Psalm 119: 1-40 "The Holy Soul's Soliloquy Before an Open Bible"

by Becky

LINK: Psalm 119: 1-40

(I have linked the entire psalm so that you can read it in poetic form, all together, rather than verse by verse, in prose form.)

BACKGROUND

We have come to the longest Psalm in the collection, and indeed, the longest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119 is a poetic meditation on God’s Word. It is composed of 22 stanzas (to correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each eight verses long, and in Hebrew every other line of the stanza begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet that heads it. (Our translations make every two lines a verse, so that each verse would begin with the Hebrew letter that titles its stanza.) So in the first stanza, Aleph, every other line begins with that Hebrew letter (like our English letter A).

I came across this, by C.S. Lewis:

“As everyone knows, the Psalm specially devoted to the Law is 119, the longest in the whole collection. And everyone has probably noticed that from the literary or technical point of view, it is the most formal and elaborate of them all. The technique consists in taking a series of words which are all, for purposes of this poem, more or less synonyms (word, statutes, commandments, testimonies, etc.), and ringing the changes on them through each of its eight-verse sections – which themselves correspond to the letters of the alphabet. … In other words, this poem is not, and does not pretend to be, a sudden outpouring of the heart like, say, Psalm 18. It is a pattern, a thing done like embroidery, stitch by stitch, through long, quiet, hours for love of the subject and for the delight in leisurely, disciplined craftsmanship.” (C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 58-59)

C.S. Lewis is not alone in noting the intricacy of the psalm. As I’ve read about Psalm 119 and meditated on it, it has become clear that it was devised in an intricately woven pattern. The form of the psalm fits the subject matter!

REFLECTION

Just as the psalm is orderly and complex, so, too, is God’s Word. When I say complex, I don’t mean that it is necessarily hard to understand. What I mean is that it goes deep and has themes woven throughout. That is true of this psalm, too. It is fairly straightforward and easily understood, but the more I read it, the more gold threads I find, the more weaving of ideas.

In reading through the Bible this time, more slowly than I’ve done before, and taking time to meditate on it, I am understanding that God’s Word (His law, His commandments, His principles, His promises, His testimony) is designed as a whole piece. The Word is not a jumbled up, random collection of stories and perspectives of people from various times in Israel’s history – it is an intricately woven fabric with threads that run through it all. Carol, at the beginning of our trek through the Bible, asked us to look for the red thread – Jesus, the promised one – as we read. I have done that, and He is there, over and over again. There are other threads, too: God’s mercy, His faithfulness, His righteousness, His provision, His judgment, and more… so much more. It is beautiful!

Psalm 119 was written by someone who reveled in the beauty of God’s Word. In fact, over and over again, he says that he delights in it, finds joy in it. The psalmist’s “‘delight’ is in those statutes (16); to study them is like finding treasure (14); they affect him like music, are his “songs” (54); they taste like honey (103); they are better than silver and gold (72). As one’s eyes are more and more opened, one sees more and more in them, and it excites wonder (18). This is not priggery nor even scrupulosity; it is the language of a man ravished by a moral beauty. If we cannot at all share his experience, we shall be the losers….” (C.S. Lewis, from Reflections on the Psalms, 59-60)

APPLICATION

I hope you will take time to meditate on this psalm.

I read this in Spurgeon’s Treasury of David, which is a study source on the site where we link our Bible readings: “In Matthew Henry's ‘Account of the Life and Death of his father, Philip Henry,’ he says: ‘Once, pressing the study of the Scriptures, he advised us to take a verse of this Psalm [Psalm 119] every morning to meditate upon, and so go over the Psalm twice in the year; and that, saith he, will bring you to be in love with all the rest of the Scriptures.’ He often said, ‘All grace grows as love to the word of God grows.’

I think that’s good advice!

As you read this psalm, notice the ideas threaded through it. What is God’s Word good for? What is it compared to? What does meditation on God’s Word produce in the believer? What is contrasted with God’s Word?

We will be in this wonderful psalm for four weeks. I will keep a list of the ideas I see and focus on them as I write these entries. I hope you’ll add your thoughts!

PRAYER

I thank you, LORD, for this psalm and for how it reflects Your order and complexity, how it is a snapshot of Your entire Word. Please give me a hunger for Your word. Help me to delight in it, as this psalmist did. I want to trust You and obey You. You alone have the Words of life and You have given them to us. Help me to cling to them.