Poetic

Awe, Bible, Blessings, Gratitude, Love of God, Poetry, Praise 2 Minutes

My small group decided to go through Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible. This week we had an introduction session to go over some cool things, which I shall share with you now.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem/song. Here’s how it works. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each section of the psalm contains eight lines. The beginning word of each line begins with the that letter of the alphabet. Then on to the next section and the next letter. 22 letters x 8 lines per section = 176 verses.

A Scottish pastor in the 1600’s, George Wishart, was arrested and condemned to death for preaching his beliefs about Jesus. In those days, before being executed, prisoners were given the opportunity to recite/sing a chapter of the Bible. He chose Psalm 119, which he had memorized. About two thirds of the way through it, a messenger came with a pardon from the king, and his life was spared. Good thing he did not chose Psalm 117, which has only two verses!

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) wrote a full commentary of the Bible, which is still used today. His father provided much of Henry’s early education at home. Henry practiced writing by copying his father’s sermons and as a child he exhibited a natural public speaking ability. His father told his children to take one line of Psalm 119 and meditate on it for the day. With 176 verses, they would go through the chapter twice in a year. Henry said that this practice developed his love of Scripture and led him to write his commentary.

While we don’t know who wrote this psalm, we do know that he had an intense hunger for holiness and the desire to understand God’s Word in a deeper way. He addresses his words to the Lord personally, intimately speaking with God about all his concerns, prayers, praises, and worship.

Tuesday night, I woke up at 2:30am with this flowing though me. I had to get my pen light, pen, and notepad and write it down. My own version of an acrostic poem starting with the letter A. Because I had this song “playing” in my soul. (The first two lines of my poem are from the song “No One Higher” by Aaron Shust)

Amazed I bow in awe of your presence

Astounded by you mercy and love

Assured of my salvation, I thank you

Adoringly I come before you today

Accept this time we share together and may it bless You

Absolutely confident that nothing I do for you is wasted

Abandoning my will for Yours

Abiding in You, now and forever

Phew! Now only 25 more letters to go! “X” ought to be fun!

This was the reply I received from a fellow blogger. “I bet the Good Lord would be OK with you using “ex” for “X” (https://johnftoles.com/) Thanks John! That is going to make it easier!

I am excited to see how this challenge unfolds for me as I go through Psalm 119 with the group, and with each letter of the alphabet with the Lord!

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Published by God Still Speaks

I am a follower of Jesus with an insatiable hunger for the Word of God! I am doing my best to be obedient in sharing what I learn with others, with my own unique spin, using the way God made me, linear with a twist!

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21 thoughts on “Poetic”

  1. A very full beginning indeed – praise the Lord! 😊
    I love the historical notes regarding Wishart and Henry.
    Might I recommend two small commentaries on 119; one by Charles Bridges and the other by C.H. Spurgeon. I consider them to be excellent.

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  2. “Absolutely confident that nothing I do for you is wasted.”

    This speaks to me, because sometimes I wonder if what I do for the Lord makes a difference. But it’s His work, not mine. It’s really not about me, anyway.

    I love your illustration about the condemned man reciting Psalm 119!

    Your story about Matthew Henry is also inspiring. I believe Charles and John Wesley had much the same experience.

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  4. I am doing a Bible study of the Psalms every other Monday. I work on three psalms in each post, but when we got to Psalm 119, I was thinking of doing three of the 8-verse sections instead. I have been praying whether that was the right thing to do. If Matthew Henry can meditate on a single verse each day, I think it will work. Thank you for this background info.

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      1. There are a few other acrostics, but Ps. 119 is the grand one. Some of Lamentations is written that way. But the Matthew Henry info I had never heard before.

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