Interpretive Study of Psalms 119 Lord Jesus Christ in the 1611KJV
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Interpretive Study of Psalms 119.

Chapter theme:  Applying God's word throughout a life.

Please see the Word Definitions section for several words used throughout this Psalm.

God's Way to Study His Word:

In 2Timothy 2:15 we read: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  The true definition of the word dividing  is: 'a Mathematical function whereby we separate pre-defined units according to a precise procedure which produces a precise result'.  However, while most people understand that 'there is one interpretation but many applications of The word of God', they fail to separate the procedures of each.  And, as a result, they fail to separate the 'one interpretation of The word of God' from the 'many applications of The word of God'.  This leads to many errors which people blame on the perfect word of God  instead of their using the wrong procedure.

The result, of men using the wrong way, is that men claim that there are errors and conflicts in God's word.  In Isaiah 28; God tells us how to understand His word.  In addition, God preserved the message of His word; He preserves every word of His sentences (gp); and God preserves every punctuation mark {jot and title  (Matthew 5:18; Luke 16:17)} of His sentences.  Therefore, God preserved what He wanted us to understand and God told us how to understand His word so that we have no errors and no conflicts.  Unfortunately, for at least one hundred and fifty (150) years, men have been taught to use the wrong way to interpret God's word instead of using God's way.

In Isaiah 55:9 we are told For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Thus, God warns us that our ways are wrong and that using God's way  produces better results, which have no errors and no conflicts.

In addition, 1Corinthians 2:14 tells us: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  Therefore, we can not properly understand the spiritual word of God  using man's way.  We must use God's way to understand God's preserved word of God.  And, the basics of God's way is to understand His preserved word of God  using the sentence format and true Biblical definitions for Bible words.

This Study follows the Biblical Way to understand God's Word.  It applies precepts  ('truths that never change for any circumstance').  It then goes through the epistle sentence-upon-sentence (line upon line  [Isaiah 28 ]).  This is different from the ways of men which use verse-upon-verse or some other method which generates errors.  God's sentence-upon-sentence method also pays attention to what 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved, which are the true Biblical meanings of words and the Biblical usage of punctuation.  (These two are the components of sentences and do not give us verses.) 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved punctuation (one jot or one tittle)  in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17.  And 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved every word  when he wrote: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God  (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).

The summary of the epistle comes from the summary of each chapter and each chapter summary within that book.  Every chapter summary comes from the summary of each sentence within that chapter.  And, the sentence summaries come from analysis using the punctuation and true word definitions, as explained in the note for each sentence.  In addition, each sentence note considers the contextual considerations.  As a result, we have what God literally had written and see that there are no conflicts even when we consider the smallest part of a sentence compared to the entire Bible book.  God is consistent from the start of a Bible book to the end and is consistent in His doctrines and word definitions across the entire Bible.  What we have is an integrated whole (single) message, with no errors and no conflicts.  This particular book Study is part of a detailed analysis of the entire New Testament which shows this truth.

Other than cults, all claims of errors and conflicts are based upon the New Testament.  This Study is part of a series which interprets the preserved word of God  using God's way and proving that there are no errors, nor any conflicts, if we obey God and use His way to interpret His word.  And, this series concentrates on the New Testament, since that is the basis of these lies about the perfect word of God.

I have read, or at least skimmed, every book which has been written in the last hundred and fifty (150) years and which claims to teach people how to study and understand The word of God.  In every case, they use a method which comes from man and do not use God's way (Isaiah 55:8) to study and understand The word of God.  And, while there are variations from one man-written method to another man-written method, every one of them ends up with problems.  The end result of those problems is that people blame God's perfect word for their own problems and either turn to a man-written 'bible' or skip verses.  (By skipping the interpretation of certain verses, they can hide the conflict which their method has produced.)

Now, many people find that the Detail Studies to be overwhelming because those Studies have everything required to prove that there are NO errors in The perfect word of God.  This summary level is easier to understand for most people.  At the same time, if someone has an argument with what is presented here, the matching Detail Study provides all of the proof required in order to show that what is here matches exactly what God wrote in His word.  Again, this is not a matter of my opinion versus their opinion.  I have over thirty (30) years' experience as a professional Systems Analyst with an international reputation for accuracy in how to prove things.  And, this series of books are the result of using recognized methods of analysis to prove what God actually wrote.  This series does not present a religious opinion.  Therefore, a religious opinion, which was arrived at from using wrong methods, is not superior to a true analysis of what God wrote.

