Lord, I remember Your name in the night, and keep Your Law. Psalm 119:55 NASB In the night – Does this verse seem a little too pedestrian? Too trivial? Why should we care at all about what we remember in the night? What does it matter when we’re on our way to sleep? Ah, but then there’s…
Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Psalm 119:54 NASB Pilgrimage – Have you walked the Camino de Santiago? It takes about thirty-five days to complete. It’s made up of trails, streets, roads, and paths that, according to legend, is the route taken by James. Thousands of people travel this journey every…
Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, who abandon Your Law. Psalm 119:53 NASB Burning indignation – Once more the poet finds a rarely used word to arrest our attention. zalʿāpâ shows up only here and in Lamentations 5:10. It’s about heat, lots of heat. In Lamentations it describes the results of famine. Here it…
I have remembered Your judgments from [t]of old, Lord, and comfort myself. Psalm 119:52 NASB Comfort myself – Wait a minute! Didn’t we just look at this idea (v. 50)? Remember the discussion about “comfort” versus “consolation”? And what is “consolation” in these situations? The poet chooses the term, neḥāmâ, found in this form only once more in…
The arrogant utterly deride me, yet I do not turn aside from Your Law. Psalm 119:51 NASB Utterly deride – How do you handle insults? How do you react to blame? What does it feel like when someone shows contempt toward you? What happens when someone mocks you? All of these questions seem to be front and center…
This is my comfort in my misery, that Your word has [s]revived me. Psalm 119:50 NASB Comfort/misery – The NASB translation renders the Hebrew ʿŏnî as misery. This derivative comes from the root (ʿānâ) III, afflict, oppress, humble.[1] “The primary meaning of ʿānâ III is ‘to force,’ or ‘to try to force submission,’ and ‘to punish or…
And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love; and I will meditate on Your statutes. Psalm 119:48 NASB Lift up my hands – First, the Hebrew: וְאֶשָּׂ֚א כַפַּ֗י אֶל־מִ֖צְוֹתֶיךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָהָ֗בְתִּי וְאָשִׂ֥יחָה בְחֻקֶּֽיךָ Now, some familiar words: miṣwâ, command—from the previous verse (Remember?), ʾāhēb, to love (“that I love”), and śîaḥ, to…
Remember the word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope. Psalm 119:49 NASB Remember – the Zayin section: זְכָר־דָּבָ֥ר לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ עַ֜֗ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִֽחַלְתָּֽנִי זֹ֣את נֶחָֽמָתִ֣י בְעָנְיִ֑י כִּ֖י אִמְרָֽתְךָ֣ חִיָּֽתְנִי זֵדִים הֱלִיצֻ֣נִי עַד־מְאֹ֑ד מִ֜תּוֹרָֽתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א נָטִֽיתִי זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ מֵֽעוֹלָ֥ם | יְהֹוָ֗ה וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם זַלְעָפָ֣ה אֲחָזַתְנִי מֵֽרְשָׁעִ֑ים עֹֽ֜זְבֵ֗י תּֽוֹרָתֶֽךָ זְמִרוֹת הָֽיוּ־לִ֥י חֻקֶּ֗יךָ בְּבֵ֣ית מְגוּרָֽי זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי…
I will delight in Your commandments, which I love. Psalm 119:47 NASB Commandments – Before we look at the word bemiṣvotĕ’kā, we should note the unusual verb for “I will delight.” That verb is šāʿaʿ. It’s unusual because here and in verse 16 it is a Hithpalpel. What does that mean? It means that the subject of…
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed. Psalm 119:46 NASB Shall not be ashamed – If you’ve discovered anything at all in this vav section, it’s that each of these verses not only begins with a vav but also is a past statement of God’s faithfulness and the poet’s…
