Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:169
Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
169, 170. These verses are closely connected. My cry denotes literally the outward expression of urgent entreaty in a shrill passionate outcry (cp. Psa 17:1 note): my supplication for favour refers to the substance of his prayer. Once more he prays for fuller understanding or discernment, and for the freedom of outward circumstance which will enable him to use it. As the ground of both prayers he pleads God’s word of promise.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
169 176. Tv. Concluding petitions for understanding and deliverance, for the grace of thankfulness, for help and guidance.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord – This commences a new division of the psalm, indicated by the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letter Tau ( t), corresponding to our t, or th. The petition here is, that his prayer might be heard; that it might come into the very presence of God; that there might be no obstructions to its reaching where God was. Let nothing from my unworthiness, from my past sins, from my ignorance, prevent its coming before thee. Something often apparently hinders our prayers so that they do not reach the ear of God. The psalmist prays here that there may be no such hindrance in the prayer which he now offers.
Give me understanding according to thy word – According to the promises of thy word; or, give me the same views of truth which are set forth in thy word. This prayer had been several times offered before, and it shows how earnest was his desire to know the truth. See Psa 119:34, Psa 119:73,Psa 119:144.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 119:169-176
Let my cry come near before Thee, O Lord: give me understanding according to Thy Word.
A model prayer
I. The earnestness it breathes. Let my cry come near before Thee, O Lord. This prayer is not a statement, not an address, but a cry denoting great fervency. Importunacy is the essential characteristic of true prayer. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
II. The mercies it invokes.
1. Spiritual light. Give me understanding according to Thy Word. In a moral sense we are blind and foolish.
2. Soul deliverance. Deliver me according to Thy Word. Through the fall, souls are embarrassed, imperilled, and enslaved.
3. Divine help. Let Thine hand help me. We talk of self-helpfulness. This alone is a fiction, a dream. No hand can really help us but the hand of God.
4. Continued existence (verse 175). He wishes to live, not for any selfish ends, but in order to praise the Lord.
III. The pleas it urges.
1. The testimony he pleads is the testimony of God. He prays for what was Divinely promised. All true prayer must be guided by the Divine Word.
2. He pleads his resolution to praise God (verses 171, 172). He resolves to lay out the remainder of his days in the service of his Maker. Unto Him be glory, etc.
3. He pleads his delight in the Divine law (verse 174). Those who fully appreciate what they have from God are warranted to expect, and qualified to receive, more.
IV. The confession it makes (verse 176). This is true of all (Luk 15:4; Mat 18:12-13). Gone whence? From the knowledge, the image, the companionship of God. Whither? Into the wilderness of moral darkness and confusion. This is our helpless condition. Christ came to seek and to save the lost, blessed be His name! (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
LETTER TAU. – Twenty-second Division
Verse 169. Let my cry come near before thee] This is really a fine image; it is of frequent occurrence, and is little heeded. Here the psalmists cry for deliverance is personified; made an intelligent being, and sent up to the throne of grace to negotiate in his behalf. He pursues this prosopopoeia in the next verse, and sends his supplication in the same way. I have already had occasion to refer to a similar figure in Homer, where prayers are represented as the daughters of Jupiter. See on Ps 88:2.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
TAU
Near before thee; which at present thou seemest to shut out, as the church complained, Lam 3:8.
Understanding; whereby I may both know and perform my duty in all particulars.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
169, 170. The prayer forunderstanding of the truth precedes that for deliverance.The fulfilment of the first is the basis of the fulfilment of thesecond (Ps 90:11-17).On the terms “cry” and “supplication” (comparePsa 6:9; Psa 17:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
t, TAU.–The Twenty-second and last Part.
