Psalms 119:95

The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. THE WICKED HAVE WAITED FOR ME TO DESTROY ME - ( .) (BUT) I WILL CONSIDER THY TESTIMONIES - as Daniel was not turned aside from praying thrice a day by the plot of his enemies for his destruction....

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...

THE WICKED HAVE WAITED FOR ME TO DESTROY ME - That is, they have lain in wait; or, they have laid a plan. They are watching the opportunity to do it. BUT I WILL CONSIDER THY TESTIMONIES - I will think of them; I will adhere to them; I will find my support in them; I will not be driven from my adhesion to them by an apprehension of what man can do to me....

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 WICKED HAVE WAITED FOR ME TO DESTROY ME,.... This is another reason why he desires the Lord would save him; because wicked men, such who feared not God, nor regarded men, sons of Belial; such as Saul's courtiers and the conspirators with Absalom were, had laid wait and were waiting an opportunity, and were hoping and expecting to have one, that they might take away his life; destroy him out of the world, as Kimchi; or eternally, as Aben Ezra thinks; by endeavouring to draw him out of the right ways of religion and godliness, into the ways of sin and wickedness, and so ruin him for ever; [BUT] I WILL CONSIDER THY TESTIMONIES; the word of God, which testified of his power and providence, employed in the protection of his people, and so an encouragement to put trust and confidence in him; and of his mind and will, with respect to the way in which he should walk; and so making these his...

Psalms 119:81. _My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word._ The ship rocks, but the anchor holds; the singer is ready to faint, but he is not ready to despair. He knows where his restoring will come. Psalms 119:82. _Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?_ What a mercy it is to have our eyes on God's word, full as it is of blessing to be waiting till the blessing comes out of it! Mine eyes watch thy word, that is so full of the rain of comfort; and I say to myself, «When will it descend and refresh me? When will the clouds let fall their silver drops upon my thirsty soul?» Psalms 119:83. For I am become like a bottle

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...

PSALMS 119 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE Jehovah's Will in Relation to Human Character and Conduct, celebrated in Twenty-two Alphabetical Stanzas, and by the aid of Eight Comprehensive Synonyms. ANALYSIS (The analysis of this Psalm may be seen in its superficial structure, and further discovered by an examination of the following Table of Synonyms.) SYNONYMS EXPRESSIVE OF JEHOVAH'S WILL IN RELATION TO HUMAN CONDUCT AS CELEBRATED IN Psalms 119. TABLE OF PRINCIPAL WORDS AND PHRASES USED IN CONNECTION WITH EACH SYNONYM. English Hebrew No. of oc. in M.T. No. Emended 1. COMMANDMENTS _mizwah_ 22 22 look well to, 6; go astray from, 10, 21, 110; run in way of, 32; lead in path of, 35; delight in, 47, 143; keep, (55), 60; believe in,

The longest Ps. and the best example of an alphabetical Ps. There are in it twenty-two stanzas; each of the 8 vv. of each stanza commences with the same Hebrew letter. The subject is practically the same throughout, viz. the great help and guidance and comfort to be derived from studying continually the Law of the Lord. Much ingenuity is displayed in expressing the same thoughts under various forms. Note in this connexion the following variety of terms—Law, or instruction (_torali_) TESTIMONIES, or affirmations of God's will; JUDGMENTS, or judicial pronouncements as to the Law; STATUTES (lit. 'inscriptions'), or published enactments; COMMANDMENTS, PRECEPTS, or injunctions. It is difficult to locate the Ps. in time or circumstances. Such devoted meditation on the Law is a feature of later Judaism which arose chiefly after the exile. This is also true of the mechanical arrangement of the P...