Psalm 119 Overview
Walking the way of YHWH's word
Psalm 119
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 119
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 119 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 119
Author:
Purpose:
- To entreat YHWH for life through discernment according to his word.
Content:
- You afflict me in faithfulness, but also promise to keep me alive. I love your word, so help me understand! Then I will obey you wholeheartedly and I will overcome my oppressors. You open my eyes and give me understanding. I praise you for your judgments: on myself and my enemies!
Message:
- To meditate on YHWH's word means wrestling with YHWH's purpose in both lament and praise.
Psalm 119 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 119
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- YHWH disciplines those he loves (Deut 8:5; 2 Sam 7:14; Jer 30:11; 31:18-20; Prov 3:12; Ps 32:3-5; 94:12).
- The instrument of his discipline will not go unpunished (Jer 30:11, 16; Hab 3:1-16).
- The same authority expressed when YHWH established his creation is the authority expressed when YHWH established his word (Ps 24:1-2; 119:152).
- YHWH's enduring faithfulness to his creation implicates his enduring faithfulness to his people (Gen 8:22; Jer 31:36; Ps 96:10).
- As a metonymical extension, devotion to YHWH's word amounts to devotion to YHWH himself (Reynolds 2010, 34ff., Procházková 2021, 81; see also Isa 42:21, Ps 97:8).
- Obedience to YHWH's word is impossible without YHWH's help (Jer 32:39-40; Ezek 36:24-28).
- An ingathering of kings will seek and learn YHWH's word (Isa 2:1-4; 60:3; Ps 2:10-12; Ps 102:19-23; Ps 148:11 and especially Ps 138:1-5).
Background Situation for Psalm 119
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 119
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