Studies in Psalm 119:33-40 HE
- Gleanings from Historical CommentariesCollectedby
Jack Kettler
Introductory observations
from The
Treasury of David:
“Verse 33-40. A sense of
dependence and a consciousness of extreme need
pervade this section, which is all made up of
prayer and plea. The former eight verses
trembled with a sense of sin, quivering with a
childlike sense of weakness and folly, which
caused the man of God to cry out for the help
by which alone his soul could be preserved
from falling back into sin.” (1)
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way
of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the
end.
From the Pulpit
Commentary:
“Verse 33. - Teach me, O
Lord, the way of thy statutes. This is the
main prayer of the psalm - a prayer for
spiritual enlightenment. It occurs eight times
(verses 12, 26, 33, 64, 68, 108, 124, and
135). And I shall keep it unto the end. Either
“to the end of my life,” or (as Dr. Kay
thinks) ‘to the uttermost.’” (2)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
Teach me,
הוֹרֵ֣נִי (hō·w·rê·nî)
Verb - Hifil
- Imperative - masculine singular | first
person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 3384: 1) to
throw, shoot, cast, pour 1a) (Qal)
1a1) to throw, cast 1a2) to cast, lay, set
1a3) to shoot arrows 1a4) to throw water, rain
1b) (Niphal)
to be shot 1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to throw, cast 1c2) to shoot 1c3) to
point out, show 1c4) to direct, teach,
instruct 1c5) to throw water, rain
34 Give me understanding, and
I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it
with my whole heart.
From Barnes'
Notes on the Bible:
“Give me understanding, and I
shall keep thy law - Give me right views of
it, of its nature and obligation. It is not a
prayer that God would give him the faculty of
understanding or intelligence; but that he
would enable him to take just views of the
law. The word is the same as in Psalm 119:27,
rendered there, ‘Make me to understand.’
Yea, I shall observe it with
my whole heart - See Psalm 119:2. I will keep
it with undivided affections; I will make it
the sole guide of my life.” (3)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
Your law,
תֽוֹרָתֶ֗ךָ (ṯō·w·rā·ṯe·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular
construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 8451: 1) law,
direction, instruction 1a) instruction,
direction (human or divine) 1a1) body of
prophetic teaching 1a2) instruction in
Messianic age 1a3) body of priestly direction
or instruction 1a4) body of legal directives
1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt offering 1b2) of
special law, codes of law 1c) custom, manner
1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law
35 Make me to go in the path
of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Matthew
Poole's Commentary captures the
Psalmist’s thought:
“Make me to go, by directing
my mind into the right way, by inclining my
will, and strengthening my resolution.
For therein do I delight:
forsake not him who delighteth in the and in
thy service; and as thou hast wrought in me to
will work in me also to do.” (4)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
Direct me
הַ֭דְרִיכֵנִי (haḏ·rî·ḵê·nî)
Verb - Hifil
- Imperative - masculine singular | first
person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 1869: 1) to
tread, bend, lead, march 1a) (Qal)
1a1) to tread, march, march forth 1a2) to
tread on, tread upon 1a3) to tread (a press)
1a4) to tread (bend) a bow 1a5) archer,
bow-benders (participle) 1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to tread, tread down 1b2) to tread (bend
with the foot) a bow 1b3) to cause to go,
lead, march, tread
36 Incline my heart unto thy
testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible:
“Incline my heart unto thy
testimonies,.... To read the word of God, to
hear it opened and explained, to observe and
keep the things contained in it; to which
there is a disinclination in men naturally:
but the Lord, who fashions the hearts of men,
and has them in his hands, can bend and
incline them by his efficacious grace to
regard these his testimonies; which, as Aben
Ezra observes, are more precious than all
substance, and so are opposed to what follows:
and not to covetousness; not
to mammon or money, as the Targum; the love of
it, which is the root of all evil, and very
pernicious and harmful; in hearing the word it
chokes it, and makes it unfruitful, 1 Timothy
6:9. Not that God inclines the heart to evil,
as he does to good; but he may suffer the
heart to be inclined, and may leave a man to
the natural inclinations of his heart, and to
the temptations of Satan, and the snares of
the world, which may have great influence upon
him; and this is what is here deprecated; see
Psalm 141:4.” (5)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
my heart
לִ֭בִּי (lib·bî)
Noun - masculine singular
construct | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 3820: 1)
inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
1a) inner part, midst 1a1) midst (of things)
1a2) heart (of man) 1a3) soul, heart (of man)
1a4) mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection,
memory 1a5) inclination, resolution,
determination (of will) 1a6) conscience 1a7)
heart (of moral character) 1a8) as seat of
appetites 1a9) as seat of emotions and
passions 1a10) as seat of courage
Cross-References for verse
36: Mark 7:21; Mark 7:22; Luke 12:15; Hebrews
13:5; Joshua 24:23; 1Kings 8:58; Psalm
119:112; Psalm 141:4; Ezekiel 33:31
37 Turn away mine eyes from
beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy
way.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary:
“37. Turn away mine
eyes—literally, “Make my eyes to pass, not
noticing evil.”
