Psalms 119:36
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Original Language Analysis
הַט
Incline
H5186
הַט
Incline
Strong's:
H5186
Word #:
1 of 7
to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows)
לִ֭בִּי
my heart
H3820
לִ֭בִּי
my heart
Strong's:
H3820
Word #:
2 of 7
the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything
Cross References
Hebrews 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.Luke 12:15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.1 Kings 8:58That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.Psalms 51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.Colossians 3:5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:Psalms 141:4Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.2 Peter 2:3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.Exodus 18:21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:Ezekiel 33:31And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
Historical Context
Ancient Israel's history is marked by cycles of covenant faithfulness and covetous apostasy (Achan's theft, Solomon's wealth, prophetic denunciations of greed). The psalmist writes from a culture where prosperity could lead to forgetting God (Deuteronomy 8:11-14), needing divine heart-inclination to resist materialism's magnetic pull.
Questions for Reflection
- What does it reveal about human nature that we need God to actively 'incline' our hearts toward His testimonies?
- Where is your heart currently inclined—toward God's Word or toward covetous gain (money, possessions, status, comfort)?
- How do you actively seek God's heart-inclining grace when you feel affections drifting from Scripture toward material things?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies (הַט־לִבִּי אֶל־עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ)—Natah (to stretch out, incline, turn) pictures God bending the lev (heart) toward His edut (testimonies). The heart naturally inclines toward self; God must supernaturally tilt it toward His revealed truth. This is effectual grace—not violating will but renewing affections so we freely choose what we couldn't choose before. And not to covetousness (וְאַל אֶל־בָּצַע)—Betsa (dishonest gain, greed) is the antithesis of delighting in God's testimonies. Covetousness is heart-worship of creation instead of Creator (Romans 1:25), violating the tenth commandment's prohibition against desiring what God forbids.
The psalmist recognizes two magnetic poles competing for the heart: God's testimonies and covetous gain. Without divine intervention, hearts incline toward greed automatically. This prayer requests radical heart-reorientation—affections transferred from wealth to Word, from possessions to precepts. This is the New Covenant's 'new heart' (Ezekiel 36:26) and Jesus's warning that 'you cannot serve God and money' (Matthew 6:24). Only God can incline hearts away from idolatry toward Himself.