). The enlarging of the heart (Psa_119:32) does not refer to the enlargement of the understanding, 1Ki_5:9 (De Wette), but expresses the feeling of well-being and joy (Isa_60:5; 2Co_6:11-13), as contrasted with mental oppression (Geier). [Render: For Thou shalt enlarge my heart.—J. F. M.]
He. Psa_119:37 ff. The outward senses present to the heart the objects of forbidden desire, and excite pleasure in and desire for them (Isa_33:15 : Job_31:1-7); men must therefore shut their ears and eyes against them and let them pass unheeded. In Psa_119:38 the relation can be referred either to the word (Isaaki, J. H. Mich., De Wette, Hengst., Del.), or to the servant (Syr., Geier, Hitzig), without essentially altering the sense. ëöò abscindere is used of profiting by defrauding one’s neighbor, 1Sa_8:3. ùָׁåְà means that which is without real, intrinsic worth; that is, with relation to God; doctrine and life opposed to God. Psa_119:39 does not speak of the judgments of God, whether merciful (Kimchi, Geier and others) or righteous ones (Hengst.), but, like the whole Psalm, of the revealed ordinances of justice.
Vau. Psa_119:41-42. As the Vau is really only placed here on account of alphabetical requirements, its occurrence in Psa_119:42 is not to be pressed so as to make it indicate the object aimed at in the petition of the preceding verse: in order that I may answer (De W.). The manifestations of God’s mercy in Psa_119:41 are, in the original, not in the singular (Sept.) but in the plural (Chald., Jerome).
Psa_119:46-48. Psa_119:46 is the motto of the Augsburg Confession according to the historical view of the verbs in the Vulgate, which, however, does not correspond with the Heb. text: Et loquebar de (in) testimoniis tuis in conspectu regum et non confundebar. The lifting up of the hands, Psa_119:48, does not refer to the observance of the commandments, (most), still less to the worship of the law in the later Jewish manner (Köster), but to the longing desire expressed by stretching out the hands after the commandments (Hitzig), often parallel to the lifting up of the heart to the highest good, Psa_28:2; Psa_63:5; Lam_3:41 (Hengst., Hupfeld).
Zain. Psa_119:50 ff. Psa_119:50 reminds us of Job_6:10. It is doubtful whether ëִּé in the second member of the verse is to be taken as explaining the “this” by mentioning what the comfort consisted in, or as the confirmatory “for” (Hupf.). [In Psa_119:53 render: Indignation hath taken hold of me.—J. F. M.] In Psa_119:54 the reference is not to exile or any other misfortune, but human life is, after Genesis 47, described as “the house of my sojournings.” Man has not upon earth his áֵּéú òåֹìָí , Ecc_12:5. The earth has been indeed given to him (Psa_115:16), but not as his abiding-place (see on Psa_119:19).
Cheth.—[Psa_119:57 is translated by Dr. Moll: My portion is Jehovah! I have said to keep thy precepts (I have promised to keep thy precepts). Alexander translates and comments thus: “My portion, oh Jehovah, I have said (is) to keep thy words. This construction is rejected by Hengstenberg and others as forbidden by the accents and the analogy of Psa_16:5; Psa_73:26. But, as the same words may either express the sense here given, or: My portion is Jehovah, we are at liberty to choose the one best suited to the context, even in opposition to the accents, which cannot be regarded as an ultimate authority. In favor of the sense first given is its perfect agreement with the close of the preceding stanza. In reference to the resolution there recorded and described as being fulfilled, he here adds: thus have I said (declared my purpose), oh Lord, to obey thy words.—J. F. M.]
