Psalms 119:168

My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. MY SOUL HATH KEPT THY TESTIMONIES ... FOR ALL MY WAYS ARE BEFORE THEE - they are all known to thee, and thou wilt recompense me accordingly. In all my ways I remember that thine eye is upon me, and therefore I do everything as in thy presence (; ; )....

168._I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies. _What the Psalmist had expressed more strongly, he now repeats more simply, adding there to reason. He abbreviates the statement as made in the preceding verse only by here omitting the word _soul, _which he there uses, whilst to _commandments _he joins _testimonies, _in order the more distinctly to show that he does not speak exclusively of the rule of an upright and holy life, but also comprehends the whole covenant of salvation. And, assuredly, the doctrine of the law could not be so sweet and attractive from its commanding what is right, did it not at the same time exhibit the free favor of God. The reason which the Prophet assigns for his keeping God’s commandments and testimonies — _for all my ways are before thee _(37) — is to this effect, That the truth, which he well knew, that nothing is hidden from God, served as a bridle...

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...

Verse Psalms 119:168. _FOR ALL MY WAYS ARE BEFORE THEE._] Thou knowest that I do not lie; thy eye has been upon my heart and my conduct, and thou knowest that I have endeavoured to walk before thee with a perfect heart. ANALYSIS OF LETTER SCHIN. - _TWENTY-FIRST DIVISION_ In this section the psalmist shows: - I His love to God; and II. The ardour and perfection of that love. I. The _first_ sign of his love was, that it stood in the midst of persecution. 1. "Princes have persecuted." 2. But "without a cause," though they pretended many. 3. "But my heart standeth in awe." My love and confidence have due respect to thy infinite justice and immaculate purity. The _second sign_ of his love is

I HAVE KEPT THY PRECEPTS AND THY TESTIMONIES - This is an appeal which is several times made in the psalm; not with boasting, but as indicating the tenor and purpose of his life. Every man ought to be able to make such an appeal. FOR ALL MY WAYS ARE BEFORE THEE - Thou hast seen my manner of life, and I may appeal to thee in proof that I have thus kept thy law. No one can lay claim to entire perfection, but there is many a man who, while conscious of much imperfection, and many shortcomings, can appeal to God for the truth of the statement that his great aim of life has been to keep his commandments....

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

I HAVE KEPT THY PRECEPTS AND THY TESTIMONIES,.... Both the preceptive and doctrinal part of the word, he preserved and observed both; this is repeated for the certainty of it, and to show his great affection to them; FOR ALL MY WAYS [ARE] BEFORE THEE; this is either an appeal to God for the truth of what he had said, who saw and knew all the ways in which he walked, and which he had endeavoured should be conformable to the word of God; or it is a reason why he kept the precepts and testimonies of the Lord, because he knew his eyes were upon him; the omniscience of God had an influence over him, and caused him to be more attentive to the word, as the rule of his actions; see Psalms 139:1....

Psalms 119:145. _I cried with my whole heart: hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes._ In the time of trouble there is no resort like that of prayer, but it must be intense and earnest. «I cried with my whole heart.» And sometimes it should be accompanied with a resolve to profit by the affliction. «I will keep thy statutes.» As the child under the rod prays to be spared because he hopes in future to be obedient, so does the Psalmist here say, «Hear me, O Lord; I will keep thy statutes.» This ought to be the effect of every affliction, to make us more careful in our obedience. It is not always so, but so it ought always to be. Psalms 119:146. _I cried unto thee: save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies._ As if he felt that the force of gratitude woul

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...