Vs. 66 " now teach me good judgment and knowledge." Isn't that what we all want as parents, or persons who are in positions of authority? I want to know that I am doing the right thing with my kids, and the kids that I watch each week. I want to have good judgment in all my dealings in this world. Good judgment with knowledge is wisdom, isn't it? That's the gift that I want from God.
I am praying for you, that you're having a good week, and that all that you endeavor is fruitful! With a capital F!
Your sister in Christ,
Lili
Psalm 119: 57-112
57LORD, you are mine! I promise to obey your words!58With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful just as you promised.59I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your statutes.60I will hurry, without lingering, to obey your commands.61Evil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to your law.62At midnight I rise to thank you for your just laws.63Anyone who fears you is my friend -- anyone who obeys your commandments.64O LORD, the earth is full of your unfailing love; teach me your principles.
65You have done many good things for me, LORD, just as you promised.66I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.67I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.68You are good and do only good; teach me your principles.69Arrogant people have made up lies about me, but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.70Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your law.71The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles.72Your law is more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver!
73You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.74May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.75I know, O LORD, that your decisions are fair; you disciplined me because I needed it.76Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.77Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your law is my delight.78Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me; meanwhile, I will concentrate on your commandments.79Let me be reconciled with all who fear you and know your decrees.80May I be blameless in keeping your principles; then I will never have to be ashamed.
81I faint with longing for your salvation; but I have put my hope in your word.82My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me?83I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, exhausted with waiting. But I cling to your principles and obey them.84How long must I wait? When will you punish those who persecute me?85These arrogant people who hate your law have dug deep pits for me to fall into.86All your commands are trustworthy. Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause.87They almost finished me off, but I refused to abandon your commandments.88In your unfailing love, spare my life; then I can continue to obey your decrees.
89Forever, O LORD, your word stands firm in heaven.90Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.91Your laws remain true today, for everything serves your plans.92If your law hadn't sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery.93I will never forget your commandments, for you have used them to restore my joy and health.94I am yours; save me! For I have applied myself to obey your commandments.95Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me, I will quietly keep my mind on your decrees.96Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit.
97Oh, how I love your law! I think about it all day long.98Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for your commands are my constant guide.99Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your decrees.100I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.101I have refused to walk on any path of evil, that I may remain obedient to your word.102I haven't turned away from your laws, for you have taught me well.103How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey.104Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.
105Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.106I've promised it once, and I'll promise again: I will obey your wonderful laws.107I have suffered much, O LORD; restore my life again, just as you promised.108LORD, accept my grateful thanks and teach me your laws.109My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your law.110The wicked have set their traps for me along your path, but I will not turn from your commandments.111Your decrees are my treasure; they are truly my heart's delight.112I am determined to keep your principles, even forever, to the very end.
(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary -- www.christnotes.org)
"Commentary on Psalm 119:57-64
True believers take the Lord for the portion of their inheritance, and nothing less will satisfy them. The psalmist prayed with his whole heart, knowing how to value the blessing he prayed for: he desired the mercy promised, and depended on the promise for it. He turned from by-paths, and returned to God's testimonies. He delayed not. It behoves sinners to hasten to escape; and the believer will be equally in haste to glorify God. No care or grief should take away God's word out of our minds, or hinder the comfort it bestows. There is no situation on earth in which a believer has not cause to be thankful. Let us feel ashamed that others are more willing to keep from sleep to spend the time in sinful pleasures, than we are to praise God. And we should be more earnest in prayer, that our hearts may be filled with his mercy, grace, and peace.
Commentary on Psalm 119:65-72
However God has dealt with us, he has dealt with us better than we deserve; and all in love, and for our good. Many have knowledge, but little judgment; those who have both, are fortified against the snares of Satan, and furnished for the service of God. We are most apt to wander from God, when we are easy in the world. We should leave our concerns to the disposal of God, seeing we know not what is good for us. Lord, thou art our bountiful Benefactor; incline our hearts to faith and obedience. The psalmist will go on in his duty with constancy and resolution. The proud are full of the world, and its wealth and pleasures; these make them senseless, secure, and stupid. God visits his people with affliction, that they may learn his statutes. Not only God's promises, but even his law, his percepts, though hard to ungodly men, are desirable, and profitable, because they lead us with safety and delight unto eternal life.
