Psalms 119
ALEPH: The Blessing of Walking in God's Law 1–8
Purity Through the Word 9–16
GIMEL: Seeking Life and Insight from the Law 17–24
DALETH: Revive Me to Pursue Your Word 25–32
HE: Prayer for Guidance and a Steady Heart 33–40
VAU: Salvation and Freedom in the Word 41–48
ZAIN: Comfort in Affliction through God's Promise 49–56
CHETH: God Is My Portion and My Resolve 57–64
TETH: Affliction Leads to Learning God's Statutes 65–72
JOD: The Creator Provides Understanding 73–80
CAPH: Fainting for Salvation Amidst Persecution 81–88
LAMED: The Eternal and Settled Nature of God's Word 89–96
MEM: Profound Love and Wisdom from the Law 97–104
Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet 105–112
SAMECH: The Commitment to God’s Refuge 113–120
AIN: Deliverance from Oppressors is Justice 121–128
PE: Wonder and Light in the Testimonies 129–136
TZADDI: God’s Righteousness and the Psalmist's Zeal 137–144
KOPH: Urgent Prayer and Early Morning Meditation 145–152
RESH: Plead My Cause and Grant Me Life 153–160
SCHIN: Peace Despite Persecution and Rejoicing in the Word 161–168
TAU: A Final Prayer for Understanding and Help 169–176
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Study Notes for Psalms 119
Verse 1
Blessed are the undefiled — Esher, 'blessed', is the word that opens the Psalter (Ps 1:1). Tamim, 'undefiled', is whole or complete, the word of 'walk before me, and be thou perfect' (Gen 17:1). The way is 'the law of the LORD' (torah). The psalm is an acrostic: eight verses to each of the 22 Hebrew letters, ALEPH first.
Verse 6
have respect unto all thy commandments — Nabat, to look at steadily; it is the verb of 'that I may behold wondrous things' in v.18. The weight falls on 'all' (mitsvah, commandment). Not being 'ashamed' (bush) is a hope that returns in vv.31, 46, 80 and 116.
Verse 9
cleanse his way — Zakah, to be clear or clean, as in 'Who can say, I have made my heart clean?' (Prov 20:9). The question is asked of the na'ar, the young man, and answered with shamar, 'taking heed', to guard: the verb of 'keep' in vv.57, 67, 136 and 158. The standard is 'thy word' (dabar).
Verse 11
have I hid in mine heart — Tsaphan, to hide away as treasure, the verb of 'hide my commandments with thee' (Prov 2:1). The word is imrah, God's spoken saying, and the heart (lev) is its store: 'The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide' (Ps 37:31). Its purpose is 'that I might not sin' (chata, to miss the mark).
Verse 14
the way of thy testimonies — Edut, a witness the LORD himself bears, the word of 'the ark of the testimony' (Ex 25:22). Sus, 'rejoiced', is to exult. The comparison with wealth (hon, riches) returns in v.72, 'thousands of gold and silver', and in v.162, 'great spoil'.
Verse 18
Open thou mine eyes — Galah, to uncover; it is the verb of 'the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam' (Num 22:31). The prayer asks for sight rather than more text, since the 'wondrous things' (pala, marvellous, beyond ordinary reach) are already 'out of thy law'. Christ 'opened … their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures' (Luke 24:45).
Verse 19
a stranger in the earth — Ger, a sojourner with no land of his own, the word Abraham used of himself at Hebron (Gen 23:4). David says it before the LORD (1 Chr 29:15; Ps 39:12), and Heb 11:13 says of the patriarchs that they 'were strangers and pilgrims on the earth'. A stranger needs directions: 'hide not thy commandments from me'.
Verse 25
cleaveth unto the dust — Dabaq, to cling, the verb of the man who 'shall cleave unto his wife' (Gen 2:24); the soul clings to aphar, dust, the stuff of 'unto dust shalt thou return' (Gen 3:19). 'Quicken' is chayah, to make alive, which the psalm prays nine times, each with a stated ground such as 'according to thy word' (vv.25, 107, 154).