Ver. 169. TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord,…. Not “my praise”, as the Syriac version; but “my prayer”, put up in great distress, and with great vehemence and importunity; see
Ps 119:145; and when it is desired it might “come near before” the Lord, it does not so much suppose distance of place between the petitioner and the petitioned as earth is from heaven, as Aben Ezra observes, as distance of state and condition; the petitioner being a creature, and a sinful creature, and whose sins had separated between God and him: and now the only way of access is by Christ; prayer can only pass to God through him, who is the only Mediator between God and man; by whom persons and services are brought near unto, him with acceptance. The sum of this request is, that his prayer might not be rejected and shut out; but that it might be admitted, might come up before God, and into his ears, and be regarded by him, and accepted with him;
give me understanding according to thy word; meaning not natural, but spiritual understanding; not that he was without any, as natural men are, whose understandings are darkened; for he had a large share of understanding of spiritual things; but he wanted more, he desired to know more of himself, of his wants and weaknesses; to know more of God in Christ, and of Christ, his person, offices, and grace; to know more of the doctrines of the word, and of the duties of religion; and particularly that he might have a better understanding of the business of prayer, and might know both what to pray for, and how to pray as he ought; all which is a gift from God: and he desires in all to be directed “according to the word” of God, the means of enlightening the understanding, and of increasing spiritual knowledge; or else he means the promise of God, that he would give him more knowledge and understanding; that he might be taught of God, and follow on to know him, and increase in every branch of spiritual knowledge.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The eightfold Tav . May God answer this his supplication as He has heard his praise, and interest Himself on behalf of His servant, the sheep that is exposed to great danger. The petitions “give me understanding” and “deliver me” go hand-in-hand, because the poet is one who is persecuted for the sake of his faith, and is just as much in need of the fortifying of his faith as of deliverance from the outward restraint that is put upon him. is a shrill audible prayer; , a fervent and urgent prayer. , prop. to answer, signifies in Psa 119:172 to begin, strike up, attune (as does also sometimes). According to the rule in Psa 50:23 the poet bases his petition for help upon the purpose of thankful praise of God and of His word. Knowing how to value rightly what he possesses, he is warranted in further supplicating and hoping for the good that he does not as yet possess. The “salvation” for which he longs ( as in Psa 119:40, Psa 119:20) is redemption from the evil world, in which the life of his own soul is imperilled. May then God’s judgments (defective plural, as in Psa 119:43, Psa 119:149, which the Syriac only takes a singular) succour him ( , not ). God’s hand, Psa 119:173, and God’s word afford him succour; the two are involved in one another, the word is the medium of His hand. After this relationship of the poet to God’s word, which is attested a hundredfold in the Psalm, it may seem strange that he can say of himself ; and perhaps the accentuation is correct when it does not allow itself to be determined by Isa 53:6, but interprets: If I have gone astray – seek Thou like a lost sheep Thy servant. is a sheep that is lost (cf. as an appellation of the dispersion, Isa 27:13) and in imminent danger of total destruction (cf. Psa 31:13 with Lev 26:38). In connection with that interpretation which is followed by the interpunction, Psa 119:176 is also more easily connected with what precedes: his going astray is no apostasy; his home, to which he longs to return when he has been betrayed into by-ways, is beside the Lord.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| 22. TAU. | |
169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. 170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.
Here we have, I. A general petition for audience repeated: Let my cry come near before thee; and again, Let my supplication come before thee. He calls his prayer his cry, which denotes the fervency and vehemence of it, and his supplication, which denotes the humility of it. We must come to God as beggars come to our doors for an alms. He is concerned that his prayer might come before God, might come near before him, that is, that he might have grace and strength by faith and fervency to lift up his prayers, that no guilt might interpose to shut out his prayers and to separate between him and God, and that God would graciously receive his prayers and take notice of them. His prayer that his supplication might come before God implied a deep sense of his unworthiness, and a holy fear that his prayer should come short or miscarry, as not fit to come before God; nor would any of out prayers have had access to God if Jesus Christ had not approached to him as an advocate for us.
II. Two particular requests, which he is thus earnest to present:– 1. That God, by his grace, would give him wisdom to conduct himself well under his troubles: Give me understanding; he means that wisdom of the prudent which is to understand his way; “Give me to know thee and myself, and my duty to thee.” 2. That God, by his providence, would rescue him out of his troubles: Deliver me, that is, with the temptation make a way to escape, 1 Cor. x. 13.
III. The same general plea to enforce these requests–according to thy word. This directs and limits his desires: “Lord, give me such an understanding as thou hast promised and such a deliverance as thou hast promised; I ask for no other.” It also encourages his faith and expectation: “Lord, that which I pray for is what thou hast promised, and wilt not thou be as good as thy word?”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Tau Section
Scripture v. 169-176:
Verses 169, 170 appeal to the Lord to let the earnest prayer-cry and supplication of the godly psalmist come up very near to Him. He asked that he be helped to, understand the will of God, according to His word; And that he be delivered from his afflictions in keeping with its promises, v. 25,65,107. He never gave up in faith and prayer perseverance, Luk 18:1; Psa 90:12-15; Psa 6:9; Psa 17:1.
