89 LAMED. For ever, O Jehovah, thy word is settled in the heavens. 90 Thy faithfulness is from generation to generation: thou hast established the earth, and it standeth. 91 By thine ordinances they stand this day; for all things are thy servants.
92 Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93 I will never forget thy precepts; for by them thou hast quickened me.
94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
95 The wicked have awaited me to destroy me; [but] I attend unto thy testimonies.
96 I have seen an end of all perfection: thy commandment is exceeding broad.
97 MEM. Oh how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
98 Thy commandments make me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, because I have observed thy precepts.
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil path, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments; for it is thou that hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy ·words unto my taste! more than honey to my mouth! 104 From thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false path.
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much; O Jehovah, quicken me according to thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, Jehovah, the voluntary-offerings of my mouth, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My life is continually in my hand; but I do not forget thy law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me; but I have not wandered from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112 I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes for ever, unto the end.
113 SAMECH. The double-minded have I hated; but thy law do I love.
114 Thou art my hiding-place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evil-doers; and I will observe the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to thy ·word, that I may live; and let me not be ashamed of my hope. 117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe; and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118 Thou hast set at nought all them that wander from thy statutes; for their deceit is falsehood. 119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross; therefore I love thy testimonies. 120 My flesh shuddereth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
121 AIN. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. 122 Be surety for thy servant for good; let not the proud oppress me.
123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the ·word of thy righteousness.
124 Deal with thy servant according to thy loving-kindness, and teach me thy statutes. 125 I am thy servant; give me understanding that I may know thy testimonies.
126 It is time for Jehovah to work: they have made void thy law.
127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold. 128 Therefore I regard all [thy] precepts concerning all things to be right: I hate every false path.
129 PE. Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul observe them.
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light, giving understanding unto the simple.
131 I opened my mouth wide and panted; for I longed for thy commandments.
132 Turn unto me, and be gracious unto me, as thou art wont to do unto those that love thy name.
133 Establish my steps in thy ·word; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Deliver me from the oppression of man; and I will keep thy precepts.
135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy statutes.
136 Mine eyes run down with streams of water, because they keep not thy law.
137 TZADE. Righteous art thou, Jehovah, and upright are thy judgments. 138 Thou hast commanded thy testimonies in righteousness and exceeding faithfulness.
139 My zeal destroyeth me, because mine oppressors have forgotten thy words.
140 Thy ·word is exceeding pure, and thy servant loveth it.
141 I am little and despised: thy precepts have I not forgotten.
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold upon me: thy commandments are my delights. 144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is for ever: give me understanding, and I shall live.
145 KOPH. I have called with [my] whole heart; answer me, O Jehovah: I will observe thy statutes. 146 I call upon thee; save me, and I will keep thy testimonies.
147 I anticipate the morning-dawn and I cry: I hope in thy word. 148 Mine eyes anticipate the night-watches, that I may meditate in thy ·word.
149 Hear my voice according to thy loving-kindness: O Jehovah, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150 They have drawn nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. 151 Thou, Jehovah, art near, and all thy commandments are truth.
152 From thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
153 RESH. See mine affliction, and deliver me; for I have not forgotten thy law. 154 Plead my cause, and redeem me: quicken me according to thy ·word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked; for they seek not thy statutes.
156 Many are thy tender mercies, O Jehovah; quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine oppressors; I have not declined from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld them that deal treacherously, and was grieved; because they kept not thy ·word.
159 See how I have loved thy precepts: quicken me, O Jehovah, according to thy loving-kindness.
160 The sum of thy word is truth, and every righteous judgment of thine is for ever.
161 SHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause; but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162 I have joy in thy ·word, as one that findeth great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood; thy law do I love.
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing doth stumble them.
166 I have hoped for thy salvation, O Jehovah, and have done thy commandments.
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. 168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies; for all my ways are before thee.
169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, Jehovah: give me understanding according to thy word. 170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy ·word.
