Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and longest chapter in the Bible. It is an acrostic psalm with 22 sections each beginning with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. More importantly, it is a marvelous devotional psalm on the Word of God. Whereas the other psalms focus primarily on God’s mighty acts of creation, redemption and sovereign rule over the universe, here we read a masterful reflection on the nature, blessing and glory of the Word of God.

We live in a day when people, even many Christian people, do not much value God’s Word. Even in churches including churches of Christ, there is often not the attention given to the Word of God as in previous generations. For example, in the past it was not uncommon for people to memorize this longest psalm of the Bible. William Wilberforce, the British statesman who was largely responsible for the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British empire, knew this psalm by heart. David Livingstone, the great pioneer missionary to Africa, won a Bible from his Sunday School teach by repeating Psalm 119 from memory - when he was only nine years old! You don’t hear about kids doing something this much anymore.

Many of today’s preachers also neglect the Word of God, thinking it will not appeal to the masses and that it will hinder church growth. They turn instead to worldly devices and entertainment. But John Calvin, the chief theologian of the Reformation, preached twenty-two sermons on Psalm 119. In his Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon has 349 pages on this psalm that extols the value of God’s Word. This psalm tells us that if we want to grow in the grace and knowledge of God, be kept from sin and be directed in the right pathway for life, we must be students of this Book.

The author of this psalm loved the Bible. The psalm is an attempt to tell us why. If the Bible is equally precious to you, you will rejoice in the reading of this psalm and find yourself identifying with the words therein. If the Bible is not precious to you, when you read this psalm, you will find out why it ought to be precious to you and perhaps you can come to love it as the psalmist did.