Psalms 119:8
in Psalms 119I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will observe thy statutes: Oh forsake me not utterly. ב BETH.
KJV
I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Blessed are those whose way is blameless
on Psalms 119:1-8
Seven names for the word stand in these eight verses: law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments and judgments. The psalm opens on Blessed, as Psalm 1:1 does. Verse 8 closes on a plea that God not utterly forsake him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Next he addeth: "I will keep Thy ordinances" (ver. 8). ...But what is it that followeth? "O forsake me not even exceedingly!" or, as some copies have it, "even too much," instead of, "even exceedingly." But since God had left the world to the desert of sins, He would have forsaken it "even exceedingly," if so powerful a cure had not supported it, that is, the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ; but now, according to this prayer of the body of Christ, He forsook it not "even exceedingly;" for, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." ...
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I will keep thy statutes,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"I will keep thy statutes." A calm resolve. When praise calms down into solid resolution it is well with the soul. Zeal which spends itself in singing, and leaves no practical residuum of holy living, is little worth: "I will praise" should be coupled with "I will keep." This firm resolve is by no means boastful, like Peter's "though I should die with thee, yet will I not forsake thee," for it is followed by a humble prayer for divine help, "O forsake me not utterly." Feeling his own incapacity, he trembles lest he should be left to himself, and this fear is increased by the horror which he has of falling into sin. The "I will keep" sounds lightly enough now that the humble cry is heard with it. This is a happy amalgam: resolution and dependence. We meet with those who to all appearance humbly pray, but there is no force of character, no decision in them, and consequently the pleading of the closet is not embodied in the life: on the other band, we meet with abundance of resolve attended with an entire absence of dependence upon God, and this makes as poor a character as the former. The Lord grant us to have such a blending of excellences that we may be "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." This prayer is one which is certain to be heard, for assuredly it must be highly pleasing to God to see a man set upon obeying his will, and therefore it must be most agreeable to him to be present with such a person, and to help him in his endeavours. How can he forsake one who does not forsake his law? The peculiar dread which tinges this prayer with a sombre hue is the fear of utter forsaking. Well may the soul cry out against such a calamity. To be left, that we may discover our weakness, is a sufficient trial: To be altogether forsaken would be ruin and death.
"I will keep thy statutes." A calm resolve. When praise calms down into solid resolution it is well with the soul. Zeal which spends itself in singing, and leaves no practical residuum of holy living, is little worth: "I will praise" should be coupled with "I will keep." This firm resolve is by no means boastful, like Peter's "though I should die with thee, yet will I not forsake thee," for it is followed by a humble prayer for divine help, "O forsake me not utterly."
O forsake me not utterly - עד מאד ad meod, “to utter dereliction;” never leave me to my own strength, nor to my own heart!
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
I will keep thy statutes - Thy commands; thy laws. This expresses the firm purpose of the psalmist, He meant to keep the law of God; he could confidently say that he would do it - yet coupled with the prayer which follows, that God would not forsake him. O forsake me not utterly - Hebrew, “To very much;” so as to leave me to myself. His confidence that he would keep the commandments of God was based on the prayer that God would not leave him. There is no other ground of persuasion that we shall be able to keep the commandments of God than that which rests on the belief and the hope that He will not leave us.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקֶּ֥יךָ | chukeicha | decrees your | H2706 → | 127 times |
| אֶשְׁמֹ֑ר | ʾeshmor | I will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּעַזְבֵ֥נִי | taazveni | you forsake me | H5800 → | 215 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | up to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | muchness | H3966 → | 300 times |
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֻקֶּ֥יךָdecrees your
chukeichaH2706 →127 times
אֶשְׁמֹ֑רI will keep
ʾeshmorH8104 →468 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּעַזְבֵ֥נִיyou forsake me
taazveniH5800 →215 times
עַד־up to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מְאֹֽד׃muchness
meodH3966 →300 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 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Colossians 1:11
being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Isaiah 40:29–31
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Psalms 71:18Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
it leads to
- Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 46:4
Through
Psalms 51:11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- 2 Kings 13:23
But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been…
- Ephesians 4:30
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).