Out of all of the psalms that we have in the Bible—Psalm 119 is the longest and perhaps the one with the most light. With the lengthy arrangement of 22 stanzas each containing 8 verses—the total of 176 verses are solid gold. While some insist the unnamed author is David, there is good reason to believe that it’s perhaps a different author. Some argue for Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, or Daniel. Whoever this mysterious man is—we can be certain that his gaze is fixed on God’s Word.
Recently we finished a fence project on our property where we have now placed some goats. Three of these goats are so small that our children are feeding them with bottles a few times each day. The last feeding of the day is at night just before bed, and my two oldest have to make their walk down into the edge of the woods to the fence to feed the goats. When one of my children complained—I handed them a flashlight and explained that it would give them aid as they walked in the darkness. The longer we live in this life, the more precious God’s Word becomes as a light for the journey of faith.
Out of all of the psalms that we have in the Bible—Psalm 119 is the longest and perhaps the one with the most light. With the lengthy arrangement of 22 stanzas each containing 8 verses—the total of 176 verses are solid gold. While some insist the unnamed author is David, there is good reason to believe that it’s perhaps a different author. Some argue for Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, or Daniel. Whoever this mysterious man is—we can be certain that his gaze is fixed on God’s Word.
Augustine skipped the 119th psalm in his preaching through the Psalms stating, “As often as I began to reflect upon it, it always exceeded the utmost of my powers.” Although it’s a formidable psalm containing much truth that reveals much about ourselves and our God—it’s a worthy psalm for reading, meditation, and memorization. In fact, the 22 stanzas are arranged in such a way that they each begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This organization and design was created for the purpose of memorization. Charles Spurgeon writes the following about this Psalm:
“This sacred ode is a little Bible, the Scriptures condensed, a mass of Bibline, Holy Writ rewritten in holy emotions and actions.”
Philip Henry’s daughter (you may know the popular commentary series by Matthew Henry – and that individual was Philip’s son) wrote in her diary, “I have of late taken some pains to learn by heart Psalm CXIX., and have made some progress therein.”
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.