Psalms 119

1How blessed are those whose way of life is without fault, who walk by the instruction of the LORD! 2How blessed are those who hold fast to his decrees and seek him with their whole heart. 3They do nothing crooked; they keep to the ways he has shown. 4You have laid down your precepts to be kept with all care. 5If only my life were set firmly on keeping your statutes! 6Then I will not be put to shame, as I keep my eyes on all your commands. 7With an honest heart I will give you thanks, as I come to learn your righteous rulings. 8I will hold to your statutes; do not leave me wholly alone. 9How can the young keep their way of life clean? By taking care to live as your word directs. 10I have searched for you with all my heart; do not let me drift away from your commands. 11Deep in my heart I have kept your word safe, so that I will not sin against you. 12All praise to you, LORD! Teach me your statutes. 13Aloud I tell over every ruling you have spoken. 14Following your decrees gives me as much joy as all the riches in the world. 15I will think deeply about your precepts and keep my eyes on your ways. 16Your statutes are my joy; I will not let your word slip from my mind. 17Treat your servant with kindness, and I will live and hold to your word. 18Take the veil from my eyes, so that I may see the wonders in your instruction. 19I am only a foreigner living on the earth; do not keep your commands hidden from me. 20I am worn thin by longing for your rulings, every hour. 21You rebuke the proud, the people under a curse who wander away from your commands. 22Lift insult and contempt off me, for I have held to your decrees. 23Even when men in power sit and talk against me, your servant keeps thinking about your statutes. 24Yes, I delight in your decrees; they are the advisers I listen to. 25I lie pressed down in the dust; give me life, as your word has said. 26I laid my life out before you, and you gave me an answer; teach me your statutes. 27Help me grasp the path your precepts mark out, and I will ponder your wonderful deeds. 28I am melting away in sorrow; lift me up as your word has said. 29Keep me far from every false path, and be gracious to me by giving me your instruction. 30The path of faithfulness is the one I have chosen; I have set your rulings in front of me. 31I have held tight to your decrees, LORD; let me not be disgraced. 32I will run along the path of your commands, for you open my heart wide. 33Show me, LORD, the path of your statutes, and I will hold to it to the very end. 34Make me understand, and I will guard your instruction and keep it wholeheartedly. 35Guide me along the track of your commands, for that is where my delight is. 36Bend my heart toward your decrees, not toward greedy profit. 37Turn my eyes from gazing at empty things; keep me alive as I walk in your ways. 38Make good your promise to your servant, so that you will be feared. 39Turn aside the scorn I fear so much, for your rulings are good. 40See how I long for your precepts! Keep me alive in your righteousness. 41Let your loyal love reach me, LORD, and your rescue, as your promise assured me. 42Then I will have a reply for the one who mocks me, because I rely on your word. 43Do not take the word of truth wholly from my mouth, for I have waited in hope for your rulings. 44I will keep your instruction always, for all time to come. 45I will walk where there is room and freedom, because I have searched for your precepts. 46I will talk about your decrees in front of kings and not be put to shame. 47I will find my joy in your commands, because I love them. 48I will raise my hands toward your commands, which I love, and I will ponder your statutes. 49Keep in mind the word you gave your servant; you have made me hope in it. 50Here is my comfort when I am brought low: your promise has kept me alive. 51The proud have heaped scorn on me without limit, yet I have not swerved from your instruction. 52I call to mind your rulings from long ago, LORD, and I find comfort. 53Because of the wicked, who have abandoned your instruction, a hot anger takes hold of me. 54Your statutes have become my songs in every place where I live as a foreigner. 55Through the night I think of your name, LORD, and I hold to your instruction. 56This has been my part in life: I have held to your precepts. 57The LORD is my share in life; I have said that I will hold to your words. 58With my whole heart I have pleaded for your favor; show me kindness, just as your promise said. 59I have thought hard about how I live, and turned my steps back to your decrees. 60Quickly, without waiting, I set myself to keep your commands. 