vanity—literally,
“falsehood;” all other objects of trust than
God; idols, human power, &c. (Ps 31:6;
40:4; 60:11; 62:9).
quicken … in thy way—make me
with living energy to pursue the way marked
out by Thee. Revive me from the death of
spiritual helplessness (Ps 119:17, 25, 40, 50;
116:3).” (6)
Cross-References for verse
37: Psalm 71:20; Psalm 119:25; Isaiah 33:15
38 Stablish thy word unto thy
servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible:
“Stablish thy word unto thy
servant,.... Either God's word of promise,
which never fails, is firm and stable in
Christ; and the sense is, that God would
assure him of the fulfilment of it, and give
him a strong faith and firm belief of it; for
otherwise the word of the Lord cannot be surer
or more stable than it is: or else the word of
his grace; and then the sense is, that he
might be established in it, and the truths of
it, and be established by it; for the word is
a means of establishment, and a good thing it
is to have the heart established with grace,
with the doctrine of grace, Hebrews 13:9;
who is devoted to thy fear;
who served the Lord with reverence and godly
fear; who feared the Lord and his goodness;
that grace being a reigning one in his heart,
and ever before his eyes. Or, “which is unto
thy fear” (d); that is, which word is unto thy
fear; which leads unto it, and has a tendency
to promote and increase it; and so is a
commendation of the word of God from this
effect of it.” (7)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
reverence for You.
לְיִרְאָתֶֽךָ׃ (lə·yir·’ā·ṯe·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun -
feminine singular construct | second person
masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 3374: 1)
fear, terror, fearing 1a) fear, terror 1b)
awesome or terrifying thing (object causing
fear) 1c) fear (of God), respect, reverence,
piety 1d) revered
Cross-References for verse
38: 2 Samuel 7:25; Psalm 119:39
39 Turn away my reproach,
which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers:
“(39) My reproach which I
fear.—The word for fear is an unusual one,
used in Deuteronomy 9:19; Deuteronomy 28:60,
for very strong dread. The reproach may be
either the disgrace in God’s sight of
violating His commands, or, as the context
(Psalm 119:42) suggests, a reproach from men
for keeping God’s law.” (8)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
Your judgments
מִשְׁפָּטֶ֣יךָ (miš·pā·ṭe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural
construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 4941: 1)
judgment, justice, ordinance 1a) judgment 1a1)
act of deciding a case 1a2) place, court, seat
of judgment 1a3) process, procedure,
litigation (before judges) 1a4) case, cause
(presented for judgment) 1a5) sentence,
decision (of judgment) 1a6) execution (of
judgment) 1a7) time (of judgment) 1b) justice,
right, rectitude (attributes of God or man)
1c) ordinance 1d) decision (in law) 1e) right,
privilege, due (legal) 1f) proper, fitting,
measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan
are good.
טוֹבִֽים׃ (ṭō·w·ḇîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew 2896: adj 1)
good, pleasant, agreeable 1a) pleasant,
agreeable (to the senses) 1b) pleasant (to the
higher nature) 1c) good, excellent (of its
kind) 1d) good, rich, valuable in estimation
1e) good, appropriate, becoming 1f) better
(comparative) 1g) glad, happy, prosperous (of
man's sensuous nature) 1h) good understanding
(of man's intellectual nature) 1i) good, kind,
benign 1j) good, right (ethical) n m 2) a good
thing, benefit, welfare 2a) welfare,
prosperity, happiness 2b) good things
(collective) 2c) good, benefit 2d) moral good
n f 3) welfare, benefit, good things 3a)
welfare, prosperity, happiness 3b) good things
(collective) 3c) bounty
Cross-References for verse
39: Psalm 119:22; Psalm 119:42
40 Behold, I have longed
after thy precepts: quicken me in thy
righteousness.