Verse 32
enlarge my heart — Rachab, to make wide, the root of 'at liberty' in v.45 and of 'exceeding broad' in v.96. The heart made wide is the one that can 'run' (ruts) the way of the commandments. Solomon was given 'largeness of heart' (1 Kings 4:29), and David says, 'Thou hast enlarged my steps under me' (Ps 18:36).
Verse 36
Incline my heart — Natah, to stretch or bend toward; the same verb is in 'that he may incline our hearts unto him' (1 Kings 8:58) and in v.112, 'I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes'. Betsa, 'covetousness', is gain, especially unjust gain. The prayer asks that the heart's direction be set by God, to the testimonies and away from profit.
Verse 37
vanity — Shav, emptiness, what is false and has no substance: the word of 'in vain' in the third commandment (Ex 20:7) and of 'lifted up his soul unto vanity' (Ps 24:4). Abar, 'turn away', is to cause to pass over, so the eyes are made to go past it. Against it stands 'quicken thou me in thy way' (chayah, derek).
Verse 42
wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me — Literally 'I shall have a word (dabar) to answer', and the word is God's own, in which he trusts (batach, to rest secure). Charaph, to reproach, is the verb of Prov 27:11, 'that I may answer him that reproacheth me'. Vv.43–46 go on to speaking, even 'before kings'.
Verse 46
before kings — This is a vow to speak (dabar) of the testimonies in the presence of rulers, 'and will not be ashamed' (bush, as in v.6). Christ foretells that disciples will be 'brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them' (Matt 10:18); Paul says, 'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ' (Rom 1:16).
Verse 50
my comfort in my affliction — Nechamah, consolation, found in the Old Testament only here and in Job 6:10, where the comfort is that 'I have not concealed the words of the Holy One'. The ground is that 'thy word' (imrah) 'hath quickened' him (chayah); Paul says the scriptures give 'patience and comfort' (Rom 15:4).
Verse 54
the house of my pilgrimage — Magur, a sojourning, from the root of ger in v.19; it is Jacob's word for his life, 'the days of the years of my pilgrimage' (Gen 47:9). What he sings (zamir) there are the 'statutes' (choq, what is fixed or appointed). Heb 11:13–16 describes the patriarchs as seeking 'a better country'.
Verse 57
Thou art my portion — Cheleq, an allotted share. The LORD said to Aaron, 'I am thy part and thine inheritance' (Num 18:20), and the Psalms take the line up: 'The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance' (Ps 16:5), 'my portion for ever' (Ps 73:26). The answer is 'I have said that I would keep thy words' (shamar).
Verse 61
I have not forgotten thy law — The claim is a refrain: shakach, to forget, is denied in vv.16, 61, 83, 93, 109, 141, 153 and 176. Chebel, 'bands', is literally a rope or cord, the word rendered 'sorrows' in 'The sorrows of death compassed me' (Ps 18:4). The cords are of 'the wicked' (rasha), and the line ends in the law remembered.
Verse 67
Before I was afflicted I went astray — Shagag, to err unwittingly; Lev 5:18 and Num 15:28 use it of sin committed in ignorance, for which atonement is made. 'Afflicted' (anah) returns in v.71, 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted', and in vv.75 and 107. Now he 'kept' (shamar) thy word (imrah).
Verse 70
as fat as grease — Tapash, to be thick or gross, found only here; the heart is covered in cheleb, fat. The Psalms use the same picture of the prosperous wicked: 'They are inclosed in their own fat' (Ps 17:10), 'Their eyes stand out with fatness' (Ps 73:7). Against it, 'I delight' (sha'a, to take pleasure) 'in thy law'.
Verse 72
The law of thy mouth — The law is what comes from God's own mouth (peh), as Christ says man lives 'by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' (Matt 4:4). It is weighed against 'thousands of gold and silver', as wisdom is in Prov 8:10–11 and the judgments of the LORD in Ps 19:10, 'More to be desired are they than gold'.
