Psalm 119

Psalm 119 consists of 176 verses arranged in 22 stanzas. Each stanza contains eight verses. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and the author has carefully composed the psalm as a specialized acrostic where each stanza corresponds to a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Additionally, the first word of each verse in each of the stanzas begins with the Hebrew letter assigned to that stanza. For example, all the verses in the first stanza (verses 1-8) begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph. The only other example in the Bible of an extended portion of Scripture designed this way is the book of Lamentations. One of the reasons the Psalmist may have done this was to make it easier to memorize this psalm. Another important reason may have been his desire to communicate the completeness of what he had to say about his theme. In other words, Psalm 119 was designed to communicate from “A to Z” on the topic of God’s Word. Without question, this kind of careful and deliberate thought alerts the reader to the importance and significance of the message contained in the psalm. This message is revealed by the structure of the psalm itself as the importance of God’s Word for life and godliness. There are eight different words referring to God’s Word that occur throughout the psalm. In most cases, most of the eight words occur at least once in each of the 22 stanza. The first word, law, is the primary word used in this psalm to refer to God’s Word. In its broadest sense, “law” refers to any instruction revealed by God as the basis for life and action. In its more narrow sense “law” can refer to the Mosaic Law, the Pentateuch, or the Deuteronomic Law. Psalm 119 presents the Law of God as His overall instruction and direction whereby His people may find life, blessing, and success. The second term, testimonies, has the idea of “witness.” One commentator observed that the “Law of God is His testimony because it is His own witness to His nature, attributes, actions, and consequent demands. . . .This term emphasizes both the authority of their source in the LORD, and the accountability of their reception by men.” God’s Word holds men accountable to the God of the Word and witnesses against them when they fail to meet the standards contained therein (Deut. 31:26). The third word used by the psalmist for God’s Word is precepts. This term comes from the image of an officer or overseer giving specific instructions to be carried out by others. God’s Word articulates the specific instructions and expectations He has for His people, and for which they will be accountable. The next term, statutes, speaks to the permanence and the binding nature of God’s Word. God’s statutes have been written down and preserved because God’s desires His people to obey them always and without exception. God’s words are always valid. To be sure, God’s people must give careful attention to how certain parts of God’s Word are to be applied in their cultural context but at the end of the day, God has spoken once and we must give glad and consistent obedience to what God has said. The term commandments is related in thought to the statutes of the Lord. However, this term focuses attention on the lawful authority behind the words. God’s statutes are binding because they are His commandments and as such, are backed by His authority as the supreme, sovereign, and moral Law-giver. Yet another term used by the psalmist to describe God’s Word is ordinances. An ordinance refers to a decision or legal judgment handed down by a judge in a court of law or by a ruler settling a dispute among his subjects. The psalmist uses this term to describe the judgments and decisions from God about matters related to the affairs of His people. In general terms an ordinance refers to God’s revealed will or decision about a matter related to common human situations. In particular, God’s ordinances in the Old Testament were His commands that formed the basis of Israel’s legal system. The final two terms are word and promises. The former is the most general term for God’s Word and encompasses the sum total of God’s truth in any form whether stated, promised, or commanded. The latter word can have this broader meaning but more often it refers to a specific statement made by God which He intends to fulfill. At the heart of this psalm is the truth that God’s Word is necessary for living a life that pleases God. But, the psalmist acknowledges that apart from God’s enablement, he is powerless to understand or obey what God has said. And so, as one commentator observed, “This man of God never besought God merely to teach him His Word but to form within him the way of that Word.” Whoever the psalmist was, he understood the ultimate end of God’s Word was to shape his life and that the means for doing so was obeying what God had revealed with a full hearted obedience rising from proper attitudes and motives toward God and His Word. And, this obedience was to manifest itself in all of life’s ways and for all of the psalmist’s days. It is evident from the internal evidence of this psalm that its writer was acquainted with the struggle of living for God in a world that had abandoned Him. One writer observed, “The psalmist knows firsthand the oppression of evil. He has been surrounded by wickedness, pursued by the arrogant and proud, humbled by sorrow and disgrace; yet his refuge is in God. He constantly cries out to God, retreats into His shadow, and finds solace in His strength. This is a psalm not only of law, but of love, not only of statute, but of spiritual strength, not only of devotion to precept, but of loyalty to the way of the Lord!”