¶The LORD is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.
I sought Your favor with all my heart;
Be merciful and gracious to me according to Your promise.
I considered my ways
And turned my feet to [follow and obey] Your testimonies.
I hurried and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
The cords of the wicked have encircled and ensnared me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your righteous ordinances.
I am a companion of all who [reverently] fear You,
And of those who keep and honor Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your lovingkindness and goodness;
Teach me Your statutes.
¶You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your promise.
Teach me good judgment (discernment) and knowledge,
For I have believed and trusted and relied on Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep and honor Your word [with loving obedience].
You are good and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
The arrogant have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal],
But I delight in Your law.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
The law from Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
¶Your hands have made me and established me;
Give me understanding and a teachable heart, that I may learn Your commandments.
May those who [reverently] fear You see me and be glad,
Because I wait for Your word.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are fair,
And that in faithfulness You have disciplined me. [Heb 12:10]
O may Your lovingkindness and graciousness comfort me,
According to Your word (promise) to Your servant.
Let Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my delight.
Let the arrogant be ashamed and humiliated, for they sabotage me with a lie;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
May those who fear You [with submissive wonder] turn to me,
Even those who have known Your testimonies.
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not be ashamed.
¶My soul languishes and grows weak for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail [with longing, watching] for [the fulfillment of] Your promise,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin [blackened and shriveled] in the smoke [in which it hangs],
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
How many are the days of Your servant [which he must endure]?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me? [Rev 6:10]
The arrogant (godless) have dug pits for me,
Men who do not conform to Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful and trustworthy.
They have persecuted me with a lie; help me [LORD]!
They had almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I did not turn away from Your precepts.
According to Your steadfast love refresh me and give me life,
So that I may keep and obey the testimony of Your mouth.
¶Forever, O LORD,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable]. [Ps 89:2; Matt 24:34, 35; 1 Pet 1:25]
Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things [all parts of the universe] are Your servants. [Jer 33:25]
If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.
I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need]. [Ps 42:1]
The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.
I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble];
Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity]. [Rom 3:10-19]
¶Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day. [Ps 1:2]
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For Your words are always with me.
I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers [because of Your word],
For Your testimonies are my meditation. [2 Tim 3:15]
I understand more than the aged [who have not observed Your precepts],
Because I have observed and kept Your precepts.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word. [Prov 1:15]
I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,
For You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth! [Ps 19:10; Prov 8:11]
From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
¶Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. [Prov 6:23]
I have sworn [an oath] and have confirmed it,
That I will keep Your righteous ordinances. [Neh 10:29]
I am greatly afflicted;
Renew and revive me [giving me life], O LORD, according to Your word.
Accept and take pleasure in the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
And teach me Your ordinances. [Hos 14:2; Heb 13:15]
My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I do not wander from Your precepts.
I have taken Your testimonies as a heritage forever,
For they are the joy of my heart. [Deut 33:4]
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, even to the end.
Bible App
Bible App for Kids