Psa_119:61 ff. Psa_119:61 is explained by Psa_119:110. The pointing does not distinguish as clearly as might be expected (Del.) between çֶáְìֵé ὠäῖíáò and çַáְìֵé (snares). [Dr. Moll translates: The snares of the wicked have surrounded me. So Delitzsch, Hupfeld and Hengst. Perowne translates: cords. Alexander: bands, “the cordage of a net,” Psa_18:5. The meaning: bands, in the sense of companies, troops, given in E. V. is as Del. remarks, never found attached to that word in the plural, though the sing. has that sense in 1Sa_10:5-10. Böttcher, however (§ 800), assigns to it that meaning here. The translation: “robbed” of E. V. in the same verse is entirely unfounded. I cannot discover its source.—J.F. M.] In Psa_119:62 we have the accusative of time as in Job_34:20. With Psa_119:63 comp. Pro_28:24. Psa_119:64 a recalls Psa_33:5.
Teth.
Psa_119:69-70. The poet will not be induced to err from fidelity to God’s word by all the falsehoods which presumptuous men smear upon him (Böttcher) or better (absolutely as in Job_13:4) smear all at once over him, making the true nature of things undiscernible by daubing them over with false colors (Del.), or pasting on deceit (Hitzig). [Del. quotes the Chald., Talmud, and the Syr. in favor of the meaning smear over or on. This is now generally accepted. The idea of forging, devising, in E. V. follows the meaning to sew together, formerly assigned to èôì as the primary idea.—J. F. M.] Psa_119:70. The heart which is overspread with fat or grease is a figure employed to denote want of sensitiveness or hard-heartedness, Psa_17:10; Psa_73:10; Isa_6:10.
Yodh. Psa_119:75-78. In Psa_119:75 it is not God Himself who is called àֱîåּðָä after Deu_32:4 (Hengst.). The word is employed either as an adverbial accusative: in fidelity (most), or as in apposition and parallel to öֶãֶ÷ , the following word becoming a relative clause, attached at the end of the verse (Hupf.). [The first member of Psa_119:78 should be translated: Let the proud be ashamed; for they have wronged me by falsehood.—J. F. M.]
Caph.
Psa_119:83-84. The bottle in the smoke, Psa_119:83, is probably not a figurative representation of one who had become mellow and ripened by affliction (Hupfeld), taken from the custom of the ancients of hanging bottles filled with wine in the smoke high up above the fire; for wine is not the subject of the verse. Nor is there any comparison to a bottle hung up in order to make it dry and wrinkled, so as to adapt it for preserving wine (De Wette). It seems more suitable to refer to the effects of smoke as destroying and rendering useless (Geier, J. H. Mich., Hengst.). Accordingly, the meaning would be, that he allows nothing to force God’s word from his consciousness, although already he has become like a bottle blackened and shrivelled up in the smoke (Del.). The object of hanging such a bottle high up would then be to set it aside in the meantime as not immediately needed. And its contact with the smoke would be merely the consequence of its hanging in an elevated position, whither the smoke, in the absence of chimneys, would naturally rise. The point of comparison would then be the being set aside (Hitzig, Del.).—The expression in Psa_119:84, translated: how many, in Gen_47:8, occurs here in the sense: how few, Psa_39:5. The entreaty of an immediate interference of God is evoked and supported by the thought of the brevity of human life.
Lamedh.
Psa_119:89-91. The heavens are mentioned with reference to their unchangeableness, as in Pss. 89:3; 30:37, not as a locality. So the firm establishment of the earth, as an actual proof and as the theatre of the unchangeable faithfulness of God (Geier, Hupfeld, Del.). The sense of Psa_119:91 is doubtful; its explanation depending upon what is assumed as the subject of òָîְãåּ , and upon the meaning of that word itself. If heaven and earth be taken as the subject of the verb and the latter be understood in the sense of standing firm (Hupf.), the meaning would then be that the heavens and earth stand firm for the judgments and laws of God, serving, as it were, to support them, after the analogy of the preceding figure. If the subject is the judgments (Köster, De Wette, Hitzig), the meaning would be: As for thy judgments, they stand to day. The word would then not be used in the sense which it bears in Isa_55:11, but would mean His declared will, which, as the moral order of the world, is the internal complement of the physical order. The preservation of the world, Psa_119:90, the continuance of the original creation, is an act of His unalterable and gracious purpose, Gen_8:21 f. (Hitzig). If the subject be taken as generally as possible, as in Job_38:15, and with a reference to the following “all,” then it would not be merely meant, that all beings are subject to law, but either that they all, as his servants, stand ready to execute His will, Psa_1:6 (Hengst.), or better, on account of the resemblance which the expressions bear to Num_30:5; Num_30:10; Jos_20:6; Eze_44:24, that they have humbly to obey God’s judicial decisions (Böttcher, Del.), and that they must do so still to-day, because these declarations, long since formulated in the Law, are unalterably valid, as being words of God, and sure from eternity.