Verses 171, 172 pledge that the psalmist’s lips and tongue will utter praise and witness His Word, when the Lord has experimentally taught him His statutes, adding, “For all thy commandments (mandates) are righteous,” a universal truth, regarding Israel, the church, all believers, unbelievers, and the world, Psa 19:2; Psa 78:2; Psa 51:15; Psa 107:2; Psa 119:160; Psa 147:7; Mar 16:15; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; Act 1:8; Psa 126:5-6; Rev 2:10.
Verses 173, 174 appeal to the Lord for help, because he had longed for the extended hand (the offer) of His salvation; Because he had chosen the Lord’s precepts and law as his delight, as Joshua did, Jos 24:15; Jos 24:22; and as all men should, Pro 1:29; Luk 10:42.
Verse 175 pleads “Let my soul live (me survive)” and “It shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me,” aid or support me, v. 49,156. He asked that both his natural and spiritual life be saved, for praise, honor, and glory to the Lord, 1Co 10:31.
Verse 176 concludes “I have gone astray,” (wandered), like a careless lost sheep; “Seek thy servant,” I am your property, belong to you as Shepherd; he added, “For I do not forget thy commandments,” even in my wanderings, for they both accuse and comfort me, Luk 15:4. He can not recover himself, but asks “bleats” for the Shepherd Lord to come; and He does, Psalms 23. O how men should praise the Shepherd God, Jehovah, the Lord.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
169. Let my cry come (38) near into thy presence. The Psalmist repeats the same sentiment which has already come under our notice — that his chief desire, and what he, most of all pressed after, regarding everything else as of secondary importance, was to make progress in the study of the divine law. By the word cry he denotes earnestness. I am anxious, as if he had said, above all things, and am chiefly inflamed with this desire, (even as it is just and reasonable,) that the light of understanding by which we excel the lower animals, and approach very near to God, may be preferred by me to all earthly advantages. The expression, according to thy word, may be understood in two ways. It may denote that David besought God to impart to him understanding according to his promise; or, as some explain it, it may intimate that he desired to have his mind framed according to the rule of God’s word, so that he might not be wise otherwise than according to the doctrine of the law. This last sense would not be inappropriate, did not these words in the following verse, Deliver me according to thy word, present an objection to such an interpretation. Having no doubt that these two sentences have a corresponding meaning — though at first sight it is more specious to understand David as praying to be made wise according to the rule of the law — I rather incline to the other sense, That he beseeches God to endue him with understanding, in fulfillment of his promise. And whilst God liberally promises all blessings to his people, to enlighten them by his Spirit, that they may excel in true and sound wisdom, is justly entitled to be ranked among the chief of his promises. This doctrine is profitable to us in many ways. In the first place we are taught that nothing is more to be desired than to have God guiding us by his light, that we may not be like brute beasts. In the second place we are taught that this is the peculiar gift of the Holy Spirit; for it would have been in vain for David to have besought. God to bestow upon him that which he had naturally in himself, or which he might have attained by his own painstaking. In the third place, what I have said concerning the promise is to be attended to, to the end the faithful may not hesitate to offer themselves to God to be enlightened by Him, who declares that he will be the guide of the blind, and who refuses not to be a master and teacher of little ones and of the humble.
(38) As has been observed by some critics, the Psalmist’s cry for deliverance is here personified. He represents it as if an intelligent being, and as sent up by him to heaven, there to plead his cause in the presence of God. The same elegant poetical figure is used in the following verse, and it is of frequent occurrence in the Book of Psalms.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
, Tav.
169-176. Let thine hand help me Finally, the two great wants of man, strength of soul to live righteously and deliverance from outward evils, are rehearsed. The writer is persecuted for his faith. He wishes to keep the faith. He prays also for rest from persecution. The last verse should probably be, “If I go astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant.” Not that he means to stray, but he knows his own weakness. With this humble cry the long meditation ends. In such form as this the law presented itself to a religious mind in the age of Ezra and Nehemiah. Under this view of it, Israel was revived and men were raised up who contended earnestly for the faith until the Messiah came and the grace of the gospel was proclaimed!
In the condensed foregoing notes, the leading object has been to show that the long text is not a repetition of synonymes, but, like Ecclesiastes, moves forward, not indeed in a direct line, but with shifts and changes, presenting, under a large variety of experiences, the one source of strength and comfort the divine law.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Tau. Concluding Appeal.
v. 169. Let my cry come near before Thee, O Lord, v. 170. Let my supplication come before Thee, v. 171. My lips shall utter praise, v. 172. My tongue shall speak of Thy Word, v. 173. Let Thine hand help me, v. 174. I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord; v. 175. Let my soul live, v. 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
TAU.
