155Salvation is far from the wicked,
         For they do not seek Your statutes.

156Great are Your mercies, O LORD;
         Revive me according to Your ordinances.

157Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
         Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies.

158I behold the treacherous and loathe them,
         Because they do not keep Your word.

159Consider how I love Your precepts;
         Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.

160The sum of Your word is truth,
         And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.

Shin.

161Princes persecute me without cause,
         But my heart stands in awe of Your words.

162I rejoice at Your word,
         As one who finds great spoil.

163I hate and despise falsehood,
         But I love Your law.

164Seven times a day I praise You,
         Because of Your righteous ordinances.

165Those who love Your law have great peace,
         And nothing causes them to stumble.

166I hope for Your salvation, O LORD,
         And do Your commandments.

167My soul keeps Your testimonies,
         And I love them exceedingly.

168I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
         For all my ways are before You.

Tav.

169Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
         Give me understanding according to Your word.

170Let my supplication come before You;
         Deliver me according to Your word.

171Let my lips utter praise,
         For You teach me Your statutes.

172Let my tongue sing of Your word,
         For all Your commandments are righteousness.

173Let Your hand be ready to help me,
         For I have chosen Your precepts.

174I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
         And Your law is my delight.

175Let my soul live that it may praise You,
         And let Your ordinances help me.

176I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
         For I do not forget Your commandments.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Plead my case for me, and save me. Give me a new life as you promised.

King James Bible
Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Judge my judgment and redeem me: quicken thou me for thy word's sake.

Darby Bible Translation
Plead my cause, and redeem me: quicken me according to thy ùword.

English Revised Version
Plead thou my cause, and redeem me: quicken me according to thy word.

Webster's Bible Translation
Plead my cause, and deliver me: revive me according to thy word.

World English Bible
Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise.

Young's Literal Translation
Plead my plea, and redeem me, According to Thy saying quicken me.

Cross References

1 Samuel 24:15 "The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand."

Psalm 35:1 A Psalm of David. Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me.

Psalm 119:134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts.

Psalm 119:169 Let my cry come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word.

Micah 7:9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 153-154

Here, I. David prays for succour in distress. Is any afflicted? let him pray; let him pray as David does here. 1. He has an eye to God's pity, and prays, "Consider my affliction; take it into thy thoughts, and all the circumstances of it, and sit not by as one unconcerned." God is never unmindful of his people's afflictions, but he will have us to put him in remembrance (Isa. 43:26), to spread our case before him, and then leave it to his compassionate consideration to do in it as in his wisdom he shall think fit, in his own time and way. 2. He has an eye to God's power and prays, Deliver me; and again, "Deliver me; consider my troubles and bring me out of them." God has promised deliverance (Ps. 50:15) and we may pray for it, with submission to his will and with regard to his glory, that we may serve him the better. 3. He has an eye to God's righteousness, and prays, "Plead my cause; be thou my patron and advocate, and take me for thy client." David had a just cause, but his adversaries were many and mighty, and he was in danger of being run down by them; he therefore begs of God to clear his integrity and silence their false accusations. If God do not plead his people's cause, who will? He is righteous, and they commit themselves to him, and therefore he will do it, and do it effectually, Isa. 51:22; Jer. 50:34. (4.) He has an eye to God's grace, and prays, "Quicken me. Lord, I am weak, and unable to bear my troubles; my spirit is apt to droop and sink. O that thou wouldst revive and comfort me, till the deliverance is wrought!"

II. He pleads his dependence upon the word oaf God and his obedient regard to its directions: Quicken and deliver me according to thy word of promise, for I do not forget thy precepts. The more closely we cleave to the word of God, both as our rule and as our stay, the more assurance we may have of deliverance in due time.

Calvin's Commentary

153. r Behold my affliction, and rescue me: for I have not forgotten thy law. 154. r Debate my cause, and redeem me: quicken thy according to thy word. 155. r Safety is far from the wicked; because they have not sought thy statutes. 156. r O Jehovah! Thy tender mercies are many: quicken me according to thy judgments. 157. r My persecutors and oppressors are many: [27] I have not swerved from thy testimonies. 158. r I saw the perfidious, and chid them; because they have not kept thy word. 159. r Behold O Jehovah! how have loved thy commandments: quicken me according to thy loving kindness. 160. r The beginning [literally, the head [28] ] of thy word is truth; and all the judgment of thy righteousness is everlasting.

