Psalms 119:10
in Psalms 119With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
With my whole heart have I sought thee: Oh let me not wander from thy commandments.
KJV
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWith my whole heart have I sought thee,.... Not himself, his own honour and applause, as formal worshippers and self-righteous persons do; but the Lord and his glory, his face, his presence, and communion with him, his grace, and fresh supplies of it, to help in time of need; his doctrine, as the Targum; and to know more of it, and of him, and of his mind and will; and this he did in the most sincere manner, with all his heart and soul.
This site's exposition
How can a young man keep his way pure
on Psalms 119:9-16
The question is how a young man keeps his way pure, and the answer given is guarding it by the word. Verse 11 puts the word inside the man, hidden in the heart. Around it stand the practices: proclaiming, rejoicing, meditating, delighting, and never forgetting.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"With my whole heart," he saith, "have I sought thee; O repel me not from Thy commandments" (ver. 10). Behold, he prayeth that he may be aided to keep the words of God, wherewith he had said that the young man corrected his way. For this is the meaning of the words, "O repel me not from Thy commandments:" for what is it to be repelled of God, save not to be aided? For human infirmity is not equal to obeying His righteous and exalted commandments, unless His love doth prevent and aid. But those whom He aideth not, these He is justly said to repel. ...
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
"With my whole heart have I sought thee." His heart had gone after God himself: he had not only desired to obey his laws, but to commune with his person. This is a right royal search and pursuit, and well may it be followed with the whole heart. The surest mode of cleansing the way of our life is to seek after God himself, and to endeavour to abide in fellowship with him.
"With my whole heart have I sought thee." His heart had gone after God himself: he had not only desired to obey his laws, but to commune with his person. This is a right royal search and pursuit, and well may it be followed with the whole heart. The surest mode of cleansing the way of our life is to seek after God himself, and to endeavour to abide in fellowship with him. Up to the good hour in which he was speaking to his Lord, the Psalmist had been an eager seeker after the Lord, and if faint, he was still pursuing. Had he not sought the Lord he would never have been so anxious to cleanse his way. It is pleasant to see how the writer's heart turns distinctly and directly to God. He had been considering an important truth in the preceding verse, but here he so powerfully feels the presence of his God that he speaks to him, and prays to him as to one who is near. A true heart cannot long live without fellowship with God. His petition is founded on his life's purpose: he is seeking the Lord, and he prays the Lord to prevent his going astray in or from his search. It is by obedience that we follow after God, hence the prayer, O let me not wander from thy commandments; for if we leave the ways of God's appointment we certainly shall not find the God who appointed them. The more a man's whole heart is set upon holiness the more does he dread falling into sin; he is not so much fearful of deliberate transgression as of inadvertent wandering: he cannot endure a wandering look, or a rambling thought, which might stray beyond the pale of the precept. We are to be such wholehearted seekers that we have neither time nor will to be wanderers, and yet with all our wholeheartedness we are to cultivate a jealous fear lest even then we should wander from the path of holiness.
With my whole heart have I sought thee - 4. He must seek God, make earnest prayer and supplication to him for Divine light, for a tender conscience, and for strength to walk uprightly. 5. His whole heart; all his affections must be engaged here, or he cannot succeed. If he keep any affection for the idol or abomination; if his heart do not give it before the Lord, he may make many prayers, but God will answer none of them. 6. He must take care to keep in the path of duty, of abstinence and self-denial; not permitting either his eye, his hand, or his heart to wander from the commandments of his Maker.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
With my whole heart have I sought thee - See the notes at Psa 119:2. The psalmist in Psa 119:2 speaks of the “blessedness of those who seek the Lord with the whole heart;” in this verse he says that this blessedness was his. He could affirm that he had thus sought God. He had such a consciousness that this was the aim and purpose of his life that he could say so without hesitation. Every man who claims to be a religious man ought to be able to say this. Alas, how few can do it! O let me not wander ... - Keep me in this steady purpose; this fixed design. This is the language of a heart where there is a consciousness of its weakness, and its liability to err, strong as may be its purpose to do right. Such an apprehension is one of the best means of security, for such an apprehension will lead a man to “pray,” and while a man prays he is safe.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | with all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לִבִּ֥י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| דְרַשְׁתִּ֑יךָ | derashtikha | I seek you | H1875 → | 164 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּ֝שְׁגֵּ֗נִי | tashgeni | you allow to stray me | H7686 → | 21 times |
| מִמִּצְוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | mimitzvoteikha | from commandments your | H4687 → | 181 times |
בְּכָל־with all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
לִבִּ֥יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
דְרַשְׁתִּ֑יךָI seek you
derashtikhaH1875 →164 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּ֝שְׁגֵּ֗נִיyou allow to stray me
tashgeniH7686 →21 times
מִמִּצְוֹתֶֽיךָ׃from commandments your
mimitzvoteikhaH4687 →181 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 23:3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These…
- Psalms 31:3
For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
- Psalms 19:7
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- Psalms 143:8–10
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Isaiah 42:16
Through
Psalms 119:2Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
- Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Jeremiah 29:13
Through
Psalms 119:133Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me.
it leads to
- Psalms 17:5
My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
- Psalms 17:5
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
