73 Your hands have made me and formed me.
Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you will see me and be glad,
because I have put my hope in your word.
75 Yahweh, I know that your judgments are righteous,
that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Please let your loving kindness be for my comfort,
according to your word to your servant. 77 Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully.
I will meditate on your precepts. 79 Let those who fear you turn to me.
They will know your statutes.
80 Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees,
that I may not be disappointed.
KAF
81 My soul faints for your salvation.
I hope in your word. 82 My eyes fail for your word.
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke.
I don’t forget your statutes.
84 How many are the days of your servant?
When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The proud have dug pits for me,
contrary to your law. 86 All of your commandments are faithful.
They persecute me wrongfully.
Help me! 87 They had almost wiped me from the earth,
but I didn’t forsake your precepts.
88 Preserve my life according to your loving kindness,
so I will obey the statutes of your mouth.
LAMED
89 Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever. 90 Your faithfulness is to all generations.
You have established the earth, and it remains. 91 Your laws remain to this day,
for all things serve you.
92 Unless your law had been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for with them, you have revived me.
94 I am yours.
Save me, for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me.
I will consider your statutes.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commands are boundless.
MEM
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 119:73-96
Commentary on Psalm 119:73-80
(Read Psalm 119:73-80)
God made us to serve him, and enjoy him; but by sin we have made ourselves unfit to serve him, and to enjoy him. We ought, therefore, continually to beseech him, by his Holy Spirit, to give us understanding. The comforts some have in God, should be matter of joy to others. But it is easy to own, that God's judgments are right, until it comes to be our own case. All supports under affliction must come from mercy and compassion. The mercies of God are tender mercies; the mercies of a father, the compassion of a mother to her son. They come to us when we are not able to go to them. Causeless reproach does not hurt, and should not move us. The psalmist could go on in the way of his duty, and find comfort in it. He valued the good will of saints, and was desirous to keep up his communion with them. Soundness of heart signifies sincerity in dependence on God, and devotedness to him.
Commentary on Psalm 119:81-88
(Read Psalm 119:81-88)
The psalmist sought deliverance from his sins, his foes, and his fears. Hope deferred made him faint; his eyes failed by looking out for this expected salvation. But when the eyes fail, yet faith must not. His affliction was great. He was become like a leathern bottle, which, if hung up in the smoke, is dried and shrivelled up. We must ever be mindful of God's statutes. The days of the believer's mourning shall be ended; they are but for a moment, compared with eternal happiness. His enemies used craft as well as power for his ruin, in contempt of the law of God. The commandments of God are true and faithful guides in the path of peace and safety. We may best expect help from God when, like our Master, we do well and suffer for it. Wicked men may almost consume the believer upon earth, but he would sooner forsake all than forsake the word of the Lord. We should depend upon the grace of God for strength to do every good work. The surest token of God's good-will toward us, is his good work in us.
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.