.119:1-16.

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Psalm 119 Love for God’s word

This psalm is a lengthy meditation addressed to God on the excellencies of his law. The law here refers not to legal requirements such as in the law of Moses, but to the whole of God’s instruction for humankind in general.

Therefore, God’s law is also called his word, commandments, sayings, judgments, statutes, ordinances, instructions, precepts, injunc tions, testimonies, promise, way and path.

At least one of these words occurs in almost every verse of the psalm.

An acrostic in form, the psalm is divided into twenty-two sections, corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has eight verses, and all eight verses in any one section begin with the same letter.

(For example, one might imagine an acrostic poem in English with the first eight lines all beginning with A, the second eight lines all beginning with B, and so on down to Z.)

Ps 119:1-16:

In a confident opening statement the psalmist expresses the happiness enjoyed by those who live according to God’s word (Ps 119:1-3).

The psalmist then addresses God, praying that he himself will understand God’s word and be obedient in following it (Ps 119:4-8).

A good knowledge of God’s word is a safeguard against sin (Ps 119:9-11).

This knowledge is obtained by asking God’s help in understanding his teaching, thinking it over and declaring it to others. Above all, the person must find pleasure in God’s word and have a desire to know it and practise it (Ps 119:12-16).