Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
~ Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee
The Psalmist makes personal application of the truth stated in the previous verse. He had previously stated that such seekers are blessed (Psalm 119:2), but now he applies himself to the task. An undivided heart is essential in seeking God. Anything less is idolatry. Jesus said it is the “first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38) to “love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).
O let me not wander from thy commandments
The second part of the verse is a plea in prayer to God. There are many such pleas in this Psalm. This cry reveals to us the ground of the Psalmist confidence. He is not trusting in himself nor his own heart for he knows it is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). This prayer comes from one who knows he is “kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Peter 1:5).
There is profitable instruction here for the wise man who will heed it. Our hearts are prone to wander. The appropriate response is not to try harder. It is to cry out to God to bind our wandering hearts to Him.
Psalm 119:9
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
~ Psalm 119:9
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?”
The second stanza begins with the question of how the way shall be purified. This is a question concerning practical holiness. How can a man be clean and walk in a way that is clean? Every child of God is marked by the desire for practical holiness.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
~ Romans 6:22Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
~ 2 Corinthians 7:1For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:7
In this case, the young man is specially considered. The Proverbs are full of direct words to the young man and he is peculiarly vulnerable to the folly of youth and the pride of life because of his strength. If a young man be in the way of Christ, it is urgently pressed that he be committed to being clean in the way.
“By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
The question asked is then answered in the text. He is instructed to take heed, which means to hedge about, to guard, to attend to. The young man must take this business seriously. He is called to diligent and passionate action. He must be zealous and persevering in this most important task.
The young man’s heed is to be of the Word of God. This term occurs 24 times in this Psalm and refers to the words that are spoken. It is qualified in this text as the words spoken by God. Jesus highlighted this importance in His answer to Satan:
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
~ Matthew 4:4
A young man is to heed diligently the Word of God and make his way in it. In so doing, he will cleanse his way. Jesus also told us that God’s Word is powerful to cleansing.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
~ John 17:17
Psalm 119:8
I will Keep thy statutes:
O forsake me not utterly.
Psalm 119:8
The first statement is the firm resolve of the Psalmist. He knows that joy and happiness are bound up with the Word of God. His purpose is to keep it.
The last statement is a plea that tempers the first with humility. He is not claiming a perfection and therefore cries to God that he not be forsaken. There is assurance and rest in God’s faithfulness. It is not the Psalmist’s ability to “keep” the statutes that comfort him. It is God’s faithfulness that encourages his heart.
The whole first stanza teaches us that the Word is our life. We are to walk, keep, respect, and learn. It is not all head work, but also for our hearts and hands. We have here an idyllic picture and also the strong desire to so walk. Complete dependence on God is emphasized throughout the whole stanza.
Psalm 119:7
I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
~ Psalm 119:7
In the seventh verse of this first stanza, prayer is turned to praise. The Psalmist desires not only to praise, but to praise “with uprightness of heart.” His praise is the overflow of pursuing the holiness of God. Sanctification and growth in grace lead most naturally to extolling God in all His perfection. God’s praise is fitting for the righteous.
Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
– Psalm 33:1Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
– Psalm 147:1
This appropriate praise is conditioned on learning God’s “righteous judgments.” The proper praise of God is “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Judgment means to set upright. The word is used 23 times in this Psalm. God’s judgments are always righteous. We are judged by them and are to judge by them. Only the upright of heart can glory in the righteous judgments of God, because their righteousness is not their own (Philippians 3:9).
Psalm 119:6
Then shall I not be ashamed,
when I have respect unto all thy commandments
~ Psalm 119:6
To be ashamed is to feel guilt or worthlessness. Both are the result of sin, the transgression of God’s law. The Psalmist knew this from bitter experience. He confessed:
Before I was afflicted I went astray
Psalm 119:67I have gone astray like a lost sheep
Psalm 119:176
By God’s help, he will be delivered from shame.
Commandments here are constitutional commands. The word is used 22 times in this Psalm and is one of the related words that reference the Word of God. The word signifies commands given with authority. Authority makes all the difference in commands. I could go out into my neighborhood and begin proclaiming commands to all who are there, but they will have no binding power for I have no authority to so command. I would be mocked and spurned, or worse. The underlying power here is obviously the sovereign Creator. He has the authority to both command and expect obedience.
The word also refers to command given to us in trust. We are to observe them yes, but we are also to preserve them. We are to keep them in both senses and pass them on to proceeding generations.