Commentary on Psalm 119:73-80
God made us to serve him, and enjoy him; but by sin we have made ourselves unfit to serve him, and to enjoy him. We ought, therefore, continually to beseech him, by his Holy Spirit, to give us understanding. The comforts some have in God, should be matter of joy to others. But it is easy to own, that God's judgments are right, until it comes to be our own case. All supports under affliction must come from mercy and compassion. The mercies of God are tender mercies; the mercies of a father, the compassion of a mother to her son. They come to us when we are not able to go to them. Causeless reproach does not hurt, and should not move us. The psalmist could go on in the way of his duty, and find comfort in it. He valued the good will of saints, and was desirous to keep up his communion with them. Soundness of heart signifies sincerity in dependence on God, and devotedness to him.
Commentary on Psalm 119:81-88
The psalmist sought deliverance from his sins, his foes, and his fears. Hope deferred made him faint; his eyes failed by looking out for this expected salvation. But when the eyes fail, yet faith must not. His affliction was great. He was become like a leathern bottle, which, if hung up in the smoke, is dried and shrivelled up. We must ever be mindful of God's statutes. The days of the believer's mourning shall be ended; they are but for a moment, compared with eternal happiness. His enemies used craft as well as power for his ruin, in contempt of the law of God. The commandments of God are true and faithful guides in the path of peace and safety. We may best expect help from God when, like our Master, we do well and suffer for it. Wicked men may almost consume the believer upon earth, but he would sooner forsake all than forsake the word of the Lord. We should depend upon the grace of God for strength to do every good work. The surest token of God's good-will toward us, is his good work in us.
Commentary on Psalm 119:89-96
The settling of God's word in heaven, is opposed to the changes and revolutions of the earth. And the engagements of God's covenant are established more firmly than the earth itself. All the creatures answer the ends of their creation: shall man, who alone is endued with reason, be the only unprofitable burden of the earth? We may make the Bible a pleasant companion at any time. But the word, without the grace of God, would not quicken us. See the best help for bad memories, namely, good affections; and though the exact words be lost, if the meaning remain, that is well. I am thine, not my own, not the world's; save me from sin, save me from ruin. The Lord will keep the man in peace, whose mind is stayed on him. It is poor perfection which one sees and end of. Such are all things in this world, which pass for perfections. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. The psalmist had seen the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency. The word of the Lord reaches to all cases, to all times. It will take us from all confidence in man, or in our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness. Thus shall we seek comfort and happiness from Christ alone.
Commentary on Psalm 119:97-104
What we love, we love to think of. All true wisdom is from God. A good man carries his Bible with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart. By meditation on God's testimonies we understand more than our teachers, when we understand our own hearts. The written word is a more sure guide to heaven, than all the fathers, the teachers, and ancients of the church. We cannot, with any comfort or boldness, attend God in holy duties, while under guilt, or in any by-way. It was Divine grace in his heart, that enabled the psalmist to receive these instructions. The soul has its tastes as well as the body. Our relish for the word of God will be greatest, when that for the world and the flesh is least. The way of sin is a wrong way; and the more understanding we get by the precepts of God, the more rooted will be our hatred of sin; and the more ready we are in the Scriptures, the better furnished we are with answers to temptation.
Commentary on Psalm 119:105-112
The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way. The keeping of God's commands here meant, was that of a sinner under a dispensation of mercy, of a believer having part in the covenant of grace. The psalmist is often afflicted; but with longing desires to become more holy, offers up daily prayers for quickening grace. We cannot offer any thing to God, that he will accept but what he is pleased to teach us to do. To have our soul or life continually in our hands, implies constant danger of life; yet he did not forget God's promises nor his precepts. Numberless are the snares laid by the wicked; and happy is that servant of God, whom they have not caused to err from his Master's precepts. Heavenly treasures are a heritage for ever; all the saints accept them as such, therefore they can be content with little of this world. We must look for comfort only in the way of duty, and that duty must be done. A good man, by the grace of God, brings his heart to his work, then it is done well."
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