Verse by Verse

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.

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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.

⁴⁹ Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.

⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.

⁵¹ The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.

⁵² I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord,
And have comforted myself.

⁵³ Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.

⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.

⁵⁵ I remember Your name in the night, O Lord,
And I keep Your law.

⁵⁶ This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

The theme of this stanza seems to be the psalmist’s reliance, in difficult time, on the promises in God’s Word.

Though this section expressed the feelings of one in the midst of affliction it does not sing the song of deliverance therefrom. The word is distinctly, “This is my comfort in my affliction.” — Morgan, page 231.

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[Great derision (v.51)]: this verb supplies the noun “scornful” (Psalm 1:1), the person who feels there is simply nothing to be said on the other side. — Guthrie, page 527.

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The Messiah here sings of what the Bible with its promises and records were to Him during His earthly pilgrimage (vs. 49, 52, 54), its trials (v.50) and its hatreds (v.51), the Word of God sustained Him (v.49), comforted Him (v.50), animated Him (v.50), and set Him a-singing (v.54). Thus during His life of sorrow, trial and hatred, He did not throw the Bible aside as useless or untrue but club to it all the closer. — Williams, page 391.

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A holy anger and a just indignation (v.53) become the true witness for God and for His truth. Men who take little interest int he authority and inspiration of the Scriptures rarely become heated when discussing them, but the more they are loved the hotter will be the indignation of those who love them against those who corrupt or deny them. — Williams, page 392.

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It was a peculiar, unique and characteristic of the Messiah that although all other servants of God, without exception, failed in believing and obeying the Bible He perfectly loved and followed its precepts. Thus He alone satisfies the language of this section [esp. v.56], as He alone illustrated the faith, loyalty and love of the other sections of the Psalm. — Williams, page 392.

⁴¹ Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.

⁴² So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.

⁴³ And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.

⁴⁴ So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.

⁴⁵ And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.

⁴⁶ I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.

⁴⁷ And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.

⁴⁸ My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes.

Upon first reading, the theme of this stanza seems to be a determination to rely on God’s word in the face of intimidating circumstances.

In this section the psalmist recognizes his responsibility as a witness. He desires to have an answer to the man who reproaches him. He desires to be able to speak of the testimonies of Jehovah before kings without being ashamed. He recognizes that such power consists in true familiarity with the law of his God. — Morgan, page 230.

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The terms Thy mercies, Thy salvation, Thy word, Thy words, Thy judgments, They law, Thy testimonies, Thy precepts, Thy commandments and Thy statutes mark the unity existing between the Bible and its Author. To belittle the one is to belittle other. — Williams, page 391.

³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.

³⁴ Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

³⁵ Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.

³⁶ Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.

³⁷ Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.

³⁸ Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.

³⁹ Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.

⁴⁰ Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.

In this stanza, the psalmist seems to be asking God to give him an even greater desire for God’s Word and help in resisting the things that distract him from it.

This fifth stanza teaches that if the Bible student dissociates the Book from its Author, his eyes will be unopened (vs. 33-37), his mind uninstructed (vs.34 and 38), his heart unaffected (vs. 34 and 36), and his feet unled (v.35). So the eyes, the mind, the heart and the feet must be governed by the Word of God.

The affections are so disposed to inertia in the spiritual realm that the prayer for quickening in v.37 needs repetition in v.40. — Williams, page 391.