Psalm 119:5
O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
~ Psalm 119:5
This verse is a pleading prayer. It is a cry of weakness that seems to acknowledge failure on the part of the Psalmist. This prayer is a call for help. It reveals the true desire to keep God’s statutes and also the admission that he cannot apart from help.
Verse 4 speaks of the command to keep God’s precepts. Verse 5 show the right response to God’s commands—a desire to keep and to do them. This truth tempers the Psalmist’s declaration of love for God’s law. He loves the Word and responds with increased desire for it, to know it, to live it.
The word statute appears first here. It means a decree or ordinance. This is one of the related words used to reference the Word of God. In particular, it appears 22 times in the text of this chapter.
The root of the word in the Hebrew means hewn, cut, engraved, inscribed. It signifies something that is set in stone or some other durable material. The use of this word shows God’s law to be fixed and perpetual. You do not engrave something on a whim. You do not engrave something that will change soon or ever.
There is a contrast between our ways and the statutes. The statutes are fixed and do not need adjustment. It is our ways that must be directed to keep them.
Psalm 119:4
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
~ Psalm 119:4
The previous verses have dealt with the blessed state. It has been described and now is commanded. There may be few who truly exist daily in this blessed state, but we are all alike commanded to it.
The command necessarily relieves the godly man of any right to glory in himself. If he keeps the precepts, he is but doing what is commanded of him to do. He is as the unprofitable servant in Luke 17:10.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
On the other hand, we note that the blessed man is not one by accident. He is commanded to keep the precepts of God. This requires diligence and labor. To keep God’s precepts requires deliberate and determined purpose. We need the exhortation of Barnabas to the Antioch Christians, “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
The word for precepts means mandates or charges and appears 21 times in this Psalm. This refers to God’s charges or mandates which are prescribed to us in His Word. Also, we are to attend to them diligently, which word comprehends the idea of vehemence, speed, and exceeding. Surely this would allow no cavalier attitude toward the precepts of God. Certainly, we are to expend energy and haste to keep His Word.
Psalm 119:3
They also do no iniquity:
they walk in his ways.
~ Psalm 119:3
This verse continues the description of the blessed. Here they are considered negatively and positively. Negatively, they do not do iniquity. Positively, they do walk in His ways.
They also do no iniquity—The standard is here raised, but there is not the intention of earthly perfection. We know this at least from the later confessions and acknowledgments of failure in this Psalm. The truth is that Christians do not make a habit or regular practice of sin. That is not the general trend of their life. Consider the words of John:
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1 John 3:9We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
1 John 5:18
They walk in his ways—It is not enough to keep from sin, though that is much. We must do righteousness. We must go in the right path. Just as the first part considered the general trend of the life and absolute perfection, here that trend is toward God’s ways. We must be acquainted, even more than acquainted, with God’s word, but that is not all. Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).
The way of the blessed tends toward God and away from sin. This is sometimes called progressive sanctification. It is a work that God does in us and the fruit is known.
Psalm 119:11
Posted by Jeff Short on June 26, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
~ Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart
The Psalmist had prayed to be kept from wandering from God’s commandments. In verse 11, his prayer of faith is put into action, for he had hidden God’s Word in his heart to keep from wandering from the commandments. Psalm 119 is full of this dual perspective. On the one hand, the Psalmist cries out to God to be kept in His Word, kept in His way, and kept from sin. On the other hand, the Psalmist strives with holy violence and grace-driven effort[ref]Carson, D. A. 1999. For the love of God: volume 2 : a daily companion for discovering the treasures of God’s Word. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books.[/ref] to cling to God’s Word. This balance is often misunderstood, but it is crucial in the fight for holiness and the sanctification of God’s children.
To hide here has the thought of treasuring up. The Psalmist had hidden the Word of God as a miser hides his gold. This language reveals how highly he esteemed God’s Word. It is a treasure worthy of laying up and guarding.
“Word” is the sayings or speech of God. This word occurs 19 times in this Psalm. It puts us in thought of counting every word of God as true, precious, and abiding. Every word is life-giving and leading.
That I might not sin against thee
He values the Word and hides it in his heart, not to elevate his esteem among men, but to keep from offending God. The Word is the sword of truth we have been given. It is a mighty weapon in the warfare against sin. The heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and the host of evil imaginations (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21). We must fill up that room with the Word of God that no quarter is given for evil thoughts and a ready store of truth is available to fight against lies.
Link for Psalm 119 Sermon Series
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