Psalm 119:110
—Is it true that David never erred from God’s precepts or did he go astray from them?
Problem:
David appears to contradict himself in the same psalm. First he says to God, “I have not strayed from Your precepts” (v.
110
). But later he admitted, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep” (v.
176
). However, it would seem that both cannot be true.
Solution:
David has two different things in mind. In the first case he is speaking in
general,
and in the latter he is speaking in
particular.
In verse
110
David states that the general trend of his life has been faithfulness to God. But, in verse
176
, David affirms what we must all acknowledge, namely, the
universal
truth that “all we like sheep have gone astray” (
Isa. 53:6
). So understood, there is no real contradiction here. (See also comments on
1 Kings 11:4
.)