This Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible. It is also an acrostic Psalm: each part beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet (twenty-two sections, twenty-two letters of the alphabet). Each section has eight verses. There are other acrostic verses in the Bible but Psalm 119 is the most complete.
Part 1 Aleph
119:1-8 Blessed are the people who wholly commit to the word of God. He teaches us righteousness and compassion, the two elements of life that give us peace, joy and productivity. Purpose. Meaning. Authenticity. We listen to His commandments, we walk in His ways, we keep His testimonies because they are the way to a good, authentic, rich life. As students of this word we praise as we learn the mysteries of eternity. Our ultimate prayer is the continued presence of God in our lives.
Part 2 Beth
119:9-16 The way to cleanse and rejuvenate our life is to heed the instruction of God. To seek His philosophy with our whole heart. Full commitment produces the best, most lasting results. Therefore we pray for God to keep a tight reign on us, for there is so much in the world that could tempt us away: anger, sadness, fear, vanity or greed. We keep this philosophy enclosed in our heart so that we never forget it; we meditate on it each day to continue to grow in it, to become more secure in it as a foundation. Our wealth is our faith, our relationship with God. We know true prosperity in the Hands of our God. True delight. So we keep His word close.
Part 3 Gimel
119:17-24 We pray for God to bless us bountifully, and He always does. He loves us so deeply; it is important to Him that we remain close and He works to keep us with Him. He never forces Himself, but gently reminds the committed child to continue to rest in Him. To trust in Him. To listen to Him. To be with Him when there are distractions in the world that may harm us. We grow so dependent on His sustaining word that we long for it, we crave it when we have not had it in our day. We become so tethered to our spiritual home that we feel like visitors on the earth. The haughtiness and cruelty of the world has been renounced by God; it is the life of those who have left, neglected or rejected God. We seek to be in alignment with God, to please God always, and not men. God is our delight and counselor. Our father and friend. His approval is the approval we exclusively seek.
Part 4 Daleth
119:25-32 We are not yet truly alive, spiritually awakened, until the word of God permeates our live's and souls. Everything is new. Everything is revealed when we become students of God instead of the world. We ask questions and He answers. We meditate on His answers and His wonderful works. For He is precise and comprehensive with His answers. He teaches us to understand rather than obey. To love rather than submit. But He is so gentle that we happily obey and submit to our King of Righteousness. He strengthens our weakness, revives us from weariness, leads us off of the wrong path. His law and His truth become our guideposts to the path of peace. Therefore we cling to Him, for peace has never been so revealed to us. So accessible. We pray to be good students who never shame our teacher. His loves grows our own ability to love.
Part 5 He
119:33-40 This faith is a lifelong commitment. God endeavors for us to understand the reasoning behind His law: to shield, to love, to feed, to strengthen others. This philosophy requires our whole heart. Therefore we pray to be attentive students, able to resist the noise of the world in the background. We do not wish to be captivated by meaningless, material, vain things. We realize that we sometimes need God's assistance in resisting such things that call to our bodies. We pray to be revived in the way of God; to see the difference between what God values and what the world values. We endeavor to be fully devoted to God's values, to our reverence of Him for we know that He is good. The purest entity will ever experience.
Part 6 Waw
119:41-48 We pray for the mercy and salvation of God; our well-being and peace of mind rely upon them. We trust in the promise and ability of our God rather than the threat of enemy or the thrum of fear. We walk according to God's ordinances, continually, eternally, with freedom of peace. We speak of God's goodness, as children proud of their Father. We do not just follow and understand God's way, we love it.We commit our lives and our hands to the righteous purposes of God. We steadfastly mediate on His statues, observing how His way is always right. In every situation.
Part 7 Zayin
119:49-56 We pray to be remembered by the God we hope in... and that prayed is already answered. He loves us; He is with us. He is not just our comfort but also our source of life. Our fulfillment comes from pleasing our God. In the world we often become indignant on behalf of righteousness. It hurts us when people commit acts of unrighteousness. But we remember our God and His promises of justice and we keep His law. The ultimate, inevitable law that all the world will face.
