Psalm 119:57-64

⁵⁷ You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.

⁵⁸ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.

⁵⁹ I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

⁶⁰ I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.

⁶¹ The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.

⁶² At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.

⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.

⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

The theme of this stanza seems to me to focus on the commitment of the psalmist to follow God’s Word.

The psalmist continues to refer to his affliction at the hands of the wicked (v.61)—a situation which naturally lends itself to questions, if not doubts, concerning the nature of God’s providence and solicitude. One’s reassurance and comfort in such situations lies in Scripture’s teaching concerning the depth of God’s solicitude for the believer—viz. that it is not merely the solicitude of an all-powerful Sovereign for His loyal servant, but rather that of a Father towards His dearly beloved child. Solicitude of this latter sort is more precisely described as “lovingkindness,” which term, not surprisingly, occurs in this section (v.64, mercy). — Wechsler, page 284.

__________

favor (v.58) — the conscious presence of God. Messiah’s whole heart desired such communion; and also a practical experience of the good things promised to faith in the Inspired Word. He only desired such things as the Bible spoke of. … As Man, He judges His ways by the Word of god, and always set His feet in the paths pointed out by the Scriptures. — Williams, page 392.

cords (v.61) — the snares and pressures used by the wicked to force him off course.