Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:110
The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
110. An explanation of the preceding verse. His life is threatened by enemies, apparently because of his devotion to the law, but no dangers or persecutions tempt him to indifference or apostasy. Cp. Psa 119:85-87.
yet I erred not ] Yet went I not astray, as Psa 119:176.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The wicked have laid a snare for me – As men do to take wild beasts or birds. See the notes at Psa 119:85. Compare Job 18:8, note; Job 18:10, note; Psa 9:15, note; Psa 69:22, note. See also Psa 119:61, Psa 119:69.
Yet I erred not from thy precepts – Notwithstanding the danger to which I was exposed, I maintained a steadfast adherence to thy commandments. I was not deterred from obeying them by any peril which beset me.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 119:110
The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from Thy precepts.
The snares laid for a good man
I. Here is a particular proof of the worlds hatred to the godly–they have laid snares for me.
1. The instigation to this injurious practice. Unquestionably it originates in the enmity of the heart against God. For it is this, in the persons and character of the pious, which the impious dislike. They are also instigated by Satan, the common enemy of the people of God. Besides these excitements, there are others of a somewhat subordinate character. Not unfrequently the wicked are actuated with envy, when they see the righteous exalted to stations of honour and influence; this is illustrated by the case of Haman. It sometimes happens, too, that the righteous have offended the profligate in reproving them for their sins, and this has roused their enmity, as was the case with Herodias.
2. The various forms in which this practice appears. Sometimes it is by specious temptations to sin. Thus, the Scribes and Sadducees endeavoured to entangle Christ in His talk. There have been instances, too, where wicked rulers have laid a snare for the righteous (Dan 6:7-8). The wicked have aimed at corrupting the principles of the pious by offering to bribe them with the honours and riches of the world. They have thus resembled their father the devil, who took our Saviour up into the mountain, etc.
3. The agents in these temptations–they are called, the wicked. And are not these acts flagrantly wicked? For they are contrary to the law of our creation. They are chargeable with double guilt–not that of their own sin only, but that of those who by the snares they have laid for their feet have been entangled and brought into bondage.
4. The effects of their ensnaring machinations. In many cases, alas, they are successful, for they have caught the righteous in their net, and tormented them by their persecutions even unto death. But their moral success has to be far more deplored. Many a youth, ere his understanding has been established in the first principles of truth, has been led away by their errors, the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But, happily, there are many instances in which their artifices are altogether unsuccessful. Yet, said David, I erred not from Thy precepts.
II. The means of his preservation. Instead of being seduced by the smiling enticement of some, or terrified by the frowns and oppressions of others, he had not departed from the path of duty laid down for him in that Word which was the rule of his life.
1. A pious man cannot but be conscious of his determination to adhere to the path of duty, and of the degree of that adherence.
2. A subject of genuine godliness may sometimes hold up his own example to imitation (Php 3:12-14; Php 3:17).
3. A possessor of piety may and ought to acknowledge his obligations to preserving grace. Can you say, I know whom I have believed? Then how much you are indebted to your Lord. Raise your memorial pillar on this spot and write upon it, Hitherto the Lord hath helped me.
4. One principal means of this preservation was the Word of God. (Evangelical Preacher.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 110. The wicked have laid a snare] Thus their lives were continually exposed to danger.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The wicked have laid a snare for me,…. To draw him into sin, and so into mischief; and even to take away his life, as they are said to dig pits for him, Ps 119:85;
yet I erred not from thy precepts: not wilfully and wickedly, though through inadvertence and infirmity, as he often did, and every good man does; and indeed his errors are so many, that they cannot be understood and numbered. The sense is, he kept on in the way of his duty; did not desist from that, or wickedly depart from his God, and his worship, to escape the snares of bad men.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
110. The wicked have laid a snare for me The meaning of this verse is similar to that of the preceding. The prophet shows more definitely in what respect he carried his life in his hand; namely, because, being hemmed in on all sides by the snares of the wicked, he saw scarcely any hope of life. We have previously observed how difficult it is to avoid wandering from the ways of the Lord, when our enemies, by their subtle arts, endeavor to effect our destruction. The depraved desire of our fallen nature incites us to retaliate, nor do we see any way of preserving our life, unless we employ the same arts by which they assail us; and we persuade ourselves that it is lawful for us to howl among wolves. Such being the ease, we ought, with the more attention, to meditate upon this doctrine, That, when the wicked environ and besiege us by their wiles, the best thing we can do is to follow whither God calls us, and to attempt nothing but what is agreeable to his will.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
Ver. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me ] Such as, rather than their lives, would have had mine; such as sought and fain would have sucked my blood.
Yet I erred not from thy preeepts
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
erred = to err from the paths of virtue and piety. Hebrew. ta’ah; not the same word as in verses: Psa 119:21, Psa 119:118.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
wicked: Psa 119:85, Psa 10:8-18, Psa 124:6, Psa 124:7, Psa 140:5, Psa 141:9, Pro 1:11, Pro 1:12, Jer 18:22
yet I erred: Psa 119:10, Psa 119:21, Psa 119:51, Psa 119:87, Psa 119:95, Dan 6:10, Luk 20:19-26
Reciprocal: Psa 38:12 – lay snares Psa 119:157 – yet do I