Psalm 119, by far the longest psalm, is an alphabetic psalm. The psalmist chose eight synonyms- law, statues, commands, ordinance, decrees, precepts, words and promise- and in his strophes of eight verses apiece planned to use a different synonym in each verse. Each of the eight verses of the first strophe begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse of the second strophe begins with the second letter etc. for all twenty-two letters. Hence, the whole consists of 176 verses. “ I meditate on the words that I hear as You whisper in my heart, words that refresh and renew my soul… Your Truth is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…I weep over our wounded world, our earth ravaged by greedy insensitive hands…Enter into the great, resounding Silence, be still and know true peace.” writes Nan Merrill in Praying the Psalms.
Psalm 119, by far the longest psalm, is an alphabetic psalm. The psalmist chose eight synonyms- law, statues, commands, ordinance, decrees, precepts, words and promise- and in his strophes of eight verses apiece planned to use a different synonym in each verse. Each of the eight verses of the first strophe begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse of the second strophe begins with the second letter etc. for all twenty-two letters. Hence, the whole consists of 176 verses. “ I meditate on the words that I hear as You whisper in my heart, words that refresh and renew my soul… Your Truth is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…I weep over our wounded world, our earth ravaged by greedy insensitive hands…Enter into the great, resounding Silence, be still and know true peace.” writes Nan Merrill in Praying the Psalms.
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