Psalm 119:116 NKJV
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live;
And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.
Anchored in Hope
My Notes
“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” —Psalm 119:116 (NKJV)
My Thoughts
We stand only as long as God holds us. We go no further than He carries us. This verse is a humble cry from a soul that knows its source of life is not within itself, but in the sustaining grace of God.
David does not ask for strength from within, but for upholding from above. He pleads not for an obscure mercy, but for the fulfillment of a promise—“according to Your word.” What a comfort to know that God’s sustaining grace is not a distant hope, but a covenant provision. The same Word that gives life also secures it. Every spiritual grace—faith, peace, endurance—would decay if God withdrew His hand. But He will not. He who gave us eternal life will uphold all that we need for it.
“To live” here means more than breathing—it means abiding in Christ, walking in holiness, and resting in the promises of God. The believer’s life is not defined by our physical senses or intellectual reasoning, but by spiritual vitality. As one commentary puts it: if we think we live because we see or hear, so do beasts. But the life of God’s children is marked by the death of sin and the presence of righteousness. We live by faith, not by flesh.
We may be ashamed of our own thoughts or actions, for they spring from our weaknesses. But we will never be ashamed of our hope, for it springs from the Lord. This hope is not flimsy or wishful—it is a grace-given anchor, sure and steadfast, rooted in Christ. It is a hope that saves, sustains, and rejoices in the glory to come.
Mr. Boice notes: “In the Middle Ages, under the monastic order of the Benedictines, when a novice’s period of preparation was ended and he was ready to become attached to the monastery for life, there was an induction ceremony in which, with outstretched arms, the novice recited Psalm 119:116 three times…. The community repeated the words and then sang the Gloria Patri, which was a way of acknowledging that the commitments of the monastic life could only be sustained by God, to whom all glory belongs.”
Cross References
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 NKJV
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Psalm 25:2 NKJV
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:11 NKJV
Prayer
Lord, uphold me according to Your word. Let me live—not just in body, but in spirit. Let my hope in You never be put to shame. Let my faith prove true. May I walk in Your strength and rest in Your promises. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Proverbs for Today
A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24 NKJV
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 119:116 reveals the believer’s utter dependence on God for spiritual vitality and steadfast hope. Commentators emphasize that without divine upholding, the soul would falter and grace would decay. This sustaining power is not begged for as uncertain mercy, but claimed through God’s promises. To “live” means to thrive spiritually—by faith, in holiness, and through the Word. The psalmist’s hope, rooted in God, will never bring shame, unlike human thoughts or efforts. Historical traditions, like the Benedictine induction ceremony, affirm that lifelong faithfulness is only possible through God’s strength. True Christian life is marked by the Spirit’s presence and the death of sin.
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 116, which is in the 15th section, which is called “Samek ס. The website https://www.abarim-publications.com/Hebrew_Alphabet_Meaning.html defines the letter Samek ס as: The verb סמך (samak) means lean upon, support, uphold. It is the verb that is used in the phrase “laying on of hands.”
…….Bill
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may have.” It was so necessary that the Lord should hold up his servant that he could not even live without it. Our soul would die if the Lord did not continually sustain it, and every grace which makes spiritual life to be truly life would decay if he withdrew his upholding hand. It is a sweet comfort that this great necessity of upholding is provided for in the word, and we have not to ask for it as for an uncovenanted mercy, but simply to plead for the fulfillment of a promise, saying, “Uphold me according to thy word.” He who has given us eternal life hath in that gift secured to us all that is essential thereto, and as gracious upholding is one of the necessary things we may be sure that we shall have it.
“And let me not be ashamed of my hope.” In Psa 119:114, he had spoken of his hope as founded on the word, and now he begs for the fulfillment of that word that his hope might be justified in the sight of all. A man would be ashamed of his hope if it turned out that it was not based upon a sure foundation, but this will never happen in our case. We may be ashamed of our thoughts, and our words, and our deeds, for they spring from ourselves; but we never shall be ashamed of our hope, for that springs from the Lord our God. Such is the frailty of our nature that unless we are continually upheld by grace, we shall all so foully as to be ashamed of ourselves, and ashamed of all those glorious hopes which are now the crown and glory of our life. The man of God had uttered the most positive resolves, but he felt that he could not trust in his own solemn determination; hence these prayers. It is not wrong to make resolutions, but it will be useless to do so unless we salt them well with believing cries to God. David meant to keep the law of the Lord, but he first needed the Lord of the law to keep him.
