Exposition of Psalm
119
Author’s Preface
For many years I
have been intrigued, and just plain fascinated, by Psalm
119. It has joined the ranks of Paul’s Epistle to the
Ephesians as one of my passions. How could the author
write so many verses on a single theme? How could he
accomplish such a feat without just repeating himself
over and over? After all, about the best I can do when
it comes to strawberries is just keep babbling, “It’s
God’s best creation and I love
them.”
Of course, unlike
me, the psalmist wrote under inspiration, writing as God
empowered him. Part of the incomprehensible miracle of
inspiration, however, is that God used the personality,
experiences, and even words of each Scripture writer so
that the result is not only what the writer
wanted to say but also exactly what
God wanted to
say.
There is no better
example of this miracle than in the Psalms. We see the
whole gamut of human experience—the positives and the
negatives—but God is in it all and controlling it all.
Sometimes we see a psalmist at the absolute lowest point
of his life, and at other times at the highest, but God
used it all to convey His truth with absolute
precision.
Psalm 119 is such
a psalm. We see the writer lofty and low, diligent and
discouraged, fearless and frightened, victorious and
vanquished. The more we read, however, we discover his
secret. While many Christians today are looking for the
newest trend for their excitement, or seeking the
answers to problems by reading the latest self-help
book, the psalmist always went to the Word of God. Why?
Because it is there, and there alone, that he found
everything: happiness (vs. 1-8), maturity (vs. 9-16),
victory (vs. 17-24), therapy (vs. 25-32), consistency
(vs. 33-40), confidence (vs. 41-48), and all
else.
That is why this
Psalm has fascinated me for so long. My chief passion in
ministry has for many years been defending, living, and
proclaiming the absolute authority and sole sufficiency
of Scripture, and that is what this Psalm is about. As
we will see, simply put, Psalm 119 is devoted to
praising the virtues, merits, and sufficiency of the
Word of God and demonstrates the author’s total
commitment to it.
I also credit
Charles Spurgeon for feeding my curiosity for this
Psalm. In his classic exposition of the Psalms, The
Treasury of David, he devotes
almost 350 pages to Psalm 119, a section that stands by
itself as a classic. I humbly quote him at times, for no
one has said it better. I also read many other
expositions and commentaries in my preparation, all of
which were to my benefit and blessing.
What you are about
to read, therefore, is the fruit of that labor. While
far from a classic, this book is a complete,
verse-by-verse, usually word-by-word, exposition of
Psalm 119. Because of the pivotal importance of the
pulpit ministry, this book is based on a series of
messages preached on consecutive Lord’s Day mornings
from July 2007 through January 2008. Rich in word
studies, clearly outlined, and carefully applied, it is
meant to be an encouragement, challenge, and source of
growth to God’s people. I pray that reading it will
bless your heart as much as writing it blessed
mine.
Bibliography
Footnotes in the text are keyed to this
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