PSALMS 119:113 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.”
In the Samek stanza, the psalmist declares hatred for "double-minded" thoughts that diverge from God's law, establishing the foundational posture of undivided loyalty that characterizes meditation on Scripture. This verse exemplifies the devotional commitment required to internalize Torah, recognizing that competing loyalties and half-hearted allegiances undermine spiritual transformation. The rejection of duplicity reflects the Shema's call for wholehearted love of God, demanding integrated devotion rather than compartmentalized faith. Medieval interpreters saw this as warning against the heresy of split theological commitments, while spiritual directors understood it as the prerequisite for contemplative depth—one cannot meditate authentically while entertaining alternative sources of ultimate truth. The Hebrew Letter Samek, meaning "support" or "sustain," mirrors this verse's theme that God's law alone provides the stable foundation upon which a unified self is constructed.
Church Fathers on Psalms 119:113
1. From its commencement, dearly beloved, does this great Psalm exhort us unto bliss, which there is no one who desires not....And therefore this is the lesson which he teaches, who says, “Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord” Psalm 118:1. As much as to say, I know what you wish, you are seeking bliss: if then you would be blessed, be undefiled. For the former all desire, the latter fear: yet without it what all wish cannot be…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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