Verse 73
Thy hands have made me and fashioned me — Kun, 'fashioned', is to set firm or prepare: 'did not one fashion us in the womb?' (Job 31:15), and Job 10:8 has the near-identical line, 'Thine hands have made me and fashioned me'. The request rests on the making: 'give me understanding' (bin), 'that I may learn' (lamad) thy commandments.
Verse 75
in faithfulness hast afflicted me — Emunah, firmness, steady truth; the affliction (anah, as in vv.67, 71) is attributed to it. 'Right' is tsedeq, righteous. Heb 12:10 gives the purpose, 'for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness', and Christ says, 'As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten' (Rev 3:19).
Verse 83
like a bottle in the smoke — No'd, a skin bottle: the 'wine bottles, old, and rent' of Josh 9:4, and the bottle of milk Jael opened in Judg 4:19. Qitor, 'smoke', is the fume that 'went up as the smoke of a furnace' (Gen 19:28). The line ends as in vv.61 and 109: 'yet do I not forget' (shakach) thy statutes (choq).
Verse 89
thy word is settled in heaven — Natsab, to station or set upright; 'for ever' (olam) opens the line, and the dabar is fixed where nothing reaches it. Isa 40:8 says 'the word of our God shall stand for ever', Christ that 'my words shall not pass away' (Matt 24:35), and Peter quotes Isaiah (1 Pet 1:25). Compare v.160.
Verse 96
exceeding broad — Tiklah, 'perfection', is completeness, a word found only here; he has seen the qets, the limit, of everything complete. Rachab, 'broad', is the root of the enlarged heart (v.32). Of God, Zophar says, 'The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea' (Job 11:9).
Verse 98
wiser than mine enemies — Chakam, to make wise; the wisdom comes 'through thy commandments' (mitsvah). Moses told Israel that keeping the statutes 'is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations' (Deut 4:6), and Paul that the scriptures can 'make thee wise unto salvation' (2 Tim 3:15). Vv.99–100 go on to speak of being wiser than teachers and ancients.
Verse 103
sweeter than honey — Malats, to be smooth, here 'sweet', found only here; chek is the palate. Ps 19:10 makes the comparison, 'sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb', and Ezekiel, told to eat the roll, says, 'it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness' (Ezek 3:3). The 'words' are imrah, God's spoken sayings.
Verse 105
a lamp unto my feet — Ner, a lamp, and netiv, a trodden path: the word lights the step and the road. Prov 6:23 gives the same pair, 'the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light', and Peter calls the prophetic word 'a light that shineth in a dark place' (2 Pet 1:19). Here 'word' is dabar.
Verse 109
in my hand — Kaph, the hollow of the hand. To carry one's nephesh, life, there is to be in constant peril: 'I put my life in my hands' (Judg 12:3), 'put my life in mine hand' (Job 13:14). Tamid, 'continually', gives the constancy of the danger; the verse ends as v.61 does, 'yet do I not forget thy law'.
Verse 113
vain thoughts — Se'eph, a divided mind, the thinking that wavers between two. It is set against the torah he loves (ahab). James calls 'a double minded man' 'unstable in all his ways' (Jas 1:8), and Elijah asks, 'How long halt ye between two opinions?' (1 Kings 18:21).
Verse 119
puttest away… like dross — Shabath, to cause to cease, the verb of God's 'rested' in Gen 2:2. Sig, dross, is what is taken from silver: 'Take away the dross from the silver' (Prov 25:4); of Jerusalem, 'Thy silver is become dross' (Isa 1:22). 'Therefore' he loves the testimonies: the LORD's removal of the wicked is the reason.
Verse 122
Be surety for thy servant — Arab, to give a pledge in another's place: Judah says of Benjamin, 'I will be surety for him' (Gen 43:9), and Hezekiah prays, 'O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me' (Isa 38:14). The servant asks the LORD to stand as pledge 'for good' (tov), so that the proud (zed) cannot oppress. Heb 7:22 calls Jesus 'a surety of a better testament'.
