Psalm 119 can be described as the Psalm of the Word of God. It is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it primarily focuses on God’s Word. One unique feature of the psalm is that it is an alphabetic acrostic “in which each stanza of eight verses is devoted to successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each verse of a particular stanza beginning with the same letter.”[1] In the second section (verses 9-16), every verse begins with the Hebrew letter ב Beth.
Psalm 119:9-16 describes how God’s Word is used to cleanse a person. To cleanse (zakah) something means to make it thoroughly clean. The means of cleansing is by keeping God’s Word, not from coercion, but rather a genuine heartfelt desire. The idea is to take God’s Word and internalize it much like Jeremiah did when he “ate the words” (Jeremiah 15:16).
“Man's teaching may make us more learned - God's teaching [v. 12] makes us more holy."[2]
In light of this, the psalmist determined to delight in the Lord’s instruction rather than see it as a heavy burden. This is similar to 1 John 5:3 where the Lord’s commandments are not burdensome. As a person grows in their love for the Lord, they will naturally grow in their desire to obey Him. Finally, the psalmist states that this would not be a one-time activity but rather an ongoing part of their life.
“We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it."[3]
In the second section, we learn that we need to have a heartfelt desire to keep God’s Word throughout our lives. As we internalize the Bible, it will also cause us to see His instructions not as a burden but as a great joy.
Blessings,
Pastor Steven