Psalms 119:1

CONTENTS

This Psalm is so very peculiar and distinguished from every other, that it would form a long chapter of contents to give the summary of it. Before the Reader enters upon it, I beg him to remark some of its most striking particulars. As, first, its great length, being more than double in point of quantity, the longest of all the Psalms besides. Next, the Reader should remark the division of it into twenty-two portions, corresponding to the Hebrew Alphabet, each portion consisting of eight verses, and beginning with the Hebrew letters, regular and in order as they stand in the grammar. The third particularity to be remarked, and which deserves much to be noticed, for the better apprehension of the Psalm throughout, is, that there are ten words, which every verse but one (namely Psalms 119:122) hath, one or other of them in it: namely, the words WAY, LAW, TESTIMONIES, COMMANDMENTS PRECEPTS, STATUTES, JUDGMENTS, WORD, RIGHTEOUSNESS, TRUTH. Fourthly, and above all; one verse in it (namely, Psalms 119:139) demands the first and greatest attention, because it contains the words of Christ, My zeal hath consumed me; the well known words of Jesus. See John 2:17; Psalms 69:9. And it should seem as if the Holy Ghost had graciously designed, by the introduction of these memorable words in the midst of this Psalm, to lead the church to perceive the Lord Christ in and through every part of it. With these several particularities in view, and especially this last, let us enter upon the perusal, and may He who hath the Key of David open its blessed contents to our diligent researches after Him, that we may have expounded to us, by that infallible Teacher, the things herein contained concerning himself.

ALEPH.

Psalms 119:1

Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and designed, perhaps, on that account, to mark the first part of this Psalm. Some have thought that the division of this Psalm is according to the poetry of the Hebrews; but if so, we have lost all knowledge what that poetry means. The Holy Ghost, however, leads us to what is much more important to know, namely, how these scriptures shall make us wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. The blessedness of the undefiled, or, as the Hebrew word might have been rendered, the perfect, is the first object in this psalm. And to whom shall we look for this undefiled, this perfect character, but to Him who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens? Hebrews 7:26. Secondarily, and subordinately to our view of Jesus in this verse, we may indeed safely consider all his redeemed in him, as blessed also; for they walk in him, and are one in him, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life, John 14:6. I detain the Reader in this place to offer a short observation upon the word Law, one of those ten words which form so important a part in this Psalm. By the word torah, a law, if we are to understand the law delivered by Moses, nothing can serve to prove more pointedly, that the whole must refer to Christ; for he, and he only, was perfect and undefiled in the law of the Lord; and Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, Romans 10:4. If we accept the word in this sense, wherever we meet with it through the whole Psalm, with reference to Jesus our law-fulfiller, what a beauty doth it throw over the whole of this blessed scripture, in beholding all pointing to Him, as so many rays of light to one centre, and forming a constellation in the person of Jesus, as being blessed as our glorious head, and blessing all his people in him! Precious, precious Jesus!