Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:136
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
136. Mine eyes run down with streams of water] For the phrase cp. Lam 3:48; Lam 1:16. The righteous indignation which he feels at one moment for the lawlessness of men ( Psa 119:53) is tempered at another by profound sorrow and pity.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes – My heart is sad, and my eyes pour forth floods of tears. It is not a gentle weeping, but my eyes are like a fountain which pours out full-flowing streams. See Jer 9:1. Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, etc. Compare Jer 14:17; Lam 1:16; Lam 2:18.
Because they keep not thy law – On account of the sins, the follies, the stupidity, and the transgressions of people. So the Saviour wept over Jerusalem Luk 19:41; and so the apostle said that he had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart, on account of his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh. Rom 9:2-3. Such a feeling is right. There is nothing for which we should be excited to deeper emotion in respect to our fellow-men than for the fact that they are violators of the law of God, and exposed to its fearful penalty. There is nothing which more certainly indicates true piety in the soul than such deep compassion for people as sinners, or because they are sinners. There is nothing which is more certainly connected with a work of grace in a community, or revival of true religion, than when such a feeling pervades a church. Then Christians will pray; then they will labor to save sinners; then they will feel their dependence on God; and then the Spirit of God will descend and bless the efforts put forth for the salvation of people. It may be added, nothing is more remarkable than that pious people ordinarily feel so little on account of the danger of their friends and fellow-sinners – that the occasions are so rare on which they imitate the example of the psalmist and of the Saviour in weeping over the condition of a perishing world!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 119:136
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy law.
The wail of the good over the sins of the world
I. They are the tears of order. Discord in sound is a cause of distress to a soul highly attuned to melody. But moral disorder is far more distressing to the soul of the truly spiritual, loyal and good. It is impossible for a man who has been brought into harmony with the eternal will of God and the order of the universe not to be distressed beyond measure at the pandemoniums that sin has created.
II. They are the tears of philanthropy. It is the nature of love to desire the happiness of its object and to grieve over its misery. Its heart desire and prayer to God is, that it may be saved. But sin plays sad havoc with men, involves them in miseries, and sinks them to hells. In a world of misery a genuine philanthropist cannot therefore but shed rivers of tears.
III. They are the tears of piety. What can be more distressing to a man than to see the object of his strongest affections insulted, misrepresented, wounded, and bitterly opposed? This is what sinners do in relation to God; they transgress His precepts, they rebel against His authority, they aim to thwart His plans and wound His heart. What can piety do, therefore, but shed rivers of tears? (Homilist.)
Glorious tears
I. The tears of a patriot. He knew that those who obeyed not the laws of God were pernicious citizens and would endanger the commonwealth. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but righteousness is obedience to eternal laws.
II. The tears of a philanthropist. He knew that those who transgressed the Divine laws sinned against their own souls and endangered their own interest. He knew that all the sorrows and miseries sprang from disobedience.
III. The tears of a religionist. He loved the great God, and he was grieved to hear His Name profaned, His precepts violated, and His authority contemned. (Homilist.)
Grief for the mice of men
If we mourn for sin truly, it will excite our grief wheresoever and by whomsoever it is committed. But, like all our sympathies, it will be excited more powerfully by the sins of those with whom we are more intimately connected, and by such of them as come mere immediately wit, bin the sphere of our own observation. We are to mourn more especially, though not exclusively, for the sins of our own land, of the city in which we dwell, of the Church with which we are in immediate fellowship, of the congregation of which we are members, and of our own families.
I. Trace these rivers of grief to their springs.
1. Grief for the sins of men springs from love to God. Sin is a violation of the authority of God, and an offence to the essential purity of His nature. It insults His majesty, and reflects dishonour (so far as a created act can do) upon all His attributes.
2. It springs from love to the law of God. Christians must reckon every sin as a violation of that law which the Son of God hath magnified, and made honourable, and vindicated by His obedience in our nature and in our stead. And God, by the agony and death of His Son, has stamped sin with the broad and burning brand of His hatred.