People have looked for over twenty (20) years and failed to find any other work that covers everything this series cover.  In addition, no one has found any other work which covers the level of detail found in the Detail Studies.  Further, the Detail Studies literally have several million Bible references to support the interpretation provided and to show that The perfect word of God  is consistent all across it for word definitions and doctrines.  Again, no one has found any other work which has this quantity of Bible references supporting what is presented.  I do not write this to brag but to inform the reader the depth of study which supports what is presented in this series.

Let any who disagree show their method and the results of their method and try to explain how their method, which produces errors, is greater that God's way which produces no errors and no conflicts.

Chapter theme:  Applying God's word throughout a life.

links to Sections in this Psalm:
ALEPH:  General preparation for life: God's commandment and plan that all are to keep.
BETH:  Personal preparation for life.
GIMEL:  Personal recognition of the results of choices made in life.
DALETH:  Recognition of personal powerlessness and of God's power.
HE:  Personal directions in the path of life to follow.
VAU:  Personal equipping for spiritual battle.
ZAIN:  Daily prayer at the end of the day after starting spiritual battles.
CHETH:  Daily mourning preparation for spiritual battle.
TETH:  Learning from errors.
JOD:  Daily preparation of the battle veteran.
CAPH:  Learning to endure so that you have a personal testimony of God saving when your own strength fails.
LAMED:  Learning to keep our eye on the spiritual when defeated in the physical.
MEM:  Rewards of staying faithful through the worst.
NUN:  Turning eyes to spiritual things and ignoring the physical.
SAMECH:  Turning heart to spiritual things and ignoring the physical.
AIN:  Evening prayer of saint after he has personally faced death.
PE:  mourning prayer of saint after he has personally faced death.
TZADDE:  Look to heaven and prepare for judgment.
KOPH:  Personal worship of the righteous Judge.
RESH:  Prayer for mercy when judged.
SCHIN:  Reflect upon a Godly life when at the end of it.
TAU:  Prayer of life: to prayer all of life and especially at the end.
links to sentences in this chapter:
C119-S1 (Verse 1), C119-S2 (Verse 2), C119-S3 (Verse 3), C119-S4 (Verse 4), C119-S5 (Verse 5), C119-S6 (Verse 6), C119-S7 (Verse 7), C119-S8 (Verse 8), C119-S9 (Verse 9), C119-S10 (Verse 9), C119-S11 (Verse 10), C119-S12 (Verse 11), C119-S13 (Verse 12), C119-S14 (Verse 13), C119-S15 (Verse 14), C119-S16 (Verse 15), C119-S17 (Verse 16), C119-S18 (Verse 17), C119-S19 (Verse 18), C119-S20 (Verse 19), C119-S21 (Verse 20), C119-S22 (Verse 21), C119-S23 (Verse 22), C119-S24 (Verse 23), C119-S25 (Verse 24), C119-S26 (Verse 25), C119-S27 (Verse 26), C119-S28 (Verse 27), C119-S29 (Verse 28), C119-S30 (Verse 29), C119-S31 (Verse 30), C119-S32 (Verse 31), C119-S33 (Verse 32), C119-S34 (Verse 33), C119-S35 (Verse 34), C119-S36 (Verse 35), C119-S37 (Verse 36), C119-S38 (Verse 37), C119-S39 (Verse 38), C119-S40 (Verse 39), C119-S41 (Verse 40), C119-S42 (Verse 41), C119-S43 (Verse 42), C119-S44 (Verse 43), C119-S45 (Verse 44), C119-S46 (Verse 45), C119-S47 (Verse 46), C119-S48 (Verse 47), C119-S49 (Verse 48), C119-S50 (Verse 49), C119-S51 (Verse 50), C119-S52 (Verse 51), C119-S53 (Verse 52), C119-S54 (Verse 53), C119-S55 (Verse 54), C119-S56 (Verse 55), C119-S57 (Verse 56), C119-S58 (Verse 