Psalms 119:9

“When I cry [unto thee], etc.] In prayer; then shall mine enemies turn back; great is the strength of prayer; the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avails much against their enemies: when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed: the cases of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, prove it; this David was assured of, and knew it to be true by experience, his prayer being often the prayer of faith in this respect; this I know: for God [is] for me; he knew that when he prayed his enemies would flee; because God was on his side, who is greater than they; or by this he knew that God was for him, and was his God, by hearing his prayers, and causing his enemies to turn back: or, however, let…”

“Wherewithal - This begins the second portion of the psalm, extending to Psalms 119:16, in which all the verses begin with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ב b), indicated in our translation by the word Beth. These names of the letters, inserted for convenience, are no part of the psalm, as it is not so marked in the original. This mode of indicating the divisions of the psalm is special to our version. It is not in the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, or the German versions. The word wherewithal means “by what” (Hebrew); that is, What means shall a young man adopt by which he may “cleanse his way?” it indicates a state of inquiry. The case supposed is that of a young man pondering the…”

“A young man - Or, any man. But he names the young man, because such are commonly void of wisdom and experience, and exposed to many and great temptations. Cleanse - Purge himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. Psalms 119:11”

“119:9-16 Beth (ב): The psalmist is determined to pursue purity and encourages the cultivation of wisdom through God’s principles (119:9) and instructions (119:10-16). 119:9 A young person tends toward foolishness (Prov 22:15) and can easily make mistakes that destroy his life (Prov 7:6-23). Youth is also the best time to develop personal discipline and pursue wisdom (see Ps 34:11; Prov 1:4). • To stay pure means to remain uncorrupted by wickedness and sin and to develop the integrity of life defined in Ps 15.”

“shall: Psa 25:7, Psa 34:11; Job 1:5, Job 13:26; Pro 1:4, Pro 1:10, Pro 4:1, Pro 4:10-17, 5:7-23, 6:20-35; Pro 7:7; Ecc 11:9, Ecc 11:10, Ecc 12:1; Luk 15:13; Ti2 2:22; Tit 2:4-6 by taking: Psa 119:11, Psa 119:97-105, Psa 1:1-3, Psa 19:7-11, Psa 78:4-8; Deu 6:6-9, Deu 17:18; Jos 1:7; Joh 15:3; Ti2 3:15-17; Jam 1:21-25 Psalms 119:10”

“The eightfold Beth. Acting in accordance with the word of God, a young man walks blamelessly; the poet desires this, and supplicates God's gracious assistance in order to it. To purify or cleanse one's way or walk (זכּה, cf. Psa 73:13; Pro 20:9) signifies to maintain it pure (זך, root זך, Arab. zk, to prick, to strike the eye, nitere; (Note: The word receives the meaning of νικᾶν (vid., supra, p. 367), like Arab. ḏhr and bhr, from the signification of outshining = overpowering.) vid., Fleischer in Levy's Chaldisches Wrterbuch, i. 424) from the spotting of sin, or to free it from it. Psa 119:9 is the answer to the question in Psa 119:9; לשׁמר signifies custodiendo semetipsum, for שׁמר can…”