Keil and
Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old
Testament:
“The eightfold He. He further
prays for instruction and guidance that he may
escape the by-paths of selfishness and of
disavowal. The noun עקב,
used also elsewhere as an accus. adverb., in
the signification ad extremum (Psalm 119:33
and Psalm 119:112) is peculiar to our poet. אצּרנּה
(with a Shebג, which takes a colouring
in accordance with the principal form) refers
back to דּרך.
In the petition “give me understanding” (which
occurs six times in this Psalm) חבין
is causative, as in Job 32:8, and frequently
in the post-exilic writings. בּצע
(from בּצע,
abscindere,
as κέρδος
accords in sound with κείρειν)
signifies gain and acquisition by means of the
damage which one does to his neighbour by
depreciating his property, by robbery, deceit,
and extortion (1 Samuel 8:3), and as a name of
a vice, covetousness, and in general
selfishness. שׁוא
is that which is without real, i.e., without
divine, contents or intrinsic worth, -
God-opposed teaching and life. בּדרכך”
(9)
A gleaning from Strong's
Lexicon:
Revive me
חַיֵּֽנִי׃ (ḥay·yê·nî)
Verb - Piel
- Imperative - masculine singular | first
person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 2421: 1) to
live, have life, remain alive, sustain life,
live prosperously, live for ever, be
quickened, be alive, be restored to life or
health 1a) (Qal)
1a1) to live 1a1a) to have life 1a1b) to
continue in life, remain alive 1a1c) to
sustain life, to live on or upon 1a1d) to live
(prosperously) 1a2) to revive, be quickened
1a2a) from sickness 1a2b) from discouragement
1a2c) from faintness 1a2d) from death 1b) (Piel)
1b1) to preserve alive, let live 1b2) to give
life 1b3) to quicken, revive, refresh 1b3a) to
restore to life 1b3b) to cause to grow 1b3c)
to restore 1b3d) to revive 1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to preserve alive, let live 1c2) to
quicken, revive 1c2a) to restore (to health)
1c2b) to revive 1c2c) to restore to life
Cross-References for verse
40: Psalm 119:20; Psalm 119:25
Concluding summary from Matthew
Henry’s Bible Concise Commentary Psalm
119:25-32:
Teach me thy statutes, not
the mere words, but the way of applying them
to myself. God, by his Spirit, gives a right
understanding. But the Spirit of revelation in
the word will not suffice, unless we have the
Spirit of wisdom in the heart. God puts his
Spirit within us, causing us to walk in his
statutes. The sin here prayed against is
covetousness. Those that would have the love
of God rooted in them, must get the love of
the world rooted out; for the friendship of
the world is enmity with God. Quicken me in
thy way; to redeem time, and to do every duty
with liveliness of spirit. Beholding vanity
deadens us, and slackens our pace; a traveller
must not stand gazing upon every object that
presents itself to his view. The promises of
God's word greatly relate to the preservation
of the true believer. When Satan has drawn a
child of God into worldly compliances, he will
reproach him with the falls into which he led
him. Victory must come from the cross of
Christ. When we enjoy the sweetness of God's
precepts, it will make us long for more
acquaintance with them. And where God has
wrought to will, he will work to do. (10)
Notes on Psalm 119:25-32 HE:
C. H. Spurgeon,
The
Treasury of David, Vol. II,
(Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p.
208.
H. D. M. Spence and
Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Psalms, Vol.8.,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans Publishing
Company reprint 1978), p. 105.
Albert Barnes, THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARYCOMMENTARY, Barnes’
Notes on the Bible, Psalms, Vol. 5
p.1806.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
on the Holy Bible, vol. 2, (Peabody,
Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)
p. 184.
John Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New Testaments, Psalms,
9 Volumes, (Grace Works, Multi-Media Labs),
2011, p. 1386.
Jamieson, Fausset and
Brown, Commentary
on the Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Zondervan, 1977) p. 450.
John Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New Testaments, Psalms,
9 Volumes, (Grace Works, Multi-Media Labs),
2011, p. 1386.
Charles John
Ellicott, Bible Commentary for English
Readers, Psalms, Vol.4, (London, England,
Cassell and Company), p. 262.
Keil-Delitzsch, Commentary
on the Old Testament, Psalms, vol. 5,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, Reprinted 1985), p.
248-249.
Matthew Henry, Concise
Commentary, Psalms, (Nashville,
Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p. 958.
Mr. Kettler has previously
published articles in the Chalcedon Report
and Contra Mundum. He and his wife
Marea attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA
Church. Mr. Kettler is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com