57), C119-S59 (Verse 58), C119-S60 (Verse 59), C119-S61 (Verse 60), C119-S62 (Verse 61), C119-S63 (Verse 62), C119-S64 (Verse 63), C119-S65 (Verse 64), C119-S66 (Verse 65), C119-S67 (Verse 66), C119-S68 (Verse 67), C119-S69 (Verse 68), C119-S70 (Verse 69), C119-S71 (Verse 70), C119-S72 (Verse 71), C119-S73 (Verse 72), C119-S74 (Verse 73), C119-S75 (Verse 74), C119-S76 (Verse 75), C119-S77 (Verse 76), C119-S78 (Verse 77), C119-S79 (Verse 78), C119-S80 (Verse 79), C119-S81 (Verse 80), C119-S82 (Verse 81), C119-S83 (Verse 82), C119-S84 (Verse 83), C119-S85 (Verse 84), C119-S86 (Verse 85), C119-S87 (Verse 85), C119-S88 (Verse 86), C119-S89 (Verse 87), C119-S90 (Verse 88), C119-S91 (Verse 89), C119-S92 (Verse 90), C119-S93 (Verse 91), C119-S94 (Verse 92), C119-S95 (Verse 93), C119-S96 (Verse 94), C119-S97 (Verse 95), C119-S98 (Verse 96), C119-S99 (Verse 97), C119-S100 (Verse 97), C119-S101 (Verse 98), C119-S102 (Verse 99), C119-S103 (Verse 100), C119-S104 (Verse 101), C119-S105 (Verse 102), C119-S106 (Verse 103), C119-S107 (Verse 103), C119-S108 (Verse 104), C119-S109 (Verse 105), C119-S110 (Verse 106), C119-S111 (Verse 107), C119-S112 (Verse 108), C119-S113 (Verse 109), C119-S114 (Verse 110), C119-S115 (Verse 111), C119-S116 (Verse 112), C119-S117 (Verse 113), C119-S118 (Verse 114), C119-S119 (Verse 115), C119-S120 (Verse 116), C119-S121 (Verse 117), C119-S122 (Verse 118), C119-S123 (Verse 119), C119-S124 (Verse 120), C119-S125 (Verse 121), C119-S126 (Verse 122), C119-S127 (Verse 123), C119-S128 (Verse 124), C119-S129 (Verse 125), C119-S130 (Verse 126), C119-S131 (Verse 127), C119-S132 (Verse 128), C119-S133 (Verse 129), C119-S134 (Verse 130), C119-S135 (Verse 131), C119-S136 (Verse 132), C119-S137 (Verse 133), C119-S138 (Verse 134), C119-S139 (Verse 135), C119-S140 (Verse 136), C119-S141 (Verse 137), C119-S142 (Verse 138), C119-S143 (Verse 139), C119-S144 (Verse 140), C119-S145 (Verse 141), C119-S146 (Verse 142), C119-S147 (Verse 143), C119-S148 (Verse 144), C119-S149 (Verse 145), C119-S150 (Verse 146), C119-S151 (Verse 147), C119-S152 (Verse 148), C119-S153 (Verse 149), C119-S154 (Verse 150), C119-S155 (Verse 151), C119-S156 (Verse 152), C119-S157 (Verse 153), C119-S158 (Verse 154), C119-S159 (Verse 155), C119-S160 (Verse 156), C119-S161 (Verse 157), C119-S162 (Verse 158), C119-S163 (Verse 159), C119-S164 (Verse 160), C119-S165 (Verse 161), C119-S166 (Verse 162), C119-S167 (Verse 163), C119-S168 (Verse 164), C119-S169 (Verse 165), C119-S170 (Verse 166), C119-S171 (Verse 167), C119-S172 (Verse 168), C119-S173 (Verse 169), C119-S174 (Verse 170), C119-S175 (Verse 171), C119-S176 (Verse 172), C119-S177 (Verse 173), C119-S178 (Verse 174), C119-S179 (Verse 175), C119-S180 (Verse 176)'.

All Psalms were originally songs and were written to help us praise God.

Many commentators make a big deal about the sections of this Psalm being identified by the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and that the 8 verses, which follow the section title for each group, all starting with that letter in the Hebrew language.  The problem is that this Psalm, like all of the Bible and most non-poetry documents, was written in sentences and paragraphs.  That is the format that our Bible tells us that God will use to teach us knowledge  and to make us understand.  (Please see the lessons under the Hermey Menu item for more details.)  the format of 8 verses is often used to distract from the greater message of this Psalm by having people concentrate on the format instead of the content of each section within this Psalm.