3. It springs from love to the sinner.
4. There are personal feelings which stir this grief and enter into its composition. When we see a person in distress, it frequently reminds us that we were once afflicted in the same or a similar way–a recollection which strengthens our sympathy, if it is not the spring from which it directly flows. In like manner the saint is made to recollect his former sins, and his grief for them mingles with that which he feels for the present sins of others.
II. The leading qualities of this grief.
1. It is genuine.
(1) This is evinced by its impartiality. The sincere mourner is grieved for the sins of friends as well as of enemies,–of those of his own religious connection as well as those of other denominations,–for the sins of his own family as well as those of his neighbours; nay, he is more sensibly affected with the dishonours done to God by those who are most intimately connected with him–the provoking of sons and daughters. He is grieved for all sin.
(2) The genuineness of these tears is evinced by the ease with which they flow. Take a person of tender feelings to a scene of distress, and the tear will instantly start to his eye on beholding it. The mere sight of sin draws forth the sorrow of a godly man.
2. This grief is generous and seemly. Such tears become Christian men–men of stature and valour; for, as one has expressed it, it is the truest magnanimity to be sensible on the point of Gods honour, which is injured by sin.
3. This grief varies, especially in its expression, in different persons, and in the same person at different times. This is common to it with other gracious dispositions in the hearts of men who are but partially sanctified, and whose exercise, in this their sublunary state, resembles the tide which ebbs and flows according to the varying influence of the moon.
4. This grief is habitual. David in the text does not say, rivers ran, but run. Paul could call God to witness that he had great sorrow and continual heaviness in his heart for his unbelieving and impenitent countrymen. As long as Christians are in this world they will have reason for this feeling.
5. This grief is influential and profitable. It may be useful to others; it will be useful to ourselves. By the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. (T. McCrie, D. D.)
Christian grief because of transgressors
I. The dishonour done to God by the violation of His law. If a man of warm loyalty were living amongst traitors, it would wound him to the quick to hear the king whom he honoured continually reviled. If a man of warm friendship were with the enemies of the object of his love, it would surely grieve him to observe how this friend was hated and despised. And what are such feelings, in comparison with those which should arise in the man of real piety, when he beholds on all sides denial of God and defiance of His laws? What loyalty is comparable to his, seeing that the principle takes its greatness from the greatness of the object, and that it is to none other than the Lord of heaven and earth that he has given his allegiance? What friendship is comparable to His?
II. The ruin which transgressors are bringing on themselves. The man who, like the psalmist, believes implicitly the Word of God and is thoroughly persuaded that all its threatenings will be executed. It is with him no matter of conjecture or speculation whether a life of wickedness will terminate in an eternity of misery. And who are these victims of Divine justice? Are they not; his fellow-men, his brethren after the flesh, those for whom he would bitterly sorrow if he knew them exposed to some great temporal calamity? Shall he, then, be unmoved by their everlasting wretchedness?
III. The injury which they are causing to others. It is said by the psalmist, in regard of Gods commandments–In keeping of them there is great reward. The reward is present as well as prospective. It is no small part of this reward, that such is the nature of Gods commandments, and such the intimate and indissoluble connection between obedience and happiness, that in proportion as the commandments are kept, the worst forms of evil are banished, and the best of good introduced. Shall it not, then, be with a genuine and deep sorrow that the righteous man, eager for a period of universal happiness, beholds the transgressors who are deferring that period, and prolonging the reign of confusion and misery? Who will say that his grief would be excessive, greater than the occasion warranted, if he were to weep over mens sins with such a weeping as that of the psalmist? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Christian compassion essential to Christian effort
I. The occasion of Christian compassion.
II. The nature of Christian compassion.
1. It is distinguished by its Divine original. It is a creation of God in the soul.
2. It is distinguished by its depth and intensity.
3. It is characterized by its powerful practical influence.
(1) Prayer.
