John Calvin Commentary Psalms 119:116

"Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live; And let me not be ashamed of my hope." — Psalms 119:116 (ASV)

Sustain me by thy word, and I shall live. Many read, According to thy word, so that the letter ב, beth, which signifies "in," is taken for the letter כ, caph, which signifies as; and thus the sense would be: Sustain me according to the promise which you have made to me, or, as you have promised to me.

And, undoubtedly, whenever God stretches out His hand to us to raise us up when we are fallen, or supports us with His hand, He fulfills His promises. The prophet, however, seems to pray that constancy of faith may be given him, to enable him to continue steadfast in the divine word.

We are said to fall from God’s word when we fall from the faith of it; and in like manner, so long as we repose upon its truth and certainty, He is our sustainer. But, as the prophet well knew that there is not strength in man adequate to this, he asks from God the ability to persevere as the singular gift of the Holy Spirit.

It follows, then, that true stability is to be found nowhere else but in the word of God; and that no one can steadfastly lean upon it but he who is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must therefore always beseech God, who alone is the author and finisher of faith, to maintain this grace in us.

Furthermore, when the Psalmist places life in faith, he teaches that all that people promise themselves without the word is mere falsehood. It is therefore the Lord alone who quickens us by His word, even as it is said in Habakkuk, The just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Both passages have the same meaning.

After Habakkuk has derided the foolish confidence of the flesh, with which people are generally inflated (as manifested in their raising themselves on high that they may fall with greater violence), he shows that the faithful alone, whom the word of God sustains, stand upon safe and sure ground.

If the first interpretation is adopted, the second clause, make me not ashamed of my expectation, will be added by way of exposition. For these two things—the prayer that the prophet may be preserved by God’s grace according to His word, and the prayer that he may reap the fruit of his hope—would amount to nearly the same thing.

Yet, after having beseeched God to grant him constancy to persevere, he seems now to proceed further, praying that God would, indeed, show the thing which He had promised. Everyone’s own infirmity bears witness to the many doubts that intrude into our minds when, after long endurance, the outcome is not answerable to our expectation; for God, in that case, seems to disappoint us.

To the same effect is the next verse, except that no express mention is made of the word, and safety is put for life. The prophet means to say that whenever God withdrew His word, it would be all over with his safety; but that, if he were established by the Divine power, there was nothing of which he would have reason to be afraid.

The verb שעה, shaah, which we have translated I will consider, is rendered by many I will delight, and this sense is not unsuitable. For although God may give a very desirable taste of His goodness in His bare word, yet its savor is not a little increased when the effect is added to the word, provided we do not perversely separate God’s benefits from His promises.

It is the true wisdom of faith to consider all His benefits as the result or fruit of His promises; if we take no account of these promises, the enjoyment of all His good things will be of little advantage to us, or rather will often prove hurtful and deadly.

Yet it appears to me preferable to render the verb as consider; for the more experience anyone has of God’s help, the more one ought to awaken oneself to consider heavenly doctrine. The Psalmist adds that he will continue to persevere in this meditation throughout his entire life.