Psalms 94:18

When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	אָ֭מַרְתִּי 'A.mar.ti	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
foot	רַגְלִ֑י rag.Li	H7272	a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
slippeth	מָ֣טָה Ma.tah	H4131	to waver · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
mercy	חַסְדְּךָ֥ chas.de.Kha	H2617	kindness · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
LORD	יְ֝הוָ֗ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
up	יִסְעָדֵֽנִי yis.'a.De.ni	H5582	to suport (mostly figurative) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix

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

Psalms 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee…
Psalms 119:116-117 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
Psalms 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Psalms 38:16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
Psalms 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 94:12–end

The psalmist, having denounced tribulation to those that trouble God's people, here assures those that are troubled of rest. See Th2 1:6, Th2 1:7. He speaks comfort to suffering saints from God's promises and his own experience. I. From God's promises, which are such as not only save them from being miserable, but secure a happiness to them (Psa 94:12): Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest. Here he looks above the instruments of trouble, and eyes the hand of God, which gives it another name and puts quite another color upon it. The enemies break in pieces God's people (Psa 94:5); they aim at no less; but the truth of the matter is that God by them chastens his people, as the father the so…

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John Gill on Psalms 94:18

When I said, my foot slippeth,.... There is no ground for me to stand upon; all is over with me; there is no hope nor help for me; I am just falling into ruin and destruction: such will be the desperate case of the church, at the time before referred to: thy mercy, O Lord, held me up; the extremity of his people is the Lord's opportunity; then is his set time to arise, and have mercy on them; then mercy steps in, lays a solid ground and foundation for hope, and holds up in its arms a sinking people, and revives a dying cause.

John Calvin on Psalms 94:16-19

Psalm 94:16-19 16. Who will rise up for me against my adversaries? who will stand up for me [32] against the workers of iniquity? 17. Unless Jehovah had been my help, my soul had well nigh dwelt in silence. [33] 18. If I said, My foot has fallen, thy kindness, O Jehovah! has held me up. [34] 19. In the multitude of my thoughts, [35] thy comforts within me delight my soul. [36] 16. Who will rise up for me against my adversaries? Here the Psalmist points out, in a lively and graphic manner, how destitute he was of all human aid. As if at the moment in danger, he cries out -- Who will stand up for me? Who will oppose himself to my enemies? And immediately afterwards he replies, that had not G…

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The Church Fathers

"If I said, My foot has slipped." Considering my frailty and human weakness, I did not think my foot stood on firm footing: wherever I set my foot, I feared a fall. Again I thought of your name, and I stood with firm foot.
— Jerome, Homily 22, on Psalm 93

"If I said, My foot has slipped: your mercy, O Lord, was helping me." The confession of weakness quickly earns God's help, and by however much pride gives offense, by that much is he appeased by humility. "If I said, My foot has slipped": if I confess my sins, if I say that my foot has stood on slippery ground, if I do not trust in my own strength, if I acknowledge that I am not, though fallen, strong, at once "your mercy helps me."
— Jerome, Homily 71, on Psalm 93 (Alternate Series)

However, do not think that you will always or immediately be strong, nor completely despair. That alternation of weakness and strength in the hands of God's servant Moses might have been your alternation. Sometimes you falter in temptations, but you do not succumb. He would drop his hands for a little while, but he did not fall completely. "If I said: My foot slipped; Your mercy, O Lord, supported me." Therefore, do not fear: a helper is present on the journey, the one who was not absent in Egypt as a liberator. Do not fear, undertake the way, proceed confidently. Sometimes he lowered his hands, sometimes he raised them; yet Amalek was defeated. He could rebel, yet he could not overcome.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 352:6

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

Blessing · SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD — SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD
Feet, The · Illustrative: (Sliding,) of yielding to temptation — Illustrative: (Sliding,) of yielding to temptation
Grace Of God · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

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 94:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 94:12–end

John Gill on Psalms 94:18

John Calvin on Psalms 94:16-19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 94:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 94:12–end

John Gill on Psalms 94:18

John Calvin on Psalms 94:16-19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 94:16-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 94:18-19

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 94:18