Psalm 119:108 NKJV
108
Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
And teach me Your judgments.
A Mouth That Offers, A Heart That Learns
My Notes
Scripture: “Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me Your judgments.” — Psalm 119:108 (NKJV)
My Thoughts
The psalmist comes not with sacrifices of bulls or grain, but with the offerings of his mouth—prayer, praise, confession, and testimony. These are the spiritual sacrifices that rise from a heart freely devoted to God. They are not coerced or ritualistic, but voluntary expressions of love and reverence. And yet, even these he dares not presume upon. He pleads, “Accept them, O Lord.”
What humility this reveals. David trembles at the thought that his words, though sincere, might fall short of God’s holiness. He knows that acceptance is not earned—it is granted by grace. And what a wonder the Lord receives the offerings of such unworthy lips when they are offered through Christ, the true Mediator (1 Peter 2:5).
Praise is precious to God when it flows freely from the soul. It glorifies Him more than any outward ritual. Prayer, too, is a freewill offering when it is poured out in faith and love, assisted by the Spirit. The more freely and willingly we serve, the more pleasing our worship becomes.
But David’s desire doesn’t stop at acceptance—he longs for instruction. “Teach me Your judgments.” Revival leads to learning. Zeal must be paired with wisdom. Life without light is incomplete. Even though David had grown in understanding—wiser than enemies, teachers, and elders—he still cried out for more. He knew that God’s judgments are not always immediately clear. They must be taught, perceived, and admired.
This is the posture of the godly:
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To offer freely what we have
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To seek earnestly what we lack
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To desire not only favor but acceptance
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To be as hungry for grace within as for grace above
We cannot offer anything truly pleasing to God unless He first teaches us how. Our judgment must be educated until it aligns with His. And our worship must be shaped by truth, not just emotion.
Let us come to God with open mouths and open hearts—ready to praise, and ready to learn.
Cross Reference
“Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” — Psalm 141:2 (NKJV) “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments.” — Psalm 119:66 (NKJV)
Questions
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What freewill offerings have you brought to the Lord lately—praise, prayer, testimony?
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In what areas do you need God to teach you His judgments more clearly?
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How can you cultivate both a heart of worship and a mind of wisdom?
Prayer
Lord, receive the offerings of my mouth—my praise, my prayer, my confession. Let them rise to You as incense. And teach me Your judgments, that I may walk in Your truth with understanding and reverence. Shape my worship and sharpen my discernment, that I may glorify You in both word and walk. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
SUMMARY OF COMMENTARIES
Psalm 119:108 expresses a heartfelt plea to God, asking Him to accept David’s freewill offerings of prayer and praise, which are seen as spiritual sacrifices. The commentaries below emphasize that true offerings should arise from a willing heart, and that God seeks sincere devotion rather than forced confessions. David acknowledges the need for divine instruction to align with God’s judgments, recognizing humility as essential for understanding and acting upon God’s wisdom. Ultimately, the passage highlights the significance of love, gratitude, and the desire for deeper understanding in religious devotion.
Proverb for Today
He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health. The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment. Proverbs 12:17-19 NKJV
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 108, which is in the 14th section, which is called “נ NUN
The website https://www.abarim-publications.com/Hebrew_Alphabet_Meaning.html defines the letter נון NUN as: The verb נון (nun) means propagate, increase. Derivative נין means offspring, posterity. The letter is often said to resemble a fish, but the word nun is not used as such in the Bible. Instead, the word for fish comes from another verb which means multiply, increase: דגה (daga).
The letter nun is written ן when it occurs at the end of a word, and נ when it occurs at the beginning or halfway through a word.
……..Bill
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord.” The living praise the living God, and therefore the quickened one presents his sacrifice. He offers prayer, praise, confession, and testimony—these, presented with his voice in the presence of an audience, were the tribute of his mouth unto Jehovah. He trembles lest these should be so ill uttered as to displease the Lord, and therefore he implores acceptance. He pleads that the homage of his mouth was cheerfully and spontaneously rendered; all his utterances were freewill offerings. There can be no value in extorted confessions: God’s revenues are not derived from forced taxation, but from freewill donation. There can be no acceptance where there is no willingness; there is no work of free grace where there is no fruit of free will. Acceptance is a favor to be sought from the Lord with all earnestness, for without it our offerings are worse than useless. What a wonder of grace that the Lord will accept anything of such unworthy ones as we are!
