Psalms 119:38

Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Stablish	הָקֵ֣ם ha.Kem	H6965	to rise (in various applications · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
word	אִמְרָתֶ֑ךָ 'im.ra.Te.kha	H565	something said · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
servant	לְ֭עַבְדְּךָ Le.'av.de.kha	H5650	a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
fear	לְיִרְאָתֶֽךָ le.yir.'a.Te.kha	H3374	fear (also used as infinitive) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 32:39-41 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
Psalms 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Psalms 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
2 Samuel 7:25-29 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou…
Psalms 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Psalms 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psalms 119:49 Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:38

Here is 1. The character of a good man, which is the work of God's grace in him; he is God's servant, subject to his law and employed in his work, that is, devoted to his fear, given up to his direction and disposal, and taken up with high thoughts of him and all those acts of devotion which have a tendency to his glory. Those are truly God's servants who, though they have their infirmities and defects, are sincerely devoted to the fear of God and have all their affections and motions governed by that fear; they are engaged and addicted to religion. 2. The confidence that a good man has towards God, in dependence upon the word of his grace to him. Those that are God's servants may, in faith…

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John Gill on Psalms 119:38

Stablish thy word unto thy servant,.... Either God's word of promise, which never fails, is firm and stable in Christ; and the sense is, that God would assure him of the fulfilment of it, and give him a strong faith and firm belief of it; for otherwise the word of the Lord cannot be surer or more stable than it is: or else the word of his grace; and then the sense is, that he might be established in it, and the truths of it, and be established by it; for the word is a means of establishment, and a good thing it is to have the heart established with grace, with the doctrine of grace, Hebrews 13:9; who is devoted to thy fear; who served the Lord with reverence and godly fear; who feared the L…

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John Calvin on Psalms 119:33-40

Psalm 119:33-40 h 33. Teach me, O Jehovah! the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it unto the end. h 34. Make me to understand, and I will observe thy law; and keep it with my whole heart. h 35. Direct me in the way of thy statutes; for in it does my heart take pleasure. h 36. Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not unto covetousness. h 37. Turn away mine eyes from seeing vanity; in thy way quicken me. h 38. Confirm thy word to thy servant, who .is devoted to thy ear. h 39. Remove from me the reproach of which I am afraid: for thy judgments are good. h 40. Lo! I have a desire to thy commandments: quicken me in thy righteousness. 33. Teach me, O Jehovah/the way of thy statutes. He ag…

The Church Fathers

"O establish Your word in Your servant, that I may fear You" [Psalm 119:38]. And what else is this than, Grant unto me that I may do according to what You say? For the word of God is not established in those who remove it in themselves by acting contrary to it; but it is established in those in whom it is immoveable. God therefore establishes His word, that they may fear Him, in those unto whom He gives the spirit of the fear of Him; not that fear of which the Apostle says, "You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;" [Romans 8:15] for "perfect love casts out" this "fear," [1 John 4:18] but that fear which the Prophet calls "the spirit of the fear of the Lord;" [Isaiah 11:2] that fear which "is pure, and endures for ever;" that fear which fears to offend Him whom it loves.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Judgments of God — (1.) The secret decisions of God’s will (Ps. 110:5; 36:6). (2.) The revelations of his will (Ex. 21:1; Deut. 6:20; Ps. 119:7-175). (3.) The infliction of punishment on the wicked (Ex. 6:6; 12:12;…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Dedication · Illustrated of devotedness to God — Illustrated of devotedness to God

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 119:38

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:38

John Gill on Psalms 119:38

John Calvin on Psalms 119:33-40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 119:38

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:38

John Gill on Psalms 119:38

John Calvin on Psalms 119:33-40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:33-40

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 119:36