(2) Personal exertion. (T. Brookes.)
The concern of the righteous for evil-doers
I. Because they offend and sin against Gods law. Before we can experience anything of this jealousy for God and His Word, we must, like David, learn to know Him, not merely on the report of others, but by our own experience; not merely to have heard His Word, or read it, but to have felt it, and partaken of it, and enjoyed it.
II. On account of the happiness and peace sinners sacrifice by not keeping Gods law.
1. Oh, what an amount of present blessings do men lose by not keeping Gods law! What joy in believing, what comfort of the Holy Ghost, what deep, genuine, abiding, solid peace!
2. Such are the present blessings which the believer enjoys; but who can describe those which are laid up for him at Gods right hand for evermore?
III. On account of the sorrows and miseries which they bring down upon themselves.
IV. On account of the aggravated guilt under which they perish. Oh, what reason have we to weep over those whom we daily see putting off Christ for something they like better than Christ! (N. Ashby.)
Saved by a tear
A man had gained great notoriety through his profligate habits. His wife urged him one evening to remain at home, and not to go to the saloon. He became angry, and went out of the house, leading his little girl by the hand. The child, knowing how much the mother suffered, begged the father not to go to the saloon that night. He took her up in his arms, and on putting his face close to hers his cheek was wetted by a tear. He said, in telling his experience some time afterwards: My anger completely melted away. I determined to go back home and make my wife happy. If he had fought against the influence of that tear, it might have been his destruction. Certainly it was a manly thing to surrender to the tear of love. Cease to oppose God, and with angry words to fight against the influence of friends who would save you from ruin. (Sunday Circle.)
Won by tears
One time I was preaching in Chicago, and when I gave out the invitation a man stood up. He was an enormous fellow, weighing twenty-two stone, and I thought to myself, You have caught a magnificent specimen to-night. After the meeting was over I went down and sat behind him and talked to him. He said: Let me tell you how I came to take Christ to-day. I have been a church-goer all my life, but I only went to criticize, and when men got up in the prayer-meeting to talk I took out a little notebook which I kept, and wrote down what they said, and afterwards watched to see how their daily life agreed with what they said. I said to myself: All these Christians are hypocrites. My heart was as hard as stone; I was perfectly indifferent. I was taken very ill, and one day when I lay down I thought I was dying. A man came to me, and asked if he might pray for me. I said: Well, if you want to pray for me, I have no objection, if it will do you any good. If you will enjoy it, pray away. He knelt down beside my bed, and I watched him. I though I was dying, but I wasnt a bit frightened. I was perfectly callous and hardened, and as this man prayed for me I watched him out of the corner of nay eyes. As I was watching him out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a tear rolling down his cheeks, and I said to myself, Here is this man, a perfect stranger to me, and he is weeping over my sins and over my lost condition. That broke my heart. That is why I am here to-night. That is why I got up and asked for prayer. That is why I have taken the Lord Jesus. I tell you, you will win more men and women by your tears than you will ever win by your arguments. (R. A. Torrey, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes] How much had this blessed man the honour of God and the salvation of souls at heart! O for more of that spirit which mourns for the transgressions of the land! But we are not properly convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
ANALYSIS OF LETTER PE. – Seventeenth Division
In this division the psalmist –
I. Praises God’s word.
II. Shows his affection to it.
III. Prays for grace to keep it.
IV. Mourns for those who do not.
1. The eulogy he gives to God’s word here is from a new quality not mentioned before. “Thy testimonies are wonderful;” wondrous mysteries are contained in the Divine oracles.
1. The ceremonial law is wonderful, because the mystery of our redemption by the blood of Christ is pointed out in it.
2. The prophecies are wonderful, as predicting things, humanly speaking, so uncertain, and at such great distance of time, with so much accuracy.