covetousness (v.36) = unjust gain

worthless (v.37) = empty, vain

God’s Word serves the psalmist as a source of comfort in the midst of his aforementioned affliction, both by serving as “mechanism” (engaged through “treasuring” and “meditation” (vs. 11 and 22)) to turn his eyes from looking at (i.e., considering) vanity (v.37) and by reminding him of God’s promises to him—which later notion is clearly intended by v.38: “Establish Thy Word to Thy servant, which concerns the reverencing (i.e., worshiping) of Thee.” Insofar as the verb here translated “establish” is elsewhere employed in the specific (and usually complementary) senses of “upholding” (as e.g., in v.28) and “fulfilling” (as in Ezekiel 13:6), the “word” here in view—and which specifically supplies the psalmist with comfort in his affliction (v.50)—should be understood to be God’s promises that (1) He will always ensure that His people “have” what is necessary in this life—both materially and circumstantially—to revere (i.e., worship) Him (Exodus 20:20; Psalm 34:11; 111:10; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 4:19), and (2) He will, in the hereafter, both dispel all affliction and perfect His people’s worship by giving “them one heart and one way, for the reverencing of Me always… and I will put the reverence of Me in their hearts … and rejoice over them to do them good” (Jeremiah 32:39-41). — Wechsler, page 284.

²⁵ My soul clings to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.

²⁶ I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.

²⁷ Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.

²⁸ My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.

²⁹ Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.

³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.

³¹ I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!

³² I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall enlarge my heart.

melt (v.28) = drops, weeps

The psalmist … is able to find encouragement and strength (v.28b: “strengthen me”; lit. “uphold me”) when confronted by temptation, imploring God, in His paternal grace, to remove that false way (i.e., the way of sin by which he is tempted) from before him (v.29). — Wechsler, page 283.

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[Cling] (v.31) is the same word [as in v.25]. Even when lying fainting and so cleaving to, the dust, the true servant of Jehovah kept cleaving to His testimonies. — Williams, page 391.

GIMEL

¹⁷ Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.

¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.

¹⁹ I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.

²⁰ My soul breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.

²¹ You rebuke the proud—the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.

²² Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept Your testimonies.

²³ Princes also sit and speak against me,
But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.

²⁴ Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors.

The first four verses of this stanza express the activities of the heart toward God excited by the study of, and obedience to, His Word; and the second four, the contempt and hatred which such an obedience receives from man. …

Those who are too proud to subject their wills to the teaching of the Scriptures bring a curse and not a blessing upon themselves (v.21); and become the bitter persecutors of those that make them their delight (vs.22-24). — Williams, page 390.

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The psalmist is able to find comfort and encouragement, imploring God to take away the inevitable reproach and contempt that the ungodly direct his way when he strives to observe God’s testimonies (v.22; cf. 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Samuel 17:26; Isaiah 25:7-8. — Wechsler, page 283.

⁹ How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.

¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

¹² Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.

¹³ With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.

¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.

¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.

¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

Two foundation principles of the spiritual life appear in this stanza. The first, that the Bible associates its reader with God (v.10); the second, that its teachings make the life clean (v.9 and the heart happy (v.14). The moral result, therefore, of subjection to the authority of the Holy Scriptures is health of soul, holiness of life, and happiness of heart. — Williams, page 390.

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This section focuses on what may be called the “preparatory merit and benefit of God’s Word”—i.e., its foundational importance in preparing one to resist temptation and theological doubt before it is encountered, rather than during it (when one will hardly have the fortitude to “stop” and “mediate” upon relevant portions of Scripture) or after it (when one may already have succumbed). For this reason the psalmist opens this section with explicit reference to a young man, since the [best, but not only] way in which one maintains their purity and defense against sin in later life begins in one’s youth (cf. Proverbs 22:6). This “way” entails both “treasuring” (i.e., bringing inside and zealously guarding, as the same verb is used in Joshua 2:4; Psalm 27:5; Proverbs 10:14; etc.). God’s Word in one’s heart (v.11) as well as “mediating” on it (v.15; i.e., determining what it means, memorizing it, and considering how it applies to one’s situation). — Wechsler, page 282-283.

1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the Lord!

² Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!

³ They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.

⁴ You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.

⁵ Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!

⁶ Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.

⁷ I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.

⁸ I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

This Psalm is an expansion of Psalm 1:2. Its theme is the Word of God hidden in the heart, and obeyed in the life. Messiah is the Blessed Man who fully satisfies its language, for He Himself is the Word of God. …

The Psalm is an acrostic. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and there are 22 stanzas in the Psalm. Each stanza contains eight verses. There are therefore, one hundred and seventy six verses in all. All the first words in the eight verses of the first stanza begin with the [Hebrew equivalent] of the letter A; all the first words of the eight verses of the second stanza with the letter B; and so on to the end of the Psalm.

