Psalms 119:176 - Exposition

I have gone astray like a lost sheep (comp. Psalms 119:67 ). Some see in this verse nothing but a reference to the outward circumstances of the psalmist's life. But this is certainly not the idea generally attached in Scripture to the image of the "lost sheep" (see Isaiah 53:6 ; Jeremiah 1:6 ; Luke 15:4-7 ; 1 Peter 2:25 ). Dean Johnson's exposition is probably correct, "I have wandered far from thee and from home, as a sheep lost and ready to perish in the wilderness." Seek thy servant . "Seek him, lest he be not able of himself to seek thee; and bring him again to thy fold." For I do not forget thy commandments . In my worst wanderings I have not fallen away wholly from thee. Thy Law has been ever in my thoughts. I have not "forgotten" it, but meditated on it and longed for it ( Psalms 119:15 , Psalms 119:20 , Psalms 119:40 ).