153. Behold my affliction and rescue me. The Psalmist teaches by his own example that those who are devoted to the service and fear of God, must not be discouraged though they are not rewarded for it in this world. Their condition upon earth is one of warfare, and therefore they should not be dismayed by diversity, but rather rest satisfied with the consolatory consideration, that the gate of prayer is open to them. Yet the Prophet does not boast of his, endeavors to keep the law, as if he would have God to pay him wages for his service, but only to show that he was one of God's servants, just as he has spoken of his hope that he was so in other places. This reason, for I have not forgotten thy law, on account of which he beseeches God to consider his affliction and to rescue him, is peculiarly forcible in the present case; for it is an evidence of no ordinary courage when, instead of being led away from the fear of God by adversity, we wrestle against temptations and seek him even when he seems purposely to drive us away from him.

154. Debate thy cause, and redeem me. In this verse David specifics the kind of his affliction, which was the wrongful and harassing treatment which he met with at the hands of evil and unprincipled men. The reading literally is, Plead my cause, which is the same thing as to undertake a cause, or to take the charge of defending one in judgment, or to maintain the right of the oppressed. In the first place the Prophet in invoking God to defend his cause, shows that he is wrongfully oppressed, either by violence, calumnies, or crafty policies; and in seeking to be redeemed, he intimates that he was unable to make any resistance, or that he was so entangled in their snares, as to have no remaining hope except in the deliverance of God. In the second clause the letter l, lamed, seems to be taken for the letter k, caph, the mark of similitude, [29] as would appear from his having used a little before (Psalm 119:149) a similar form of prayer. Again, as David here complains that he is held as it were in fetters by his enemies, unless he is delivered by the hand of his Redeemer, he with good reason beseeches God to restore him to life; for he who is rims abased is like a person dead. It is also aptly added according to thy word; for it is from the promises which God makes in his word of becoming our deliverer that the hope of life shines upon us. Whence the Prophet, when earnestly desiring to be brought from darkness to light, sustains and encourages himself by the word. If a different sense is preferred, then David is not to be understood as simply asking that life may be given him, but as praying for spiritual life, that he may be encouraged to exercise faith, to cultivate the fear of God, and to cherish the desire of living a holy life.

155 Safety is far from the wicked. Fully persuaded that the world is governed by the secret providence of God, who is a just judge, the Prophet draws from that source the doctrine, That the wicked are far removed from safety, and safety from them. Hence proceeds the confidence of prayer; for as God is turned away from the despisers of his word, so he is ready to succor his servants. It is to be noticed, that when the Prophet saw that his enemies were elated by their prosperity, he on the contrary lifted up his heart by faith that thus he might come to the settled persuasion that all their delights were cursed and tended to destruction. Whenever then the wicked prosper in the world according to their wishes, so that being pampered to the full they exult in their own fatness, let us learn, in order to defend ourselves, to lay hold upon this buckler which the Holy Spirit is holding out to us, namely, that they shall at length miserably perish, because they seek not the commandments of God. From this we draw a contrary doctrine, That although genuine believers, whilst they walk sincerely in the fear of God may be as sheep appointed to the slaughter, yet their salvation, which is under the special care and protection of God's secret providence, is just at hand. In this sense the Prophet adds in the following verse,

156. O Jehovah,! thy tender mercies are many; as if he had said that no offenders are safe but those who betake themselves to the divine mercy. Farther, to encourage himself to approach God with the greater confidence, he not only says that God is merciful, but he mightily magnifies and extols his compassion's. From this we gather that he was so contented with them, as not to seek any aid from his own merits. It is however at the same time to be noted, that the Prophet was far from being lightly troubled with many temptations, seeing he was forced to oppose to them this vast abundance of mercy. It makes little difference whether we read great or many The prayer which follows, Quicken me according to thy judgments, I explain as referring to the promises. The original word for judgment is by some translated manner or custom; but I have already shown above that such a translation is less suitable than the other. The Prophet then again confirms the truth, That life cannot be hoped for or asked from God, unless hope is produced by his word; and he often repeats this truth, because it is one of which we are marvelously forgetful. But that we may boldly appropriate to ourselves all the grace which God promises to his servants, let the doctrine of the great and manifold tender mercies of God be ever present to our thoughts. If we imagine that God makes his promises because he is bound to do it, or because we have deserved it, doubting or mistrust will steal upon our minds, which will shut the gate against our prayers. But if we are thoroughly persuaded that the sole cause by which God is moved to promise us salvation is the mercy inherent in his own nature, we will approach him without hesitation or doubt, because he has bound himself to us of his own accord.

