Remove from me the way of falsehood, and graciously grant me thy law.
The prayer comes from a worn-out man, and it has two halves: take one road away from me, and give me another. He asks God for both — which raises a question: why must a man who already knows the law ask for it again, and ask for it as a kindness?
The prayer rises out of a sense of weakness. One writer traces the link: strength must come from somewhere, and every other source is what older translations call "the way of lying."
Where will he find strength but in the Word of God? Anything contrary to this is "the way of lying," and we might all well pray to have this removed from us (v. 29), and that God would graciously give us His law. So, in contrast to "the way of lying," it is "the way of truth" the psalmist has chosen.
The verse is the third step in a chain that runs through this section. Each step is a different act of the heart.
Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth.
Refusing comes before choosing.
Notice who does the removing. He does not promise to drop the lie; he asks God to take it from him. One writer connects this to the sense of his own frailty, and treats the false way as a route we map out ourselves.
We dull the prospect by unbelief, and we shut ourselves out of it by choosing our own path. This is because we will it so, not because God does… Feeling his own frailty, he also asks to have the way of falsehood removed from him. And he asks that God would graciously grant him His authoritative law — in keeping with the character of the whole psalm.
The way of lying is not only the deceit of other people. One writer turns it inward. He looks at the gap between what we say about our spiritual life and how we live.
Of course, I can refuse the truth about myself! But that is a form of dishonesty before the Lord, as well as before others. Have you never felt like a hypocrite, talking to others about your spiritual experience on a day when you had been unfaithful to the Lord? We can hide our own spiritual poverty from others, but why try to hide it from Him?
Another writer describes how this happens. Breaking a person's will brings the heart up against the word.
Breaking the will brings what is in the heart into direct contact with the word. Self is judged in the forms it takes within the heart — what flesh is in its ways, however deceitful. So the heart gets to learn, freed from self.
The second half of the verse puts two words side by side that normally pull against each other. The psalmist wants the law — but he wants it handed to him as a kindness. Older translations read this line as "grant me Your law graciously."
The Psalmist appeals to the law. But we know that the law can only condemn me and make me see even more my own wretchedness. But no, it is grace we need: "…and grant me Your law graciously." It may seem strange to find these two joined here: law–grace! The literal Hebrew reads: "and favour me with Your law." If the Lord favoured His people by giving them a written revelation of Himself in the law, how much more has He favoured us in Christ! He has shown us God's wonderful grace: forgiveness of all our transgressions, and grace to do His will!
Answered prayer here does not end in bare duty. Hamilton Smith describes what follows once the man refuses the false way and chooses the true one. His heaviness gives way to freedom.
This definite choice of the way of truth brings confidence. So the soul asks the Lord that he may not be put to shame. And now that he is "enlarged," or "set free," from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.
- Heaviness — The prayer rises out of weakness. Anything other than God's word as a source of strength is itself the way of lying.
- Refusal — He refuses man's way before he chooses God's way, and he asks God to clear the false road first.
- Honesty — The lie to be removed includes the one we tell about ourselves. We can hide our spiritual poverty from people, but why hide it from Him?
- Favour — "Graciously" reads literally as "favour me with Your law." He does not demand the law; he asks for it as a gift.
- Freedom — Set free from heaviness, he runs the way of God's commandments with new energy.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; thy judgments have I set [before me].
Verses 25 to 32 of Psalm 119 open with a man downcast and surrounded by lies, and then, at verse 30, something turns. He makes a choice, called "the way of truth" in the older wording the comments below follow.
Verse 30 does not stand alone. It is the last step in a sequence that runs through the whole section. Each step makes the next one possible.
Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. This definite choice of the way of truth brings confidence. Out of that confidence the soul asks the Lord not to let him be put to shame.
The order matters. A man owns his own way before he can choose God's.
The man who made this choice was downcast, and false ways surrounded him. That is what gives it weight.
The false way, in the middle of which he lived, he would have kept far away from his heart. Because of this he was downcast. But it is better to be downcast because of evil than to walk merrily in it. More energetic faith might lift him up. Still, the sense of evil and of dependence is good. It was deliberate. He knew all this, but he had chosen the way of truth. "Lord, to whom shall we go?"
That is what "deliberate" means here. He knew what he was living in, and chose the way of truth anyway.
The ESV calls this "the way of faithfulness." Holding to it counts most while the trouble is still there.
