Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:30
I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid [before me].
I have chosen the way of truth – Among all the paths of life I have selected this. I prefer this. I desire to walk in this. Religion is, wherever it exists, a matter of preference or choice; and the friend of God prefers his service to the service of the world.
Thy judgments – Thy statutes; thy laws.
Have I laid before me – I have set them before my mind as the guide of my conduct; I have made their observance the end and aim of my life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 119:30-32
I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me.
The commendable past and the desirable future in life
I. The commendable in the past.
1. The best choice has been made. The way of truth is the way of reality, in contradistinction to the way of sham and fiction.
2. The best guide has been followed. Gods Word is the only true guide.
3. The best cause has been adhered to. Whatever else he had given up and forsaken, he had stuck to Gods testimonies. If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples.
II. The desirable in the future. I will run, etc. If ye love Me, keep My commandments.
1. The pursuance of the Divine law is essential to human happiness. Man can find no happiness in any way but in the way of Gods commandments.
2. The enlargement of the human heart is essential to the pursuance of the Divine law. The moral heart of man is sadly contracted by selfishness and materialism. Love alone can expand it, and make it wide enough to embrace God and His universe. (Homilist.)
The way of truth
I. The way of truth. It is the way of God; for the Lord is the God of truth: it is the way of Christ; for, said He, I am the way, etc. it is the way of the Spirit; for the Spirit beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. And as all that we know of God–of God who made us by His power, of Christ who redeemed us by His blood, of the Spirit who renews us by His grace–is contained in Scripture, the way of truth is the way of Gods Word. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.
II. To choose the way of truth.
1. To determine, with entire honesty of intention, and with full purpose of heart, that you will walk, as far as you know it, in the way of Gods precepts–entertaining, not only a confident hope, but cherishing a firm assurance, that so doing you shall attain, sooner or later, when the days of your appointed time are past, to the end of Gods promises.
2. To be careful that, so far as lies in our power, we act out what we have determined; that we do not, like too many, ask one thing in our prayers, and seek another in our practice; that we do not through the after stages engage in any occupation, or devote ourselves to any amusement, or join ourselves to any society, by which our early approach to God may be made to seem hypocrisy, and our very petitions be turned into sin.
3. A continual dependence upon the help of God, as promised for the sake of Christ, and conveyed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; and not only a continual dependence upon it, but a constant expectation of it; and not only a constant expectation of it, but an earnest and frequent entreaty for it. (T. Dale, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 30. I have chosen the way of truth] And that I may continue in its “remove from me the way of lying.” See above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I have chosen the way of truth, to wit, thy word or law, for my portion, and the rule of my worship and whole life.
Laid before me; or, set before me, as the phrase is fully expressed, Psa 16:8, as a delightful object, or as a mark to aim at, or as a rule to direct me.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
I have chosen the way of truth,…. Christ, who is the way and the truth, the true way to God and to eternal happiness; and to choose him is to choose the good part, which shall never be taken away; and which choice is made, not by the free will of man, as left to itself, but under the influence and by the direction of the Spirit and grace of God; whereby a soul sees a preferableness in Christ to every thing else, and which determines the choice of him: or, “the way of faith”, as the Targum; the doctrine of faith, particularly the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ; also each of the truths of the Gospel, a way in which believers walk with pleasure and by choice; as being preferable to, and more desirable by them, than thousands of gold and silver;
thy judgments have I laid [before me]; to be looked at continually, as being exceeding amiable and lovely, and having a strong affection for them; and as a copy to write after, and a rule to walk by.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. 31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. 32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
Observe, I. That those who will make anything to purpose of their religion must first make it their serious and deliberate choice; so David did: I have chosen the way of truth. Note, 1. The way of serious godliness is the way of truth; the principles it is founded on are principles of eternal truth, and it is the only true way to happiness. 2. We must choose to walk in this way, not because we know no other way, but because we know no better; nay we know no other safe and good way. Let us choose that way for our way, which we will walk in, though it be narrow.
II. That those who have chosen the way of truth must have a constant regard to the word of God as the rule of their walking: Thy judgments have I laid before me, as he who learns to write lays his copy before him, that he may write according to it, as the workman lays his model and platform before him, that he may do his work exactly. As we must have the word in our heart by an habitual conformity to it, so we must have it in our eye by an actual regard to it upon all occasions, that we may walk accurately and by rule.
III. That those who make religion their choice and rule are likely to adhere to it faithfully: “I have stuck to thy testimonies with unchanged affection and an unshaken resolution, stuck to them at all times, through all trials. I have chosen them, and therefore I have stuck to them.” Note, The choosing Christian is likely to be the steady Christian; while those that are Christians by chance tack about if the wind turn.
