Psalms 119:58
I have sought Your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise.
BSB
ASV
I entreated thy favor with my whole heart: Be merciful unto me according to thy word.
KJV
I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
"I intreated thy favour with my whole heart." A fully assured possession of God does not set aside prayer, but rather urges us to it; he who knows God to be his God will seek his face, longing for his presence. Seeking God's presence is the idea conveyed by the marginal reading, "thy face, "and this is true to the Hebrew. The presence of God is the highest form of his favour, and therefore it is the most urgent desire of gracious souls: the light of his countenance gives us an antepast of heaven. O that we always enjoyed it! The good man entreated God's smile as one who begged for his life, and the entire strength of his desire went with the entreaty. Such eager pleadings are sure of success; that which comes from our heart will certainly go to God's heart. The whole of God's favours are ready for those who seek them with their whole hearts. "Be merciful unto me according to thy word." He has entreated favour, and the form in which he most needs it is that of mercy, for he is more a sinner than anything else. He asks nothing beyond the promise, he only begs for such mercy as the word reveals. And what more could he want or wish for? God has revealed such an infinity of mercy in his word that it would be impossible to conceive of more. See how the Psalmist dwells upon favour and mercy, he never dreams of merit. He does not demand, but entreat; for he feels his own unworthiness. Note how he remains a suppliant, though he knows that he has all things in his God. God is his portion, and yet he begs for a look at his face. The idea of any other standing before God than that of an undeserving but favoured one never entered his head. Here we have his "Be merciful unto me" rising with as much intensity of humble pleading as if he still remained among the most trembling of penitents.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Hebrews 10:22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
leads to
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Through
Psalms 27:8My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
leads to
Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Through
Psalms 119:10With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
leads to
Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.