157. My persecutors and oppressors are many. The Psalmist here as in other places testifies, that although he had been provoked by many injuries, yet he had not departed from the right way; which, as I have elsewhere observed, was an evidence of great and singular constancy. It is an easy matter to act well when we are among the good; but if wicked men afflict us, if one man openly assault us by force, if another rob us of our property, if a third circumvent us by wiles, and a fourth attack us by calumnies, it is difficult for us to persevere in our integrity, and we rather begin to howl among the wolves. Besides, the license which is allowed them of doing what they please without the fear of being punished, is a powerful engine for shaking our faith, because, when God thus winks at the wicked, he seems to abandon us for a prey. The Prophet therefore, by God's testimonies, means not only the rule of holy and righteous living, but also the promises. Lord, as if he had said, I have not turned away from the path of integrity, although the conduct of the wicked has presented me with a temptation to do so; nor have I shaken off nay confidence in thy grace, but have waited patiently for thy succor. Both these are necessary. For although he who has suffered wrongs may contend against the malice of his enemies by his well -- doing, and may refrain from every act of retaliation, yet, provided he does not depend wholly upon God, this uprightness will not be sufficient to save him. Not that any man behaves himself in a manner so moderate, except he who leans upon God and waits upon him as his deliverer; but granting that such could be the ease, there would not be sufficient power in this half virtue to save him. The salvation of God is reserved for the faithful who ask it in the exercise of lively faith. And whoever, persuaded that God will be his deliverer, pillars and supports his mind on the divine promises, will endeavor also to overcome evil with good.

158. I saw the perfidious and child them. In this verse the Psalmist proceeds yet farther, declaring that he was inflamed with a holy zeal when he saw the law of God despised by the wicked. Expositors are not however agreed as to one word in the text, namely the verb 'tqvtth, ethkotatah, which we have rendered chid, some deriving it from qvt, kut, which often signifies to debate or contend with, it being in the conjugation hithpael, while others derive it from qtt karat, which signifies to kill or to destroy. I adopt the former interpretation, because it is more generally received among the learned, and is most appropriate. The Prophet then teaches that he was inflamed with such zeal for the law of God that he could no longer endure the impious mockery directed against it. The verb debate may however be understood as well of the vexation or anger which he felt in himself, as of the rebuke which he openly administered to the despisers of God; and therefore some translate it, I shuddered, or I was grieved [30] Nor assuredly will any person enter into debate with others for maintaining the glory of God, but he who is first chafed within himself, and has been grieved at heart; even as on the other hand, after this holy indignation there almost always follows transitive action; that is to say, it passes from the thought to the effect. [31] In short, we are admonished by the example of the Prophet, that we ought to feel such displeasure at the contempt of God's word as that our heart grows hot even to chiding. In the first place, then, let grief affect us inwardly; and next, whenever opportunity shall present itself, let; us strenuously endeavor to repress the forwardness and pride of the wicked, and let us not hesitate to do so from the fear of provoking their resentment against us.

159. Behold, O Jehovah how I have loved thy commandments. What I have state before must be remembered -- that when the saints speak of their own piety before God they are not chargeable with obtruding their own merits as the ground of their confidence; but they regard this as, a settled principle, that God, who distinguishes his servants from the profane and wicked, will be merciful to them because they seek him with their whole heart. Besides, an unfeigned love of God's law is an undoubted evidence of adoption, since this love is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Prophet, therefore, although he arrogates nothing to himself, very properly adduces his own piety for the purpose, of encouraging himself to entertain the more assured hope of obtaining his request, through the grace of God which he had experienced. At the same time we are taught that there can be no true keeping of the law but what springs from free and spontaneous love. God demands voluntary sacrifices, and the commencement of a good life is to love him, as Moses declares, (Deuteronomy 10:12,)

"And now, O Israel! what doth the Lord require of thee, but to love him."