Part 8 Heth
119:57-64 He is our portion; the only inheritance we ever need. We make a vow of commitment to Him with our whole heart. We receive the mercy from God promised in His word. We keep our feet moving toward Him. We are children of the kingdom of God and in all circumstances, even bleak ones, we remember that God will free us and bring light to our situation. We must never forget His law, His promises, for in them is our hope. Our tether to peace and life.
Part 9 Teth
119:65-72 Earth is classroom; we learn about life through here. And guide offers to guide us the entire journey. We keep God's good word and we live good, fulfilling lives. We continue to pray to God to teach us to be better, stronger, kinder, wiser, more faithful. Even in a time of affliction, even when gone astray, the psalmist trusts in God. Commits to God. And that makes the difference in our lives, our ability to remember and reaffirm our faith. We must always remember that our relationship with God makes us wealthier than any material thing on earth ever could.
Part 10 Yod
119:73-80 We have been created by God's precise and compassionate Hand. He knows every part of us; He knows best how to answer our questions and to how to best teach us, individually, His ways. We have a family in this faith; all of those who know the steadfast love and incomparable joy from the Lord. We have hoped in God and seen that hope fulfilled. We have listened to His principles and experienced that they are right and true.
With a tender heart, God disciplines us into more layered and righteous people. Therefore His law is our delight. We see the good results of His intricate work. We trust that the haughty and the cruel will inevitable meet with God's judgement. Those who are wrong and false are taken care of for us by God. We need only to remain innocent and trusting and committed to Him; He takes care of the rest.
With a tender heart, God disciplines us into more layered and righteous people. Therefore His law is our delight. We see the good results of His intricate work. We trust that the haughty and the cruel will inevitable meet with God's judgement. Those who are wrong and false are taken care of for us by God. We need only to remain innocent and trusting and committed to Him; He takes care of the rest.
Part 11 Kaph
119:81-88 Rather than material things or celebrities, we are brought to awe by the character and presence of our God. Our hope is not in vain things or famous people, our hope is the word of God. He is our source of inspiration and excitement. And when we are states of distress, we pray to God to revive us in His peace. We must always remember to call to God and no other thing or person! He is our hero. He is the our counselor and savior.
We must not let the world make us weary or jaded or corrupt. We must not forsake this scripture which tethers us to God. For God will revive us out of any withered state. And once revived, we praise steadfastly. We glory the God who always listens, always answers, always comes.
Part 12 Lamed
119:89-96 God's word is long and wide; it lasts eternally and covers comprehensively, each individual up to the entirety of humanity. Past, present and future. He is firm and faithful. A solid foundation. A brilliant creator and organizer, evidenced by the existence of our earth suspended in the galaxy.
We are safest, more secure, when we live as agents of God's will. We live according to God's ordinances and find that they keep us always, steadily on His path of peace and purpose.
Without God as our foundation, we perish. Fear, greed, vanity, temptation wither us away to unhappy shells. He is our hope and source of meaningful purpose. He gives us life, not just the physical, but the spiritual which truly animates us. Therefore we stick to the way of life our God taught us. We search for Him in everything. We devote ourselves to Him and thus His rescue. We call to Him from places of distress and affliction. But we include Him in our joy... as He is its source, its fuel, its creator.
Fear will crop up and sometimes so will enemy but we lean on God's promises of love and protection. We remember that His works and good and perfect and working in our lives.
We are safest, more secure, when we live as agents of God's will. We live according to God's ordinances and find that they keep us always, steadily on His path of peace and purpose.
Without God as our foundation, we perish. Fear, greed, vanity, temptation wither us away to unhappy shells. He is our hope and source of meaningful purpose. He gives us life, not just the physical, but the spiritual which truly animates us. Therefore we stick to the way of life our God taught us. We search for Him in everything. We devote ourselves to Him and thus His rescue. We call to Him from places of distress and affliction. But we include Him in our joy... as He is its source, its fuel, its creator.
Fear will crop up and sometimes so will enemy but we lean on God's promises of love and protection. We remember that His works and good and perfect and working in our lives.