171 My lips shall pour forth praise when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172 My tongue shall speak aloud of thy ·word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.
173 Let thy hand be for my help; for I have chosen thy precepts. 174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah, and thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant; for I have not forgotten thy commandments.
81 But concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know, (for we all have knowledge: knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 If any one think he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know [it]. 3 But if any one love God, he is known of him):
4 —concerning then the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol [is] nothing in [the] world, and that there [is] no other God save one. 5 For and if indeed there are [those] called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, (as there are gods many, and lords many,) 6 yet to us [there is] one God, the Father, of whom all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him.
7 But knowledge [is] not in all: but some, with conscience of the idol, until now eat as of a thing sacrificed to idols; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But meat does not commend us to God; neither if we should not eat do we come short; nor if we should eat have we an advantage. 9 But see lest anywise this your right [to eat] itself be a stumbling-block to the weak. 10 For if any one see thee, who hast knowledge, sitting at table in an idol-house, shall not his conscience, he being weak, be emboldened to eat the things sacrificed to the idol? 11 and the weak [one], the brother for whose sake Christ died, will perish through thy knowledge. 12 Now, thus sinning against the brethren, and wounding their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore if meat be a fall-trap to my brother, I will eat no flesh for ever, that I may not be a fall-trap to my brother.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 119:89-176
Commentary on Psalm 119:89-96
(Read Psalm 119:89-96)
The settling of God's word in heaven, is opposed to the changes and revolutions of the earth. And the engagements of God's covenant are established more firmly than the earth itself. All the creatures answer the ends of their creation: shall man, who alone is endued with reason, be the only unprofitable burden of the earth? We may make the Bible a pleasant companion at any time. But the word, without the grace of God, would not quicken us. See the best help for bad memories, namely, good affections; and though the exact words be lost, if the meaning remain, that is well. I am thine, not my own, not the world's; save me from sin, save me from ruin. The Lord will keep the man in peace, whose mind is stayed on him. It is poor perfection which one sees and end of. Such are all things in this world, which pass for perfections. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. The psalmist had seen the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency. The word of the Lord reaches to all cases, to all times. It will take us from all confidence in man, or in our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness. Thus shall we seek comfort and happiness from Christ alone.
Commentary on Psalm 119:97-104
(Read Psalm 119:97-104)
What we love, we love to think of. All true wisdom is from God. A good man carries his Bible with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart. By meditation on God's testimonies we understand more than our teachers, when we understand our own hearts. The written word is a more sure guide to heaven, than all the fathers, the teachers, and ancients of the church. We cannot, with any comfort or boldness, attend God in holy duties, while under guilt, or in any by-way. It was Divine grace in his heart, that enabled the psalmist to receive these instructions. The soul has its tastes as well as the body. Our relish for the word of God will be greatest, when that for the world and the flesh is least. The way of sin is a wrong way; and the more understanding we get by the precepts of God, the more rooted will be our hatred of sin; and the more ready we are in the Scriptures, the better furnished we are with answers to temptation.
Commentary on Psalm 119:105-112
(Read Psalm 119:105-112)
The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way. The keeping of God's commands here meant, was that of a sinner under a dispensation of mercy, of a believer having part in the covenant of grace. The psalmist is often afflicted; but with longing desires to become more holy, offers up daily prayers for quickening grace. We cannot offer any thing to God, that he will accept but what he is pleased to teach us to do. To have our soul or life continually in our hands, implies constant danger of life; yet he did not forget God's promises nor his precepts. Numberless are the snares laid by the wicked; and happy is that servant of God, whom they have not caused to err from his Master's precepts. Heavenly treasures are a heritage for ever; all the saints accept them as such, therefore they can be content with little of this world. We must look for comfort only in the way of duty, and that duty must be done. A good man, by the grace of God, brings his heart to his work, then it is done well.
