Understanding the Old Testament
2 total works
Psalm 119 is the longest of all the 150 Psalms and, perhaps for that reason, its 176 verses are seldom or never read completely either in public or in private meditation or study. This is an immense loss. It has a great subject: the Word of God. It shows how that Word is a treasure trove of spiritual resources for the highs and lows of the Christian's journey through life. At the moment of conversion every Christian is enrolled as a student in God's school, and finding this treasure requires daily Bible study. Meditating on each day's reading helps promote growth in spiritual maturity, experience of spiritual renewal, and the Holy Spirit can maintain praise to God in a continuous spiritual revival. Why the Psalm should be written as an acrostic is a matter of some interest. Was it simply to aid memorisation of the original Hebrew text? Do the individual letters of the Hebrew alphabet suggest themes concerning God's Word which are taken up in eight-verse sections? Does the current use of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to represent numbers in dates aid our appreciation of the Psalm? It obviously expresses the hopes and fears of a faithful Jew, but what is in it for those under the new covenant? The author emphasises the practical lessons from this Psalm, in order that every reader might come to share his delight in the daily reading of the Word of God and the blessings this brings.
