Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Granted, chapters were not introduced into the Bible until the thirteenth century. Nevertheless, this psalm remains one of the longest thematic sections of Scripture, and by far the longest psalm in the psalter.
A Long Prayer About God’s Word
The subject of Psalm 119 is God’s Word. This observation should be uncontroversial, for every single verse in the psalm speaks about Scripture. Just as important, however, is the observation that the psalm is a prayer. Not only is every line about God’s Word, but the entire psalm is directed toward God in the form of a long-form supplication.
These two basic observations are full of instruction for contemporary Bible readers. The psalter’s longest psalm is about God’s Word, crafted as a prayer. We can conclude, therefore, that Bible reading and prayer belong inseparably together.
“Teach Me Your Statutes”
It is also instructive to note how the psalmist prays as he meditates on the character, beauty, and goodness of God’s Word. Multiple times throughout the psalm, the author asks for God to aid him in understanding Scripture. I’ve provided below every verse where the author requests God’s help so we can feel the weight of his desperation.
Blessed are you, O LORD;teach me your statutes (v. 12)!
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (v. 18).
When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes (v. 26)!
Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works (v. 27).
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end (v. 33).
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart (v. 34).
Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain (v. 36)!
Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments (v. 66).
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes (v. 68).
Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments (v. 73).
Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules (v. 108).
Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes (v. 124).
I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies (v. 125)!
Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes (v. 135).
Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live (v. 144).
Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word (v. 169)!
Even for a psalm that is 176 verses long, these verses constitute a high concentration of requests for God to teach the psalmist his Word (a total 9% of the psalm). One of the psalmist’s deepest concerns in this poem is that God would instruct him in the very Word he is meditating on and delighting in. The psalmist serves as an example, then, for how we should approach Bible reading. If we want to understand what Scripture teaches, we must pray for God to reveal the truth to us.
While it is true that prayer cannot replace careful study and sound hermeneutics, nor, by itself, guarantee that we will rightly understand God’s Word, a refusal to ask for God’s help will certainly set us upon a trajectory that will lead us away from the truth. Why? Because prayerlessness in Bible study is an expression of pride—the assumption that we can, by the sheer use of our finite and fallen minds, unlock the treasures of Scripture and plumb the mind of God.
The Need for Illumnation
In overestimating our innate capacity to understand God’s Word, we forget that only the Spirit can comprehend the mind of God. It must be the Spirit, therefore, who reveals to us the Bible’s meaning to us (see 1 Cor 2:10-14). When we proceed in our study of Scripture with a posture of self-reliance, we should not expect to glean much clarity or spiritual benefit from the Bible, for “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6), and he only “teaches the humble his way” (Ps 25:9). No humility, not grace. No grace, no instruction.
It is for this reason that Paul, speaking to believers, says that he prays continually that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,” through whom their “the eyes of their hearts” would be “enlightened” (Eph 1:18). These believers received the Spirit at conversion (Eph 1:14), yet they were in continual need of the Spirit’s illuminating power to give them genuine insight into God’s Word. Yes, careful reading was key (Eph 3:4), but the Spirit’s assistance was just as essential.
Solomon also recognized the need for divinely-bestowed wisdom. He not only asked God for wisdom to rule the nation at the beginning of his reign, he also instructed his son in the proper method of seeking and acquiring wisdom. Solomon’s son was to pursue wisdom as a precious treasure, leveraging all his energy and resources toward its procurement. He was also, in the process, to plead with God for divine instruction.
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up your commands with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek for it as silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:1-6; emphasis added).
Without the Spirit’s illuminating work in our minds, we cannot understand Scripture the way God intends for us to understand Scripture. Even as the Son of God taught the Scriptures to the disciples following his resurrection, they still needed their minds to be opened (Luke 24:44-45). Even as Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, he prayed for God’s illuminating ministry in their hearts.
Application: Pray for God’s Help as You Read the Bible
The practical takeaway is simply this: pray earnestly for God to teach you his Word as you read and study the Bible. Yes, gather the best resources you can find, place yourself under sound teachers, and study the Bible with the utmost diligence. But resist the temptation to rely upon your innate ability to grasp the meaning of Scripture, behold its beauty, and discern the best way to apply it. We are in desperate need of God’s help, so let’s be like the psalmist and ask God to open our eyes that we might see wonderful things in his law.
