Psalms 119

Wesley: But—But I feared thine offence and displeasure more than their wrath.

The accent falls on holy awe outweighing princely rage—fear of grieving God steadier than fear of power. Shared courage: without-cause persecution does not license answering craft with craft.

Calvin: sore temptation, yet restrained by the fear of God from anything unworthy of a godly man. Princes who ought to be bucklers instead hurt us; the afflicted may think God’s hand is against them. Constancy more than mere “fear not those who kill the body”: weapons of the faithful are awe of God and assurance he guards welfare, so they cast cares on him and do not turn aside to sinful self-safety. To be afraid at God’s word is to restrain one’s self and attempt nothing unlawful. Without a cause amplifies the trial—tyrants assaulting an innocent. Signal self-control: bridle by the word rather than vie in evil-doing.

Awe of the word under unjust princes. Fear God; stay peaceable in one’s place.

Joy at the word like spoil found. The verse presses sudden, triumphant delight—gain plus glory of discovery.

Shared valuation: heavenly doctrine outranks other riches. Solid felicity in the word requires withdrawing the heart from depraved desires.

Calvin: no gain brings greater joy than spoil from enemies—profit sudden, delight greater. Knowledge of heavenly doctrine compared with spoils rather than other riches: greatest joy from the word, which no desirable gain approaches. Content with the word as all his delight and solid felicity—impossible without first withdrawing the heart from depraved desires. Whole sum of a happy life in the word, where the treasure of eternal life is included and offered by free adoption.

Rejoice at the word like spoil. Free adoption’s treasure outweighs earthly gain.

Arminian interpreters hear twin affections—deadly hatred of deceit clearing room for love of Scripture.

Shared integrity: hypocrisy is natural; purge the heart that love of the law may reign. Hate falsehood with more than common dislike.

Calvin: cleansed from corrupt affections to honor the law as it deserves. Hated deceit before speaking of love—hypocrisy natural; labor to purge hearts that love of the law may reign. Beginning of a good life and first point of righteousness: hate and abhor deceit; integrity must hold chief place or other virtues disappear. Abhorring added to hating: not common hatred but deadly hatred. Love of the law and hatred of falsehood inseparably conjoined; those not taught in God’s school are infected with deceit and hypocrisy.

Hate and abhor falsehood; love the law. Deadly hatred of deceit and true love of the word go together.

Wesley: Seven times—Many times; a certain number being put for an uncertain.

What comes through is continual praise stirred by righteous rules—gratitude for the law as gift. Shared practice: frequent thanksgiving, not rare courtesy.

Calvin: seven times means continually or very often (cf. Prov 24:16). Prefers judgments as the divine law—chief topic of the psalm—though providence-reading is not disliked. Assiduously meditating on the law, he found such perfection of righteousness and wisdom that from time to time he burst into praise. Diligence shows he accounted the law an inestimable boon to the human race—not bare admiration but gratitude: nothing more excellent than being renewed to blessed endless life by the incorruptible seed of heavenly truth. Scarcely one in a hundred gives thanks even ordinarily; vile ingratitude scorning, slighting, or railing against the word.

Sevenfold praise for righteous rules. Continual gratitude for the law as life-giving gift.

Wesley: Offend—Heb. they shall have no stumbling-block, at which they shall stumble and fall into mischief.

Arminians hear deep peace for law-lovers—grace-enabled love that steadies the walk so stumbling-blocks do not ruin. Shared promise: love of the law and great peace belong together; slavish chill is not this peace.

Calvin: peace may mean prosperous condition—or, equally apt, great peace as persuasion that person and life are acceptable to God, calm repose on a good conscience. Tranquil conscience from God’s reconciliation and fatherly favor is the chief point of a happy life. We attain this peace from love of the law; whoever makes it depend on anything else trembles at every little blast. Stumbling-block: troubles and disquietudes that distress those who lean not on God’s word, driven by depraved passions or others’ caprice. Design: those not devoted to God are miserable—though they applaud themselves, many stumbling-blocks drive them out of course. From love we gather this peace is not acquired by slavish observance but proceeds from faith; the law has no sweetness unless it exhibit God as father and tranquilize by assurance of eternal salvation. Worldly despisers are self-executioners; the godly are also distressed, yet inward consolation enables them to surmount stumbling-blocks.

Great peace for law-lovers—from faith’s sight of the Father, not slavish grind. Love sweetened by gospel assurance keeps from fatal stumble.

Hope for salvation joined to doing commandments. Arminians hear faith and obedience together—waiting on God while walking in what he said.

Shared order: hope first sustains doing; remove assured hope and godliness withers. Patient endurance nourishes love of righteousness.

Calvin: often repeats what all mouths say—ascribe to God the praise of saving—yet steadfast hope under long temptation is rare. Order of words: if a man would keep himself in God’s fear and love of the law, he must above all seek salvation in God. If faith in God’s grace be removed, or patience shaken, we are carried hither and thither and cease to cultivate godliness. Chief virtue: patient endurance of the cross and mortification, calmly submitting to God. Hypocrites seem well-affectioned while no adversity hits. Keep minds on God’s salvation: worldly allurements discourage; hearts fail because it is hard to believe salvation is hoped for only from grace. Perseverance needs faith shining on the future and patience nourishing love of righteousness—alacrity from patiently letting salvation lie hidden in God’s bosom, not doubting he will prove a faithful rewarder though favor withdraw from sense.

Hope for salvation; do commandments. Grace-hope first; then persevering obedience under the cross.

He keeps God’s testimonies in his soul and loves them deeply. Wesley’s heirs hear inward enclosure of the testimonies—not surface compliance but affection that holds them deep.

Shared contrast: constraint and slavish obedience do not lodge the law in the heart’s secret habitation.

Calvin: confirms by other words—kept God’s testimonies with his soul. Soul expresses still more forcibly that he had the doctrine enclosed within the deepest recesses of his heart. Cause of this peculiarly diligent keeping: singular love. He who by constraint and in a slavish manner obeys is so far from receiving the law into the secret habitation of his heart that he would have it removed far away.

Soul keeps; love exceeds. Deep enclosure springs from love, not slavery.

Keeping because all ways are before God. Wesleyan Arminians hear omniscience as holy motive—live unto the Searcher of hearts.

Shared seriousness: nothing hidden from God keeps fickle flesh from carrying us away. Refer life to his judgment-seat.

Calvin: repeats more simply, adding the reason. Joins commandments and testimonies—not only the rule of upright life but the whole covenant of salvation. Doctrine of the law could not be so sweet from commanding right did it not also exhibit free favor. Reason—all my ways are before thee: truth that nothing is hidden from God served as a bridle to keep him devoted to godliness; without living under omniscient inspection, fickle lustfulness quickly carries us away. May also mean making God arbiter of life—those who walk before God refer actions to him, withdraw from men’s sight, present themselves at his judgment-seat. Endeavored not only to be blameless before men but to offer God a sound sincere heart. Only when we consider we deal with the God who searches the heart do we observe the law aright.

Keep precepts and testimonies—ways before God. Covenant sweetness plus omniscient bridle.