176 VERSES ABOUT THE SCRIPTURE (Psalm 119)

Are you ready to study 176 verses today?

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. If it were a chapter, which it really isn’t, it would certainly be the longest one in the Bible. We cannot exhaust any psalm even when studying it over a long period, but we cannot even touch the hem of the garment on this one. So let’s do...

An Overview of Psalm 119

Verse 1: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” That last phrase is the key. It is about God’s law. Every verse in Psalm 119, in some way, connects to the Word of God. In fact, it is specifically referenced in 174 out of the 176 verses. There might be different words used such as law,testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, or commandments. But every verse takes us back to God’s Word.

Isn’t it wonderful that the longest psalm, this psalm of such emphasis and importance in the book of Psalms, is all about Scripture? That is very significant.

Verse 9: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” But it is not just for young people.

Verse 11: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God knows we need to be kept from sin all throughout life, and the only way possible is through the Word of God.

One of my favorite verses in this psalm is verse 18: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” I use this prayer frequently, and you might want to make it your own.

Psalm 119 is not everything God knows but everything He wants us to know about His Word and how it connects to our lives. I believe it has a message for us not only in the substance of each verse but also in its method.

The Divisions of Psalm 119

It is uniquely divided into sections, each one with eight verses. If you look in your Bible, you see an unusual title over each section. They make up the Hebrew alphabet. It is as if the psalm progresses from A to B to C (If it were English) and so on.

On top of that, it works as an acrostic in that each section begins with that letter. For example, the first eight verses begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and it continues from there.

Why is that significant? Let me answer that with a question. If I say that something is from A to Z, what does that mean? It means it is complete. Think of it this way: by using every letter in the Hebrew alphabet, it conveys the message that God’s Word is all you need. There is a tremendous open secret here on the sufficiency of Scripture.

The book of Revelation refers to Christ as the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13-15). Those are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the New Testament language. It means Christ is enough. In every language and for all people, the Lord Jesus is the first and the last.

By using this Hebrew acrostic in Psalm 119, God is saying to us, “The Word. The Word. The Word. It is all you need.”

Mathew Henry was one of the great Bible teachers and commentators in History. He was a deeply spiritual man with tremendous scriptural insight. As I read and studied about Psalm 119, I learned that Henry’s father had each of his children meditate on a verse of this psalm every morning. Picking a different verse every morning, they covered Psalm 119 twice in a year.

Think about the deep appreciation that Mathew Henry developed for the Bible and how it began with this childhood practice. His father said that if he learned to appreciate Psalm 119, he would, in turn, grow to appreciate the rest of the Word of God. And that is exactly what happened.

I would suggest that the same is true for you and me. This psalm could open up so much more of the Scripture for us.

Some time ago, my son asked me, “Dad, have you ever preached a sermon on Psalm 119?” I chuckled and said, “Not all at once. I don’t think people could handle it.”

But soon after, I decided I would do just that. I preached a single message on Psalm 119, taking one verse from each of the 22 sections and giving a brief summary of that section. For me, it was most enlightening and enriching as I realized that each section contained something special and distinct about the power and sufficiency of the Word.

Many people believe that this lengthy psalm was written by David throughout his life. I love that thought because, if it is true, it would be a reminder that God’s Word is sufficient in every season of life. It is good in the beginning when you are young, but it will do you good until the end when you meet the Author face to face.

This acrostic method we have been talking about is used in a couple of other places in our Bible, although this is perhaps the most famous example. Proverbs 31, that notable chapter about the virtuous woman, also uses an acrostic. In a practical sense, it was used as a memory device, just as we use it today.

The writer John Ruskin memorized all of Psalm 119. William Wilberforce, who famously campaigned against the slave trade in England, did the same. Henry Martin and David Livingstone, two great missionaries, also committed this entire passage to memory.

I can barely imagine memorizing 176 verses about the Bible, but this might be a good passage for us to attempt to do exactly that. You should definitely meditate on it.

George Wishart, one of the great martyrs of the faith, was on the scaffold preparing to die when he was asked if there was any final thing he wanted.

“I want a final song,” he said.

“What would you like to have sung?”

“Psalm 119.”

A wise choice. Because it took so long to sing, they got two-thirds of the way through it when the pardon came so that he did not have to die on that particular day. Isn’t that hilarious?

If you start walking through Psalm 119, at some point, God will begin speaking to you. There will be a spiritual breakthrough — a deeper love for the Word of God and a deeper love for the God of the Word.

His Word is for all of life, and it is sufficient. It is everything you need from A to Z.

Here is the final verse: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” We have all been there, haven’t we?

May the Lord help us not to forget His Word today.