Psalm 119

Pulling on the leash (Psalm 119:32)

I run the way of your commandments, for you enlarge my understanding (Psalm 119:32 NRSV). Yesterday, I took our dog Tiglath-pileser IV (named after the Neo-Assyrian ruler, TP…
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A soul-melting sorrow (Psalm 119:28)

My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word (Psalm 119:28 NRSV). What do you do when you're depressed?  The psalmist writes a poem of…
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The Word overcomes Death (Psalm 119:25)

My soul clings to the dust: revive me according to your word (Psalm 119:25 NRSV). Clinging to the dust.  In this verse one hears echoes of the curse on the man…
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Need a shrink? (Psalm 119:24)

Your decrees are my delight, they are my counselors (Psalm 119:24 NRSV). Once again the psalmist "delights" in the commands of God.  The word "delight" appears ten times in…
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Prince plot protection (Psalm 119:23)

Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes (Psalm 119:23 NRSV). Enemies have gathered together against their common foe.  You.  They are…
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Insolent, accursed wanderers (Psalm 119:21)

You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments (Psalm 119:21 NRSV). The psalmist is informing YHWH about something that he already knows.  Which is something…
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Got ordinance lust? (Psalm 119:20)

My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times (Psalm 119:20 NRSV). This is my favorite verse in Psalm 119, and one of my favorites…
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ET phone home (Psalm 119:19)

I live as an alien in the land; do not hide your commandments from me (Psalm 119:19 NRSV). The first half of this verse could be translated as "Alien…
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“Let’s make a deal” (Psalm 119:17)

Deal bountifully with your servant, so that I may live and observe your word (Psalm 119:17 NRSV). In this verse, Psalm 119 moves into the Gimel section, where each of the eight verses begins…
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Delighting, forgetting and 9% (Psalm 119:16)

I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word (Psa. 119:16 NRSV). More delighting in God's statutes.  In verse 14, the psalmist delighted  (but it uses a different…
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Mouth to mouth (Psalm 119:13)

With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth (Psa. 119:13 NRSV). The psalmist uses his lips to declare the ordinances of YHWH's mouth.  From God's mouth, to the psalmist's mouth. …
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