This Psalm was used to provide basic instructions for life and was taught in early childhood to start children on the right path to find, and obey, God.  The spiritual message of this Psalm is far more important than the mechanics of the teaching method used.  However, many commentators miss the major point while concentrating on the minor point.  Thus, they are used to lead people from what God really wants His people to know, while claiming to lead people in God's way to true Godly blessings.

Please concentrate on the spiritual message of this Psalm before worrying about any other use of this Psalm.

If you look at the titles that are assigned to each section (letter of Jewish alphabet), you will see a relationship between the phases of life and the sections of this Psalm.  This Psalm starts with instructions that are for when we are starting our spiritual life and the second last section of this Psalm is instructions for the end of our life.  The very last section is a summary and instructions for all of life.  The sections in-between the first and last sections match the different phases of life as we progress from being young to being old.  Thus, this Psalm that was used to teach the alphabet also taught instructions from God on how to live the various phases of life.  Like the parables, these spiritual instructions were hidden in plain sight.  Those people who considered the spiritual things of God received spiritual instructions and those people who only considered the physical things of life only learned their alphabet.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this Psalm as: 'A.M. 3560. B.C. 444.
(Title.) this Psalm, which was probably composed by Ezra, is another of the alphabetical Psalms: it consists of twenty-two parts, answering to the number of the Hebrew letters; every part being divided into eight verses, and each verse beginning with that letter which forms the title of the part; that is, the first part of eight verses with Aleph, the second with Beth, etc. It is an elegant, important, and useful composition; the chief subjects of which are the excellence of God's laws, and the happiness of those who observe them'.

Sentence summary:
ALEPH: General preparation for life: God's commandment and plan that all are to keep.

This section provides general instructions that are to be given for having a Godly life.  It matches the last section of this Psalm which sums up all of the instructions of this Psalm and also gives instructions for all of life.  Thus, while the first section provides the introduction for life, and the last section summarizes the commands for life, the other sections are aimed at different phases of life and provide more details for each phase.  If people get the general instructions in these two outer sections, even if they miss the inner instructions, they will be far better off than those people who ignore all of these instructions.  Thus, the wise person prayerfully considers the meaning of this first section and remembers the lessons from here so that they can apply them all of their life.

Our sentences tell us:

  1. Sentence 1 says, for us to stay undefiled  in order to be blessed  by God.
  2. Sentence 2 tells us what keep and seek in order to be blessed  by God.
  3. Sentence 3 says, do no iniquity  in order to be blessed  by God.
  4. Sentence 4 says, to keep the broad principles from God which never change regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in (precepts).
  5. Sentence 5 says, to choose paths of life which will help us to obey God's statutes.
  6. Sentence 6 tells us the result of obeying the prior sentence and warns us that disobedience will result in God making us ashamed  before all of heaven and before men of this Earth.
  7. Sentence 7 says, learn God's righteous judgments  so that we can properly praise  God.
  8. Sentence 8 says, that God will not forsake (us) utterly  if we keep (God's ) statutes.

These all combine to provide the instructions for all of life in this opening section.  If we review these instructions every day of our life, and try to obey them every day of our life, there can be no doubt of God blessing us because of all of the other promises found within His Word.

BETH: Personal preparation for life.

Anyone who is going to take a journey makes some preparations.  Some people make better preparations than others make but all make some preparations.  Those people who claim to make no preparations actually decide to accept whatever happens, which are the preparations of a Biblical fool.  All of us had some physical maturity at the time of our personal salvation.  At some point, people who have some spiritual awareness realize that salvation is a journey through life with God.  Once saved people realize that fact, the wisest make the best preparations for that journey with God.  Our section, which is the first section on how to deal with the various phases of life, tells us what preparations to make if we wish to be wise about this life.  That is: this section tell us how to prepare for a wise walk with God through life.  Subsequent sections within this Psalm are sequenced to match the general sequences of life that most people can experience.  This is true until the very last section which summarizes the experiences of a Godly life.  Therefore, this section not only gives us preparations for life, but it also provides the basics for what we will need in later sequences of this Psalm as it matches our journey through life that is to be made with the help of God.