61The wicked have tangled me in their ropes, but I have not forgotten your instruction. 62In the middle of the night I get up to thank you for your righteous rulings. 63I stand with all who fear you, with everyone who holds to your precepts. 64LORD, your loyal love fills all the earth; teach me your statutes. 65LORD, you have treated your servant well, just as your word said. 66Train me in good sense and knowledge, for I rely on your commands. 67Until I was brought low, I kept wandering off; but now I hold to your word. 68You are good, and you bring about good; teach me your statutes. 69The proud have plastered lies all over me, but with my whole heart I hold to your precepts. 70Their hearts are thick and dull as fat, but I delight in your instruction. 71It did me good to be brought low, so that I would learn your statutes. 72The instruction you have spoken is worth more to me than gold and silver by the thousand. 73Your hands made me and shaped me; give me insight, so that I can learn your commands. 74Those who fear you will be glad when they see me, for I have set my hope on your word. 75I know, LORD, that your rulings are just, and that you brought me low because you are faithful. 76Let your loyal love comfort me, I pray, as your promise to your servant said. 77Send your tender mercy to me so that I may live; your instruction is what I delight in. 78Let the proud be disgraced, for they have twisted the truth to harm me; but I will ponder your precepts. 79Let those who fear you come back to me, those who know your decrees. 80Let my heart be whole in keeping your statutes, so that I will not be disgraced. 81I am worn out with longing for your rescue; I have set my hope on your word. 82My eyes grow dim as I watch for your promise; I keep asking when you will comfort me. 83I am like a skin bottle dried and cracked in the smoke, yet your statutes have not slipped my mind. 84How many days does your servant have left? When will you judge those who hunt me down? 85The proud have dug pits to catch me, people who do not live by your instruction. 86All your commands can be trusted; people hunt me down with lies. Help me! 87They came close to finishing me off in the land, yet I have not let go of your precepts. 88Keep me alive in your loyal love, and I will hold to the decree you have spoken. 89LORD, your word lasts forever; it is fixed in place in the heavens. 90Your faithfulness lasts from one generation to the next; you set the earth in its place, and it remains. 91They stand today by your rulings, since all things are your servants. 92Had I not taken delight in your instruction, I would have died in my trouble. 93Never will I forget your precepts, for you have used them to give me life. 94I belong to you; save me, for I have searched out your precepts. 95The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I keep my mind on your decrees. 96I have seen that every perfect thing has its limit, but your command reaches wide beyond measure. 97How I love your instruction! I turn it over in my mind all day long. 98Through your commands I grow wiser than my enemies, since they are mine forever. 99I see more deeply than all my teachers, because your decrees fill my thoughts. 100I understand more than the old, because I have kept your precepts. 101I have held my feet back from every wicked road, so that I may keep your word. 102I have not strayed from your rulings, for you yourself have been my teacher. 103How sweet your words taste to me, sweeter than honey on my tongue! 104Through your precepts I gain understanding, so I hate every road built on lies. 105Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for the road I travel. 106I have sworn an oath and I stand by it: I will keep your righteous rulings. 107I am bowed down with trouble; LORD, give me life as your word has said. 108LORD, please accept the praise I freely offer, and teach me your rulings. 109Every day my life hangs in the balance, yet I do not forget your instruction. 110The wicked spread a trap to catch me, yet I have not wandered from your precepts. 111I have received your decrees as my portion for all time; they make my heart glad. 112I have turned my heart to carry out your statutes for all time, to the very end. 113I hate people whose loyalty is divided, but I love your instruction. 114In you I find my hiding place and my shield; my hope is fixed on your word. 115Get away from me, you evildoers! I mean to keep the commands my God has given. 116Hold me up as you have promised, so that I may live; do not let my hope end in shame. 117Hold me fast, and I will be safe; I will keep my eyes on your statutes always. 