Verse 122
Be surety for thy servant - ערב arob, give a pledge or token that thou wilt help me in times of necessity. Or, Be bail for thy servant. What a word is this! Pledge thyself for me, that thou wilt produce me safely at the judgment of the great day. Then sustain and keep me blameless till the coming of Christ. Neither of these two verses has any of the ten words in reference to God's law or attributes. The judgment and the justice refer to the psalmist's own conduct in [Psa 119:121]. The hundred and twenty-second has no word of the kind.
Verse 123
Mine eyes fail - See on [Psa 119:82] (note).
Verse 125
I am thy servant - See on [Psa 119:94] (note).
Verse 126
It is time for thee, Lord, to work - The time is fulfilled in which thou hast promised deliverance to thy people. They - the Babylonians,
Have made void thy law - They have filled up the measure of their iniquities.
Verse 127
Therefore I love thy commandments - I see thou wilt do all things well. I will trust in thee.
Above gold - מזהב mizzahab, more than resplendent gold; gold without any stain or rust.
Yea, above fine gold - ומפז umippaz, above solid gold; gold separated from the dross, perfectly refined.
Verse 128
All thy precepts concerning all things to be right - There are too many supplied words here to leave the text unsuspected. All the ancient versions, except the Chaldee, seem to have omitted the second כל col, All and read the text thus: "Therefore I have walked straight in all thy precepts." I go straight on in all thy precepts, hating every false way. I neither turn to the right hand nor to the left; the false ways are crooked; thy way is straight. I am going to heaven, and that way lies straight before me. To walk in the way of falsity I cannot, because I hate it; and I hate such ways because God hates them.
Verse 129
Thy testimonies are wonderful - There is a height, length, depth, and breadth in thy word and testimonies that are truly astonishing; and on this account my soul loves them, and I deeply study them. The more I study, the more light and salvation I obtain.
Verse 130
The entrance of thy words giveth light - פתח pethach, the opening of it: when I open my Bible to read, light springs up in my mind. Every sermon, every prayer, every act of faith, is an opening by which light is let into the seeking soul.
Verse 131
I opened my mouth, and panted - A metaphor taken from an animal exhausted in the chase. He runs, open-mouthed, to take in the cooling air; the heart beating high, and the muscular force nearly expended through fatigue. The psalmist sought for salvation, as he would run from a ferocious beast for his life. Nothing can show his earnestness in a stronger point of view.
Verse 132
As thou usest to do - Treat me as thy mercy has induced thee to treat others in my circumstances. Deal with me as thou dealest with thy friends.
Verse 133
Order my steps - הכן hachen, make them firm; let me not walk with a halting or unsteady step.
Have dominion over me - בי bi, In me. Let me have no governor but God, let the throne of my heart be filled by him, and none other.
Verse 135
Make thy face to shine - Give me a sense of thy approbation. Let me know, by the testimony of thy Spirit in my conscience, that thou art reconciled to me. The godly in all ages derived their happiness from a consciousness of the Divine favor. The witness of God's spirit in the souls of believers was an essential principle in religion from the foundation of the world.
Verse 136
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes - How much had this blessed man the honor of God and the salvation of souls at heart! O for more of that spirit which mourns for the transgressions of the land! But we are not properly convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Verse 137
Righteous art thou - Thou art infinitely holy in thy nature; and therefore thou art upright in thy judgments - all thy dispensations to men.
Verse 138
Thy testimonies - Every thing that proceeds from thee partakes of the perfections of thy nature.
Verse 139
My zeal hath consumed me - My earnest desire to promote thy glory, and the pain I feel at seeing transgressions multiplied, have worn down both my flesh and spirits.
Verse 140
Thy word is very pure - צרופה tseruphah, it is purification. It is not a purified thing, but a thing that purifies. "Now ye are clean," said Christ, "by the word I have spoken unto you." God's word is a fire to purify as well as a hammer to break.
Verse 141
I am small and despised - And on these accounts have every thing to fear. Being small, I cannot resist; being despised, I am in danger; but even all this does not induce me to start aside, or through the fear of man to be unfaithful to thee.
Verse 142
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness - The word צדק tsedek is a word of very extensive meaning in the Bible. It signifies, not only God's inherent righteousness and perfection of nature, but also his method of treating others; his plan of redemption; his method of saving others. And the word δικαιοσυνη, which answers to it, in the Septuagint and in the New Testament, is used with the same latitude of meaning, and in the same sense; particularly in that remarkable passage, [Rom 3:25-26] (note), where see the notes. Thy merciful method of dealing with sinners and justifying the ungodly will last as long as the earth lasts; and thy law that witnesses this, in all its pages, is the truth.
Verse 143
Trouble and anguish - I am exercised with various trials from men and devils.
Have taken hold on me - But still I cleave to my God, and am delighted with his law.