Our sentences tell us:

  1. Sentence 9 asks the main question of life.  We have to clean out the sin before God add in blessings.
  2. Sentence 10 answers the prior question.
  3. Sentence 11 says, how to do that answer.
  4. Sentence 12 says, preparation made to enable obedience.
  5. Sentence 13 recognizes that God is greater and seeks God's guidance.
  6. Sentence 14 tells us the first reason why God should teach people His statutes.
  7. Sentence 15 tells us the second reason why God should teach people His statutes.
  8. Sentence 16 tells us the future actions to be done after God teaches me thy statutes.
  9. Sentence 17 tells us further actions to be done after God teaches me thy statutes.

If we do not make wise preparations then we will not have all that we need later in life.  In addition, without wisdom we will bind ourselves to things that will drag us down and interfere with our successful completion of our personal course  of life.

GIMEL: Recognize that our choices in life make us responsibile for the results which we receive.

Part of our preparation for this journey through life is the realization that we will have to make decisions and that those decisions have consequences.  God gives us each a free will and refuses to take away our choice no matter how foolish we act nor what the consequences of our choices are.  Therefore, the wise person seeks God's advice before making decisions because all decisions affect the rest of our life.  Yes, some decisions have more obvious effects, but often the decisions without obvious effects actually have the most profound results.

Our sentences tell us:

  1. Sentence 18 requests the aid of God based upon the recognition that we are God's personal (thy)  servant.
  2. Sentence 19 Why we should desire God's aid.
  3. Sentence 20 recognizes that we can not look to other people for guidance because I am a stranger in the earth.
  4. Sentence 21 says, how strongly we feel the need for God's guidance.
  5. Sentence 22 recognizes the consequence of following the wrong motivation when making decisions.
  6. Sentence 23 requests aid in avoiding wrong decisions and aid in avoiding their consequences.
  7. Sentence 24 recognizes that people who affect our life will fight our decisions to follow God.
  8. Sentence 25 says, how to endure the reproaches of people who affect our life.

These all combine to provide the instructions for how to prepare to make wise decisions in this life.  We do not know what decisions we will have to make.  We can't know what information we will need to have but we can know that we will have to make decisions based upon incomplete and inadequate knowledge.  We can get upset about the reality of life or we can recognize that this is God's deliberate plan that will, repeatedly, put us into situations where we have to seek God's guidance or suffer the consequence of making foolish decisions.

Pay attention to how often this section uses the personal pronouns of thy  and thou.  Erroneous religious doctrine that these words have the same meaning as you  And try to replace our personal relationship with a religious non-personal one.  First they deny the words which are personal.  Then they deny to doctrines which are personal.  Then they claim that religious doctrine replaces the authority of God and His word.  Then they claim the authority to replace God's doctrines with doctrines from devils.  The road to disaster starts with people believing: 'It doesn't really matter if someone changes the definition of a word which God has preserved' (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).

These all combine to provide the instructions for how to prepare to make wise decisions in this life.  We do not know what decisions we will have to make.  We can't know what information we will need to have but we can know that we will have to make decisions based upon incomplete and inadequate knowledge.  We can get upset about the reality of life or we can recognize that this is God's deliberate plan that will, repeatedly, put us into situations where we have to seek God's guidance or suffer the consequence of making foolish decisions.

DALETH: Recognition of personal powerlessness and of God's power.

(Almost?) everyone starts out their saved life sure that God is going to give them lots of victories.  Yes, they may stumble a little bit but God is going to be right there to keep them from falling into any significant sin.  Then reality strikes in the form of the world, our flesh or of a devil motivated person.  Not only that, but most of us have to mess up several times and we keep claiming the verse that says For a just man fillet seven times, and reset up again..  (Proverbs 24:16) even when it is about the 7,000th time of 'stumbling'.  Eventually, the wise saved person realizes that it is their own pride that is messing them up and that they will continue to 'stumbling' so long as they have pride.  This section is the prayer of a saved person who has finally realized that they need God to lift them up out of the mud and stop 'rising' based upon their own abilities and their own pride.

Starting in Sentence 29 we have a step-by-step procedure for getting out of the problems caused by pride.  That is: remove the lies and accept the truth.  Then always keep your eyes on the results of your actions and chose the way to good results.  Then keep your eyes on how God worked in the life of others and follow the attitudes and actions of people who received the results that you want to have.  Then pursue God's commandments as fast as you can.

