Psalms 119:169

Let - To hinder or obstruct.

Let my cry come near before thee - This is really a fine image; it is of frequent occurrence, and is little heeded. Here the psalmists cry for deliverance is personified; made an intelligent being, and sent up to the throne of grace to negotiate in his behalf. He pursues this prosopopoeia in the next verse and sends his supplication in the same way. I have already had occasion to refer to a similar figure in Homer, where prayers are represented as the daughters of Jupiter. See on Psalm 88:2 (note).

Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord - This commences a new division of the psalm, indicated by the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letter Tau (ט ṭ), corresponding to our "t," or "th." The petition here is, that his prayer might be heard; that it might come into the very presence of God; that there might be no obstructions to its reaching where God was. Let nothing from my unworthiness, from my past sins, from my ignorance, prevent its coming before thee. Something often apparently hinders our prayers so that they do not reach the ear of God. The psalmist prays here that there may be no such hindrance in the prayer which he now offers.

Give me understanding according to thy word - According to the promises of thy word; or, give me the same views of truth which are set forth in thy word. This prayer had been several times offered before, and it shows how earnest was his desire to know the truth. See Psalm 119:34, Psalm 119:73,Psalm 119:144.