Yesterday I encouraged us to
spend time in the Psalms of Ascent, today I want to touch on Psalm 119. As you
probably know, Psalm 119, with its 176 verses, is not only the longest psalm in
the Bible, it is the longest chapter in the Bible.
About the time I reach Psalm 110
in my daily Bible reading I become aware of Psalm 119 looming before me. It is
a mountain of a psalm, and yet it is also a Grand Canyon of a psalm – it has both
incredible height and incredible depth.
Since Psalm 119 was written as
one psalm, I believe that it ought to be read at one sitting in order to
experience its fulness. Yes, we can also read sections of it and meditate on
those sections. I recall that once I read the same section every day for a
week, and then moved onto another section for a week, and so on and so forth –
it took me 22 weeks to read through the psalm this way, but it is an approach I
wanted to take; of course I also kept reviewing the entire psalm so I could
maintain a sense of perspective and interrelatedness.
As the Grand Canyon, Psalm 119
takes my breath away when I approach it, look over the rim, and then begin to
explore its intricacies. If you’ve been to the Grand Canyon you know that just
one overlook offers perspectives enough for a day. As I read and ponder Psalm
119 at one sitting I see the glory of God’s Word bursting forth in wave after
wave of light and glory – and I see God revealing Himself to us through these
waves and drawing us into communion with Him as we journey on our pilgrimage.
Perhaps it is not an accident
that Psalm 119 precedes the Psalms of Ascents in that Psalm 119 portrays the
author as a pilgrim on this earth:
“Your statutes are my songs in
the house of my pilgrimage” (119:54)
“I am a stranger in the earth;
do not hide Your commandments from me” (119:19).
To travel from my home in
Virginia to the Grand Canyon requires a commitment, but the reward is well
worth it. To make a commitment to journey to, down into, and through Psalm 119
also requires a commitment – the reward is far greater than what the Grand
Canyon offers – (though of course they have the same Author and they do
compliment each other!) – and that is saying something.
Perhaps once you’ve journeyed
through the Psalms of Ascent you might consider a trip to Psalm 119?
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