Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 119:169-176

"Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah: Give me understanding according to thy word. Let my supplication come before thee: Deliver me according to thy word. Let my lips utter praise; For thou teachest me thy statutes. Let my tongue sing of thy word; For all thy commandments are righteousness. Let thy hand be ready to help me; For I have chosen thy precepts. I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah; And thy law is my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; And let thine ordinances help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek thy servant; For I do not forget thy commandments." — Psalms 119:169-176 (ASV)

The psalmist desired grace and strength to lift up his prayers, and that the Lord would receive and notice them. He desired to know more of God in Christ, to know more of the doctrines of the Word, and the duties of religion. He had a deep sense of unworthiness and a holy fear that his prayer would not come before God; his plea was, 'Lord, what I pray for is what you have promised.' We have learned nothing effectively if we have not learned to praise God.

We should always make the Word of God the rule of our discourse, so that we never transgress it by sinful speaking or sinful silence. His own hands are not sufficient, nor can any creature lend him help; therefore, he looks up to God, so that the hand that made him may help him. He had made religion his deliberate choice. There is an eternal salvation all the saints long for, and therefore they pray that God would help them on their way to it.

Let your judgments help me; let all ordinances and all providences (both are God's judgments) assist me in glorifying God; let them help me for that work. He often looks back with shame and gratitude to his lost estate. He still prays for the tender care of Him who purchased His flock with His own blood, that he may receive from Him the gift of eternal life. Seek me—that is, find me—for God never seeks in vain.

Turn me, and I shall be turned. Let this psalm be a touchstone by which to test our hearts and our lives. Do our hearts, cleansed in Christ's blood, make these prayers, resolutions, and confessions our own? Is God's Word the standard of our faith and the law of our practice? Do we use it as pleas with Christ for what we need?

Happy those who live in such delightful exercises.