Part 13 Mem
119:97-104 Steadily we fall in love with scripture. After all, this is God's love letter to His child. A purposefully instructive piece of our history, guidance for our future, and comfort and advice for our present. We are wise to meditate on it consistently; it is new every morning, with a new message to give, new comfort to provide. This word is wise and interactive to the diligent and faithful child of God. It senses our specific fear and soothes it. It perceives our distress and plans for solemnity. The Holy Spirit is aware and diligent and active in our lives when we bring our lives to this book.
We receive wisdom, understanding and peace from the Holy Spirit, from this scripture. From it we learn for the past and are prepared for our future. We are taught how to handle our day-to-day interactions with humanity and our own responses to the circumstances of life. We are taught to have and procure and retain the happiness the secular world desperately seeks but never finds.
We receive wisdom, understanding and peace from the Holy Spirit, from this scripture. From it we learn for the past and are prepared for our future. We are taught how to handle our day-to-day interactions with humanity and our own responses to the circumstances of life. We are taught to have and procure and retain the happiness the secular world desperately seeks but never finds.
And the reason is because we remain committed to this God. This book. His principles. We are rapt students of everything He has to say. His instruction is the sweetness in our lives that causes us to identify and reject every bitter thing, person and idea.
Part 14 Nun
119:105-112 When life appears bleak and the move forward is unclear, God is the lamp to our feet. His word, His guidance not only leads but illuminates. So we vow to that light. We bow to this savior. We admit to Him when we are withered and we pray for revival. We pray for His acceptance with the comfort of knowing that He always answers: yes. Through the distractions of the world, we remain tethered to this faith, this relationship with God. We make sometimes mistakes, we wander but we must always come back! Our forgiving and compassionate God allows us that opportunity.
We must cultivate in our heart this great love and joy for this Great God. Eternally.
We must cultivate in our heart this great love and joy for this Great God. Eternally.
Part 15 Samek
119:113-120 When we meet and become familiar with God's purity and kindness, what the world offers is no longer appealing. We reject it and accept Him. He becomes our protection and our safe abode. We discontinue trying to furrow into other places for false and temporary comforts. We put our hope in Him exclusively, for He is the only One capable of absolute promise.
We reject evil. We welcome the commandments of God. We accept His commandments as compassionate, fruitful advice.
We pray for God to uphold us, that we may live and with peace. We pray for God to fulfill our hope. We pray for God to protect us. And we observe His law. We live it. We have peace knowing that He will put away the wickedness and the injustice of the world. He will fill in the disparity with prosperity. We love Him because He is good. We love His testimonies because they grow goodness. We tremble in reverence because of how God He is: true, righteous, faithful, capable, willing, compassionate, wise, strong, loyal, eternal. Any child of God has experienced those truths.
We reject evil. We welcome the commandments of God. We accept His commandments as compassionate, fruitful advice.
We pray for God to uphold us, that we may live and with peace. We pray for God to fulfill our hope. We pray for God to protect us. And we observe His law. We live it. We have peace knowing that He will put away the wickedness and the injustice of the world. He will fill in the disparity with prosperity. We love Him because He is good. We love His testimonies because they grow goodness. We tremble in reverence because of how God He is: true, righteous, faithful, capable, willing, compassionate, wise, strong, loyal, eternal. Any child of God has experienced those truths.
Part 16 Ayin
119:121-128 We wobble and waver in faith, but our line of communicate with God must always be open. For He will assuage our fears. With an open line of communication, we are able to hear Him calling us back. We are able to see Him mercifully leading us back home, to Him. Others may see this word as void, but we know where the true void actually is. We know that scripture is full to bursting with honey, sweet sustenance sustaining us through life.
Keep making wholehearted, active affirmations to God: I am your servant. Continue to desire His instruction and the reasoning behind it. God will continue His affirmation. He will answer every prayer in the best way His omniscient mind decides. Our relationship with God should be our number one priority, our most authentic, greatest joy. And as we spend time meditating on this word and communicating with God, it naturally will be. We must reject all that opposes it.
Keep making wholehearted, active affirmations to God: I am your servant. Continue to desire His instruction and the reasoning behind it. God will continue His affirmation. He will answer every prayer in the best way His omniscient mind decides. Our relationship with God should be our number one priority, our most authentic, greatest joy. And as we spend time meditating on this word and communicating with God, it naturally will be. We must reject all that opposes it.
