And so we reach, at last, the end of our psalm. Those who have read, have studied, have prayed with the psalmist from the start, will find in this last stanza many familiar thoughts. J.A. Alexander remarks that verse 175 … Continue reading
There are no imperatives in the Shin section, no requests or demands of God. Situated as it is between two sections that are loaded with imperatives, Shin is something of the eye in the middle of the storm. The first … Continue reading
The plaintive tone of the Qoph section is continued in Resh. As we near the end of the psalm, the psalmist is running out of alphabet but not out of problems. The first two verses here contain five petitions, and … Continue reading
The first line of the Qoph section contains the last occurrence of one of the psalmist’s favorite themes, “my whole heart” (vs. 2, 10, 34, 58, 69). The section includes three obvious pairs of verses: 145-146, with their identical “I cry … Continue reading
The key words here are righteous and righteousness, which each occur twice and are each applied both to the Lord and to his testimonies. God’s testimonies mirror his righteousness, which is true both in fact and in the structure of … Continue reading
One easy way to get a feel for the flow of thought in many sections of Psalm 119 is to mark the psalmist’s requests of God. Several of the sections are noteworthy either for an abundance of verbs in the … Continue reading
Not for the first time in this psalm, its author seems to be in desperate need of encouragement in difficult times. The requests he makes of God here “indicate a pilgrim feeling himself beset with much that makes him wish … Continue reading
The Samek section includes a unique verse: Verse 115 is the only one of the psalm (after the introductory verses 1-3) that is not addressed to God. This verse is also marked by the only occurrence in the psalm (in … Continue reading
Finally, fourteen sections into memorizing Psalm 119, we’ve reached the verse that you knew well before we even started: “Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path.” Remember Will Soll’s comment from the Lamed … Continue reading
It’s 1981, and I’m a counselor at a summer camp in upstate New York. We’re at the supper table, which means everyone in the room is trying to talk over the noise of everyone else in the room. The camper … Continue reading