Psalm 119
God's Powerful Word

      ➢ Read Psalm 119:9-16, the second stanza of Psalm 119. What is meant by “the second stanza?” What more do you know about the structure of Psalm 119? From the sermon: Psalm 119 is an elaborate acrostic that has 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and every stanza contains 8 verses, each of which begins with the letter of the alphabet for that section. Your Bible will likely use the letters of the alphabet as the heading for each stanza. If you will look in your Bible, you will see that the first section is titled Aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, then Beth, then Gimel, and so on. If the original language of the OT were English, we would have 22 stanzas with eight verses each, all of which begin with A, then eight verses that begin with B, etc.

There are 176 verses in Psalm 119, and at least 171 of them refer directly to Scripture. There are eight different Hebrew words used for Scripture in Psalmm119. In the English, we read law, word, testimonies, etc.

     ➢ We know that Jesus is the living Word of God. Read John 1:1, 14, and then read Psalm 119:9-11 again, but this time replacing the words used to describe the Word of God (or, law) with Jesus:

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?  

     By guarding it according to Jesus.

10 With my whole heart I seek you;

     let me not wander from Jesus!

11 I have stored up Jesus in my heart,

     that I might not sin against you.

From the sermon: When you read Psalm 119, you may think it very law focused. Indeed, the Psalmist is pointing to Torah, or, the first five books of the Bible, and “law” is the synonym for “word,” used in Psalm 119. Remember, though, Torah was pointing to the Lord. In these New Testament days, we know that Jesus was and is the Living Word of God. I do not want to make too much of this, but as we go through these verses from Psalm 119 today, think of substituting the name “Jesus” whenever you see a synonym for Scripture, such as testimonies, precepts, etc. Reading verses 9-11 again, it would work like this:

Spend time getting acquainted with the 119th Psalm, which will acquaint you withGod’s Word, which will point you to Jesus:

What the Bible is to us

1. Water for cleansing – 9

2. Wealth and a treasure – 72

3. A companion and friend – 24

4. A song to sing – 54

5. Honey – 103

6. A lamp – 105, 130

7. Great spoil – 162

8. An inheritance – 111

What the Bible does

1. It blesses – 1, 2

2. It gives life – 25, 37

3. It gives strength – 28

4. It imparts wisdom – 66

5. It creates friends – 63

6. It gives comfort – 50, 76, 92

7. It gives direction – 133

Our response to the Bible

1. Love it – 24, 97

2. Prize it – 128

3. Study it – 7

4. Memorize it – 11

5. Trust it – 42

6. Obey it – 8

7. Declare it – 13, 26