Uphold me - Sustain me in the trials and the temptations of life. Help me to bear afflictions without sinking under them; to meet temptations without yielding to them; to encounter opposition from the enemies of religion without being overcome.
According unto thy word -
(1) According to the requirements of thy word - that I may be conformed to them;
(2) according to the promises of thy word - that they may be verified in me.
That I may live - That my life may not be cut off by my foes, and that I may not sink under my burdens.
And let me not be ashamed of my hope - The meaning of this is, Let not my hope prove to be delusive and vain; let it not be seen at last that it is worthless, or that religion has no power to accomplish what it promises. See Psalms 6:10, note; Psalms 25:2-3, note; Psalms 31:1, note. The phrase does not mean, as it would seem to signify, Let me not blush, or be unwilling to acknowledge my hope, or to profess that I am a friend of God. That “would be,” indeed, a proper prayer, but it is not the prayer here.