Our sentences tell us:

  1. Sentence 26 recognizes that pride has put us into our predicament and then seeks true lasting uplifting from God.
  2. Sentence 27 confesses the error of my ways  and seeks correction.
  3. Sentence 28 seeks ability to avoid further error and promises testimonies based upon that understanding.
  4. Sentence 29 confesses that this is not a one-time problem but is a lifestyle problem.
  5. Sentence 30 requests real correction.
  6. Sentence 31 claims real repentance.
  7. Sentence 32 confesses new choices in how to walk by faith.
  8. Sentence 33 says, what the believer will do after receiving God's help.

After starting on our journey we realize that things are never as simple as they appeared during preparations.  Someone has to be knocked down often enough and hard enough to make them really consider how much they really need to stop depending on self and start truly depending upon God.  This section is the result of someone getting their eyes opened the hard way because pride prevented learning these lessons the simple way.

There are certain things only learned through experience.  Usually, understanding  requires experience of the consequences that come from doing wrong.  The Psalmist is no longer a novice on this journey and they now understand  things that they did not understand  before.  Now the Psalmist is willing to take the extra effort to be careful and try to remain righteous.

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Word Definitions:

How certain words are used within this Psalm.  Proper understanding of these words is critical to getting the true meaning of this Psalm.

This Psalm says a lot about the law of God that is found within the word of God.  It also uses several words which deal with a specific part of God's law.  These words each have specific meanings and are deliberately chosen by God to be used where He used them.  They are not interchangeable.  (See true meaning of every word  in Deuteronomy 8:3; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4).  However, because they are similar (all related to the law of God), they are often confused and used by people interchangeably.  Our Psalm promises us several blessings for doing certain things with these different parts of God's law.  However, if we do what God said to do, but apply it to the wrong part of God's law, we may very well not get the blessing promised.  Therefore, if is important to understand the differences in the definitions of these words which are critical to understanding this Psalm and to getting the blessings promised within this Psalm.

Please note: many of these words are used several hundred times throughout the Bible.  While I skimmed every usage of these high-volume words within the Bible, and looked at dictionary definitions, I can not say that I did a detailed analysis of each and every verse within the New Testament as required to truly understand the context.  Such detailed analysis is required for the entire Bible to truly define a word as used by the Bible.  Therefore, the 'definitions' seen below are actually 'New Testament definitions' and only tell how these words are used within this Psalm.  While these 'definitions' are probably good for every usage within the Bible, I can not guarantee that 100%.  What I do warranty these 'definitions' for is their usage within this Psalm.  Also, please note that each word includes a link to a sentence note within this Psalm.  That sentence note will also have other considerations such as links to notes within other Studies on this site.  Thus, there are aids for the reader to do further study on their own.

command:  is used in Psalms 119 to mean 'a mandate; an order or injunction given by authority; charge'.  Please note that a commandment  is not always written down and often comes through the human person that God has placed in authority over us. 
1John 5:2 plainly says for us to keep his (God's) commandments.  The note for that verse has links to about 30 other verses which tell us the same thing.  Forms of the word commandment  occur 920 times in 839 verses of the Bible, 724 times in 620 verses of the Old Testament and occur in 47 verses of Psalms.  Within Psalms 119 We find this word in: our current sentence, 6; 10; 19; 21; 32; 35; 47; 48; 60; 66; 73; 86; 96; 98; 115; 127; 131; 138; 143; 151; 166; 172; 176.  With this many occurrences within this Psalm, it should be obvious that this word is central to the message of this Psalm.  Webster's 1828 dictionary defines commandment  as: 'n.  1. A command; a mandate; an order or injunction given by authority; charge; precept.  Why do ye transgress the commandment of God. Matt. 15.  This is the first and great commandment. Matt. 22.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. John 13.  2. By way of eminence, a precept of the Decalogue, or moral law, written on tables of stone, at Mount Sinai; one of the ten commandments. Ex. 34.  3. Authority; coercive power'.  Many people think they only have to keep 'The 10 commandments' and even then they are ignorant of all that Jesus  taught was involved in keeping  'The 10 commandments' like God expects us to keep  them.  However, the 'The 10 commandments' are only like the table-of-contents within a book and if the reader looks at only the links already provided in this note they will see many more commandments  from God which go well beyond what most people believe that the 'The 10 commandments' require.  We are to spend our lifetime learning and obeying all of God's commandments  that are written it the Bible and know that even then, there will be some that we failed to obey properly.  By the way, please note that this verse says Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts.  It does not say to keep  the 'The 10 commandments'.  Please see the Doctrinal Study on the use Ten Commandments for links to where they are dealt with in the word of God.  Please use This link to see the 'Ten (10) Commandments' and references to them in the New Testament.