Psa_119:96 strictly says only in reference to extent in space, that the Psalmist had seen an end of it, that a limit was to be found to everything in the world. It is, however, usually so explained to mean that all perfection on earth was wanting, and that the Psalmist knew that fact from experience.—The breadth of the Law is its immeasurableness, expressed likewise as though in space, as, in Job_11:7-9, the immeasurableness of God.
Mem. Psa_119:99-102. The meaning of Psa_119:99 is not that the Psalmist had profited in understanding from his teachers and from those who were very old (the Rabbins), but that he was superior in that quality to his teachers and the aged. An opposition is indicated to a worldly wisdom whose source is not the word of revelation. It is less clear, whether opposition is felt by a younger man, in his zeal for the law, to older men, who were hellenizing, or whether the aged men are here mentioned as representatives, like the teachers, of human authority.—[Psa_119:102. Alexander: “The divine judgments in this Psalm are always the external exhibitions of the divine righteousness in word or deed, by precept or by punishment. Here, of course, the former are especially intended. The figure of a way, though not expressed, is still indicated by the verbs depart and guide.”—J. F. M.]
Nun.—To have one’s soul in his hand (Psa_119:110) signifies, according to the context, to remain consciously in danger of death. To take one’s soul in his hand (Jdg_12:3; 1Sa_19:5; 1Sa_28:21; Job_13:14) means: to be prepared to give up one’s life. Delitzsch cites the Talmudical saying: Man’s prayer is not heard unless he takes his life in his hand; i.e. unless he is ready to sacrifice his life.
Samech. Psa_119:113-118. The doubters are called literally: divided persons, divided, that is, between two views, or between two modes of belief with their opposing claims (1Ki_18:21), [E. V. translates the first clause: I hate vain thoughts. The translation supposed the word in question to be another form of ñְòִôְּéí (written usually with ùׂ ), thoughts, opinions. Hitzig translates: double-tongued, referring to Sir_5:9. Riehm: “It is certainly more suitable to suppose that the hating is directed against hypocrites, or those wavering in their belief between the true God and false gods, than against doubters; but it may be more correct to explain according to Psa_12:3; 1 Kings 18”
Psa_119:115 b. should be translated: and I will keep the commandments of God. Most translators render: “that I may keep,” etc. But this is meaningless. The true view is that given by Alexander: “The first clause is borrowed from Psa_6:9. The meaning in both cases seems to be that he has no fear of their enmity. The reason given in this case is, because he is resolved to do the will of God, and is therefore sure of His protection.” Psa_119:118 translate: Thou hast despised, i.e., instead of: Thou hast trodden down.—J. F. M.]
Psa_119:119-120. Dross, or the residuum of smelted metal, is an image of the separating and purifying process of God’s judgments (Jer_6:28 f.; Eze_22:18 f.; Mal_3:2 f.).—In Psa_119:120, ôַּçַã is probably the terror of God, i.e., His dreadful appearing for judgment, Isa_2:10 f. (Hupfeld), before which the hair and skin of the Psalmist trembled (Exo_34:7).
Ayin. [Psa_119:122. Be surety, etc. Alexander: “It means not merely: take me under Thy protection, but: become answerable for me, stand between me and those who, under any pretext, even that of legal right, may seek to oppress me.” See the phrase furtner discussed in Delitzsch on Job_17:3, and in his remarks at the end of that chapter, and comp. Alexander on Isa_38:14.—J. F. M.]