There is but little variation in this portion from the former. Jesus taught his disciples, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint, Luk 18:1 ; and here he sets the example. I do not think it necessary to enlarge upon this portion, nor indeed, after what hath been said, to detain the Reader with any further observations by way of comment. And shall only from one general reflection upon the whole, desire to close this Psalm, with recommending both the Reader and the few imperfect remarks interspersed in the review of it, together to the grace of God wherein we stand. If this beautiful Psalm be, according to the ideas here given of it, designed as specially looking to, and descriptive of, the person, offices, character, and relations of the Lord Jesus Christ; I shall find cause to bless God if such views as have been offered tend, as the Holy Ghost plainly in that case designed this psalm, to endear the Lord Jesus more and more to the heart, and thereby to form him therein the hope of glory. In this case the meditations suggested so often by the statutes, testimonies, precepts judgments, and the like, which run through the whole Psalm, will have a still greater tendency to endear Jesus and his fulness to the soul. And while we make him; what the w hole Bible makes him, the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end; the first and the last; the author and finisher of salvation; we shall be following up God the Father’s will in his appointment of Christ as the one ordinance of salvation to sinners; and God the Spirit’s design in glorifying the Lord Christ in all. Reader! the Lord merci fully grant these blessed ends may be accomplished, from our review of this sweet Psalm; and blessed be our Jesus for manifesting himself to us through every part of it, that God in all things may be glorified, through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
Ver. 169. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord ] That is, as some will have it, let this whole preceding psalm, and all the petitions (whereof we have here a repetition) therein contained, be highly accepted in heaven.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 119:169-176 (Tav)
169Let my cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding according to Your word.
170Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
171Let my lips utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
172Let my tongue sing of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
173Let Your hand be ready to help me,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
174I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.
175Let my soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
176I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.
Psa 119:169-176 This last strophe is characterized by jussives, three of them are followed by imperatives (Psa 119:169-170; Psa 119:176).
1. let my cry come before You, Psa 119:169 a – BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense
2. give me understanding, Psa 119:169 b – BDB 106, KB 122, Hiphil imperative
3. let my supplication come before You, Psa 119:170 a – BDB 97, KB 112, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense; note the parallel between Psa 119:169-170 a
4. deliver me, Psa 119:170 b – BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil imperative
5. let my lips utter praise, Psa 119:171 a – BDB 615, KB 665, Hiphil imperfect used in a jussive sense
6. let my tongue sing, Psa 119:172 a – BDB 777, KB 854, Qal jussive
7. let my hand be ready to help, Psa 119:173 a – BDB 224, KB 243, Qal jussive
8. let my soul live, Psa 119:175 a – BDB 310, KB 309, Qal jussive
9. that it may praise You, Psa 119:175 a – BDB 237, KB 248, Piel imperfect used in a jussive sense
10. let Your ordinances help me, Psa 119:175 b – BDB 740, KB 810, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense
11. seek Your servant, Psa 119:176 a – BDB 134, KB 152, Piel imperative
The Psalm concludes with a plethora of prayer requests!
Psa 119:171-173 Notice how the second line of each verse explains the reason for the request.
Psa 119:176 a This imagery of God’s people as wayward sheep is also found in Isa 53:6; Jer 50:6; Eze 34:2-19; Zec 10:2-3. This is where the imagery of
1. God as Shepherd – Psalms 23; Ezekiel 34
2. Messiah as Shepherd – Zechariah 10-11; Joh 10:1-18
is grounded. Sheep need constant, personal, protective care!
The imperative of Psa 119:176 b reminds one of Mat 18:12-14 and Luk 15:4-7. God does seek lost sheep! Hallelujah!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Psa 119:169-176
Psa 119:169-176
STROPHE 22
ACKNOWLEDGING SIN; THE PSALMIST PRAYS FOR SALVATION; VOWING TO CONTINUE PRAYERS WITH LIP; TONGUE AND SOUL
Tau
“Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah:
Give me understanding according to thy word.
Let my supplication come before thee:
Deliver me according to thy word.
Let my lips utter praise;
For thou teaches me thy statutes.
Let my tongue sing of thy word;
For all thy commandments are righteousness.
Let thy hand be ready to help me;
For I have chosen thy precepts.
I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah;
And thy law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee;
And let thine ordinances help me.