IV. That those who stick to the word of God may in faith expect and pray for acceptance with God; for David means this when he begs, “Lord, put me not to shame; that is, never leave me to do that by which I shall shame myself, and do thou not reject my services, which will put me to the greatest confusion.”
V. That the more comfort God gives us the more duty he expects from us, v. 32. Here we have, 1. His resolution to go on vigorously in religion: I will run the way of thy commandments. Those that are going to heaven should make haste thither and be still pressing forward. It concerns us to redeem time and take pains, and to go on in our business with cheerfulness. We then run the way of our duty, when we are ready to it, and pleasant in it, and lay aside every weight, Heb. xii. 1. 2. His dependence upon God for grace to do so: “I shall then abound in thy work, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” God, by his Spirit, enlarges the hearts of his people when he gives them wisdom (for that is called largeness of heart, 1 Kings iv. 29), when he sheds abroad the love of God in the heart, and puts gladness there. The joy of our Lord should be wheels to our obedience.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
30. I have chosen the way of truth. In this and the following verse he affirms that he was so disposed as to desire nothing more than to follow righteousness and truth. It is, therefore, with great propriety he employs the term to choose. The old adage, that man’s life is as it were at the point where two ways meet, refers not simply to the general tenor of human life, but to every particular action of it. For no sooner do we undertake any thing, no matter how small, than we are grievously perplexed, and as if hurried off by a tempest, are confounded by conflicting counsels. Hence the prophet declares, that in order constantly to pursue the right path, he had resolved and fully determined not to relinquish the truth. And thus he intimates that he was not entirely exempted from temptations, yet that he had surmounted them by giving himself up to the conscientious observance of the law.
The last clause of the verse, I have set thy judgments before me, relates to the same subject. There would be no fixed choice on the part of the faithful, unless they steadily contemplate the law, and did not suffer their eyes to wander to and fro. In the subsequent verse he not only asserts his entertaining this holy affection for the law, but also combines it with prayer, that he might not become ashamed and enfeebled under the derision of the ungodly, while he gave himself wholly to the law of God. Here he employs the same term as formerly, when he said his soul cleaved to the dust, and, in doing so, affirms he had so firmly taken hold of God’s law, that he cannot be separated from it. From his expressing a fear lest he might be put to shame or overwhelmed with reproach, we learn that the more sincerely a man surrenders himself to God, the more will he be assailed by the tongues of the vile and the venomous.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
DISCOURSE: 699
CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
Psa 119:30-32. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame! I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
EVERY thing which has an aspect of egotism is for the most part to be avoided; or, at all events, it should be entered upon with extreme care, and be relinquished as soon as the occasion for it has ceased. Yet, whilst this rule is proper for private Christians, we have reason to be thankful that the Inspired Writers were under no necessity of submitting to it; but that, on the contrary, they were constrained, by the powerful motions of the Holy Spirit, to record the secret workings of their hearts, and to develop the principles by which they were actuated in the divine life. What a treasure has in this view been committed to us in the Psalms of David! In him we see what is the experience of Gods saints in every age. In the very words which we have just read we may behold a Christians mind:
I.
His retrospective testimony
We may take the words as declaring,
1.
His deliberate choice
[Whatever was his state in former life, he is now become a new creature: his former sins and errors he has utterly renounced; and has determinately embraced the truth of God, even that truth which God has revealed in the Gospel of his Son. He knows that, as a sinner, he is justly obnoxious to Gods heavy displeasure; and that there is no hope for him, but in that Saviour who died for him upon the cross Hence, with the fullest conviction of his mind and the most deliberate purpose of his soul, has he fled for refuge to Christ, and laid hold on him as his only hope.]
2.
The means by which he seeks to effect his end
[The written word of God is regarded by him as the only ground of his faith, and the only rule of his practice. The promises contained in it he treasures up in his mind, for the encouragement of his soul; and the precepts, as a sure directory. The Sacred Volume is to him what the chart and compass are to the mariner: nor will he ever pass a day without consulting it, to ascertain the state of his soul, and the course that he shall pursue.]
3.
The exertions made by him in the prosecution of his purpose
[No sooner did he turn to God in earnest, than he found allurements, on the one hand, to draw him from the Lord; and menaces, on the other hand, to drive him from his God. But his conscience bears him witness, that he has stuck unto Gods testimonies, and cleaved unto the Lord with full purpose of heart. True, the conflict yet continues, yea, and requires the utmost exertions of his soul: but still he is steadfast and immoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord: assured that, at last, his labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.]