This integrity in the time of trouble, when there is no joy of God's deliverance, is very important — to be able to say, "When my spirit was in heaviness, You knew my path." Still there is confidence about the result, so the soul clings to God's ways. The heart counts on His faithfulness and is sure that, if He leads it in a faithful walk, it will soon tell of His wonderful works.
The heaviness of the previous verses does not lift by itself. Someone has to decide.
It is up to us now! There must be a choice! God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves! We can stay in our depression and keep on sulking and murmuring and get more and more depressed. But we need not. "I have chosen the way of truth …" is his decision! Spiritual advance and growth is not automatic! It demands our co-operation, an action of our will.
The second half of the verse says where God's word belongs.
Here is the conviction that God's word will govern our lives: "Your judgments I have laid before me." Psalm 16:8 shows the same determination: "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Have you made that decision yet?
A choice that only lasts an evening is worth nothing. The strength of verse 30 is that it holds, and that is what allows the confident plea of the verses around it.
He can speak of having chosen the way of truth, and of setting God's judgments before him. And this was no passing resolve: he clings to His testimonies. So he can plead with confidence not to be put to shame. In truth it is impossible for one who does this that he ever should be. So the soul assures itself, gathers up its strength, and looks at the way opening up before it. Yet at the same time it is fully convinced how weak all human powers are when it comes to grasping what is divine, and that it depends on God entirely in all things: "I will run in the way of Your commandments when You enlarge my heart."
So the confidence never turns into self-confidence. The choice is ours; the strength is His.
- Confess — the choice in verse 30 is the last of four steps: confession (v. 26), teaching (v. 27), refusal (v. 29), choice (v. 30).
- Choose — it is a decision of the will, not a mood that arrives. Growth is not automatic; it asks for your co-operation.
- Eyes open — he chose while downcast, with false ways all around him. He knew all this, and chose anyway.
- Set it before you — the second half makes the first half practical. God's word goes in front of your eyes and governs your life.
- Keep it — not a passing resolve but a clinging. That is what lets the soul plead never to be put to shame.
I cleave unto thy testimonies; Jehovah, let me not be ashamed.
In Psalm 119 the psalmist has just chosen the way of truth, and he is about to speak of running the way of God's commandments. Here, in between, he holds on — and he asks not to be put to shame, which raises two questions: what shame does he fear, and what makes him sure it will not fall on him?
Clinging is not where this part of the psalm starts. One writer traces the steps that lead up to it.
Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. In the confidence that springs from this definite choice of the way of truth, the soul pleads with the Lord that he may not be put to shame. Also, now "enlarged," or "set free" from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.
Someone can make a choice and forget it. Here the choice has hardened into a hold that does not let go, and that is why the psalmist can plead as he does.
He can speak of having chosen the way of truth and of setting God's judgments before him. And not in a passing resolve, but clinging to His testimonies. So he can plead, with confidence, not to be put to shame. In truth, that can never happen to anyone who does this. So the soul assures itself. It gathers up its strength and looks at the way opening up before it. At the same time it is fully convinced that all human powers are too weak to grasp what is divine. So it depends on God entirely in all things.
So what shame does he fear? One writer rules out the obvious answer, the sneering of enemies, and points to God's own judgment instead.
He had chosen the way of truth. "Lord, to whom shall we go?" How simple the path is then! The soul had been steadfast, and another thing went with this. The heart sees that its joys and sorrows are in the hand of God. If it were put to shame, that would be His doing. And He could not put us to shame for keeping His own testimonies. "Put to shame" here does not mean bearing shame from man's mocking. It means being disgraced as someone who comes under judgment.
The prayer is not a report on the strength of the psalmist's hands. Another writer puts the weight on the Lord, not on the one holding on.
So, in clinging to God's testimonies, the heart of the believer may depend on the Lord that he is not put to shame. Running in the way of God's commandments takes energy that is fully decided. It leaves no room for other pursuits, because it depends on God to enlarge the heart (v. 32).
The plea also rests on what the word "testimonies" means.
"Testimonies" have to do with fact and truth. God's facts will assert themselves as facts, and His truth will show itself at last, beyond all argument. Then, at least, reproach and contempt will leave those who have tied themselves to what will one day be seen in its true character.
One writer looks ahead to the day when the Lord appears, and points back to this verse to describe those who held on until then.
The brightness of His appearing has cleared away the foul mists of wickedness and stilled the helpless raging of the godless nations. In this way it confirms the sure testimonies of the Spirit of truth — the testimonies that the faint and weary souls of His afflicted people had held on to through the long night of darkness and rebuke (Ps. 119:31).
