Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
Psalm 119:29 joins a necessary deliverance to a gracious remedy. The psalmist’s soul cleaves unto the dust, and he asks God to quicken him according to His word (v.25). He has declared his ways, asked to be taught God’s statutes, and pleaded for strength under heaviness (vv.26-28). Now he identifies a danger within himself: “the way of lying.” He asks God to remove it and replace it with the rule of truth. The next verse confirms the contrast: “I have chosen the way of truth” (v.30).
“Remove from me.” The prayer is personal. The psalmist does not begin by exposing the lies of enemies, neighbours, rulers, or false teachers. He brings himself before God. He knows that fallen man has a deceitful heart and that falsehood may cling closely unless the LORD exposes and removes it. A man who hates lying in others must first ask God to search his own words, motives, excuses, and dealings.
To remove is to separate and put away. The psalmist does not ask God to make his lying safer, less noticeable, or more successful. He wants deliverance from it. David prayed similarly, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). The godly man does not protect deceit as a useful refuge; he asks God to take it away.
This prayer does not excuse personal duty. God removes the way of lying by bringing the sinner to acknowledge, confess, forsake, and correct it. Paul commanded, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour” (Ephesians 4:25). The man asking God to remove falsehood must be ready to put it away when God exposes it.
“The way.” A way is more than one word spoken in a weak moment. It is a path, course, habit, method, and manner of life. The next verse sets “the way of truth” directly against “the way of lying” (vv.29-30). The psalmist is not asking only to avoid one false sentence. He wants to be removed from every course governed by deceit.
The way of lying may include false witness, deceitful promises, flattery for advantage, hypocrisy in religion, dishonest business, excuses that conceal guilt, and selected facts arranged to leave a false impression. A man may walk in lying even when every sentence contains some fragment of truth. If his words are framed to deceive, the way is false.
“Of lying.” Scripture defines lying by its opposition to truth. “No lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). Paul sets the two against each other: “putting away lying, speak every man truth” (Ephesians 4:25). Lying presents what is false as true or uses words and appearances to deceive. It contradicts the God of truth, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Lying is not a harmless fault. The devil is “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truly are His delight (Proverbs 12:22). All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). The psalmist therefore asks urgently to be removed from a path whose author is the devil and whose end is judgment.
Yet this prayer also distinguishes a saint fighting falsehood from a man settled in it. The psalmist recognizes the danger, hates the way, and asks God to remove it. He will choose the way of truth and lay God’s judgments before him (v.30). A saint may fall into a lie and must repent, but he cannot make peace with lying as his chosen way. Grace teaches him to hate what once suited his fallen nature.
“And.” This word joins removal to replacement. The psalmist does not ask only for the false way to be taken away. He also asks for God’s law. Empty reform is not enough. A man may stop one lie while his heart remains without a rule. Falsehood must be displaced by truth, and deceitful ways must be replaced by the law of God.
“Grant me.” The language is humble. The psalmist does not claim understanding and obedience as products of his own strength. He asks God to grant them. The written law was already before him, but he needed God to teach him, make him understand, strengthen him, and enlarge his heart (vv.26-28,32). Possessing Scripture outwardly does not guarantee that a man will receive and obey it rightly.
This is a prayer for practical grace. The psalmist is already a living saint who loves God’s word and seeks God in prayer. He is not asking the law to earn his legal justification or cause his regeneration. He is asking God to use His law to deliver him practically from deceit and establish him in truth. The justified man still needs daily instruction, correction, and strength.
“Thy law.” The remedy is God’s law. It is not personal opinion, natural conscience, human custom, or whatever explanation makes the sinner comfortable. God’s law is the straight rule that exposes crooked ways. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth” (v.142). Because the law is truth, it detects and condemns the way of lying.
God’s law teaches more than avoiding outright falsehood. It commands truth in the inward parts, faithfulness in promises, honest weights and measures, true witness, sincere love, and plain dealing with neighbours. It judges the flattering mouth, the double heart, the concealed motive, and the false profession. The man governed by God’s law does not ask only, Can my words be defended? He asks, Are they true before God?
“Graciously.” This word is precious. The psalmist asks for God’s law as a gracious gift. Grace and God’s law are not enemies in practical holiness. Grace does not teach a man to despise commandments; it teaches him to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly (Titus 2:11-12). It is mercy when God shows a man the straight path and gives him strength to walk in it.
The law cannot provide legal righteousness to a guilty sinner, for justification is by the obedience and blood of Jesus Christ. But the law is a gracious rule to those whom God has made alive. It reveals sin, gives wisdom, directs conduct, and protects from destructive ways. The psalmist does not resent its authority. He asks God to grant it graciously.
This verse calls for honest examination. Have I spoken what I knew was false? Have I exaggerated to strengthen my cause? Have I withheld a necessary fact to create a false conclusion? Have I promised what I did not intend to perform? Have I concealed sin under careful wording? Have I used religious language to appear better than I am? The way of lying has many turns, but the law of God exposes them all.
When a lie has been spoken, repentance should be plain. Confess it to God. Correct it before those deceived. Restore what was gained by it. Put away the false account and speak truth. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Asking God to remove the way of lying while protecting its fruit is another lie.
Jesus Christ stands as the truth against every false way. He declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). His enemies watched His words, tempted Him with questions, and raised false witnesses against Him, yet they could find no guile in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and His grace teaches redeemed men to put away the lie and walk honestly before God and men (John 1:17).
Psalm 119:29 therefore gives a prayer every saint should use. Remove the false way; grant the true rule. Take away deceit from the heart, mouth, and life; establish the soul in the law of truth. Do not excuse the lie, manage it, rename it, or hide it. Ask God to remove it, choose the way of truth, and walk under the gracious rule of His word.
Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
Psalm 119:29 joins a necessary deliverance to a gracious remedy. The psalmist’s soul cleaves unto the dust, and he asks God to quicken him according to His word (v.25). He has declared his ways, asked to be taught God’s statutes, and pleaded for strength under heaviness (vv.26-28). Now he identifies a danger within himself: “the way of lying.” He asks God to remove it and replace it with the rule of truth. The next verse confirms the contrast: “I have chosen the way of truth” (v.30).
“Remove from me.” The prayer is personal. The psalmist does not begin by exposing the lies of enemies, neighbours, rulers, or false teachers. He brings himself before God. He knows that fallen man has a deceitful heart and that falsehood may cling closely unless the LORD exposes and removes it. A man who hates lying in others must first ask God to search his own words, motives, excuses, and dealings.
To remove is to separate and put away. The psalmist does not ask God to make his lying safer, less noticeable, or more successful. He wants deliverance from it. David prayed similarly, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). The godly man does not protect deceit as a useful refuge; he asks God to take it away.
This prayer does not excuse personal duty. God removes the way of lying by bringing the sinner to acknowledge, confess, forsake, and correct it. Paul commanded, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour” (Ephesians 4:25). The man asking God to remove falsehood must be ready to put it away when God exposes it.
“The way.” A way is more than one word spoken in a weak moment. It is a path, course, habit, method, and manner of life. The next verse sets “the way of truth” directly against “the way of lying” (vv.29-30). The psalmist is not asking only to avoid one false sentence. He wants to be removed from every course governed by deceit.
The way of lying may include false witness, deceitful promises, flattery for advantage, hypocrisy in religion, dishonest business, excuses that conceal guilt, and selected facts arranged to leave a false impression. A man may walk in lying even when every sentence contains some fragment of truth. If his words are framed to deceive, the way is false.
“Of lying.” Scripture defines lying by its opposition to truth. “No lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). Paul sets the two against each other: “putting away lying, speak every man truth” (Ephesians 4:25). Lying presents what is false as true or uses words and appearances to deceive. It contradicts the God of truth, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Lying is not a harmless fault. The devil is “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truly are His delight (Proverbs 12:22). All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). The psalmist therefore asks urgently to be removed from a path whose author is the devil and whose end is judgment.
Yet this prayer also distinguishes a saint fighting falsehood from a man settled in it. The psalmist recognizes the danger, hates the way, and asks God to remove it. He will choose the way of truth and lay God’s judgments before him (v.30). A saint may fall into a lie and must repent, but he cannot make peace with lying as his chosen way. Grace teaches him to hate what once suited his fallen nature.
“And.” This word joins removal to replacement. The psalmist does not ask only for the false way to be taken away. He also asks for God’s law. Empty reform is not enough. A man may stop one lie while his heart remains without a rule. Falsehood must be displaced by truth, and deceitful ways must be replaced by the law of God.
“Grant me.” The language is humble. The psalmist does not claim understanding and obedience as products of his own strength. He asks God to grant them. The written law was already before him, but he needed God to teach him, make him understand, strengthen him, and enlarge his heart (vv.26-28,32). Possessing Scripture outwardly does not guarantee that a man will receive and obey it rightly.
This is a prayer for practical grace. The psalmist is already a living saint who loves God’s word and seeks God in prayer. He is not asking the law to earn his legal justification or cause his regeneration. He is asking God to use His law to deliver him practically from deceit and establish him in truth. The justified man still needs daily instruction, correction, and strength.
“Thy law.” The remedy is God’s law. It is not personal opinion, natural conscience, human custom, or whatever explanation makes the sinner comfortable. God’s law is the straight rule that exposes crooked ways. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth” (v.142). Because the law is truth, it detects and condemns the way of lying.
God’s law teaches more than avoiding outright falsehood. It commands truth in the inward parts, faithfulness in promises, honest weights and measures, true witness, sincere love, and plain dealing with neighbours. It judges the flattering mouth, the double heart, the concealed motive, and the false profession. The man governed by God’s law does not ask only, Can my words be defended? He asks, Are they true before God?
“Graciously.” This word is precious. The psalmist asks for God’s law as a gracious gift. Grace and God’s law are not enemies in practical holiness. Grace does not teach a man to despise commandments; it teaches him to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly (Titus 2:11-12). It is mercy when God shows a man the straight path and gives him strength to walk in it.
The law cannot provide legal righteousness to a guilty sinner, for justification is by the obedience and blood of Jesus Christ. But the law is a gracious rule to those whom God has made alive. It reveals sin, gives wisdom, directs conduct, and protects from destructive ways. The psalmist does not resent its authority. He asks God to grant it graciously.
This verse calls for honest examination. Have I spoken what I knew was false? Have I exaggerated to strengthen my cause? Have I withheld a necessary fact to create a false conclusion? Have I promised what I did not intend to perform? Have I concealed sin under careful wording? Have I used religious language to appear better than I am? The way of lying has many turns, but the law of God exposes them all.
When a lie has been spoken, repentance should be plain. Confess it to God. Correct it before those deceived. Restore what was gained by it. Put away the false account and speak truth. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Asking God to remove the way of lying while protecting its fruit is another lie.
Jesus Christ stands as the truth against every false way. He declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). His enemies watched His words, tempted Him with questions, and raised false witnesses against Him, yet they could find no guile in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and His grace teaches redeemed men to put away the lie and walk honestly before God and men (John 1:17).
Psalm 119:29 therefore gives a prayer every saint should use. Remove the false way; grant the true rule. Take away deceit from the heart, mouth, and life; establish the soul in the law of truth. Do not excuse the lie, manage it, rename it, or hide it. Ask God to remove it, choose the way of truth, and walk under the gracious rule of His word.