118You throw aside all who wander from your statutes, for their cunning is an empty lie. 119All the wicked of the earth you throw away like dross; that is why I love your decrees. 120My skin crawls with dread of you, and your rulings fill me with fear. 121I have done what is fair and just; do not give me up to those who oppress me. 122Pledge yourself for your servant’s good; do not let the proud crush me. 123My eyes grow weary as I watch for your salvation and for the righteous promise you made. 124Treat your servant as your loyal love moves you, and teach me your statutes. 125I am your servant; make me understand, so that I come to know your decrees. 126The time has come for the LORD to act, for people have broken your instruction. 127So I love your commands above gold, above the finest gold. 128So I hold all your precepts to be right in everything; I hate every road built on lies. 129Your decrees are full of wonder; that is why I keep them with all my being. 130When your words are opened up, they shed light; they bring understanding to the naive. 131I gasp for breath with my mouth wide open, so deeply do I long for your commands. 132Turn toward me and be gracious, as is your way with those who love your name. 133Keep my steps steady by your word, and let no evil be master over me. 134Set me free when people oppress me, and I will keep your precepts. 135Turn the light of your face toward your servant, and train me in your statutes. 136My eyes pour out streams of water, because people do not keep your instruction. 137LORD, you are just in all you do, and your rulings are straight and true. 138You have laid down your decrees in righteousness and in complete faithfulness. 139My zeal burns me up, for my enemies have forgotten your words. 140Your word has been tried in the fire and found pure, and your servant loves it. 141I am of no account and scorned, yet I have not forgotten your precepts. 142Your righteousness stays right for all time, and your instruction is the truth. 143Trouble and hardship have overtaken me, yet your commands are my joy. 144Your decrees are right for all time; help me understand, so that I may live. 145With my whole heart I call to you; LORD, answer me! I will keep your statutes. 146I cry to you: save me, and I will hold to your decrees. 147Before the light of dawn I am up, crying out for help; my hope is in your word. 148My eyes are open before each watch of the night, so that I may ponder your promise. 149Hear my voice because of your loyal love; LORD, give me life in keeping with your justice. 150Those who chase after wicked schemes are closing in; your instruction is far from their minds. 151But you, LORD, are close at hand, and every one of your commands is truth. 152From your decrees I have known for a long time that you laid their foundations to last forever. 153Look at my suffering and pull me out of it, for I have not forgotten your instruction. 154Take up my cause and set me free; give me life as you have promised. 155The wicked are a long way from being saved, since they never look for your statutes. 156Great is your compassion, LORD; give me life as your rulings direct. 157Many people hunt me and stand against me, yet I have not swerved from your decrees. 158When I see traitors I feel sick, for they have not kept your word. 159Look how much I love your precepts! LORD, give me life because of your loyal love. 160Your word is truth from first to last; each of your righteous rulings stands forever. 161Rulers hunt me down for no reason, but it is your word that makes my heart tremble. 162Your promise makes me glad, as glad as one who carries off rich plunder. 163I hate lies, I detest them, but I love your instruction. 164I praise you seven times every day because your rulings are righteous. 165Those who love your instruction enjoy deep peace, and nothing trips them up. 166LORD, I look in hope for your salvation, and I carry out your commands. 167With all my being I keep your decrees, and I love them deeply. 168I keep your precepts and your decrees, for everything I do lies open before you. 169LORD, let my cry come close to you; give me understanding as your word has said. 170Let my prayer for mercy reach you; rescue me as you have promised. 171Let praise bubble up from my lips, for you teach me your statutes. 172Let my tongue answer with songs about your word, since every command you give is right. 173Reach out your hand to help me, since your precepts are what I have chosen. 174LORD, I yearn for you to save me, and your instruction is my joy. 175Keep me alive to praise you, and let your rulings come to my aid. 176Like a lost sheep I have wandered off; search for your servant, since your commands have not slipped from my mind.