Rev. Don Campbell

Psalms 119:1-88

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, April 7, 2019

“EIGHT WORDS DESCRIBING THE SCRIPTURES

Psalm 119 is the longest of all the psalms, containing 176 verses. Using the Hebrew alphabet which has 22 letters, the unknown writer has produced an acrostic poem with eight lines beginning with the Hebrew “aleph,” the next eight begin with the letter “beth,” and so forth. The writer used eight different terms for the Scriptures: law, testimony, precept, statute, commandment, judgments (rules), word, and promise.

Sometimes it is best not to analyze a poem too much. Read these 88 verses—from more than one translation if you have more than one—and let the word of God speak to your heart. You might pray, as in the psalm, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderous things out of your law” (v.18).

CONNECTIONS

1. Five times in these 88 verses, the word “meditate” occurs (15, 23,27,48,78). Upon what did the psalmist meditate?

2. What, in your opinion, is the difference between memorizing a passage and meditating on it?