35
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
FOR IT IS GOD THAT WORKS IN US BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO.
My Thoughts
The King James Version of this verse reads, “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.” David is asking the Lord to give him the strength and knowledge he needs to go forth with the understanding and wisdom he had been praying for.
David has been asking for understanding of God’s word; now he asks for God to give him the strength to walk, to go in the direction that God has laid out for him. This shows that even though his understanding has been enlightened, he still needs the Lord to lead, guide, and direct him on the path; he needs a willing mind and fresh supplies of grace to show him how to walk in the laws of the Lord.
The same process applies for us today, through reading and studying the word, we learn to ask the Lord for discernment and wisdom to understand, and then when we get to that point where we need to go to the Father in prayer and ask for God to give us the direction and strength to walk in His promises for us.
In Psalm 119:35, David is expressing a deep desire for divine guidance to walk in accordance with God’s commandments, emphasizing his delight in this path. The commentaries below highlight the need for both understanding and the will to act on God’s commands, underscoring human dependence on the Lord giving us grace for strength. David realizes that true obedience requires not only knowledge but also the power to fulfill God’s will. This prayer reflects a heartfelt longing to not just know God’s law but to actively follow it.
Note: Psalm 119 is an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; each of the 22 sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter. Today, we’re looking at verse 35, which is in the 5th section, which is called “He ה”. According to the hebrews4christians.com website, the letter Hey (“He” in several versions of the Bible) is the 5th letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of five. The pictograph for Hey looks like a man with his arms raised. The meaning of the name “Hey” is “look” or “behold”. Hey is considered to be formed from the Hebrew letters Dalet and Yod, which can be a picture of returning to God by means of the transforming power of the Spirit. Another description is opening the door of the heart, and the picture is of the Spirit of God indwelling the believer.
………Bill
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Commentaries:
Matthew Henry
He had before prayed to God to enlighten his understanding, that he might know his duty, and not mistake concerning it; here he prays to God to bow his will, and quicken the active powers of his soul, that he might do his duty; for it is God that works in us both to will and to do, as well as to understand, what is good, Phil. 2:13. Both the good head and the good heart are from the good grace of God, and both are necessary to every good work. Observe here,
That God would make him able to do his duty: “Make me to go; strengthen me for every good work.” Since we are not sufficient of ourselves, our dependence must be upon the grace of God, for from him all our sufficiency is. God puts His Spirit within us, and so causes us to walk in his statutes (Eze. 36:27), and this is that which David here begs.
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Charles Spurgeon
“Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.” “To will is present with me; but how to perform that which good I find not.” Thou hast made me to love the way, now make me to move in it. It is a plain path, which others are treading through thy grace; I see it and admire it, cause me to travel in it. This is the cry of a child that longs to walk, but is too feeble; of a pilgrim who is exhausted, yet pants to be on the march; of a lame man who pines to be able to run. It is a blessed thing to delight in holiness, and surely he who gave us this delight will work in us the yet higher joy of possessing and practicing it. Here is our only hope, for we shall not go in the narrow path till we are made to do so by the Maker’s own power. O thou who didst once make me, I pray thee make me again: thou hast made me to know; now make me to go. Certainly, I shall never be happy till I do, for my sole delight lies in walking according to thy bidding.
Note that the corresponding verse in the former eight (Psa 119:35) was “Make me to understand,” and here we have “Make me to go.” Remark the: order, first understanding, and then going; for a clear understanding is a great assistance towards practical action.
During the last few octaves, the fourth has been the heart verse: see Psa 119:20, 28, and now Psa 119:36. Indeed, in all the preceding fourths, great heartiness is observable. This also marks the care with which this sacred song was composed.
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Enduring Word
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it: Despite his delight and desire for God’s word, the psalmist knows he cannot walk in God’s path without God’s empowering.
i. “We need no instruction in the way of sin…. But for a child of God, this is a prayer for constant use.” (Bridges)
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Albert Barnes
Make me to go in the path … – That is, Incline me to it; so direct me that I shall thus walk. It is an acknowledgment of his dependence on God, that he might be able to carry out the cherished purposes of his soul.
For therein do I delight – See Psalms 119:16. I am conscious of having pleasure in thy commandments; of having a strong desire to keep them, and I pray for grace that I may be able to do it. Real delight in the law of God is one of the best means of securing its observance; one of the best evidences that it will be kept.
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John Gill
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments,…. Lead, guide, direct me in the path, and use me to it; work in me both to will and to do; give both ability and a willing mind to walk therein; by granting fresh supplies of grace, and more spiritual strength; by drawing with the cords of love, and by putting in him the good spirit of grace, to cause to walk in the statutes of the Lord, and keep his judgments and do them, Ezekiel 36:27;
for therein do I delight; in the law of God, after the inward man; in the commandments of Christ, which are not grievous; in wisdom’s ways and paths, which are pleasantness and peace.
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Miscellaneous Quotes
“Make me to go in the path of thy commandments.” David, in the former verses, had begged for light; now, for strength to walk according to this light. We need not only light to know our way, but a heart to walk in it. Direction is necessary because of the blindness of our minds, and the effectual impulsions of grace are necessary because of the weakness of our hearts. It will not answer our duty to have a naked notion of truths unless we embrace and pursue them. So, accordingly, we need a double assistance from God; the mind must be enlightened, the will moved and inclined. The work of a Christian lies not in depth of speculation, but in the height of practice. The excellency of Divine grace consisteth in this,—That God doth first teach what is to be done, and then make us to do what is taught: “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments.”—Thomas Marten.
“The path of thy commandments.” They are termed “the paths,” because paths are narrow, short, straight, clean passages for people on foot only, and not for horses and carriages; and such is the way of the Lord, as compared with that of the flesh and of the world, all the ways of which are broad, filthy, and crooked, trodden by the brute beasts, the type of carnal, animal man. He assigns a reason for being heard when he says, For this same I have desired; because, through God’s grace, I have chosen this path, and desired to walk in it, and it is only meet that he who gives the will should give the grace to accomplish, as St. Paul says, “Who worketh in you both to will and to do.”—Robert Bellarmine.
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Cross-References
Psalm 119:16 (KJV 1900)
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
Philippians 2:13 (KJV 1900)
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Isaiah 40:14 (KJV 1900)
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him,
And taught him in the path of judgment,
And taught him knowledge,
And shewed to him the way of understanding?
Psalm 23:3 (KJV 1900)
3 He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Isaiah 58:14 (KJV 1900)
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
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Closing Thoughts
Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.” Daniel 2:20-23 NKJV
He ה: Divine Breath and Revelation
33
Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
34
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36
Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.
37
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.
38
Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
39
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40
Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.
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