judgment:  is used in Psalms 119 to mean 'Comparison of actions and attitudes, which a person displays, to the statutes  and commandments  of a rightful authority.  Judgment  results in reward of the obedient and punishment of the disobedient with the amount of reward or punishment determined by the judge'.  We find this word, in this Psalm, in: 7; 13; 20; 30; 39; 43; 52; 62; 66; 75; 84; 102; 106; 108; 120; 121; 137; 149; 156; 160; 164; 175.  Please also see the notes for Romans C14S16 and 2Corinthians 5:10 about the judgment Seat of Christ  (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11).  Please also see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; 1Corinthians 1:10 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the word judge.  Please also see the notes for Romans 14:8-LJC and 2Thessalonians 1:9-LJC about the phrase judgment without mercy.  Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C4S5 about the phrase we are to judge.  Please also see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works.  Please also see the note for Ephesians C5S6 about the phrase judgment by us.  Please also see the Section called: 'Minor Titles of the Son of God' in the Doctrinal Study called: Significant Gospel Events.

law:  is used to for 'Comparison of actions and attitudes, which a person displays, to the statutes and commandments of a rightful authority.  Judgment results in reward of the obedient and punishment of the disobedient with the amount of reward or punishment determined by the judge'.  Several other words, used in this Psalm, deal with legal concepts.  Please see the note for sentence 1 for links to every verse in the Bible that uses the law of the Lord  along with a short note on each verse.  We find this word, in this Psalm, in: 1; 18; 29; 34; 44; 51; 53; 55; 61; 70; 72; 77; 85; 92; 97; 109; 113; 126; 136; 142; 150; 153; 163; 165; 174.  As said in that note, these verses give us a pretty solid basis for what the Bible means by law of the Lord,  even if they do not exhaustively study every reference within the Bible.  Please also see the note for Galatians 3:10 about the phrase book of the law.  Please also see the note for Revelation 13:8-LJC about the phrase book of the life.  Please also see the notes for Romans C3S31 and 1Corinthians 9:21-LJC about the phrase kinds of laws that apply to us today.  Please also see the note for Romans C3S27 about the phrase law of works.  Please also see the note for Romans C3S25 about the phrase law and faith.  Please also see the note for Galatians C3S22 about the phrase Mosaic Law added.  Please also see the note for Hebrews 10:28-29 about the phrase New Testament replaces only the religious part of the Mosaic Law.  Please also see the note for Hebrews 19:29-LJC about the phrase religious part of Mosaic Law.  Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law.  Remember that in the Gospels we read about lawyers  (Matthew 22:35; Luke 7:30; 10:25; 11:45-46; 11:52; 14:3) who made their entire career from Biblical law.

Forms of the word precept  occur 35 times in 29 verses of the Bible, occur 33 times in 27 verses of in the Old Testament and occur 21 times in Psalms, all of which are in this particular Psalm.  Within Psalms 119 We find this word in: our current verse, 15; 27; 40; 45; 56; 63; 69; 78; 87; 93; 94; 100; 104; 110; 128; 134; 141; 159; 168; 173.  Webster's 1828 dictionary defines precept  as: 'n. L. proeceptum, from proecipio, to command; proe, before, and capio, to take.  1. In a general sense, any commandment or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; but applied particularly to commands respecting moral conduct. the ten commandments are so many precepts for the regulation of our moral conduct.  No arts are without their precepts.  2. In law, a command or mandate in writing'.  This definition is inadequate as it does not give a clear distinction between the definition of this word and the definition of similar wards which are used within our current Psalm.  God does not change.  Therefore, God has a one-to-one relationship between words used in the Bible and their meaning.  While similar words in this Psalm are more specific in meaning, the true Biblical definition of precept  is: 'A general concept of right and wrong that never changes for any reason or circumstance, but which also has many applications with the particular application changing depending upon circumstances'.