Commentary on Psalm 119:113-120
(Read Psalm 119:113-120)
Here is a dread of the risings of sin, and the first beginnings of it. The more we love the law of God, the more watchful we shall be, lest vain thoughts draw us from what we love. Would we make progress in keeping God's commands, we must be separate from evil-doers. The believer could not live without the grace of God; but, supported by his hand, his spiritual life shall be maintained. Our holy security is grounded on Divine supports. All departure from God's statutes is error, and will prove fatal. Their cunning is falsehood. There is a day coming which will put the wicked into everlasting fire, the fit place for the dross. See what comes of sin Surely we who fall so low in devout affections, should fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into heavenly rest, any of us should be found to come short of it, Hebrews 4:1.
Commentary on Psalm 119:121-128
(Read Psalm 119:121-128)
Happy is the man, who, acting upon gospel principles, does justice to all around. Christ our Surety, having paid our debt and ransom, secures all the blessings of salvation to every true believer. The psalmist expects the word of God's righteousness, and no other salvation than what is secured by that word, which cannot fall to the ground. We deserve no favour form God; we are most easy when we cast ourselves upon God's mercy, and refer ourselves to it. If any man resolve to do God's will as his servant, he shall be made to know his testimonies. We must do what we can for the support of religion, and, after all, must beg of God to take the work into his own hands. It is hypocrisy to say we love God's commandments more than our worldly interests. The way of sin is a false way, being directly contrary to God's precepts, which are right: those that love and esteem God's law, hate sin, and will not be reconciled to it.
Commentary on Psalm 119:129-136
(Read Psalm 119:129-136)
The wonders of redeeming love will fix the heart in adoration of them. The Scriptures show us what we were, what we are, and what we shall be. They show us the mercy and the justice of the Lord, the joys of heaven, and the pains of hell. Thus they give to the simple, in a few days, understanding of those matters, which philosophers for ages sought in vain. The believer, wearied with the cares of life and his conflicts with sin, pants for the consolations conveyed to him by means of the sacred word. And every one may pray, Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. We must beg that the Holy Spirit would order our steps. The dominion of sin is to be dreaded and prayed against by every one. The oppression of men is often more than flesh and blood can bear; and He who knoweth our frame, will not refuse to remove it in answer to the prayers of his people. Whatever obscurity may appear as to the faith of the Old Testament believers, their confidence at the throne of grace can only be explained by their having obtained more distinct views of gospel privileges, through the sacrifices and services of their law, than is generally imagined. Go to the same place, plead the name and merits of Jesus, and you will not, you cannot plead in vain. Commonly, where there is a gracious heart, there is a weeping eye. Accept, O Lord, the tears our blessed Redeemer shed in the days of his flesh, for us who should weep for our brethren or ourselves.
Commentary on Psalm 119:137-144
(Read Psalm 119:137-144)
God never did, and never can do wrong to any. The promises are faithfully performed by Him that made them. Zeal against sin should constrain us to do what we can against it, at least to do more in religion ourselves. Our love to the word of God is evidence of our love to God, because it is designed to make us partake his holiness. Men's real excellency always makes them low in their own eyes. When we are small and despised, we have the more need to remember God's precepts, that we may have them to support us. The law of God is the truth, the standard of holiness, the rule of happiness; but the obedience of Christ alone justifies the believer. Sorrows are often the lot of saints in this vale of tears; they are in heaviness through manifold temptations. There are delights in the word of God, which the saints often most sweetly enjoy when in trouble and anguish. This is life eternal, to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, John 17:3. May we live the life of faith and grace here, and be removed to the life of glory hereafter.
