It’s the longest chapter in the Bible, containing 176 verses. In the time it takes to recite this Psalm, you can drive from downtown Ruston to the chicken farms of Dubach (and keep the speed limit). Each of its 22 stanzas contains 8 verses -- do the math -- and is introduced by a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Unfortunately, in translation we miss the wit of the Hebrew acrostic. But commentators tell us that each verse in a stanza begins with the same letter: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, and so forth. I once got ahold of a Hebrew-English interlinear Bible, and I can confirm this is true. (Hooray for primary sources). In fact, the alliteration motif is not limited to the first word of each verse: the psalmist tries to squeeze as many alphabet-words as possible into each set of 8.
Is Psalm 119 the sacred version of “Same song, second verse, a little bit louder and a little bit worse?” Or maybe “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”? Did the ancient Hebrews think it was just a little bit corny?
To the extent you have heard anything about Psalm 119, you
have probably heard that it is about God’s word. The Bible writing about itself – that’s very
meta. Kindof like Japanese anime artists
animating about Japanese anime artists (yes, it’s a thing, don’t ask me how I
know this). To be sure, each stanza of
Psalm 119 mentions God’s word. And
though translations vary, the Psalm uses about 8 different synonyms for God’s
word, including “promise,” “statutes,” “commands,” “law,” “judgments,” “precepts,”
and “decrees.” So you see verses like
the following:
Your word, O Lord, is
eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. (v. 89)
All your words are
true; all your righteous laws are eternal. (v. 160)
However -- it is wrong to assume that Psalm 119 honors God’s
word in the abstract, in a vacuum, on a pedestal. In fact, I had to search for examples of
verses that spoke ONLY of God’s word, above.
In contrast, take the two most familiar verses in the Psalm:
I have hidden your
word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (v. 11)
Your word is a lamp to
my feet and a light for my path. (v.
105).
Together, these verses mention God’s word twice. But they mention something else – someone else
– a total of five times. They mention ME
(originally the Psalmist, and now the reader).
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Your word lights my feet and my path.
This is not me (the blogger) being a narcissist.
If you go through Psalm 119, you will soon discover that the Psalmist
talks about himself as much or more than God’s word.
More accurately, Psalm 119 speaks about the dynamic
relationship between the Bible and
the Christian. Far from being a kooky
acrostic, Psalm 119 puzzles over the very heart of the Christian life. What does it mean to live as a believer? How do we respond when it seems that God does
not answer our prayers? Where do we find
the strength to keep on keeping on? The
high vistas, the low valleys, the dusty roads in-between – Psalm 119 has them
all covered.
Perhaps the mnemonics are there because we need them. Perhaps the clever alphabetizing drills
important truths that we are apt to forget.
Perhaps this divine earworm unlocks the mysteries of the Christian life.
If you are interested, I encourage you to read Psalm 119. It’s OK if you don’t finish. After all, it’s a long psalm. I have been working through Psalm 119 since January, so 8
months now. (And I still have two stanzas
left.) Yet only recently has the Psalm come together for me, so that I feel I have something to share. It's like kneading flour and water until the gluten strands form and the mixture becomes dough. Or folding curds and stretching them until they miraculously become mozzarella.
Lord willing, I will share more soon.
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