Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:35
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Make me to go in the path … – That is, Incline me to it; so direct me that I shall thus walk. It is an acknowledgment of his dependence on God, that he might be able to carry out the cherished purposes of his soul.
For therein do I delight – See Psa 119:16. I am conscious of having pleasure in thy commandments; of having a strong desire to keep them, and I pray for grace that I may be able to do it. Real delight in the law of God is one of the best means of securing its observance; one of the best evidences that it will be kept.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Make me to go, by directing my mind into the right way, by inclining my will, and strengthening my resolution.
For therein do I delight: forsake not him who delighteth in the: and in thy service; and as thou hast wrought in me to will work in me also to do.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments,…. Lead, guide, direct me in the path, and use me to it; work in me both to will and to do; give both ability and a willing mind to walk therein; by granting fresh supplies of grace, and more spiritual strength; by drawing with the cords of love, and by putting in him the good spirit of grace, to cause to walk in the statutes of the Lord, and keep his judgments and do them, Eze 36:27;
for therein do I delight; in the law of God, after the inward man; in the commandments of Christ, which are not grievous; in wisdom’s ways and paths, which are pleasantness and peace.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
He had before prayed to God to enlighten his understanding, that he might know his duty, and not mistake concerning it; here he prays to God to bow his will, and quicken the active powers of his soul, that he might do his duty; for it is God that works in us both to will and to do, as well as to understand, what is good, Phil. ii. 13. Both the good head and the good heart are from the good grace of God, and both are necessary to every good work. Observe here,
I. The grace he prays for. 1. That God would make him able to do his duty: “Make me to go; strengthen me for every good work.” Since we are not sufficient of ourselves, our dependence must be upon the grace of God, for from him all our sufficiency is. God puts his Spirit within us, and so causes us to walk in his statutes (Ezek. xxxvi. 27), and this is that which David here begs. 2. That God would make him willing to do it, and would, by his grace, subdue the aversion he naturally had to it: “Incline my heart to thy testimonies, to those things which thy testimonies prescribe; not only make me willing to do my duty, as that which I must do and therefore am concerned to make the best of, but make me desirous to do my duty as that which is agreeable to the new nature and really advantageous to me.” Duty is then done with delight when the heart is inclined to it: it is God’s grace that inclines us, and the more backward we find ourselves to it the more earnest we must be for that grace.
II. The sin he prays against, and that is covetousness: “Incline my heart to keep thy testimonies, and restrain and mortify the inclination there is in me to covetousness.” That is a sin which stands opposed to all God’s testimonies; for the love of money is such a sin as is the root of much sin, of all sin. Those therefore that would have the love of God rooted in them must get the love of the world rooted out of them; for the friendship of the world is enmity with God. See in what way God deals with men, not by compulsion, but he draws with the cords of a man, working in them an inclination to that which is good and an aversion to that which is evil.
III. His plea to enforce this prayer: “Lord, bring me to, and keep me in, the way of thy commandments, for therein do I delight; and therefore I pray thus earnestly for grace to walk in that way. Thou hast wrought in me this delight in the way of thy commandments; wilt thou not work in me an ability to walk in them, and so crown thy own work?”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
35. Direct me in the path The frequent repetition of this phraseology by the prophet is not to be considered as redundant. Seeing that the end of man’s existence ought to consist in profiting in God’s school, we nevertheless perceive how the world distracts him by its allurements, and how he also forms for himself a thousand avocations calculated to withdraw his thoughts from the main business of his life. The next clause of the verse, in it I take pleasure, must be carefully attended to. For it is an indication of rare excellence when a person so arranges his sentiments and affections as to renounce all the enticements pleasant to the flesh, and take delight in nothing so much as in the service of God. The prophet had already attained to this virtue but he still perceives that he is not yet perfect. Therefore, that his desire may be fully accomplished, he solicits fresh assistance from God, according to the saying of Paul,
“
It is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasures” Phi 2:13.
Let it be remembered, that he does not boast of the inherent working of his nature, but sets forth the grace he has received, that God may complete the work he has begun. “Lord, thou hast given me courage, grant me also strength.” Hence in the term pleasure there is an implied opposition to the lusts of the flesh, which keep the hearts of mankind lettered by their enticements.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(35) Path.From root to tread, the trodden way, plain with the track of all the pious pilgrims feet of past times.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Ver. 35. Make me to go in the path ] Which I shall soon forsake if thou guide me not.
Te duce vera sequor, te duce falsa nego.
For therein do I delight ] After the inward man, Rom 7:22 . Thou hast given me to will, give me also to work what is well pleasing in thy sight.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Make me: Psa 119:27, Psa 119:36, Psa 119:173, Eze 36:26, Eze 36:27, Phi 2:13, Heb 13:21
the path: Psa 23:3, Pro 3:17, Pro 4:11, Pro 4:18, Pro 8:20, Isa 2:3, Isa 48:17
therein: Psa 119:16, Isa 58:13, Isa 58:14, Rom 7:22, 1Jo 5:3
Reciprocal: Psa 1:2 – But his Psa 25:9 – his way Psa 85:13 – shall set Psa 112:1 – delighteth Psa 119:70 – but I Psa 143:10 – Teach Pro 14:8 – wisdom Jer 6:10 – delight Mat 26:41 – the spirit Gal 5:17 – the flesh