Psalms 119:35
in Psalms 119Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight.
KJV
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes
on Psalms 119:33-40
Every verse here is a request put to God: teach, give understanding, direct, turn, establish, revive. The asking runs both ways, toward the commandments and away from covetous gain and worthless things. The verbs are all God's to do.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But since he hath no power to do even this, save he be aided by Him who commandeth him to do what He commandeth, "Make me," he addeth, "to go in the path of Thy commandments, for therein is my desire" (ver. 35). My desire is powerless, unless Thou Thyself makest me to go where I desire. And this is surely the very path, that is, the path of God's commandments, which he had already said that he had run, when his heart was enlarged by the Lord. And this he calleth a "path," because "the way is narrow which leadeth unto life;" and since it is narrow, we cannot run therein save with a heart enlarged. ...
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
To encourage us in prayer for divine aid in adhering to His truth, we are permitted to believe that by His help we shall succeed. the way of thy statutes--that is, the way or manner of life prescribed by them. The help we hope to obtain by prayer is to be the basis on which our resolutions should rest.
"Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which good I find not." Thou hast made me to love the way, now make me to move in it. It is a plain path, which others are treading through thy grace; I see it and admire it; cause me to travel in it. This is the cry of a child that longs to walk, but is too feeble; of a pilgrim who is exhausted, yet pants to be on the march; of a lame man who pines to be able to run. It is a blessed thing to delight in holiness, and surely he who gave us this delight will work in us the yet higher joy of possessing and practising it. Here is our only hope; for we shall not go in the narrow path till we are made to do so by the Maker's own power. O thou who didst once make me, I pray thee make me again: thou hast made me to know; now make me to go. Certainly I shall never be happy till I do, for my sole delight lies in walking according to thy bidding. The Psalmist does not ask the Lord to do for him what he ought to do for himself: he wishes himself to "go" or tread in the path of the command. He asks not to be carried while he lies passive; but to be made "to go." Grace does not treat us as stocks and stones, to be dragged by horses or engines, but as creatures endowed with life, reason, will, and active powers, who are willing and able to go of themselves if once made to do so. God worketh in us, but it is that we may both will and do according to his good pleasure. The holiness we seek after is not a forced compliance with command, but the indulgence of a whole hearted passion for goodness, such as shall conform our life to the will of the Lord. Can the reader say, "therein do I delight?" Is practical godliness the very jewel of your soul, the coveted prize of your mind?
"Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which good I find not." Thou hast made me to love the way, now make me to move in it. It is a plain path, which others are treading through thy grace; I see it and admire it; cause me to travel in it.
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
Make me to go in the path ... - That is, Incline me to it; so direct me that I shall thus walk. It is an acknowledgment of his dependence on God, that he might be able to carry out the cherished purposes of his soul. For therein do I delight - See Psa 119:16. I am conscious of having pleasure in thy commandments; of having a strong desire to keep them, and I pray for grace that I may be able to do it. Real delight in the law of God is one of the best means of securing its observance; one of the best evidences that it will be kept.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַ֭דְרִיכֵנִי | hadrikheni | lead me | H1869 → | 62 times |
| בִּנְתִ֣יב | bintiv | in [the] path of | H5410 → | 26 times |
| מִצְוֹתֶ֑יךָ | mitzvoteikha | commandments your | H4687 → | 181 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ב֥וֹ | vo | in it | ||
| חָפָֽצְתִּי׃ | chafatzeti | I delight | H2654 → | 74 times |
הַ֭דְרִיכֵנִיlead me
hadrikheniH1869 →62 times
בִּנְתִ֣יבin [the] path of
bintivH5410 →26 times
מִצְוֹתֶ֑יךָcommandments your
mitzvoteikhaH4687 →181 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
ב֥וֹin it
vo
חָפָֽצְתִּי׃I delight
chafatzetiH2654 →74 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
Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:21
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 9:16
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- Hebrews 13:21
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.
- Isaiah 42:16
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 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, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.