3. The decalogue is wonderful, as containing in a very few words all the principles of justice and charity.
4. Were we to go to the New Testament, here wonders rise on wonders! All is astonishing; but the psalmist could not have had this in view.
The second eulogy is, that God’s law is the dispenser of light.
1. The entrance of it, the first chapter of Genesis; what light does that pour on the mind of man! What knowledge of the most important things, which we should never have known without it!
2. It gives light to the simple – to those who are not double; who have but one end in view, and one aim to that end.
3. Of those simple ones or babes our Lord speaks, Mt 11:25, and St. Paul, 1Co 1:25-26, c.
II. The psalmist shows that he was one of those simple ones.
1. “He opened his mouth” by prayer, and sought the spirit of light and piety.
2. He panted after it as men do that want breath, and are longing to get fresh air.
3. And this he did because “he longed for God’s commandments” had a vehement desire to know and keep them.
III. He now betakes himself to prayer, and acquaints us with the petitions he had offered.
1. He said, “Look upon me.” Consider thy poor, dependent, helpless creature.
2. “Have mercy upon me.” Look, not with the indignation which I deserve, but with the mercy which thou knowest I need.
3. “As thou usest to do.” Act by me as thou dost by them that love thee.
4. “Order my steps.” Give me grace to be obedient. Many look for mercy to pardon their sin, but do not look for grace to enable them to be obedient.
5. “Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Let me be saved from all my spiritual captivity.
6. “Deliver me from the oppression of men.” Let neither wicked men nor wicked spirits rule over me.
7. “Make thy face to shine upon me!” Let me have thy light, thy peace, and thy approbation.
8. “And teach me thy statutes.” Keep me at thy feet, under continual instruction.
IV. He concludes by telling how he grieved for the wickedness of others and the dishonour of God. If we grieve not for others, their sin may become ours. See Eze 9:8; 1Co 5:2.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Rivers of waters; plentiful and perpetual tears, witnesses of my deep sorrow for Gods dishonour and displeasure, and for the miseries which sinners bring upon themselves and others. They, to wit, the wicked, as before, Psa 119:126, who were not worthy to be mentioned; for this pronoun is oft used in way of contempt, as Luk 14:24; 19:27; Joh 7:11; 8:10; Act 16:36.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
136. Zealous himself to keepGod’s law, he is deeply afflicted when others violate it (compare Ps119:53). Literally, “Mine eyes come down (dissolved) likewater brooks” (Lam 3:48;Jer 9:1).
because, c.(CompareEze 9:4 Jer 13:17).
TZADDI.(Ps 119:137-144).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes,…. That is, “out of” them; as the Syriac version: or, “mine eyes let down rivers of waters” t; see La 3:48; that is, an abundance of tears, which flowed like a river; an hyperbolical expression, setting forth the excessiveness of grief. The reason follows,
because they keep not thy law; the persons are not mentioned, but must be understood of wicked men; whose open and impudent transgression of the law in innumerable instances, and in the most flagrant manner, gave the psalmist great distress, as it does all good men; because the law of God is despised, his authority is trampled on, his name is dishonoured, and he has not the glory which is due unto him. The gloss of Arama is,
“because Adam and Eve kept not thy law;”
which transgression brought ruin on all mankind. The Septuagint and Arabic versions very wrongly read, “because I have not kept thy law”: as if his grief was on account of his own sins: and so Kimchi indeed interprets it; and both he and Ben Melech by “they” understand his eyes, from whence his tears flowed in such abundance; because they were the caterers for sin, and the cause and occasion of the transgressions of the law of God by him: and this sense is made mention of by Aben Ezra.
