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At 176 verses, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It is a chapter that extols the immeasurable and eternal value found in God’s Word. With the exception of four verses, every other verse specifically names God’s Word—using words like statutes, commands, precepts, and laws.
Andrew Murray wrote in The Inner Life, “Anyone who really wants to know how to study his Bible according to God’s will should make a careful study of this psalm.” To that end, he gives the following six suggestions, to which I am adding my own thoughts.
(1) Take note of all the different names which refer to God’s Word. For example, “the law of the Lord” (v. 1), “His statutes” (v. 2), and “His ways” (v. 3).
(2) Take note of all the different verbs expressing how we should feel and what we should do in regard to the Word. Like: “that I may see wonderful things in Your law” (v. 18), “my soul is consumed with longing” (v. 20), and “remove from me their scorn and contempt” (v. 22).
(3) Count how many times verb tenses appear in the past, present, and future. “You have laid down” (past tense in v. 4), “obeying Your decrees” (present tense in v. 5), and “would not be put to shame” (future tense in v. 6). “Put all these together and see how more than a hundred times he presents himself before God as one who honors and keeps His law.”
(4) Study the prayers themselves and note the different requests he makes with regard to the Word—“cause me to understand” (v. 27) and “strengthen me according to Your word” (v. 28).
(5) Count the verses in which there is any reference to affection from his own sinful condition, from his enemies, from the sins of the wicked, or God delaying to help him. Phrases like, “my soul is weary with sorrow” (v. 28) and “take away the disgrace I dread” (v. 39).
(6) Notice how often the little pronouns You, His/Him, and Your occur. “Then you will see how the whole psalm is a prayer spoken to God.”
The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, and this psalm is divided into twenty-two 8-verse sections. The verses in each section all begin with the Hebrew letter of that section, and they form a mini-theme within themselves.
I took time with my congregation to look at each 8-verse section individually, and then see how those sections amplified the entire 119th Psalm. You may want to use this series as a means of helping you study this amazing chapter.
“Let us seek, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to have the kind of devotional life which this psalm reveals,” wrote Andrew Murray. And to that sentiment I add, “Amen!”
After you have studied Psalm 119, check out some other Bible studies here.
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Craig T. Owens 