“And teach me thy judgments.” When we render unto the Lord our best, we become all the more concerned to do better. If, indeed, the Lord shall accept us, we then desire to be further instructed, that we may be still more acceptable. After quickening, we need teaching: life without light, or zeal without knowledge, would be but half a blessing. These repeated cries for teaching show the humility of the man of God, and also reveal to us our own need of similar instruction. Our judgment needs educating till it knows, agrees with, and acts upon the judgments of the Lord. Those judgments are not always so clear as to be seen at once; we need to be taught in them till we admire their wisdom and adore their goodness as soon as ever we perceive them.
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Enduring Word
Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth: The psalmist presented these words to the LORD as if they were a sacrifice brought to an altar. They were freewill offerings meant to show his love and devotion to God.
And teach me Your judgments: It is very easy for us to have a sinful confidence in our own judgment – to simply “follow my heart.” Yet Spurgeon wrote well: “These repeated cries for teaching show the humility of the man of God, and also discover to us our own need of similar instruction. Our judgment needs educating till it knows, agrees with, and acts upon, the judgments of the Lord.”
(David Guzik)
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Albert Barnes
Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will offerings of my mouth – Or, the meaning of the word here rendered “free-will,” see the notes at Psalms 110:3. It conveys the idea that there is no constraint or compulsion; that the offering is a prompting of the heart. The offering might be that of flour, or grain, or fruits, or property of any kind, as devoted to God; or it might be, as here, an offering of the lips, expressed in prayer and praise. Either of them might be acceptable to God; their being accepted in either case would depend on the good pleasure of God, and hence, the psalmist prays that his offering might be thus acceptable. Compare Hebrews 13:15.
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John Gill
Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,…. Not sacrifices out of his flocks and herds, such as were the voluntary and freewill offerings brought to the priests under the law, though there may be an allusion to them; nor out of his substance, such as David and his people willingly offered towards the building of the temple; but these are not the freewill offerings of his hands, but of his mouth; the spiritual sacrifices of prayer praise: prayer is an offering; see Psalm 141:2; and it is a freewill offering, when a man is assisted by the free Spirit of God, and can pour out his soul freely to the Lord, in the exercise of faith and love. Praise is an offering more pleasing to God than an ox or bullock that has horns and hoofs, because it glorifies him; and it is a freewill offering when it is of a man’s own accord, comes from his heart; when he calls upon his soul, and all within him, to bless the Lord: and as every good man is desirous of having his sacrifices accepted with the Lord, so they are accepted by him when offered up through Christ, 1 Peter 2:5;
and teach me thy judgments; for though he was wiser than his enemies, and had more understanding than his teachers, or than the ancients, yet needed to be instructed more and more, and was desirous of being taught of God. This petition, or what is similar to it, is often put up.
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Matthew Henry
Two things we are here taught to pray for, in reference to our religious performances:-
Acceptance of them. This we must aim at in all we do in religion, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of the Lord. What David here earnestly prays for the acceptance of are the free-will-offerings, not of his purse, but of his mouth, his prayers and praises. The calves of our lips (Hos. 14:2), the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15), these are the spiritual offerings which all Christians, as spiritual priests, must offer to God; and they must be free-will-offerings, for we must offer them abundantly and cheerfully, and it is this willing mind that is accepted. The more there is of freeness and willingness in the service of God the more pleasing it is to him.
Assistance in them: Teach me thy judgments. We cannot offer anything to God which we have reason to think he will accept of, but what he is pleased to instruct us in the doing of; and we must be as earnest for the grace of God in us as for the favor of God towards us.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“The freewill offerings of my mouth.” This place makes known that species of sacrifices, which neither tribulations nor poverty of means can hinder, and which does not require an external temple, but in desert places and among heathen may be offered by a godly man. And these sacrifices of the mouth God himself makes more of than if all the flocks of the whole earth had been offered to him, and all the treasures of gold, and of silver, and of precious stones.
—Wolfgang Musculus.
“Offerings.” All God’s people are made priests unto God; for every offering supposes a priest: so it is said, that Christ Jesus hath made us kings and priests (Rev 1:6). All Christians have a communion with Christ in all his offices, whatever Christ was, that certainly they are in some measure and degree.
—Thomas Manton.
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Additional Cross-References
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV)
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Hosea 14:2 (KJV)
2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord:
Say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously:
So will we render the calves of our lips.
Psalm 19:14 (KJV)
14 Let the words of my mouth,
And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 50:23 (KJV)
23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:
And to him that ordereth his conversation aright
Will I shew the salvation of God.
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נ NUN or נון NUN
105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
106
I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments.
107
I am afflicted very much;
Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.
108
Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
And teach me Your judgments.
109
My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.
110
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
111
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, to the very end.
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