t “oculi mei deduxerunt”, V. L. “rivos aquarum demittunt oculi mei”, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
Here we have David in sorrow. 1. It is a great sorrow, to such a degree that he weeps rivers of tears. Commonly, where there is a gracious heart, there is a weeping eye, in conformity to Christ, who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. David had prayed for comfort in God’s favour (v. 135), now he pleads that he was qualified for that comfort, and had need of it, for he was one of those that mourned in Zion, and those that do so shall be comforted, Isa. lxi. 3. 2. It is godly sorrow. He wept not for his troubles, though they were many, but for the dishonour done to God: Because they keep not thy law, either because my eyes keep not thy law, so some (the eye is the inlet and outlet of a great deal of sin, and therefore it ought to be a weeping eye), or, rather, they, that is, those about me, v. 139. Note, The sins of sinners are the sorrows of saints. We must mourn for that which we cannot mend.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
136. Rivers of waters run from my eyes. (15) Here David affirms that he was inflamed with no ordinary zeal for the glory of God, inasmuch as he dissolved wholly into tears on account of the contempt put upon the divine law. He speaks hyperbolically; but still he truly and plainly expresses the disposition of mind with which he was endued; and it corresponds with what he says in altogether place, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” (Psa 69:9.) Wherever the Spirit of God reigns, he excites this ardent zeal, which burns the hearts of the godly when they see the commandment of the Most High God accounted as a thing of nought. It is not enough that each of us endeavor to please God; we must also desire that his law may be held in estimation by all men. In this way holy Lot, as the Apostle Peter testifies, vexed his soul when he beheld Sodom a sink of all kinds of wickedness. (2Pe 2:8.) If, in former times, the ungodliness of the world extorted from the children of God such bitter grief, so great is the corruption into which we at this day are fallen, that those who can look upon the present state of things unconcerned and without tears, are thrice, yea four times, insensible. How great in our day is the frenzy of the world in despising God and neglecting his doctrine? A few, no doubt, are to be found who with the mouth profess their willingness to receive it, but scarcely one in ten proves the sincerity of his profession by his life. Meanwhile countless multitudes are hurried away to the impostures of Satan and to the Pope; others are as thoughtless and indifferent about their salvation as the lower animals; (16) and many Epicureans openly mock at all religion. If there is, then, the smallest portion of piety remaining in us, full rivers of tears, and not merely small drops, will flow from our eyes. But if we would give evidence of pure and uncorrupted zeal, let our grief begin at ourselves — at our seeing that we are yet far from having attained to a perfect observance of the law; yea, that the depraved lusts of our carnal nature are often rising up against the righteousness of God.
(15) Rivers of waters — that is, a great profusion of tears. “The Orientals are in general very copious weepers; and this strong hyperbole is still much employed among them to express the highest degree of lamenting grief.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.
(16) “ Les autres s’endorment sans grand soin de leur salut comme bestes brutes.” — Fr
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 119:136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes Mine eyes run down streams of water. The genius of the language requires that it be so translated; not streams of water come down mine eyes. See Houb. and Mudge. Schultens reads, Mine eyes are [as it were] drenched in rivers of waters.
TSADDI.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 711
REASONS FOR WEEPING OVER SINNERS
Psa 119:136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
THE generality, if exhorted to labour for the salvation of others, are ready to reply, Am I my brothers keeper [Note: Gen 4:9.]? But they who have truly the fear of God in their hearts will be anxious for the welfare of their fellow-creatures. This concern has at all times distinguished the saints of God [Note: Jer 9:1.]: and it was eminently conspicuous in David. Repeatedly in this psalm does he declare his feelings on this subject [Note: ver. 158 and 53.]; and with peculiar energy in the words before us.
We propose to shew on what account we ought to weep for sinners
I.
On account of the blessings they lose
There are many present blessings which men lose by not keeping Gods law
[There is a peace that passeth understanding, and a joy unspeakable, that attends the believing in Christ, and the devoting of ourselves to his service. The having all ones lusts in subjection must contribute not a little to serenity of mind; but the enjoying of Gods favour, and the light of his countenance, is a source of the richest happiness that mortals can possess on earth [Note: ver. 165. Pro 3:17. Isa 32:17.].
