Bible in 90, Day 44: Yes that’s the book for me!

Psalms 109-134

*(slightly altered) image courtesy of my buddy Billy at stock.xchng

Today we read the shortest chapter in the Bible, and the longest!  Psalm 117 with just two verses, is the shortest, and Psalm 119 with 176 verses is the longest!  Psalm 119 is considered a masterpiece of Hebrew poetry.  It uses a form known as an acrostic to talk about the Bible.  This particular acrostic form takes each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in turn with each line within a stanza beginning with that letter.  So, the first eight lines begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph.  The next eight begin with bet, and so on.  This is not the only acrostic in the psalms to use the full alphabet, but it is the only to use each letter for eight lines a piece, giving it its great length.

In using the alphabet in this way, the psalmist is poetically describing the perfection of the Word of God – the obvious theme of this psalm.  Today, we might say the Bible is perfect from A to Z.  Or we might write out characteristics of the Bible beginning with all 26 letters of the English alphabet to show its perfection.  The point is clear, the psalmist regards the Scripture as being complete, holy, and perfect.

Hopefully, you have at least a similar belief, otherwise this 90 day challenge wouldn’t make much sense.  Maybe you’re not doing the challenge and you’re just reading this because you came across it or someone referred you to it.  I’d challenge you to read the Bible, consider its claims, and see where you stand.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active, that is powerful and life-changing.  You cannot read the Scriptures, apply it to your life, and be the same.  It will change the way you think about yourself, about others, and about your actions.  It will challenge your motives and intentions, your world-view, and your assumptions.  It will give us the knowledge and wisdom we need to avoid sin (Psalm 119:11).  It is sufficient to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Let’s take advantage of this great gift of God!  Let’s continue to read it, memorize it, meditate on it, talk about it with our brothers and sisters, and apply it to our lives (Psalm 1:2, 119:11, 97; Ephesians 5:19-20; James 1:22).  Let’s not be like the one who looks into a mirror, walks away, and forgets what he has just seen (James 1:22-25).  Let us learn from God’s Word and let it shape our lives.

*originally at Words of Reason