Psalms 119:36 · Bible study
Psalms 119:36 Commentary: God Inclines the Heart to His Statutes
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine the psalmist's prayer for God to turn his heart away from selfish gain and toward His testimonies, and what this reveals about grace and responsibility.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A prayer for God to turn the heart away from selfish gain and toward His testimonies, acknowledging human dependence on divine grace.
- Key words: incline (na.tah, imperative), an urgent appeal for God to bend the will; heart (lev), the seat of desire and choice; testimonies (edot), God's revealed decrees; unjust gain (be.tsa), profit obtained through violence or greed.
- Main debate: Whether God's act of inclining the heart is an active causation of good or a permissive restraint from evil, and how this interacts with human free choice.
- Theological theme: The priority of God's grace in sanctification; the heart's ultimate orientation is in God's hands.
- Best use: A model prayer for dependence on God in the fight against covetousness and a reminder that obedience begins with a changed heart.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain.
KJV King James Version 1769
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, And not unto dishonest gain.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to gain.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Inclina mi corazón á tus testimonios, y no á la avaricia.
Inclina meu coração a teus testemunhos, e não à ganância.
Incline mon cœur vers tes préceptes,
Neige mein Herz zu deinen Zeugnissen, und nicht zum Geiz.
Neig mijn hart tot Uw getuigenissen, en niet tot gierigheid.
Inclina il mio cuore alle tue testimonianze e non alla cupidigia.
Nakłoń serce moje do świadectw twoich, a nie do łakomstwa.
求你使我的心 趨 向 你的法度，不 趨向 非義之財。
Let my heart be turned to your unchanging word, and not to evil desire.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 119:36
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree this verse is a prayer for divine direction of the heart toward God's law and away from covetousness. Barnes notes that the psalmist is acknowledging dependence, the heart needs to be inclined by God, not merely instructed. Gill emphasizes that God 'fashions the hearts of men and can bend them by His efficacious grace.' Matthew Henry draws out both ability and willingness: 'Duty is then done with delight when the heart is inclined to it; it is God's grace that inclines us.' The Hebrew verb na.tah (incline) appears in the imperative, calling on God to act. The word for selfish gain, be.tsa, carries the sense of profit acquired by violence or greed, not just money but any grasping that harms neighbour or violates God's order. This prayer does not reduce human effort; the psalmist already runs in God's ways (v. 32). Rather, it confesses that even the deepest desires of the heart are shaped by the hand that made them. The pastoral takeaway is one of hope: the God who commands obedience also supplies the will for it.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse is a prayer acknowledging that the orientation of the heart toward God's law must come from God himself, and that covetousness is a primary rival to faithfulness.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of covetousness | The word <em>be.tsa</em> refers to unjust gain, profit acquired through violence or exploitation. Christians agree it includes love of money and any selfish pursuit that harms others or displaces God. | Some traditions (e.g., Wesleyan) emphasise the inward desire as the root of all evil; others (e.g., Reformed) focus on the concrete act of securing gain unjustly. Both see it as a deadly rival to God's word. |
| God's role in inclining the heart | God is asked to turn the heart toward His testimonies. All affirm that the psalmist depends on God's grace to change his desires. | Some see this as God directly producing a new inclination by His Spirit; others interpret it as God providentially ordering circumstances so that the heart chooses rightly. Both positions deny that God causes sin. |
| Human responsibility | The psalmist prays fervently and also takes action (running, delighting, seeking). Christians agree that human effort is required in sanctification. | The balance between God's sovereignty and human freedom is debated: Reformed theology emphasises God's effectual call; Arminian theology stresses human cooperation with grace. Both seek to be biblical. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem, each stanza devoted to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The stanza He (verses 33, 40) concentrates on prayer for guidance and protection from evil. The psalmist faces opposition from the proud (v. 51, v. 69) and feels oppressed, yet his central concern is staying faithful to God's testimonies. In this context, covetousness is not merely a private failing but a threat that can derail the entire life of faith.
Ancient Israel understood the lure of unjust gain well. Exodus 18:21 instructs leaders to hate be.tsa (unjust gain), linking it to bribery and perversion of justice. The Psalms elsewhere condemn the greedy (Psalm 10:3). The prayer in verse 36 echoes a broader biblical theme: the heart's orientation is decisive, and only God can ultimately turn it. Jeremiah 32:39 and Ezekiel 11:19 promise that God will give His people a new heart to walk in His statutes. Here the psalmist anticipates that promise, asking God to perform now what He will fully accomplish later.
The immediate literary context reinforces the interplay of grace and effort. In verse 32 the psalmist runs; in verse 33 he prays to be taught; in verse 35 he asks to be directed. The petition for an inclined heart stands alongside acts of seeking, delighting, and choosing. This shows that the psalmist does not collapse human responsibility into divine action or vice versa. He recognises that his own choices matter, yet without grace, those choices will always turn toward gain rather than God.