But what peace is there to the wicked [Note: Isa 57:20-21.]? What can he know of the love of God shed abroad in his heart? What comfort can he have in the prospect of death and judgment?]
But the eternal blessings which they lose, exceed our highest conceptions
[The obedient believer has an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and never-fading [Note: 1Pe 1:4.]. There is a crown of righteousness, and a throne of glory, reserved for him in heaven [Note: 2Ti 4:8.]: and he shall spend eternity itself in the immediate vision and fruition of his God.
But can we say this respecting the impenitent and unbelieving? No: there is no admission for him into those bright abodes: the unrighteous cannot inherit that kingdom [Note: 1Co 6:9.]; the unclean cannot enter there [Note: Rev 21:27.]. There shall be a difference between those who serve God, and those who serve him not [Note: Mal 3:18.]: and the wish that ungodly men feel to be found at last in the place of those whom they now despise, is a proof that they have in their own minds some apprehension of the sentence that awaits them in another world [Note: Num 23:10.].]
And are not these things matters of just lamentation?
[It is much to be regretted that men will feed on ashes [Note: Isa 44:20.], and seek to fill their belly with the east wind [Note: Job 15:2.], when they might eat the bread of life, and delight their souls with marrow and fatness [Note: Isa 55:2.]. And still more must we pity him, who, when there is a rest prepared, and a supper spread for him in heaven, has provoked God to swear, that he shall never enter into that rest [Note: Heb 3:18.], nor ever partake of that supper [Note: Luk 14:24.].]
But there is yet greater reason to weep,
II.
On account of the miseries they bring upon themselves
Not to mention the misery of a guilty conscience, which in many instances is so great as to render life itself a burthen
How inexpressibly dreadful are the judgments which the wicked will endure in hell!
[However men may labour to disprove it, hell must be the portion of all that forget God [Note: Psa 9:17.]. And who can form any adequate conception of the torments that shall be there endured? To spend an eternity in such a furnace as that which Nebuchadnezzar kindled for the destruction of the Hebrew youths, would be beyond measure dreadful: but what must it be to lie down in that lake of fire which the breath of the Almighty hath kindled [Note: Isa 30:33.]?]
And can we view sinners hastening to that place of torment, and not weep over them?
[Our blessed Lord wept over Jerusalem on account of the temporal calamities that should come upon it: and shall not we weep over the eternal miseries which men are bringing on themselves? Must not our hearts be harder than adamant, if they do not melt into tears at such a sight? Can we weep at the recital of a story we know to be fictitious, and not mourn over such awful realities?]
There is, however, yet greater reason to weep,
III.
On account of the aggravated guilt under which they perish
Devils and heathens will have more to urge on their own behalf, than they who perish under the light of the Gospel
[The devils may say, Had the Son of God taken our nature, and died for our redemption, we would gladly have availed ourselves of such a provision for our safety; we never would have despised one that had been sent from heaven to redeem us. The heathens may say, Though there was a Saviour given, yet we were never privileged to hear his gospel: had his mercy been ever offered to us, we should long ago have repented in dust and ashes [Note: Mat 11:21.]. But what will ungodly Christians say before God? Will they say, They had not a Saviour? or, That his Gospel was not proclaimed to them? No: you know there is a Saviour, who bought you with his blood, and who has offered you, times without number, a full and free salvation. Your mouths therefore must be for ever shut [Note: Mat 22:12.].]
What additional reason does this give for weeping over the ungodly!
[Every offer of salvation greatly aggravates the guilt of those who reject it: and every increase of guilt will be followed by a proportionable increase of misery. How lamentable then is it, when that very gospel, which should have been a savour of life unto life, is made, through the obstinacy of man, a savour of death unto death [Note: 2Co 2:15-16.]! How truly lamentable when Christ himself becomes an occasion of greater damnation to the very people whom he died to save! Alas! that men should ever so despise their own mercies! O that rivers of tears might run down our eyes!]
