Psalms 119:64

The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes. THE EARTH, O LORD, IS FULL OF THY MERCY: TEACH ME THY STATUTES - (.) As thou fillest the earth with thy mercy, so give me a share of it by teaching me thy statutes. I can make no progress in piety unless thou teachest me, Of all thy many mercies, this is the one which I desire earnestly above all the rest....

64._O Jehovah! the earth is full of thy mercy _Here the prophet beseeches God, in the exercise of his infinite goodness, which is reflected in every part of the world, graciously to make him a partaker of the treasure of heavenly wisdom — a manner of prayer which is very emphatic. When, therefore, he says _that the earth is full of God’s mercy, _it is a kind of earnest entreaty. He not only magnifies the goodness of God, in general, (as he does in other places,) in leaving no part of the world devoid of the proofs of his liberality, and in exercising it not only towards mankind, but also towards the brute creation. What does he then? He desires that the mercy of God, which is extended to all creatures, may be manifested towards him in one thing, and that is, by enabling him to make progress in the knowledge of the Divine law. Whence we gather, that he accounted the gift of understanding...

57-64 True believers take the Lord for the portion of their inheritance, and nothing less will satisfy them. The psalmist prayed with his whole heart, knowing how to value the blessing he prayed for: he desired the mercy promised, and depended on the promise for it. He turned from by-paths, and returned to God's testimonies. He delayed not. It behoves sinners to hasten to escape; and the believer will be equally in haste to glorify God. No care or grief should take away God's word out of our minds, or hinder the comfort it bestows. There is no situation on earth in which a believer has not cause to be thankful. Let us feel ashamed that others are more willing to keep from sleep to spend the time in sinful pleasures, than we are to praise God. And we should be more earnest in prayer, that our hearts may be filled with his mercy, grace, and peace....

Verse Psalms 119:64. _THE EARTH IS FULL OF THY MERCY_] What an astonishing operation has the grace of God! In the midst of want, poverty, affliction, and bondage, it makes those who possess it happy! When Christ dwells in the heart by faith, we have nothing but _goodness_ around us. Others may complain; but to us even the earth appears full of the mercy of the Lord. ANALYSIS OF LETTER CHETH. - _EIGHTH DIVISION_ In this part we have - I. The assertion of the psalmist, that _God_ was his _portion_; and his resolution upon it to keep God's law. II. His _prayer_ for grace to enable him to do it. III. His _profession_ of _duty_ and a _holy life_. IV. His _concluding_ acclamation and _prayer_....

THE EARTH, O LORD, IS FULL OF THY MERCY - Full of the proofs of thy goodness and compassion. See the notes at Psalms 33:5. This is the expression of a heart full of love to God and to his word. In such a state of mind as the psalmist was in, the goodness of God is seen everywhere. The best preparation for seeing evidence that God is good is a heart full of love. Then the proofs of that love spring up on every side - as when we truly love a friend we find constant proofs of his excellency of character. TEACH ME THY STATUTES - I desire to see more and more of thy law. Thou art so gracious and merciful, the evidence of thy goodness is so widespread round about me, that it leads me to desire to see more and more of thyself and thy law....

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

THE EARTH, O LORD, IS FULL OF THY MERCY,.... "Goodness" or "grace" o; both of the providential mercy and goodness of God, which extends to all his creatures; and of his special grace and goodness to his own people, held forth in his word and ordinances; see Psalms 33:5; TEACH ME THY STATUTES: as an instance of mercy, grace, and goodness; see Psalms 119:12. o חסדך "gratia tua", Cocceius, Gejerus....

Psalms 119:64. _The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray:_ Prosperity had been to the psalmist like the gap in the hedge through which the sheep wander from the shepherd; but affliction had been to him like the prickly bushes that often stop the sheep from wandering still further, so he says, «Before I was afflicted I went astray:» Psalms 119:67. _But now have I kept thy word._ What a benefit, then, affliction had been to him; and what a blessing it often is to us! So, instead of dreading it, as we usually do, we ought to welcome it, and be on the look

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...