Textual Notes
Reception History
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- A Prayer for a Directed Heart, The psalmist asks God to turn his heart toward His statutes. The verb is imperative: David knows he cannot produce this inclination in himself.
- The Specific Danger of Covetousness, Covetousness is singled out as the primary competitor to God's word. It is not just love of money but any selfish pursuit that displaces devotion.
- The Partnership of Grace and Responsibility, The psalmist prays for what he also pursues. Verses 32 and 35 show him running and delighting. Prayer and action belong together.
Five-point outline
- Honest assessment: we are naturally bent toward gain, not God.
- God alone can reorient the deepest desires of the heart.
- Covetousness stands opposed to all of God's testimonies (Matthew Henry).
- God's testimonies are more precious than any treasure (Gill on Aben Ezra).
- The response: pray, then obey, both are acts of dependence.
Illustration hooks
- A small business owner faces a choice: cut corners to increase profit, or lose money to maintain honesty. The heart must be turned before the decision is made.
- An advertisement stirs envy for a lifestyle that ignores God. The psalmist's prayer is a first defence, asking God to rekindle desire for what is eternal.
- The person who says, "I can't help wanting more," but learns to pray this verse daily, finding that desire is reshaped by grace over time.
Questions your congregation is asking
- "If God has to incline my heart, is my own effort useless?"
- "How do I distinguish between healthy ambition and covetousness?"
- "I pray this verse but still struggle, does that mean I lack faith?"
Leading a Discussion
This verse invites a honest conversation about where our desires come from. The psalmist does not scold himself for wanting the wrong things; he brings the want itself to God. That posture changes how we approach the battle against greed, envy, and discontentment. Use the questions below to guide your group.
Discussion questions
- What does this verse teach us about the source of our moral inclinations? Where do our desires for gain come from?
- Why do you think the psalmist singles out covetousness? In what ways does it specifically oppose God's testimonies?
- How does the imperative verb "incline" (a command to God) affect the way we read this prayer? What does it assume about God and about us?
- In what ways do we, like the psalmist, need God to "turn our hearts" away from things we already recognise as harmful?
- Read verses 32, 35, and 37 alongside verse 36. How do the surrounding prayers and the psalmist's actions balance divine grace and human responsibility?
- Can you think of a situation where you prayed for God to change your heart about something material, and then found yourself taking steps to obey? How did grace meet effort?
- How might praying this verse regularly change the way you face temptation toward selfish gain this week?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 18:21 | Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. |
| I Kings 8:58 | that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers. |
| Psalms 10:3 | For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh. |
| Psalms 51:10 | Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. |
| Psalms 141:4 | Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies. |
| Jeremiah 32:39 | I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good and the good of their children after them. |
| Ezekiel 11:19 | I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh, |
| Ezekiel 11:20 | that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke defines covetousness as any inordinate love of gain that grieves the Holy Spirit or turns the heart toward seeking happiness in this world rather than in God. It is not merely the desire for money but any attachment that displaces one's ultimate treasure.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights covetousness as the single greatest threat to devotion, more dangerous than any other sin. When the psalmist prays not to be inclined toward greed, the meaning is similar to asking God to lead us away from temptation. This is a plea for restraint, not an accusation that God tempts anyone.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin pushes back against the common assumption that Psalm 119 is a jumble of unrelated thoughts. He insists the psalm has a coherent twofold aim: urging believers toward godly living and laying out the true pattern of worship by centering on God's law. The variations in topic do not mean it lacks connection.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
covetousness ] Or, unjust gain . With this and the following verse cp. Isa_33:15 .
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Incline mine heart vnto thy testimonies, and not to couetousnesse.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that humans are naturally disinclined toward God's testimonies, so this prayer asks for God's effective grace to bend the heart toward them. He then clarifies the negative request: God does not incline the heart to covetousness, but may leave a person to natural inclinations or temptations, which is what the prayer deprecates.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlight that the psalmist prays for understanding to escape two specific by-paths: selfish gain and empty, godless teaching. The reproach he fears is not the shame of confessing God but of denying Him. The rare Hebrew word for "to the end" is peculiar to this poet.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that Psalm 119 is not a monotonous collection of disconnected sayings but a structured prayer by a young man under persecution. He finds an inner progress through the strophes, with the poet repeatedly praying for understanding, strength, and deliverance while praising God's word, despite the artificial alphabetical form.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that David prays for two distinct works of grace: God must both incline his heart to make him willing and strengthen him to make him able to do his duty. The sin he specifically prays against is covetousness, which stands opposed to all God's testimonies.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights covetousness as the sin most directly opposed to God's word, because it blocks a person from receiving and benefiting from Scripture. He also calls it especially destructive, since it is the root of all evil.