Infer
1.
How little true love is there in the world!
[However strong and numerous the instances of mens carnal attachment be, there are few indeed who manifest any regard for the souls of their fellow-creatures. Instead of weeping for others, the generality would laugh at those who wept for themselves. But, if we have not this mark in our forehead, we are destined to feel the stroke of Gods avenging rod [Note: Eze 9:4-6.].]
2.
How earnest ought ministers to be in dealing with the souls of men!
[If all ought to weep for the ungodly, much more should ministers, who are sent to call them to repentance, warn them night and day with tears [Note: Act 20:31.]. Forgive then the earnestness, we should rather say, the want of earnestness, of him who labours among you; and pray, that he may so declare the whole counsel of God, as to be pure from the blood of all men.]
3.
How earnest ought men to be in seeking the salvation of their own souls!
[If it be the duty of others to weep for us, how much more should we weep for ourselves! Let us then lay to heart the state of our souls, and sow in tears that we may reap in joy [Note: Psa 126:5.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
Ver. 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes ] My countenance is clouded, and even furrowed, with continual tears shed for thy dishonour; therefore lift up upon me the light of thy loving countenance. It grieveth me greatly to see thy law violated, and the transgressors thereof so careless of their own eternal good. This was Lot’s case at Sodom, 2Pe 2:7-8 , and is many a good man’s still; every profane wretch being a Hazael to his eyes, a Hadadrimmon to his heart. The Septuagint and Vulgate read, Mine eyes have drawn down issues of waters ( i.e. they have wept abundantly), because they (that is, those eyes of mine) have not kept thy law. So Aben Ezra; Quia ipsi oculi non observassent legem tuam. David had walked after the sight of his eyes, and the lust of his heart; this is now his grief. Thus they; but not so well.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rivers of waters. Hebrew. palgey-mayim. See note on Pro 21:1. Eng. idiom = Floods of tears.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 119:53, Psa 119:158, 1Sa 15:11, Jer 9:1, Jer 9:18, Jer 13:17, Jer 14:17, Eze 9:4, Luk 19:41, Rom 9:2, Rom 9:3
Reciprocal: 1Sa 7:6 – drew water 1Sa 15:35 – Samuel mourned 2Ki 8:11 – wept 2Ki 22:19 – wept Ezr 9:4 – trembled Ezr 10:1 – weeping Psa 139:21 – and am not Jer 4:19 – My bowels Lam 1:16 – I weep Lam 2:18 – let tears Lam 3:48 – General Mat 18:31 – they Luk 6:21 – ye that weep Joh 11:35 – General Act 17:16 – his spirit Act 20:19 – many 1Co 5:2 – mourned 1Co 13:6 – Rejoiceth not 2Co 2:4 – out 2Co 12:21 – that I Phi 3:18 – even Jam 4:9 – afflicted 2Pe 2:8 – in seeing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 119:136. Rivers of water run down mine eyes, &c. Plentiful and perpetual tears, witnesses of the deep sorrow I feel on account of the dishonour which sinners do to thee, thy displeasure against them, and the miseries which they bring on themselves and others by their sins. Thus David, who, through this whole Psalm, so often and so ardently beseeches God to teach him his statutes, declares in this verse his continual grief of heart, occasioned by seeing others break those statutes. Thus Lot, among the Sodomites, was vexed from day to day, not so much at their usage of himself as at seeing and hearing their unlawful deeds, 2Pe 2:8. Thus Jeremiah tells the ungodly of his time, If ye will not hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears, Jer 13:17. Thus the holy Jesus looked round about on the Pharisees, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, Mar 3:5; and wept over a city which had always persecuted, and was then about to crucify him, because it knew not the things which belonged to its peace.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
119:136 Rivers of waters {d} run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
(d) He shows what should be the zeal of God’s children when they see his word contemned.