Tav is both ending and beginning.
It closes Psalm 119,
Yet it opens the heart to a deeper awareness of grace.
After exploring wisdom,
Righteousness,
Peace,
And perseverance,
The psalmist's final words are not triumphant,
But tender.
Let my cry come before you.
This stanza is the sigh of a soul after a long pilgrimage.
It is the prayer of one who has learned that to be near God is not about achievement,
But relationship.
It represents integration,
The point where striving softens into stillness and faith matures into trust.
The psalmist is no longer seeking answers.
He is resting in belonging.
Psalm 119,
Stanza 22,
Verses 169-176 Tav Let my cry come before you,
O Lord.
Give me understanding according to your word.
Let my supplication come before you.
Deliver me according to your word.
My lips shall utter praise,
For you teach me your statutes.
My tongue shall speak of your word,
For all your commandments are righteousness.
Let your hand become my help,
For I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation,
O Lord,
And your law is my delight.
Let my soul live,
And it shall praise you,
And let your judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
For I do not forget your commandments.
Verse 169 Let my cry come before you,
O Lord.
Give me understanding according to your word.
The psalmist's journey ends where it began,
With a cry,
But now it is quiet,
Steady,
Sincere.
This is surrendered prayer,
No longer demanding,
Just drawing near.
The psalmist no longer asks for deliverance,
But for understanding,
Wisdom,
Not escape.
It expresses mature self-awareness,
The realization that peace comes not from changing circumstances,
But from deeper comprehension of them.
Understanding transforms crying into communion.
Verse 170 Let my supplication come before you.
Deliver me according to your word.
Here the psalmist repeats his plea,
But it is gentle,
Rooted in trust.
This verse reveals faithful vulnerability,
The courage to keep asking,
Knowing God hears.
It mirrors secure dependence,
The healthy ability to reach out without fear of rejection.
Deliverance now feels less like rescue and more like return,
Being gathered back into divine safety.
To pray is to breathe our need into love.
Verse 171 My lips shall utter praise for you teach me your statutes.
The psalmist's cry becomes song.
Praise rises naturally from gratitude for learning.
This is transformation through understanding,
Pain turned into wisdom.
It parallels cognitive reappraisal through gratitude,
Reframing experience as growth.
When life teaches us truth,
Every wound becomes a verse in our praise.
Learning is sacred when it leads to thankfulness.
Verse 172 My tongue shall speak of your word for all your commandments are righteousness.
Here devotion becomes expression.
The psalmist's voice now carries the truth he has lived.
This is witness,
The soul sharing what it has discovered through struggle.
It represents integration of learning into action,
Speaking from authenticity.
To speak your word is to let our life echo the wisdom we have absorbed.
When truth is loved deeply enough,
It speaks through us.
Verse 173 Let your hand become my help for I have chosen your precepts.
After 172 verses of meditation and striving,
The psalmist ends with dependence.
Let your hand help me.
This is childlike trust,
Not weakness,
But rest in divine partnership.
It embodies relational trust,
The humility to ask for help,
And the peace of accepting it.
Choosing God's precepts is choosing alignment.
Asking for his hand is choosing relationship.
Even strength needs a steadying hand.
Verse 174 I long for your salvation,
O Lord,
And your law is my delight.
Longing and delight intertwine.
Yearning has not vanished,
But it has become sweet.
This is the ache of love,
Desire transformed into devotion.
It mirrors secure longing,
The state where desire is not anxious,
But enriching.
The psalmist's soul stretches toward God,
Not from emptiness,
But fullness,
Because love always longs for more of what it cherishes.
To long for God is to already be near him.
Verse 175 Let my soul live,
And it shall praise you,
And let your judgments help me.
Life here is not mere survival,
But vitality,
A soul fully alive through divine guidance.
This is the renewal of purpose.
To live is to praise.
It represents self-transcendence,
The movement from self-focus to gratitude.
The psalmist no longer fears God's judgments.
They have become the very structure of peace.
When we live in harmony with truth,
Even limits feel like love.
Verse 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
For I do not forget your commandments.
The psalm ends in humility.
After all his devotion,
The psalmist admits,
I have gone astray.
This is the essence of mature faith,
Awareness of imperfection met with confidence in grace.
It reflects self-compassionate honesty,
Acknowledging our wandering without shame,
Trusting that divine love will always come seeking.
The psalm begins in blessing and ends in belonging,
The sheep returning to the shepherd.
To know we can stray and still be sought is the deepest form of peace.
Tav is the stanza of return.
After all the searching,
The learning,
The longing,
The psalmist rests in relationship,
Not in perfection,
But in presence.
He ends not with mastery,
But mercy.
His voice is steady,
His heart open,
His journey complete.
For us,
Tav offers this final wisdom.
Understanding is deeper than control.
Surrender is stronger than striving.
And love,
Steady,
Seeking and sure,
Is the soul's true home.
A Prayer Loving Shepherd,
Let my cry come before you.
Teach me to rest in your wisdom,
To trust your hand and to live in your light.
When I wander,
Seek me.
When I falter,
Revive me.
Let my soul live to praise you.
And may your love be the beginning and the end of all my paths.
Amen.