- Choose first. The clinging of verse 31 follows a settled decision. He confessed his own way, learned God's way, refused man's way, and chose the way of truth.
- Then hold on. This is not a passing resolve but a grip that stays. The same soul knows how weak human strength is, so it leans on God for everything.
- Then ask. The shame he fears is not man's mocking but God's judgment. And God will not bring that on someone for holding His own testimonies.
- Then wait. God's testimonies are His facts. His truth will show itself at last, and reproach will fall away from everyone who tied their name to it.
- Then run. Clinging is not the finish. The heart set free from heaviness runs the way of His commandments — and even that enlarging is God's to give.
I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
This verse closes a section that began with a soul lying in the dust. It ends with a runner. What changed, and who changed it?
The verses just before this one trace a movement, and the running is its last step. One commentator traces those steps and reads the enlarging as a release.
Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. In the confidence that springs from this definite choice of the way of truth, the soul begs the Lord that he may not be put to shame. And being "enlarged," or "set free" from heaviness, he desires with renewed energy to run the way of the Lord's commandments.
The word behind "enlarge" is a word about space. It measures buildings, and Scripture also uses it of a person.
"Breadth" comes from a root meaning "spacious," "roomy." The word appears again and again for the dimensions of the tabernacle and the temple, both in Solomon's day and in the future building described in Ezekiel. It also has a figurative use we know well. So Solomon had great largeness (breadth) of heart (1 Kings 4:29).
The older English "when You shall enlarge" can sound like a deal being struck. Commentators differ over the connecting word. One writer prefers a translation that leaves no room for bargaining.
The Authorised Version here makes us think that the Psalmist is "striking a bargain" with the Lord: "I will … when You …". But a better rendering is: "I will run the way of Your commands, for You shall enlarge my heart". Here we have the Lord's enabling! Everything depends on Him strengthening us! How dependent we are on Him for our daily walk. What a wonderful change has taken place in his soul since verse 25, where we saw him clinging to the dust, so terribly earthbound. But now he is soaring! He is able to run, because his heart has been enlarged — given increased capacity.
Another writer sets confidence and weakness side by side.
So the soul assures itself. It gathers up its strength and looks at the way opening up before it. Yet at the same time it is fully convinced that all human faculties are feeble for grasping divine things — and so that it depends entirely on God in all things.
Obedience can stall. One writer blames the size of the heart, not the commands, and points to a church that made no progress for this reason.
His meditation on the word of God revived his soul. It made him eager not only to walk in God's way, but to run in it. Many who want to run stumble and fail, and seem to lack the spiritual power and energy they need. The Psalmist had discovered the secret of this zeal and energy. "I will run," he says, "when You have enlarged my heart." No one can run in the way of God's commandments if his heart is narrowed and his spiritual affections cramped. The Christians at Corinth made a sad mess of their testimony. They made no progress in the heavenly race, because worldliness and party strife hemmed them in. They had only a feeble grasp of the fullness of the love with which God loved them. They saw little of the breadth and greatness of His interests on earth.
So where does a heart get wider? Not among people, and not by owning more.
We are not likely to get enlarged in the presence of men. It is not what people see in one another, nor what they see in this grasping world, that will enlarge the heart. Whatever a man may own of this world, he is always grasping after more. He is never satisfied. It is only in the presence of God, only as we are occupied with His love, that we become enlarged.
The enlarged heart runs with eagerness and freedom. One writer links that to knowing who your deliverer is.
People are not delivered, there is no motive outside of self, no liberty. What a wonderful thing it is when I can say, "This is my deliverer, who took me out of the quagmire." Then I can take up the words of the Psalmist: "I will run in the way of Your commandments when You enlarge my heart." Look at the eagerness of his heart, the liberty, the freedom he is enjoying!
- Cause — This verse ends a section that started with a soul in the dust. Confession, teaching and a settled choice of God's way come before any running.
- Word — "Enlarge" means spacious and roomy. The same word measures the tabernacle, and it describes Solomon's large heart.
- Gift — The enlarging is God's work, not a bargain. Everything depends on His strengthening.
- Reach — A narrow heart cannot run. Worldliness and party strife cramped the Corinthians, and they made no progress.
- Result — Hearts widen in God's presence, taken up with His love. Then the heart runs His way with freedom.