Psalm 119

The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalms 117; two psalms later, we find the longest in the Bible-- 119; Psalm 117 is two verses; Psalm 119 is 176 verses.

While Psalm 17 is calling the nations and all peoples to exalt God for his steadfast love and faithfulness, Psalm 119 is an extended, full-blown extravagant praise to God for one thing-- the holy Scriptures.

Commentators differ on how many of the verses directly make reference to the Scriptures; some say that the adjectives 'faithful' and 'true' are terms in the Hebrew language which directly are synonyms referring to Scripture. If that is the case, then probably 173 of the 176 verses directly speak of Scripture. For certain, 171 of the 176 verses refer to Scripture.

There are eight different words in Ps. 119 which the Psalmist uses to refer to the sacred book. These are as follows:

'law' - used 25 times 'word' - 24 times'rules' or 'ordinances' - 23'testimonies' - 23'commandments' - 22'statutes' - 21'precepts' - 21'promises' - 19

So the Psalmist has numerous ways of describing holy Scripture to celebrate his love and passion for the Word.

A. W. Tozer reveals that God himself is mentioned in various ways 287 times in the psalm, the Word itself is mentioned 174 times, and the personal pronouns 'I, me, my, and mine' are mentioned 281 times. So, as James M. Boice says, "Here we see God & David & the Word walking together in this Psalm 119."

Some interesting history on this amazing Psalm.

In his Treasury of David, C. H. Spurgeon devotes 349 pages to this one psalm.

In his marvelous devotionally rich commentary on this psalm, Charles Bridges gives 481 pages.

And the Puritan Thomas Manton has 3 volumes on the 119th alone, each 500-600 pages, 1677 pages total.

David Livingstone, pioneer explorer and missionary in Africa, was awarded a Bible by his Sunday school teacher for quoting this psalm. He was 9 years old.

William Wilberforce, the British statesman who was used to help abolish slavery in Britain, wrote in his diary in 1819: "Walked today from Hyde Park Corner, repeating the 119th Psalm with great comfort."

Henry Martyn, pioneer missionary to India, in the midst of great stresses and work load, as an adult, memorized this psalm, in the midst of translating the Bible into an Indian dialect.

The fullness of Psalm 119 reminds one of the greater fullness and richness of the entire body of Scripture. Consider these thoughts:

- The Bible is an inexhaustible fountain of all truth. The existence of the Bible is the greatest blessing which humanity ever received. Imanuel Kant

- The Bible transcends all our catagories and increasingly supplies our finite minds from its infinite store of treasures."D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

- I have made a covenant with God that He send me neither dreams, visions, or even angels, for I am well satisfied with the gift of Holy Scripture, which gives me all I need for both this life and that which is to come. Martin Luther

- The Word is an ocean without bottom or banks. Thomas Manton

- In Scripture, every little daisy is a meadow. Martin Luther

- One gem from this ocean is worth all the pebbles from earthly streams. Robert M. M'Cheyne

- In the divine Scriptures, there are shallows where the lamb may swim and depths were the elephant can swim. John Owen

- There's a fullness in all Scripture far beyond our highest conception. J. C. Ryle

- No one ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years. C. H. Spurgeon

- All the knowledge you want or need is in one book- the Bible. John Wesley

- If when I get to heaven, the Lord says, 'Spurgeon, I want you to preach for all eternity', I will reply, 'Lord, give me a Bible; that is all I need.'

- There are no experts on the Bible, only disciples and learners. Mack Tomlinson

This all expresses how I feel about Psalm 119; he who would memorize it, master it, know it, pray it, experience it, would know grace he or she has never known. If one lived in Psalm 119 for a while, it would yield rich dividends. Psalm 119- exceeding riches

- Mack T.