Psalm 119:110
NKJV
110
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts
KJV
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
Overcoming Life’s Snares with Faith
My Notes
Scripture: “The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.” — Psalm 119:110 (NKJV)
My Thoughts
The life of faith is not lived in ease—it is lived in warfare. David speaks of snares laid by the wicked, traps set not only to harm the body but to ensnare the soul. These are not always obvious. They come in subtle forms: gluttony disguised as comfort, lust cloaked in affection, pride masked as honor.
The enemy is cunning, and the battleground is everywhere—in our thoughts, our words, our actions, even our dreams.
Yet David did not fall into the trap. He kept his eyes open and his heart anchored. “I have not strayed from Your precepts.” He walked the King’s highway of holiness, where the path is narrow but safe. He did not seek escape through compromise or relief through sin. Instead, he remained steadfast, trusting that the grace which had kept him thus far would continue to guard his steps.
This is the call for every believer:
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To be watchful, knowing that spiritual danger is constant
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To be faithful, refusing to stray even when the way is hard
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To be grounded, letting God’s Word dwell richly in the heart and mind
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To be confident, that obedience is our safest refuge
David’s perseverance was not born of ease but of endurance. He had stood many storms and kept his ground. And so must we. The snares of the enemy are often laid in familiar places—our routines, our relationships, our responsibilities. But if we walk in the light of God’s Word, we will not be caught.
Let us remember: the fish that does not bite the bait will not be hooked. The soul that does not stray from the Word will not be snared.
Cross Reference
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” — Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)
Journaling Prompt
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Where have you noticed spiritual snares in your daily life?
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What helps you stay grounded in God’s Word when temptation arises?
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How can you develop greater awareness and resolve in your walk?
Prayer
Lord, keep me from the snares of the wicked. Let Your Word be my guide and guard. Teach me to walk in Your precepts with unwavering faith, even when danger surrounds me. Strengthen me to resist every lure and remain safe in the path of righteousness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Proverb for Today
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:26-27 NKJV
Summary of the Commentaries
Psalm 119:110 reveals the believer’s constant exposure to spiritual danger. The commentaries describe the wicked laying snares—subtle temptations and threats—like hunters trapping prey. Spurgeon emphasizes the treachery of evil men and the safety found in God’s path. Barnes and Gill note David’s steadfast obedience despite peril, while Henry highlights his unwavering memory of God’s law as a source of perseverance. The Enduring Word reminds us that spiritual dangers, not just physical ones, are in view. Miscellaneous voices liken these snares to traps set in familiar paths, urging vigilance. David’s faithfulness amid danger is a model of grace-fueled endurance and devotion.
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 110, 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
“The wicked have laid a snare for me.” Spiritual life is the scene of constant danger: the believer lives with his life in his hand, and meanwhile, all seem plotting to take it from him, by cunning if they cannot by violence. We shall not find it an easy thing to live the life of the faithful. Wicked spirits and wicked men will leave no stone unturned for our destruction. If all other devices fail, and even hidden pits do not succeed, the wicked still persevere in their treacherous endeavors, and, becoming craftier still, they set snares for the victim of their hate. The smaller species of game are usually taken by this method, by gin, or trap, or net, or noose. Wicked men are quite indifferent as to the manner in which they can destroy the good man—they think no more of him than if he were a rabbit or a rat: cunning and treachery are always the allies of malice, and everything like a generous or chivalrous feeling is unknown among the graceless, who treat the godly as if they were vermin to be exterminated. When a man knows that he is thus assailed, he is too apt to become timorous and rush upon some hasty device for deliverance, not without sin in the endeavor; but David calmly kept his way and was able to write,
“Yet I erred not from thy precepts.” He was not snared, for he kept his eyes open and kept near his God. He was not entrapped and robbed, for he followed the King’s highway of holiness, where God secures safety to every traveller. He did not err from the right, and he was not deterred from following it, because he referred to the Lord for guidance and obtained it. If we err from the precepts, we part with the promises; if we get away from God’s presence, we wander into the wilds where the fowlers freely spread their nets. From this verse let us learn to be on our guard, for we, too, have enemies both crafty and wicked. Hunters set their traps in the animal’s usual runs, and our worst snares are laid in our own ways. By keeping to the ways of the Lord, we shall escape the snares of our adversaries, for his ways are safe and free from treachery.
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Enduring Word
The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not strayed from Your precepts: The dangers came from determined enemies, who were wicked people. Yet he would not forsake the precepts of God. (Guzik)
i. “Whenever we find the psalms talking about danger, we usually think of physical danger…. But the psalms also speak of spiritual dangers like falling into sin or forgetting God.” (Boice)
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Albert Barnes
The wicked have laid a snare for me – As men do to take wild beasts or birds. See the notes at Psalms 119:85. Compare Job 18:8, note; Job 18:10, note; Psalms 9:15, note; Psalms 69:22, note. See also Psalms 119:61, Psalms 119:69.
Yet I erred not from thy precepts – Notwithstanding the danger to which I was exposed, I maintained a steadfast adherence to thy commandments. I was not deterred from obeying them by any peril which beset me.
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John Gill
The wicked have laid a snare for me,…. To draw him into sin, and so into mischief; and even to take away his life, as they are said to dig pits for him, Psalm 119:85;
Yet I erred not from thy precepts: not willfully and wickedly, though through inadvertence and infirmity, as he often did, and every good man does; and indeed his errors are so many, that they cannot be understood and numbered. The sense is, he kept on in the way of his duty; did not desist from that, or wickedly depart from his God, and his worship, to escape the snares of bad men.
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Matthew Henry
He does not forget the law, and therefore he is likely to persevere. In the multitude of his cares for his own safety, he finds room in his head and heart for the word of God, and has that in his mind as fresh as ever; and where that dwells richl,y it will be a well of living water.
He has not yet erred from God’s precepts, and therefore it is to be hoped he will not. He had stood many a shock and kept his ground, and surely that grace which had helped him hitherto would not fail him, but would still prevent his wanderings.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“A snare.” One manner of catching wild animals, such as lions, bears, jackals, foxes, hart, roebuck, and fallow deer, was by a trap (paeh), which is the word used in this place; this was set under ground (Job 18:10), in the run of the animal (Pro 22:5), and caught it by the leg (Job 18:9).
—William Latham Bevan, in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, 1863.
“The wicked have laid a snare for me.” In eating, he sets before us gluttony; in love he impels to lust; in labor, sluggishness; in conversing, envy; in governing, covetousness; in correcting, anger; in honor, pride; in the heart, he sets evil thoughts; in the mouth evil words; in actions, evil works; when awake, he moves us to evil actions; when asleep, to filthy dreams.
—Girolamo Savonarola, 1452-1498.
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Additional Cross-References
Psalm 119:10 (KJV)
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Psalm 141:9 (KJV)
9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me,
And the gins of the workers of iniquity.
Jeremiah 18:22 (KJV)
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
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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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