Psa_119:128. The words: ôָìÎôִּ÷ּåּãֵé ëֹì , in spite of the analogy of Isa_29:11, as to the meaning, and of Num_8:16; Eze_44:30, as to the form, are rather strange if they are intended to mean: all precepts concerning everything. Yet the correction ëָìÎôִ÷ּåּãֶéêָ : all Thy precepts (Houbigant, Venema, Ewald, Olsh., Hupfeld), is not absolutely necessary.
Pe. Psa_119:129-132. Psa_119:129 does not allude to the observance of God’s testimonies for the sake of fulfilling them, but to the contemplation of them in order to understand them; for they are designated wonderful and marvellous (paradoxical) things, elevated above every-day life and the common understanding (Del.). There is therefore a light demanded for men, as they are simple (Pro_22:3), which God gives by the ôֵּúַç , that is, the opening or unfolding of His word. The opening of the mouth (Psa_119:131) is an expression of the desire (Job_29:23) of the man who pants after the heavenly food of such disclosures. [The second member of Psa_119:132 should be rendered: according to the right of those that love Thy name. In E. V. îִùְׁôָּè was supposed to have here the sense of custom, a meaning which it sometimes has, compare Greek äéêὴ ), and Arabic dinûn. This translation is retained by Perowne. But it is better, since the suffix is wanting, to take the word, as most do, in the sense of jus (comp. Psa_81:5).—J. F. M.]
Tzadhe. Psa_119:138-141. Since îְàֹã (Psa_119:138) belongs, as in Psa_47:9, to the preceding substantive, it is, perhaps, better to take the substantive: àֱîåּðָä and its parallel öֶãֶ÷ , not adverbially: in righteousness, in truth, or: in justice, in fidelity (Syr., Hupf., Del.), but as in apposition: as righteousness, as truth, or: as justice, as fidelity (Sept., Geier, Hitzig). [In E. V. the Heb. order is entirely abandoned. Alexander and Perowne follow the former of the views above given: “Thou hast commanded thy testimonies in righteousness and exceeding faithfulness.”—J. F. M.]—In Psa_119:141 the term small, applied by the Psalmist to himself, is interpreted by most, after the Sept. and Vulg., as referring to his youth. Yet it may also mean: insignificant (Hitzig).
Koph.
Psa_119:147 does not mean: I hastened to meet thee (Psa_88:14) or: I hastened before thy face (Geier by supplying ôָּðֶéêָ Nor can the meaning be: I anticipated the morning dawn, for ÷ִãֵּí has not the accusative here, as in Psa_119:148, but stands absolutely=to go before (Psa_68:20), or: to hasten one’s self, here followed by the words: in the dawn. But the object with which or to which he hastened is here not connected with what precedes by ì , as in Jon_4:2, but, in a looser construction, with the sentence: and I cried. His eyes then anticipated the night watches, in having not been closed by sleep in the beginning of each of them severally.
Psa_119:152 means: I have long known from thy testimonies that, &c. (most), or: concerning thy testimonies, that (Hitzig). Hupfeld takes objection, and would rather translate, by doing away with the preposition: I have long known thy testimonies, for. Since, however, the preposition cannot be shown to be spurious, and the explanation of some of the older expositors: I know the times of old, or: antiquity, or: what is past, for, etc., is not tenable, he is not disinclined to take éãòúé absolutely: I am instructed, have understanding.
Resh.
Psa_119:160. øֹàùׁ , according to the context, does not mean: the beginning (the ancient translators and most expositors), but the sum, the total number of all the items in the reckoning. “The word of God is reckoned over in its parts and as a whole. Truth is the grand denominator and Truth the result” (Delitzsch).
Sin (Shin).—“While even in the oldest alphabetical Pijutim, Sin sometimes represents Samech also, and Shin never does, the reverse is the case in the biblical alphabetical pieces; here Sin and Shin occur together, and to Samech is assigned a place of its own” (Delitzsch)
Psa_119:164. Seven times, as in Lev_26:18; Pro_24:16, comp. Mat_18:21, is not merely a r