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Enduring Word
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live: The psalmist knew that he could not stand before his enemies without God holding him up. Without this continual support from God, he could not live – either physically or spiritually. (Guzik)
i. His idea was that this support (Uphold me) would come according to God’s word. It would be consistent with God’s word and find its source in God’s word. (Guzik)
ii. “In the Middle Ages, under the monastic order of the Benedictines, when a novice’s period of preparation was ended and he was ready to become attached to the monastery for life, there was an induction ceremony in which, with outstretched arms, the novice recited Psalm 119:116 three times…. The community repeated the words and then sang the Gloria Patri, which was a way of acknowledging that the commitments of the monastic life could only be sustained by God, to whom all glory belongs.” (Boice)
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Albert Barnes
Uphold me – Sustain me in the trials and the temptations of life. Help me to bear afflictions without sinking under them; to meet temptations without yielding to them; to encounter opposition from the enemies of religion without being overcome.
According unto thy word –
(1) According to the requirements of thy word – that I may be conformed to them;
(2) according to the promises of thy word – that they may be verified in me.
That I may live – That my life may not be cut off by my foes, and that I may not sink under my burdens.
And let me not be ashamed of my hope – The meaning of this is, Let not my hope prove to be delusive and vain; let it not be seen at last that it is worthless, or that religion has no power to accomplish what it promises. See Psalms 6:10, note; Psalms 25:2-3, note; Psalms 31:1, note. The phrase does not mean, as it would seem to signify, Let me not blush, or be unwilling to acknowledge my hope, or to profess that I am a friend of God. That “would be,” indeed, a proper prayer, but it is not the prayer here.
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John Gill
Uphold me according unto thy word,…. In thy ways, that my footsteps slip not; in thine arms, and with the right hand of thy righteousness, from fainting and sinking under difficulties and discouragements, in trying circumstances; and from slipping and sliding out of the way of God; and from a total and final filling away, according to thy word of promise, that, as are the days of thy people, their strength shall be; and that thou wilt never leave them nor forsake them. The Targum is, “uphold me in thy word;” or by thy word, either essential or written;
that I may live; meaning not corporeally, though none so live but whom the Lord upholds in life; but, spiritually, live by faith on Christ the Savior, live comfortably on the word of promise, and live honorably, agreeably to the word of God, in all holy conversation and godliness;
and let me not be ashamed of my hope: as men are, when they are disappointed or having and enjoying what they have been hoping and waiting for; but the grace of hope makes not ashamed, nor shall those who have it ever have any reason to be ashamed of it; since it is a good hope through grace; is an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast; is upon a good foundation, Christ, and by which men are saved; and so may rejoice, in full hope of the glory of God they shall certainly enjoy.
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Matthew Henry
He pleads the promise of God, his dependence upon the promise, and his expectation from it: “Uphold me, according to thy word, which word I hope in; and, if it be not performed, I shall be made ashamed of my hope, and be called a fool for my credulity.” But those that hope in God’s word may be sure that the word will not fail them, and therefore their hope will not make them ashamed.
He pleads the great need he had of God’s grace and the great advantage it would be of to him: Uphold me, that I may live, intimating that he could not live without the grace of God; he should fall into sin, into death, into hell, if God did not hold him up; but, supported by his hand, he shall live; his spiritual life shall be maintained and be an earnest of eternal life
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Miscellaneous Comments
“That I may live.” The life of a Christian stands in this, to have his soul quickened by the spirit of grace. For as the presence of the soul quickens the body, and the departure thereof brings instant death; and the body without it is but a dead lump of clay: so it is the presence of God’s Spirit which giveth life to the soul of man. And this life is known by these two notable effects; for first, it brings a joyful sense of God’s mercy; and next, a spiritual disposition to spiritual exercises. And without this, pretend a man what he will, he is but the image of a Christian, looking somewhat like him, but not quickened by his life.
—William Cowper.
“That I may live.” The children of God think they have no life if they live not in God’s life. For if we think we are alive, because we see, so do the brute beasts; if we think we are alive because we hear, so do the cattle; if we think we are alive because we eat and drink, or sleep, so do beasts; if we think we live because we do reason and confer, so do the heathen. The life of God’s children is the death of sin; for where sin is alive, there that part is dead unto God…God’s children, finding themselves dull and slow to good things, when they cannot either rejoice in the promises of God, or find their inward man delighted with the law of God, think themselves to be dead.
—Richard Greenham.
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Additional Cross-References
Romans 5:5 (KJV)
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Psalm 25:2 (KJV)
2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed,
Let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Romans 10:11 (KJV)
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
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Samek ס: Held up and supported by the word of God.
113
I hate the double-minded,
But I love Your law.
114
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word.
115
Depart from me, you evildoers,
For I will keep the commandments of my God!
116
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live;
And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.
117
Hold me up, and I shall be safe,
And I shall observe Your statutes continually.
118
You reject all those who stray from Your statutes,
For their deceit is falsehood.
119
You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross;
Therefore I love Your testimonies.
120
My flesh trembles for fear of You,
And I am afraid of Your judgments.
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