The New Testament definition forthe word precepts  is: 'A general concept of right and wrong that never changes for any reason or circumstance, but which also has many applications with the particular application changing depending upon circumstances'.  God tells us to apply precepts  even before we consider the context of a Bible verse and the true meaning within the context is limited to what is defined by precepts.  Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'n. L. proeceptum, from proecipio, to command; proe, before, and capio, to take.  1. In a general sense, any commandment or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; but applied particularly to commands respecting moral conduct. the ten commandments are so many precepts for the regulation of our moral conduct.  No arts are without their precepts.  2. In law, a command or mandate in writing.'.

statute:  is used in Psalms 119 to mean 'an act of the legislature commanding or prohibiting something; a positive law'.  The '10 Commandments' are the best known examples of Biblical statutes. 

Forms of the word statute  only occur in the Old Testament and occur 167 times in 166 verses there.  They occur 29 times in 28 verses of Psalms.  Within Psalms 119 We find this word in: 119:5; 8; 12; 16; 23; 26; 33; 48; 54; 64; 68; 71; 80; 83; 112; 117; 118; 124; 135; 145; 155; 171.  Webster's 1828 dictionary defines statute  as: ' L., to set.  1. An act of the legislature of a state that extends its binding force to all the citizens or subjects of that state, as distinguished from an act which extends only to an individual or company; an act of the legislature commanding or prohibiting something; a positive law. Statutes are distinguished from common law. the latter owes its binding force to the principles of justice, to long use and the consent of a nation. the former owe their binding force to a positive command or declaration of the supreme power. Statute is commonly applied to the acts of a legislative body consisting of representatives. In monarchies, the laws of the sovereign are called edicts, decrees, ordinances, rescripts, etc.  2. A special act of the supreme power, of a private nature, or intended to operate only on an individual or company.  3. the act of a corporation or of its founder, intended as a permanent rule or law; as the statutes of a university'.  We also see that Thompson Chain Topics has links of: 'General References to:  Ex 15:26; Le 26:46; De 4:5; 16:12; 1Ki 3:14; Ps 19:8; 119:12,54.  See Commandments.  Perpetual, given to Israel.  Le 23:14,31; 24:3,9; Nu 18:11; 19:21'.

Please notice how often the word statute  is used in this Psalm.  This word is one part of God's law, which is the main theme of this Psalm.  That is: God's people are blessed by God only when they 'trust and obey' God's law in the manner stated within this Psalm.  One erroneous doctrine that a lot of saved people believe is that they can deliberately violate God's law, ask for forgiveness,  and have God wipe out all of the consequences of their sin.  This erroneous doctrine is one of the main reasons that the most often spoken prayer request if about health problems.  If people would take this verse to heart they would have a lot better health.  I personally have received many healings from God and had other saved people admit amazement at what they witnessed.  However, better than healing is avoiding the problem in the first place.  That is what this verse is requesting God's help in doing.

Please notice in the definition above that statutes  are positively said and written down.  Thus, what people call God's statutes  must be literally written in God's Word.  In addition, we need to pay attention to the word thy.  These statutes  are God's personal statutes,  which are found literally written in God's Word.  These personal statutes  of God do not include the additions and deletions done by man and religion.  The New Testament definition for this word is: 'An act of the legislature commanding or prohibiting something; a positive law'.

testimonies:  is used in Psalms 119 to mean 'statements that are used in a court of law to judge the legality of someone's actions.  These require first-hand experience because anything else would be rumor and not legal to present in court'.  Please see the note for sentence 2 for links to where this word is used within this Psalm.  God's testimonies  give us reliable evidence of how God has acted in the past and how God will act towards us.  They are the basis for our acts of obedience, or disobedience, which will be judged by God when we personally face Him in judgment.

Forms of the word way  occurring 125 times in 120 verses of Psalms.  Within Psalms 119 We find this word in: 119:1; 3; 5; 9; 14; 15; 26; 27; 29; 30; 32; 33; 37; 39; 59; 101; 104; 112; 119; 128; 168.  Basically, we can say that the Biblical definition of way,  especially as used in Psalms 119, is: 'How we get from our present condition/place in life to the time that we face the judgment of God upon our life'.  Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C4S17 about the use of the word way.

The most often used words in this Psalm are: ME (89), MY (64), HAVE (59), WORD (38), LAW (25), of (25), LORD (24).  Here we see that this Psalm is telling us how to apply the LORD's  Word  and the LORD's  law  to ourselves (me  and my).

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