I have gone astray, like a lost sheep; seek thy servant;
For I do not forget thy commandments.”
The glorious surprise of this strophe is the acknowledgment of sin on the part of the psalmist, contrasting dramatically with the previous strophe. What a refreshing word this is! He is not, after all, a self-righteous braggart, but a sinner standing in need of the Lord’s forgiveness, just like all the rest of the human race.
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant” (Psa 119:176). Yes, of course, he has not forgotten the commandments; but he has not kept them perfectly, else he would not be like lost sheep, subject to instant death, unless the Lord shall seek and save him. It is surprising that McCullough did not interpret this remark as a reference to sin, but “To a deterioration in the psalmist’s circumstances, or to an absence from his people. To us, it is impossible to allow such an interpretation to stand. “Going astray like a lost sheep” is a reference to sin.
“Let my lips utter praise … let my tongue sing … my soul shall praise thee” (Psa 119:171-172; Psa 119:175). This is the psalmist’s pledge to continue with all his heart to seek the Lord’s help in his prayers with lip, tongue, and soul. No more noble resolution could have been found to close this magnificent psalm.
The John A. Dickson Reference Bible lists seventy-six New Testament quotations from the Book of Psalms, but none from Psalms 119, and none from the balance of the Psalter.
We cannot, at this time challenge that analysis; but there is one New Testament reference which certainly seems to have Psa 119:172 in view. Luke wrote of Zacharias and Elizabeth, “They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luk 1:6).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 119:169. When David speaks of his cry he generally means his earnest prayer. To come near means for it to be heard and considered by the Lord. The Psalmist realized that he needed understanding, both as a king and also as an individual servant of God, and he wished it to be according to the word.
Psa 119:170. Supplication is used in the same sense as “cry” in many of the other verses. And, as always, the Psalmist depended on the word as the instrument of God through which he was to obtain all divine favors.
Psa 119:171. Misdirected praise is not desired by the Lord and David realized it. He therefore wished to be first taught by the precepts of God.
Psa 119:172. Here is another verse with two of the terms, word and commandments. David’s reason for speaking of them was the righteousness of the inspired document.
Psa 119:173. The same One whose hand could help David was the Author of the precepts that he had chosen as his rule of action in life.
Psa 119:174. Salvation would be used in its broadest sense in this place, including relief from personal enemies and salvation for his soul spiritually. The Psalmist was not willing merely to accept this salvation but longed for it. This is like the teaching of Jesus in Mat 5:6. In keeping with the statement David says he delighted in the law which was the instrument that was to guide him.
Psa 119:175. The word soul is used with reference to the whole being. David’s life had been threatened many times by his enemies, and he is praying for the preservation coming from the Lord, and it was to come through means of the divine judgments.
Psa 119:176. I have gone astray is just a general admission of his mistakes in life, and not necessarily in reference to any specific sin. He prayed for restoration to the divine favor as a sheep that had been found after having wandered. The noted chapter closes with the promise that David will not forget the Lord’s commandments.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Let my cry: Psa 119:145, Psa 18:6, 2Ch 30:27
give me: Psa 119:144, 1Ch 22:12, 2Ch 1:10, Pro 2:3-5, Dan 2:21, Jam 1:5
Reciprocal: Psa 119:73 – give me Psa 119:108 – teach
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
119:169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding {a} according to thy word.
(a) As you have promised to be the schoolmaster to all who depend on you.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
22. Salvation in God’s Word 119:169-176
The psalmist called to the Lord again to hear his supplication and to save him (Psa 119:169-170). He wanted to praise God for His righteous commandments (Psa 119:171-172). He requested continued life because he loved God’s law (Psa 119:173-175). Finally, he confessed to wandering away from God, but he asked the Lord to seek him and bring him back to the fold, since he had not abandoned God’s Word.
This great and unique psalm should impress the importance of the Word of God on every reader. Apparently the writer worked his way through the Hebrew alphabet selecting key words that express the various aspects of human life. He then related each one to the Word of God and so showed how it touches every area of life and is essential to all of life. He did not just give us a catalogue of the values of Scripture. Instead he showed us how the Word is relevant and invaluable in all types of situations that the godly face. The frequent references to enemies, affliction, persecution, and adversaries keep us in touch with real life as we read this psalm. In this way, the psalmist illustrated the absolute importance of what God has revealed as an adequate resource and indispensable guide through life. This psalm is not only a record of praise for God’s revelation, but it is also a revelation of the importance of God’s Word (cf. Psa 138:2, NIV).