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Epiphany Season · Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany · Year A

Psalm 119:33-40

Teach Me the Way of Your Statutes

February 22, 2026

St Jerome in His Study, Antonello da Messina
St Jerome in His Study, Antonello da Messina, c. 1475National Gallery, London
Jerome sits at a wooden study set inside a cathedral, with a lion padding up the aisle. Antonello paints a peacock, a basin and a cat with the same care as the saint.Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord, who meditates on it day and night: this is that person, given a desk.Antonello da MessinaA Sicilian painter who carried the northern oil technique into Italy and combined it with a severe Italian sense of structure.National Gallery, LondonFounded in 1824 by buying one banker's collection, and deliberately placed in Trafalgar Square so that people from every part of London could walk to it.National Gallery, London
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 5:38-48Mt 5:38-48
Epistle1 Cor. 3:10-11, 16-231 Cor 3:10-11, 16-23
Old TestamentLev. 19:1-2, 9-18Lv 19:1-2, 9-18
PsalterPs. 119:33-40Ps 119:33-40

Overview & Insights

"Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end." (Psalm 119:33)

These eight verses are the He stanza of Psalm 119's great acrostic, a sustained prayer asking God to teach, give understanding, and turn the heart toward the law rather than toward worthless things. It is a psalm of desire more than instruction: the psalmist wants obedience but knows it has to be given, not simply willed.

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Take it further: Psalm 119:33-40

Commentary

Commentary on Psalm 119:33-40Commentary on Ps 119:33-40 Working Preacher

Notes the stanza's nine petitions in eight verses and its turn from the heart's instruction to the removal of obstacles to obedience.

Psalm 119:33-40 CommentaryPs 119:33-40 Commentary CEP (Center for Excellence in Preaching)

Reads the He stanza as a prayer for a teachable heart, not just teachable information.

Psalm 119 Commentary: The Greatness and Glory of God's WordPs 119 Commentary: The Greatness and Glory of God's Word Enduring Word

Covers the full psalm section by section, including the He stanza's plea to be taught rather than merely informed.

Psalms 119 - Barnes' Notes on the Whole BiblePs 119 - Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible StudyLight

Explains the acrostic structure and works through the He section's petitions verse by verse.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 119:33 InterlinearPs 119:33 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew of the opening petition word by word, helpful for the repeated verbs of teaching and understanding across the stanza.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 119Ps 119 Catena

Verse-by-verse comment from the Fathers on Psalm 119.

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