What Is the Bible's Longest Chapter About?

Psalm 119 is a majestic poem in praise of God's precious word. But it is almost too majestic. As the Bible's longest chapter it might be one of the few chapters that some of us have never read through at one time. We know some of the verses well. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (119:11). And, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (119:105). But the psalm is meant to be read in its entirety. In fact, it is probably mean to be memorized in its entirety. The writer employed a masterful mnemonic device, a plan to ease memorization. The poem is an acrostic. The twenty-two eight-verse sections work through the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. So the first eight verses begin with aleph (like our "A"), the next eight verses begin with beth (like our "B").

And if we do read it all at once we see that those well-known verses are much like the rest. The theme is drummed into us from beginning to end: God's word is a matchless treasure! The writer praises God's law using three main categories. He shows its objective goodness, he exemplifies how believers delight in it, and he seeks help in obeying it.