Psalms 119:113

I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. I HATE VAIN THOUGHTS: BUT THY LAW DO I LOVE. "Vain thoughts" (as the antithesis to "thy law" shows) are all thoughts opposed to God's law, whether subtle speculations, which are incompatible with the simplicity of revealed truth, or carnal and worldly lusts forbidden by the written Word. (Gesenius takes the Hebrew [ cee`ªpiym (H5588)], 'men of divided minds' (James 1:8) - Greek, 'a double-souled man.' It may be translated 'divided thoughts,' as in 1 Kings 18:21, margin. The English version is supported by the Hebrew (Job 4:13;...

113._I have hated crooked thoughts. _Those who are of opinion that the word סעפום _seaphim, _the first in the verse, and which is rendered _crooked thoughts, _is an appellate noun, translate it, _those who think evil; _(436) but it is more correct to understand it of the thoughts themselves, (437) and this interpretation is very generally adopted. The noun סעף, _saeph, _properly signifies _a branch, _but it is applied metaphorically to the _thoughts, _which, growing out of the heart, as branches from the trunk of a tree, spread themselves in every direction. As there is no doubt that in this passage the term is taken in a bad sense, I have added the epithet, _crooked, _which the etymology of the word requires. (438) As the branches of a

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 psa...

LETTER ס SAMECH. - _FIFTEENTH DIVISION_ Verse Psalms 119:113. _I HATE_ VAIN _THOUGHTS_] I have hated סעפים _seaphim_, "tumultuous, violent men." I abominate all _mobs_ and _insurrections_, and troublers of the public peace....

I HATE VAIN THOUGHTS - This commences a new portion of the psalm, distinguished by the Hebrew letter _Samech_ (ס _s_), answering to our “s.” The word rendered “vain thoughts” occurs only in this place. It is rendered by the Septuagint, παρανόμους _paranomous_ - transgressors. So the Latin Vulgate. Luther renders it “die Flattergeister,” the frivolous-minded. The word means divided; a man of a divided mind; a man who has no sure faith in regard to divine things, but is driven here and there; a sceptic; a doubter. Compare James 1:8. Thus it refers not to his own thoughts primarily, as being “vain” or worthless, but to a state of mind or heart in general, where there is no firmness, no stability, no settled view: a state of mind wavering, doubtful, skeptical, in regard to re

EXPOSITION This is an "alphabetic psalm" of a more stringent character than any other. It consists of twenty-two stanzas, each of eight verses, every verse in each stanza beginning with its own proper letter—those of stanza 1 with _aleph_,_ _the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; those of stanza 2 with _both_,_ _the second letter; and so on. The writer, having thus fettered himself, moves with some difficulty, but still has produced what has been justly called "a sweetly monotonous meditation" (Cheyne). He takes the Law for his one and only subject, and, further, seems to have bound himself, almost absolutely, to introduce the word "Law," or something which he regards as a synonym of "Law," into every verse. The synonyms are nine in number— 1. TORAH, "the Law"_ _itself; but not merely the Law given on Mount Sinai; rather, God's law in the widest sense, all whereby he

o, SAMECH.--THE FIFTEENTH PART. Ver. 113. SAMECH. I HATE VAIN THOUGHTS,.... Or thoughts: evil thoughts are undoubtedly meant, no other can be the object of hatred to a good man; they are such as are contrary to the law of God, and forbidden by it, mentioned in the next clause as the object of love, in opposition to these; and which are abominable to God, and defiling to men; should be forsaken, need pardon; and, if not pardoned, will be brought into judgment, and there exposed, and men punished for them. There are multitudes of these rise up in the minds of men, not only bad men, but good men; even sometimes atheistical blasphemous thoughts, as well as proud, haughty, revengeful, lustful, impure, and worldly ones; which, when observed by a good man, give him great concern and uneasiness, and raise a holy indignation in him against them. The word is used for the "opinions" of men; the am...

Psalms 119:105. _Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path._ We are walkers through the city of this world, and we are often called to go out into its darkness; let us never venture there without the light-giving word, lest we slip with our feet. Each man should use the word of God personally, practically, and habitually, that he may see his way and see what lies in it. When darkness settles down upon all around me, the word of the Lord, like a flaming torch, reveals my way. We should not know the way, or how to walk in it, if Scripture, like a blazing flambeau, did not reveal it. It is a lamp by night, a light by day, and a delight at all times. David guided his own steps by it, and also saw the difficulties of his road by its beams. Psalms 119:106. I

Psalms 119 The Law Written on Their Hearts and the Praise of the Word This is the longest and most perfect Psalm in the whole collection. It is an alphabetical acrostic. It is composed of 22 sections, each having eight verses, 176 verses in all. Each section begins with a different letter of the alphabet and each verse of the different sections begins also with the corresponding letter of the section. Eight times each letter of the alphabet is mentioned in the 22 sections. The number eight in the Word has the meaning of resurrection, death is gone and life has come. Israel has passed from death to life and now extols the Word and the Law of God. The time has come when it is fulfilled what the Lord spoke through Jeremiah concerning the new covenant, “I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts.” We behold then in this Psalm the joy of Israel in knowing the Word

CXIX. PRAISE OF THE LAW. This is the longest and most artificial Ps. in the whole collection. It is divided into twenty-two strophes, each beginning with one of the twenty-two letters of the Heb. alphabet in regular order. Again each strophe contains eight verses, and each verse begins with the same letter which introduces the strophe. The number of strophes then is determined by the number of the Heb. letters. But what of the eight verses in each strophe? The Psalmist had derived from a kindred Ps., viz. Psalms 19, the eight synonyms for the conception Word of God and impresses these terms on his readers by introducing them all into each stanza of his work. So Cheyne, in his _Book of Psalms_ (1904), following D. H. Mü ller. It is right, however, to bear in mind that this theory involves considerable, though by no means extravagant or arbitrary, changes in the received text both of Psalm...