Part 17 Pe
119:129-136 The Psalmist exemplifies true love in the relationship between God and individual. The hope and light we derive from His word. The protection and provision and guidance. The happy and fulfilled dependency we have on God. The longing for Him above all else. And finally, astonishment in the difference between what the righteous produce and in the world compared to what the unrighteous produce.
Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul keeps them.
The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.
Look upon me and be merciful to me,
As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.
Direct my steps by Your word,
And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And teach me Your statutes.
Rivers of water run down from my eyes,
Because men do not keep Your law.
Part 18 Tsadde
119:137-144 The characteristics of God given in these next verses: righteous, upright, faithful. And as children of such a holy God, we experience indignation when His way is rejected, neglected or opposed. Meek and simple we may be, but our God is extraordinary and so is everything He accomplishes. The Psalmist vows not to forget the truth and beauty of God's precepts.
God's commandments and promises calm the seas that churn as fear in our minds. He is our peace and delight. We pray for understanding that we may live. Truly live, with peace and hope and strength by faith.
God's commandments and promises calm the seas that churn as fear in our minds. He is our peace and delight. We pray for understanding that we may live. Truly live, with peace and hope and strength by faith.
Part 19 Qoph
119:145-152 Our prayers to God must be authentic and wholehearted. They must be consistent in fear and peace, sadness and joy. We must have a constant relationship. Steadfast. Unyielding. We must make our faith our priority, day and night. Morning and evening. God will hear our voice. He is near. He does revive and animate. An authentic relationship is required; He awaits our invitation to come into our loves and construct, heal and dissolve the ties that do not benefit us.
We separate ourselves from that which is far from His law. In order to separate ourselves from that, we draw near to Him. He is always around when we want Him to be. Always listening when we are speaking. Always answering when we are praying. It is an ancient and eternal truth, that He has founded this way that will protect us.
We separate ourselves from that which is far from His law. In order to separate ourselves from that, we draw near to Him. He is always around when we want Him to be. Always listening when we are speaking. Always answering when we are praying. It is an ancient and eternal truth, that He has founded this way that will protect us.
Part 20 Resh
119:153-160 As God's children, we have the opportunity to pray to Him from spaces and places of affliction and receive answer and help. Indeed, God is the greatest gift to our lives. He defends us, stands up for us, redeems us. He revives and saves us. He is great and tender and protective. We owe it to Him, therefore, to be kind and committed. Faithful. Circumstances of the world may cause us to grow weary and despondent, but God's love and instruction is always able to revive. We just continue to pray for that revival, and our true and eternal God answers yes in so many ways and colors.
Part 21 Shin
119:161-168 Because of God, there is always one deep, authentic source and reason for joy in our lives. He is the treasure the world seeks but does not find. He is the treasure we have found and claimed and have been claimed by. We praise throughout the day because He blesses throughout the day. We love His way, it has had more good impact on us than anything, ever before. He keeps us moving forward, straightforward, without stumbling. He is the hope and the One who continues to fulfill that hope and answer those prayers. We love His testimonies, exceedingly, because they have made good and drastic changes to the places in our lives that needed goodness and change.
We open our whole lives up before God. Because we trust our lives in His hands. We trust His eye, His heart, mind and spirit to do well and compassionately with us.
We open our whole lives up before God. Because we trust our lives in His hands. We trust His eye, His heart, mind and spirit to do well and compassionately with us.
Part 22 Tau
119:169-176 We pray for God to hear us. We pray for understanding of His word. Our lives depend on Him. We have chosen faithful dependence on Him. We deliver our supplication, (our earnest, humble prayer) to Him and He delivers us according to His word. According to righteousness and compassion. He is our help for we have chosen Him as our Helper. And we could not have chosen a better, more capable, more willing savior.
We pray for life... and life so that we can praise Him.
When we are lost, we pray as sheep for our Shepherd to seek us. He does not forget us, we will not forget His commandments.
We pray for life... and life so that we can praise Him.
When we are lost, we pray as sheep for our Shepherd to seek us. He does not forget us, we will not forget His commandments.
