Week 26 - Wow, What A Long Chapter!

Psalm 119 - Wow, what a long chapter!

How do you tackle and unpack the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 119 has 176 verses. In reading this chapter, I sense similarities in how we approach the Bible as a whole. If I want to read the Bible, where do I start? Do I pick and choose? Do I only read the New Testament? Do I start in Genesis and end in Revelation?

For this chapter, I like how the author starts and ends. The first verse tells me what I need to be, and the last verse tells me how to get there. 

Psalm 119:1 starts off and seems like a daunting task. 

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!”

Who do you know who is blameless? Think of those who you love, do you typically keep a record of their “wrongs”? 

(This where husbands need to keep their mouths shut and simply shake their head no).

For those we love and respect, we are often able to look past their shortcomings and view them through a different lens. Isn’t this similar to how God forgives us?

Psalm 119:176 ends the chapter in a way I am more used to. 

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.”

This is a little more of what I am used to. Too often I see myself as a lost sheep, or at least keeping up with my shortcomings. I need to remember to stay humble and continue trying to do what God would have me do and be open to His calling. 

To me, there is a theme to this chapter, and really the Bible as a whole. No matter what we do, there is always a path back to God. He leaves that door open. He calls us to be perfect, while knowing that only through Him we can attain that perfection. How awesome it is to serve a God who will not give up on me, and gives me a path back to Him. 

- Josh Swanger