In it the Bible is given ten titles … They are, Way, Testimonies, Precepts, Commandments, Law, Judgments, Righteousness, Statutes, Word, and Words. — Williams, page 389.

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This longest of the psalms is designated in Jewish tradition as “The Great Alphabetic Acrostic,” or “The Eightfold Alphabetic Acrostic,” reflecting its structural organization according to the order of the Hebrew alphabet … The number 8 is biblically significant, being typically associated with the notion of “renewal” or “restoration” (e.g., the 8 days of the Feast of Tabernacles, which foreshadows the restoration of God’s kingdom and the renewal of Creation [see Zechariah 14:16ff; Revelation 21:1-3]; the 8 people who were brought through the flood to “restart” humanity in the renewed world—which is in turn connected in 1 Peter 3:20 with the “renewal” symbolized by baptism; David, Jesse’s 8th son, was the one through whom God restarted/renewed Israel’s dynasty [i.e., through Judah rather than Benjamin; see 1 Samuel 16:10ff.]; the 8 days of Hanukkah [the Feast of “Dedication”; see John 10:22], commemorating the restoration/renewal of proper Temple worship), one may reasonably conclude that the merits and benefits of God’s Word described throughout this psalm are to be viewed in sum as epitomizing renewal—i.e., not just our initial “spiritual” renewal (justification) and our final “comprehensive” renewal (glorification), but also—and more “practically”—our present renewal as we strive to conform to God’s Word by the renewing of our mind, that we “may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2; cf. also Ephesians 5:26). This perspective on Psalm 119 is further affirmed by its placement between the two collections of “pilgrimage psalms”—i.e., the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) and the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134)—thus suggesting the symbolism of God’s Word (Psalm 119) as the effective “link” between mankind’s ideally intended state in the new word of Eden (as symbolized by the Hallel) and mankind’s ideally achieved state in the renewed Creation (as symbolized the the Songs of Ascent.) Finally, in every verse of this psalm—with the exception of v.122—is contained one of eleven different nouns employed elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to denote God’s Law—viz., “law,” “testimonies,” “ways,” “precepts,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “judgment(s) [i.e., judicial edicts, not ‘acts of judgment’],” “word(s),” “utterance,” “faithfulness,” and “righteousness.” — Wechsler, page 280-281.

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“The law” indicates the whole method of guidance and direction. “His testimonies” refers to special and direct revelations of His will. “His ways” indicates the pathway of His appointment. “Thy precepts” is a poetical expression indicating definite injunctions. “Thy statutes” refers to the written words of the law. “Thy commandments” is the phrase which describes positive and particular orders of God. “Thy judgments” refers to the decisions of God in places of doubt or perplexity … In every possible way needed by man, God reveals His will to meet the need. Human responsibility is marked by the words “walk,” “keep,” “observe,” “respect,” “learn.” Such obedience to such a will must indeed issue in blessedness. — Morgan, page 225.

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The stanza contains two sections: A general statement (vs.1-4), and a personal cry (vs.5-8). The first lays down the double happiness of those who read and obey the Bible; the second, the moral effect of such obedience. — Williams, pages 389-390.

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This introductory section begins by summarizing and emphasizing (via the repetition in v.2) the benefits to those who walk (a Hebrew [way of saying] one’s manner of living; cf. Genesis 6:9; Exodus 16:4; Galatians 5:16) in the law of the LORD—i.e., that they are blessed. That is psalm (as, indeed, the psalms generally) are intended with reference to those who are already believers is also underscored by the further description of these blessed ones as being those who seek the Lord with all their heart (v.2b)—for no one in their unredeemed “natural” (i.e., depraved) human state seeks the Lord, as David makes clear in Psalm 14:3-4. — Wechsler, page 282.

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

1 Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!

² For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.