Let Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts. Psalm 119:173 NASB Help – What a wonderful verb! ʿāzar, “to help, to support.” Could you ask anything more of the Sovereign of the Universe than “help me”? Unspecified help. Whatever-is-needed help. Not even limited to my own perspective. This is help from…
Let my tongue sing about Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. Psalm 119:172 NASB Sing – Do you sing the psalms? It’s nice to think that this psalm is lyrical poetry designed to be sung. Many psalms are. But if we read only this English translation, we’d miss the wider implications of the use of…
Let my lips pour out praise, for You teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:171 NASB Pour out/ teach – What’s significant about the two verbs, nābaʿ and lāmad? They’re not unusual. They don’t have some odd grammatical structure. But they do have something we need to notice, which, by the way, we don’t see in the English…
Let my pleading come before You; save me according to Your word. Psalm 119:170 NASB Pleading – Three words need to be understood in Hebrew context. These three words are part of the overall pattern of this long psalm. They are also crucial terms describing the relationship between the follower and the founder of the faith. They…
Let my cry come before You, Lord; give me understanding according to Your word. Psalm 119:169 NASB תִּקְרַ֤ב רִנָּתִ֣י לְפָנֶ֣יךָ יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּדְבָרְךָ֥ הֲבִינֵֽנִי Let my cry come before You, Lord; give me understanding according to Your word. תָּב֣וֹא תְחִנָּתִ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ כְּ֝אִמְרָתְךָ֗ הַצִּילֵֽנִי Let my pleading come before You; save me according to Your word. תַּבַּ֣עְנָה שְׂפָתַ֣י תְּהִלָּ֑ה כִּ֖י תְלַמְּדֵ֣נִי חֻקֶּֽיךָ Let my lips…
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You. Psalm 119:168 NASB All my ways – “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” The Yogi Berra quote is just about what it means when the psalmist writes kōl-derākăy’ (“all my paths”). Since the map he follows is written…
My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. Psalm 119:167 NASB My soul – It’s no surprise that the English translations of this verse use a word that is thoroughly Greek. “Soul” came into English through Greek philosophy, and as such, represented that invisible, eternal element of human being that eventually left the corrupt material…
I hope for Your salvation, Lord, and do Your commandments. Psalm 119:166 NASB Hope – Plato’s view of religion sets the stage for the contrast we will explore. Plato also believed in hope. Well, sort of. His view was that religion was like wishing things would be better, that is, hoping that your wishes would come true. …
Those who love Your Law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. Psalm 119:165 NASB Nothing – Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to have “great peace; to live a life where nothing ever caused you to trip up”? Sounds like paradise, or maybe heaven. But it certainly doesn’t sound…
Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous judgments. Psalm 119:164 NASB Seven times a day – Travel nearly anywhere in the region once the home of the psalmist and you will hear the call of the minaret. Five times a day the wailing of the muezzin emanates from those tall towers dotting…
