John Calvin Commentary Psalms 119:175

"Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; And let thine ordinances help me." — Psalms 119:175 (ASV)

Let my soul live and let it praise you. As the verbs are in the future tense, shall live, shall praise, this sentence may be interpreted this way: Lord, when you have bestowed life upon me, I will strive, by celebrating your praises, to show that I am not ungrateful.

If this interpretation is accepted, the sentence becomes a kind of rejoicing, in which the Prophet, relying on the divine promises, confidently proclaims that his life will remain safe. And certainly, although our life is hidden under the shadow of death, we may nevertheless boast that it is safe, because God is its faithful guardian. This assured confidence comes from his life-giving grace, which is offered to us in his word.

However, since most commentators translate these words in the optative mood, let us follow the more commonly accepted interpretation: that David, in asking for his life to be prolonged, shows at the same time that the purpose for which he desired to live was to engage in singing the praises of God, just as it is said in Psalm 115:18, We who shall remain in life shall praise Jehovah. In the second clause, it would be problematic to understand the word judgments as referring to the commandments, since it is not their proper role to give help.

It seems then that the Prophet, perceiving himself subject to countless calamities—just as the faithful, because of the unrestrained wickedness of evil people, live in this world like sheep among wolves—calls upon God to protect him by restraining, through his secret providence, the wicked from harming him.

It is a very beneficial teaching that when things in the world are in great confusion, and when our safety is endangered amid so many varied storms, we should lift up our eyes to the judgments of God and seek a remedy in them. However, since in this Psalm the word judgments commonly refers to God’s commandments, we may also appropriately interpret it as such in this place, so that the Prophet attributes to the word of God the role and responsibility of giving help. For God does not feed us with deceptive promises; instead, whenever an emergency arises, he confirms and validates his word by giving some tangible display of his working.

Thus, when the Prophet calls the divine law to his aid, he offers singular praise for the effectiveness of the divine word. If anyone would prefer to interpret the sentence as referring to the keeping of the law, I offer no objections. In this sense, it is as if the Prophet had said: O Lord, let the uprightness I have practiced, and the zeal with which I have devoted myself to keeping your commandments, be a defense for me.