Psalm 119: Introduction, Part 1

I am setting out on what looms before me as a gargantuan task. I would like to devote these meditations to a verse by verse consideration of Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is one of my favourite things in the Bible to read and think about. It is the longest psalm in the Bible. It is generally believed that David is the author of this psalm, although his name does not appear in connection with it as it does others of the psalms. The theme of this psalm is the written revelation of God to man, which is elsewhere called the scriptures and which we call the Bible. This written revelation is called by ten different names in this psalm. It is called God’s law, His commandment(s), His word(s), His way(s), His judgment(s), His precepts, His statutes, His testimony or testimonies, His righteousness, and the truth.

I am aware that some of the members of the congregation I serve have the excellent exposition of Psalm 119 written by Charles Bridges. If you do not have this book, I heartily recommend it. While I will doubtless quote Mr. Bridges in these meditations, I do not intend to merely rehash what he has already written. These will be my insights into these marvelous verses garnished with insights of other writers in just the same way as I do in all of my preaching and writing.

Psalm 119 consists of 176 verses divided into 22 sections of eight verses each. Each of the 22 sections is marked off with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the first letter aleph and going through the alphabet in order thus concluding with the last letter tau. Not knowing Hebrew, I cannot personally vouch for what I am about to say, but I have read that each verse of each section begins with the Hebrew letter that marks that respective section. This would doubtless have facilitated memorization and recall of the verses by the Hebrews.

The author of this psalm records a variety of experiences, emotions, and frames of mind in which he found himself. There is something in this psalm to speak to you wherever you are in whatever condition you may be. In this psalm we find the author experiencing the full range of human emotions. He felt joy (v. 162), peace (v. 165), longing (v. 20), fear (v. 120), horror (v. 53), sorrow (v. 136), grief (v. 158), anguish (143), and aversion (v. 163). At times he felt jubilant, enriched, and comforted (vs. 14, 162, 50, 52) while at other times he felt faint and withered, and wondered when he would be comforted (vs. 81-83). His varied emotions and frames of mind mirror our own. And yet the psalmist processes all of these experiences through the word of God. It is obvious from the psalm that the author’s relationship with God was grounded in and experienced through the word of God. Our relationship with God is also experienced through the written word of God, if that relationship is as it ought to be. If you think you are maintaining a healthy fellowship with God and yet you are neglecting your Bible, you are sadly deceived.

When one considers what the word of God provides, one can understand why the psalmist would process his varied experiences and emotions through it. According to this psalm, the written word of God provides us with blessedness (v. 2), honour (v. 6), cleansing (v. 9), delight, (v. 24), counsel (v. 24), answers (v. 42), freedom (v. 45), hope (v. 49), comfort, (v. 50), quickening (v. 50), songs (v. 54), riches (72), wisdom (v. 98), sweetness (v. 103), understanding (v. 104), guidance (v. 105), heritage (v. 111), truth (v. 142), peace (v. 165), and help (v. 175). What more could we want?

With the exception of verses 1-3 and verse 115, every verse in Psalm 119 is a prayer. Here is a collection of 172 short prayers that we can adopt. The psalmist’s life was so centered in the words of God that his prayers were for the word of God that he might learn it, obey it, and be helped by it. How much richer our spiritual lives would be if we prayed as much for our relationship to the word of God as we do for other things! Writing what others have said of this psalm, Matthew Henry said: “He that shall read it consistently, it will either warm him or shame him.” Doubtless we will find that true as we consider it together.

From what we have observed thus far, it may be said that the major theme of this psalm is verbal communication with God.

Communicate – To give to another as a partaker; to give a share of; to impart, confer, transmit. spec. To impart (information, knowledge, or the like); to impart or convey the knowledge of, inform a person of, tell.

By means of prayer we communicate with God. We tell God about ourselves, our problems, our wants, and what we are doing. We share ourselves with Him, both the good and the bad. By means of the Holy Scriptures God communicates with us. He tells us about Himself, what He is like, what He does, and what He requires of us. Such communication is indispensable to healthy relationships on a human level between spouses, families, brethren, and friends. And such communication is equally indispensable to a healthy relationship with God. This Psalm will teach us how to maintain communication with God.

Writing of this Psalm Charles Spurgeon said:

“It is loaded with holy sense, and is as weighty as it is bulky. Again and again have we cried while studying it, ‘Oh, the depths!’ Yet these depths are hidden beneath an apparent simplicity, as Augustine has well and wisely said, and this makes the exposition all the more difficult. Its obscurity is hidden beneath a veil of light, and hence only those discover it who are in thorough earnest, not only to look on the word, but, like the angels, to look into it.”

As I dive into these verses I fully expect to also cry, “Oh, the depths!” And as I pore over them, I shall keep an eye out to behold the Lord Jesus Christ as He is certain to show Himself here as in all the other Scriptures. For He said:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Next time, God willing, we shall continue to take an overview of this psalm by considering the definitions of the various words it uses for the scriptures. In the meantime, I hope this introduction will whet your appetite for a more in-depth consideration of this psalm. Do earnestly pray God’s blessing upon me as I attempt to walk you through this sacred ground. I trust through God that these meditations may prove a blessing to you.