ledge; or else he means the promise of God, that he
would give him more knowledge and understanding;
that he might be taught of God, and follow on to
know him, and increase in every branch of spiritual
knowledge.
Ver. 170. Let my supplication come before thee, &c.]
The same with his cry/in the preceding verse; only
expressed by another word, signifying a petition for
grace and fayour, in an humble and submissive manner;
which it is entreated might be received and accepted,
as before. Deliver me according to Shy/word; ofpromise,
such as that in Psal. 1. 15. meaning from all troubles
and afflictions; out of the hands of all his enemies,
and from the power of sin, Satan, and the world; and
from all fears of wrath, ruin, and destruction. Kimchi
observes, that this is not to be understood of a deliver-
ance of the body from distress, but of the soul from
the stumbling-block of sin.
Ver. 171. My lips shall utter praise, &c.] Like
water flowing from a fountain, as the word" signifies.
The heart of a good man is like a fountain of water,
aboundlug with good things, and his mouth is a well
of life; out of the abundance of grace and good things
in his heart his mouth speaks, John iv. 14. Prov. x. 11.
Matt. xii. 34, 35. and particularly his heart is filled
with praise and thankfulness for the many blessings of
providence and grace enjoyed; his lips shew it forth;
it comes flowing from him freely and readily, with-
out force and compulsion, largely and plentifully,
constantly and continually, and with great vehemence
and strength, as streams from a fountain. When thou
hast taught me thy statutes: which is what the psalmist
often prays for in this psalm; and signifies he should
be very thankful to God for, and should sincerely praise
him, could he obtain this favour; see vet. 7.
Vet. 172. My tongue shall speak of thy word, &c.]
Of the word of God in general; of the truth of it, which
he knew by certain experience; of the purity of it,
tending to promote holiness of heart and life; of the
power and efficacy of it, enlightening his mind, and
working effectually in him; of the profit of it, to his
learning, to his instruction, comfort, and refreshment;
of the precioushess of it, being of more worth than
thousands of gold and silver; and of the pleasantness
of it, being sweeter than the honey or honeycomb, and
more to be esteemed than one's necessary food; and
of the promises of it in particular, of the worth and
value of them, of their suitablehess and use, and of the
faithful fulfilment of them; and of the doctrines of
the word, especially those which relate to the grace
of God, and salvation by the Messiah; and also of
the precepts of the word, as follows: for all thy com-
mandments are righteousness; not only righteous, but
righteousness itself, being strictly just and equitable
in the highest sense; and not only some of them, but
all of them; see ver. l28. A ben Ezra's paraphrase of
the words is, "I will teach the children of men thy
ú ' word, that they may know that thy commandments
"are righteousness ;" which is not amiss: and to the
same sense is Kimchi's note, who observes, that
author of the Masorah interprets it of praise; as if ht
had said, My tongue shall praise thy word, because all
of it is righteousness.
Vet. 173. Let thine hand help me, &c.] Let thine
hand of power help me against mine enemies, and de-
liver me from them; and let thine hand of providence
and grace communicate to me, and supply me with
and help me to every thing needful for me, for body
and soul; for time and eternity, all grace here, and glory
hereafter; let thy right hand help me on in my way,
hold and uphold me, keep and preserve me safe to
heaven and happiness. For I have chosen Shy precepts;
not only the good part, which shall not be taken away,
and the way of truth, yet. 30. but even the command-
ments of God, which he preferred to the command-
ments of men, and choose rather to obey the one than
the other; having a most ardent affection for them, an
high esteem of them, and a strong attachment to them;
see vet. 127, 128.
Vet. 174. I have longed for thy salvation, 0 Lord,
&c.] For temporal salvation and deliverance from
enemies; and for spiritual and eternal salvation by the
Messiah; and for the Messiah himself, the author of it:
Kimchi interprets it of the salvation of the soul in the
world to come; see ver. 81. And Shy law is my delight;
or delights {n}; his exceeding great delight, as being pure
and perfect, holy,j ust, and good; a transcriptofthedivine
nature, a revelation of the divine will; as in the hands
of Christ, his surety and Saviour, who had engaged to
fulfil it for him; and as written in his heart; and as de,.
livered from the curse and condemnation of it, through
the suretyship-engagements of Christ.
Ver. 175. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee,
&c.] The psalmist desires the continuance of his na-
tural life, not for his own personal advantage, nor for
the sake of his family, nor with any worldly, sinister,
and selfish views; but for the glory of God, and for
the sake of praising him: or his desire is, that his s'oul
might be lively and comfortable; or that he might be
in a lively and cheerful frame of spirit, and so be in
fit and proper circumstances to praise the Lord; for it
is the living man in both senses, natural and spiritual,
that is capable of praising the Lord, Isa. xxxviii. 19.
And let Shy judgments help me; that is, to praise him:
meaning either judgmehts on his enemies, as Aben
Ezra; which furnish out matter and occasion of praise
and thanksgiving; see Rev. xv. 3, 4. and xix. 1, 2. or
the word of God, the doctrines and precepts of it; see
ver. 164.
Ver. 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep, &e.]
In desert places, as it is the nature of sheep to do ø. A
sheep he was, a sheep of Christ, given him by the
Father; known by him, and that knew him; knew his
voice, and followed him; a sheep of his hand, and of
his pasture; one of the lost sheep of the house of
Israel, who had been lost in Adam, though recovered
by grace; and had gone astray before conversion, but
now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of souls; and
since conversion had gone astray from the Shepherd
and fold, from the word and precepts of it, through in-

{m} \^hnebt\^ profundent, Vatablus, Musculus; ebullient, Piscator,
Gejerus; scaturiunt, Cocceius; scaturient, Michaelis.
{n} \^yevev\^ deliciae meae, Montanus, Tigurine version.
{o} So Aristotle observes, Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 3. the same word that
is used for feeding sheep is also translated wander, Numb. xiv. 33.
so errant is used by Virgil for feeding with security, Bucolic.
Eclog. 2, Vid. Servium in ib.