Conformable with his past experience is also,
II.
His prospective determination
He feels, indeed, that God alone can uphold him
[This is strongly expressed in that prayer, O Lord, put me not to shame! In vain would be all his own efforts, if he were not aided from on high. Soon would he fall, and make shipwreck of his faith, and be put utterly to shame, if God should withdraw from him for one single moment. He feels himself like an infant in its mothers arms, and cries to God continually, Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. He laments that in his own heart he is narrow and contracted, and incapable of either devising or executing such plans as may advance his spiritual welfare in the way that he could wish. He seems to himself like a ship that is becalmed; and which, for want of winds to carry him forward, is in danger of being diverted from his path by currents which he is unable to withstand. Hence he prays to God for such communications of his Holy Spirit as shall fill his sails, and bear him onward to his destined port. And,]
In dependence on God, he determines to redouble his exertions till he has attained the great object of his desires
[He is not contented to walk in the ways of God: no; he would run; he would run, and not be weary; he would march onward, and not faint. He considers himself as engaged in a race: and he sees his course clearly marked in the commandments of his God. Hence he determines, that when God shall enlarge his heart, he will run with all his might, and never stop till the prize shall be accorded to him. Whatever advance he may have made, he forgets what is behind, and reaches forward to that which is before, and presses on for the prize of his high calling with increased zeal. He determines that nothing shall abate his ardour, or for a moment divert him from his path. Thus he runs the race that is set before him; and determines, through grace, so to run it, that he may obtain the prize.]
Let me now add a few words,
1.
Of congratulation, to those who can adopt this language
[I do hope that some amongst you are like-minded with David in these particulars; and that, if you have not attained his eminence in the divine life, you are yet truly and habitually following his steps. Shall I not, then, say to you, as Moses did to Israel of old, Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord [Note: Deu 33:29.]? Truly, in comparison of you, the greatest, wisest, noblest of mankind are in a poor and low condition. In you the end of your creation has been answered; yea, and the end of your redemption too. In you God delights; yea, he regards you as his peculiar treasure. On you the very angels before the throne account it an honour to wait, as your ministering servants: and for you are prepared crowns and kingdoms that shall never fade away. Was Mary commended by our Lord for having chosen the good part? and was she assured that it should never be taken away from her? The same commendation is yours, and the same assurance is yours also. I do, then, from my soul congratulate you, however pitiable in other respects your condition may be; and, in the name of my Divine Master, I say for your encouragement, Be not weary in well-doing; for in due season you shall reap, if you fault not.]
2.
Of reproof, to those who are yet strangers to this heavenly experience
[What have you been doing all your days, that you have never yet made this choice? Are the ways of the world equal in any respect to the way of truth? Are they as reasonable in themselves? Are they as conducive to the best interests of man? or will they prove so happy in their issue? Compare the things which tempt you from the testimonies of the Lord, with the loss which they will occasion, and the evils which they will entail upon you. You may now, perhaps, justify the preference which you give to sin: but say whether you will not one day be ashamed of it? Say whether, in that hour when you shall be bidden to depart from your Saviours presence, and to take your portion for ever in a lake of fire, you will not be ashamed of the choice which you have now so unwisely made, and of the hopes which you now so presumptuously cherish? Peradventure you now laugh at the idea of an enlargement of heart, and deride the course to which it leads: but will you do so in that day? Will you not rather lament that you followed the course of this world, instead of prosecuting the ways which load to heaven? I would say then to you, Seek now the Lord whilst he may be found, and call upon him whilst he is near. There is no repentance in the grave, nor any reversing of the sentence that shall soon be passed upon you. Begin, then, the course which David ran, and prosecute it with the ardour that filled his soul. So shall you possess with him the joy that is set before you, and inherit to all eternity the rest that remaineth for the people of God.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid [before me].
Ver. 30. I have chosen the way of truth ] I am fully bent against lying, and am resolved to speak truth; though I have done otherwise sometimes, through frailty.
Thy judgments have I laid before me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
laid = set.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
chosen: Psa 119:29, Psa 119:111, Psa 119:173, Jos 24:15, Pro 1:29, Luk 10:42, Joh 3:19-21, Joh 8:45, 1Pe 2:2, 2Jo 1:4
thy judgments: Psa 119:24, Psa 119:52, Deu 11:18-20
Reciprocal: Deu 30:19 – choose life 2Sa 22:23 – judgments Psa 86:11 – I will Psa 119:98 – they are ever Psa 119:104 – false way