Commentary on Psalm 119:145-152
(Read Psalm 119:145-152)
Supplications with the whole heart are presented only by those who desire God's salvation, and who love his commandments. Whither should the child go but to his father? Save me from my sins, my corruptions, my temptations, all the hinderances in my way, that I may keep thy testimonies. Christians who enjoy health, should not suffer the early hours of the morning to glide away unimproved. Hope in God's word encourages us to continue in prayer. It is better to take time from sleep, than not to find time for prayer. We have access to God at all hours; and if our first thoughts in the morning are of God, they will help to keep us in his fear all the day long. Make me lively and cheerful. God knows what we need and what is good for us, and will quicken us. If we are employed in God's service, we need not fear those who try to set themselves as far as they can out of the reach of the convictions and commands of his law. When trouble is near, God is near. He is never far to seek. All his commandments are truth. And God's promises will be performed. All that ever trusted in God have found him faithful.
Commentary on Psalm 119:153-160
(Read Psalm 119:153-160)
The closer we cleave to the word of God, both as our rule and as our stay, the more assurance we have of deliverance. Christ is the Advocate of his people, their Redeemer. Those who were quickened by his Spirit and grace, when they were dead in trespasses and sins, often need to have the work of grace revived in them, according to the word of promise. The wicked not only do not God's statutes, but they do not even seek them. They flatter themselves that they are going to heaven; but the longer they persist in sin, the further it is from them. God's mercies are tender; they are a fountain that can never be exhausted. The psalmist begs for God's reviving, quickening grace. A man, steady in the way of his duty, though he may have many enemies, needs to fear none. Those that hate sin truly, hate it as sin, as a transgression of the law of God, and a breaking of his word. Our obedience is only pleasing to God, and pleasant to ourselves, when it comes from a principle of love. All, in every age, who receive God's word in faith and love, find every saying in it faithful.
Commentary on Psalm 119:161-168
(Read Psalm 119:161-168)
Those whose hearts stand in awe of God's word, will rather endure the wrath of man, than break the law of God. By the word of God we are unspeakable gainers. Every man hates to have a lie told him, but we should more hate telling a lie; by the latter we give an affront to God. The more we see the beauty of truth, the more we shall see the hateful deformity of a lie. We are to praise God even for afflictions; through grace we get good from them. Those that love the world have great vexation, for it does not answer what they expect; those that love God's word have great peace, for it outdoes what they expect. Those in whom this holy love reigns, will not perplex themselves with needless scruples, or take offence at their brethren. A good hope of salvation will engage the heart in doing the commandments. And our love to the word of God must subdue our lusts, and root out carnal affections: we must make heart work of it, or we make nothing of it. We must keep the commandments of God by obedience to them, and his promises by reliance on them. God's eye is on us at all times; this should make us very careful to keep his commandments.
Commentary on Psalm 119:169-176
(Read Psalm 119:169-176)
The psalmist desired grace and strength to lift up his prayers, and that the Lord would receive and notice them. He desired to know more of God in Christ; to know more of the doctrines of the word, and the duties of religion. He had a deep sense of unworthiness, and holy fear that his prayer should not come before God; Lord, what I pray for is, what thou hast promised. We have learned nothing to purpose, if we have not learned to praise God. We should always make the word of God the rule of our discourse, so as never to transgress it by sinful speaking, or sinful silence. His own hands are not sufficient, nor can any creature lend him help; therefore he looks up to God, that the hand that had made him may help him. He had made religion his deliberate choice. There is an eternal salvation all the saints long for, and therefore they pray that God would help their way to it. Let thy judgments help me; let all ordinances and all providences, (both are God's judgments,) further me in glorifying God; let them help me for that work. He often looks back with shame and gratitude to his lost estate. He still prays for the tender care of Him who purchased his flock with his own blood, that he may receive from him the gift of eternal life. Seek me, that is, Find me; for God never seeks in vain. Turn me, and I shall be turned. Let this psalm be a touchstone by which to try our hearts, and our lives. Do our hearts, cleansed in Christ's blood, make these prayers, resolutions and confessions our own? Is God's word the standard of our faith, and the law of our practice? Do we use it as pleas with Christ for what we need? Happy those who live in such delightful exercises.