What is the meaning of Psalm 119:175? Let me live to praise You The psalmist asks for life with a single purpose—praise. He is not bargaining for comfort or longevity for its own sake; he longs for breath so that every breath can exalt the LORD. Psalm 115:17-18 reminds us that “It is not the dead who praise the LORD… But we will bless the LORD, both now and forevermore.” Scripture repeatedly ties life and praise together: • Life is God-given (Psalm 31:15, “My times are in Your hands”). • Our created purpose is worship (Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD”). • Even in hardship praise remains the goal (Philippians 1:20-21, Paul’s “to live is Christ”). By praying “Let me live,” the writer confesses that ongoing existence itself depends on God’s sustaining mercy. By adding “to praise You,” he declares that every heartbeat should echo Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times.” may Your judgments sustain me Here the psalmist identifies the means by which life is preserved: God’s judgments—His righteous decisions, commands, and decrees. Psalm 19:9 calls those judgments “true… altogether righteous,” and Psalm 119:93 testifies, “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.” How do His judgments sustain? • They feed the soul (Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”). • They steady the heart (Psalm 119:116, “Sustain me as You promised, and I will live”). • They correct and guard us from ruin (2 Timothy 3:16, God-breathed Scripture “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness”). The psalmist trusts that obedience to God’s revealed will is not a burden but a lifeline. Divine judgments are literally life-support, maintaining spiritual vitality as surely as God maintains physical breath. summary Psalm 119:175 pairs two inseparable realities: life and the Word. The writer seeks continued existence not for self-indulgence but for nonstop praise, and he knows that such life is upheld only by God’s righteous judgments. Living to glorify God and leaning on God’s Word form a single prayer—one that every believer can echo with confidence that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). |
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