Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
Parallel translations
- WEB Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously!
- KJV Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
- BSB Remove me from the path of deceit and graciously grant me Your law.
- NKJV Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously.
- NASB Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your Law.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist asks to be kept from the way of falsehood and to be graciously granted God's law. It matters because deliverance from deceit and the gift of God's truth come by grace.
Overview
The psalmist prays both to be turned from the path of lying and to receive God's law as a gracious gift. He recognizes that truthful living is something God must grant. This dual prayer reflects the gospel, where God turns sinners from deceit and graciously gives His truth in Christ, who is the way and the truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Jn 2:4One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.
- Prov 30:8Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Ps 119:37Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
- Heb 8:10–11“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
- Eph 4:22–25that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
- Rev 22:15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Ps 119:5Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey your statutes!
- Jonah 2:8Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
- Jer 16:19Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
- Ps 119:163I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.
- Ps 141:3–4Set a watch, Yahweh, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.
- Ps 119:104Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. NUN
- Ps 119:128Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way. PEY
- Isa 44:20He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can’t deliver his soul, nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
- Jer 31:33–34“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 119:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.