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Psalm 119:87

They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts.

85The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.
86All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me!
87They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts.
88Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth. LAMEDH
89LORD, your word is settled in heaven forever.
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← Psalm 119:86Psalm 119:88 →
Notice

“Almost” marks how close the speaker came to death, making the refusal to forsake God’s precepts a costly statement spoken under threat.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

How does “almost wiped me from the earth” shape your reading of the speaker’s refusal to forsake God’s precepts?

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What does the surrounding plea for help show you about faithfulness under threat?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Matthew 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.Both passages face the threat of death from human hands while directing allegiance toward God.
Isaiah 58:2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me …Both mention not forsaking God’s commands, though Isaiah describes people acting as if they had kept them, while the psalm states faithfulness under threat.
Psalm 119:61The ropes of the wicked bind me, but I won’t forget your law.Both describe harm from others alongside a firm refusal to abandon God’s instruction.
Psalm 119:110The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from your precepts.Both describe enemies endangering the speaker without turning him away from God’s precepts.
Psalm 119:51The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law.Both join mistreatment with continued obedience to God’s law, though one names mockery and the other near destruction.
1 Samuel 26:24Behold, as your life was respected today in my eyes, so let my life be respected in the LORD’s eyes, and let him deliver me out of all oppression.”Both concern a life under threat; Samuel records a plea for deliverance, while the psalm recounts near destruction.
1 Samuel 23:26–27Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David hurried to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his …Both portray danger from human pursuers, with David surrounded and the psalm’s speaker nearly wiped from the earth.
2 Samuel 17:16Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, ‘Don’t lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king be swallowed …Both describe danger to life, though Samuel records an urgent escape warning and the psalm records steadfast obedience.
1 Samuel 20:3David swore moreover, and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he says, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved;’ …Both speakers describe coming close to death because of another person’s hostility.
1 Samuel 26:9David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?”Both express restraint governed by regard for God: keeping his precepts in the psalm and refusing to kill his anointed in Samuel.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 85–89 and mark each plea for help

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Encouragement

Faithfulness here includes asking God to preserve life. You need not treat seeking help as failure; the speaker who kept God’s precepts also cried out for protection.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 119:87. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 119 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).