For the next 23 weeks, beginning today, we will be studying Psalm 119 verse by verse on this blog. The first post is an introduction to this longest chapter of the Bible. We pray you will join us each Friday ad we explore Psalm 119 in depth!
PSALM
119
GLORIOUS
GEMS OF
GOD’S
WORD ON GOD’S WORD
INTRODUCTION
The writer of Psalm 119 is not
named in the scripture. Scholars have proposed David, Daniel, or Ezra. Whoever
wrote it was experiencing a time of extreme duress. He mentions wicked men pursuing
him and a time of great affliction. He speaks of obeying and upholding God’s
law but admits his shortcomings as well. The writer does all this in a poem
which is the longest chapter in the Bible. The literary form used is acrostic.
Each of the twenty-two stanzas employs a letter of the Hebrew alphabet as the
first letter of each of the eight lines. The twenty-two stanzas of the poem employ
each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. The first eight verses of
the Psalm begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph or Alef (א) which is clearly seen
when you look at the Hebrew translation below. Keep in mind that Hebrew is read
from right to left:
Reformation
Study Bible notes:
The
number eight may be connected with eight Hebrew words that appear throughout
the psalm concerning its main theme. The words are translated variously as
“law,” “testimonies,” “precepts,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “rules,” and
“word.” In five stanzas all eight Hebrew words occur, and every stanza has at
least six of the eight.
The psalmist uses the poem to
extol the glories of the Torah, the word of God. He stresses the importance of
believing the word, obeying the word, and living a life of integrity that
reflects understanding and obedience to God’s word.
Since the Psalmist used the
Hebrew alphabet to identify each stanza, we are labeling each stanza with the
name of a gemstone starting with the letters of the English alphabet because
each section of this poem is truly a gem to be treasured!
No comments:
Post a Comment