Verse 126
they have made void thy law — Parar, to break or frustrate; Jeremiah uses it of the covenant, 'which my covenant they brake' (Jer 31:32). Christ says the same of the scribes: 'Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition' (Matt 15:6). 'It is time' (eth) is the occasion for the LORD's own 'work'.
Verse 130
The entrance of thy words — Pethach, an opening, and 'giveth light' (or) is to cause to shine. The 'simple' (pethi) are the open-minded, the untaught who can still be taught: Ps 19:7, 'the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple'. Paul says God 'commanded the light to shine out of darkness' (2 Cor 4:6).
Verse 136
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes — Peleg, a channel of water. The weeping is Jeremiah's, 'Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears' (Jer 9:1), and Lamentations has 'Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water' (Lam 3:48). The cause is that 'they keep not' (shamar) thy law; compare v.158.
Verse 139
My zeal hath consumed me — Qinah, jealousy for what belongs to another, from the root of Elijah's 'I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts' (1 Kings 19:10). Tsamat, 'consumed', is to bring to an end. Ps 69:9 has the same noun: 'The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up', applied to Christ in John 2:17.
Verse 140
Thy word is very pure — Tsaraph, to smelt, to refine metal. Imrah and tsaraph come together in Ps 12:6, 'The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times', and Prov 30:5, 'Every word of God is pure'. 'Very' is me'od; 'loveth' is ahab.
Verse 147
I prevented the dawning of the morning — 'Prevent' in the KJV means 'go before': qadam is to meet or come ahead of. Nesheph is the twilight, and he is already crying (shava) before it. 'I hoped' is yachal, to wait, the verb of Ps 130:5, 'in his word do I hope'. Christ rose 'a great while before day' to pray (Mark 1:35).
Verse 154
Plead my cause, and deliver me — Riv, to contend in a lawsuit, and ga'al, to redeem as the near kinsman does (Ruth 4:4). The two come together in Jer 50:34, 'Their Redeemer is strong… he shall throughly plead their cause'. 'Quicken' (chayah) rests on 'thy word' (imrah); v.25 gives the same ground with dabar.
Verse 158
I beheld the transgressors — Bagad, to deal treacherously, the word of 'the transgressors shall be rooted out' (Prov 2:22). 'Grieved' is qut, to loathe: 'Forty years long was I grieved with this generation' (Ps 95:10). The cause is the same as in v.136: they 'kept not' (shamar) thy word.
Verse 160
Thy word is true from the beginning — Rosh is literally 'head'; the KJV renders it 'beginning' here and 'sum' in 'how great is the sum of them!' (Ps 139:17). Emet, 'true', is firmness. Christ prays, 'thy word is truth' (John 17:17). The 'righteous judgments' (tsedeq, mishpat) endure 'for ever', as the word is settled in v.89.
Verse 162
as one that findeth great spoil — Shalal, plunder taken in battle, and rab, abundant: the joy of the one who 'findeth' (matsa) it. The picture belongs with v.14, 'as much as in all riches', and v.72, 'thousands of gold and silver'. Jeremiah's words are the same, 'Thy words were found, and I did eat them' (Jer 15:16).
Verse 165
Great peace — Shalom rab, abundant peace, wholeness; 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace' (Isa 26:3) doubles the word. Mikshol, 'offend', is a stumbling-block, the word of the 'rock of offence' in Isa 8:14, which Rom 9:33 applies to Christ. Those who love the law have none: 'nothing shall offend them'.
Verse 176
seek thy servant — The wandering sheep asks to be sought (baqash); the LORD says in Ezek 34:16, 'I will seek that which was lost', with the same pair of verbs, baqash and abad. Isa 53:6 has 'All we like sheep have gone astray' (ta'ah), and Christ says the Son of man 'is come to seek and to save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10).