The same thing is also repeated in the summary of the law: (Deuteronomy 6:5,) "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God." For this reason David has previously stated, that the law of God was not only precious but also delightful to him. Now as in keeping the law it behoves us to begin with voluntary obedience, so that nothing may delight us more than the righteousness of God, so on the other hand, it must not be forgotten that a sense of the free goodness of God and of his fatherly love is indispensably necessary in order to our hearts being beheld to this affection. So far are the bare commandment's from winning men to obey them, that they rather frighten them away. Hence it is evident, that it is only when a man shall have tasted the goodness of God from the teaching of the law, that he will apply his heart to love it in return. The frequency with which the Prophet repeats the prayer, that God would quicken him, teaches us that he knew well the frailty of his own life, so that in his estimation men live only in so far as God every moment breathes life into them. Besides, it is probable that he had been continually besieged by many deaths, to the end he might the more earnestly betake himself to the fountain of life. He again rests his faith upon the goodness of God as its foundation -- quicken me according to thy loving-kindness -- from which we perceive how far he was from boasting of his own merits when he protested in the preceding sentence that he loved God's law.

160. The beginning of thy word is truth. The design of the Prophet it is not difficult to perceive; but the words admit of being understood in two ways. Some interpret the noun beginning as denoting that the truth of God shines forth conspicuously in his word, immediately when we enter for the first time upon the study of it, so that this entrance may justly be called the beginning of the word. This sentence contains the profitable doctrine, that if we are finished with eyes of understanding, we will no sooner cast our eyes upon heavenly doctrine than the truth of it will meet our view. Others, however, give a different explanation, and perhaps with no less propriety, eliciting this sense, That the word of God has been from the beginning certain and infallible truth, and will continue so even to the end. These two clauses hang very well together -- that God has been true to his word from the beginning, and that he will continue to be so everlastingly and immutably. The interpretation which refers the word judgment to the works of God and not to his doctrine, I would not altogether condemn, yet it is not in harmony with the context. Let us then retain this sense, That from the time when God began to speak he has always been faithful to his promises, and has never disappointed the hope of his people; and that the course of this faithfulness has been so uniform, that from the beginning even to the end his word is true and faithful.

Footnotes:

[27] "Ou, forts robustes " -- Fr. "Or, very strong."

[28] The word in the Hebrew text is r's, rash. Dr. Adam Clarke suggests an explanation, which is at least ingenious. The first word in the book of Genesis is vr'syt, bereshith, "in the beginning;" which is derived from r's, rash, or raash. He therefore asks whether David in here calling the r's of God's word truth, may not refer to vr'syt, the first word in the book of Genesis? If so, the meaning is, Every word thou hast spoken from vr'syt, the first in Genesis, to the end of the law and the prophets, and all that thou wilt yet speak, are true and shall have in due time their fulfillment.

[29] "La letre k, qui signifie Sclon." -- Fr. "The letter k, which signifies According to.'"

[30] "Invasit me horror." -- Piscator.

[31] "C'est a dire, on vient de la pensee a l'effect." -- Fr.

Links

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 25: 1879

The Obedience of Faith
"Is there a heart that will not bend To thy divine control? Descend, O sovereign love, descend, And melt that stubborn soul! " Surely, though we have had to mourn our disobedience with many tears and sighs, we now find joy in yielding ourselves as servants of the Lord: our deepest desire is to do the Lord's will in all things. Oh, for obedience! It has been supposed by many ill-instructed people that the doctrine of justification by faith is opposed to the teaching of good works, or obedience. There …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Faith
HABAKKUK, ii. 4. "The just shall live by faith." This is those texts of which there are so many in the Bible, which, though they were spoken originally to one particular man, yet are meant for every man. These words were spoken to Habakkuk, a Jewish prophet, to check him for his impatience under God's hand; but they are just as true for every man that ever was and ever will be as they were for him. They are world-wide and world-old; they are the law by which all goodness, and strength, and safety, …
Charles Kingsley—Twenty-Five Village Sermons

What the Truth Saith Inwardly Without Noise of Words
Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.(1) I am Thy servant; O give me understanding that I may know Thy testimonies. Incline my heart unto the words of Thy mouth.(2) Let thy speech distil as the dew. The children of Israel spake in old time to Moses, Speak thou unto us and we will hear, but let not the Lord speak unto us lest we die.(3) Not thus, O Lord, not thus do I pray, but rather with Samuel the prophet, I beseech Thee humbly and earnestly, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Let not Moses …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

That the Body and Blood of Christ and the Holy Scriptures are Most Necessary to a Faithful Soul
The Voice of the Disciple O most sweet Lord Jesus, how great is the blessedness of the devout soul that feedeth with Thee in Thy banquet, where there is set before it no other food than Thyself its only Beloved, more to be desired than all the desires of the heart? And to me it would verily be sweet to pour forth my tears in Thy presence from the very bottom of my heart, and with the pious Magdalene to water Thy feet with my tears. But where is this devotion? Where the abundant flowing of holy …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