Psalm 119
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People sometimes ask how they should get into God's Word. Where should they start reading during their quiet times? While the answer to this question is highly personal and individual, and each believer must develop his own approach as he spends time in the Word, we often suggest to begin one's quiet time in Psalm 119.

In virtually every verse of Psalm 119, the writer (presumably David) speaks of God's Word (His law, statutes, testimonies, precepts, ordinances, etc.), declaring his love for, devotion to, and joy in it. He praises God for His Word, he meditates on the wonders of His Word, he exhorts himself to be in the Word, and he prays that God would cause him to have a right relationship to the Word and the Word to have its proper impact on his life.

Though at first glance, this psalm may seem both repetitious and overwhelming, the more one immerses himself in it, the more it will open to him and fill his mind and heart with wonder and awe at God's Word. Each verse can become one's own meditation, instruction, exhortation, praise, and prayer, and worship.

This psalm is by far the longest of the 150 psalms. It is much more than can be digested in a single reading. But it is divided into twenty-two sections (according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each section consisting of eight verses.  By numbering the sections in one's own Bible from one to twenty-two, one can turn to the section corresponding to the day of the month (from the 23rd to the end of the month, choose your favorite sections) and begin his daily reading with a manageable portion of this wonderfully rich and varied psalm.

Receive that portion as an appetizer that set's one's mind on Christ and whets one's appetite for the Word of God for that day.  We pray that God would open your eyes, that you may behold wondrous things out of His law (Psalm 119:18).

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