My favorite psalm by far is Psalm 119. Even though it is the longest psalm, and the longest chapter in the Bible, I love reading and rereading this section of Scripture. It never gets old!

If you wanted to give this psalm a name or a title, a good one would be “The Glories of God’s Word” or “A Love for the Word of God.” Psalm 119 has 176 verses, making it the longest chapter in the Bible. In those 176 verses, God’s Word is referenced 177 times, at least once in every verse but five (verses 84, 90, 121, 122, 132 do not have a direct reference to God’s word in some fashion).

It is likely that David wrote this Psalm. However, it is unclear under what circumstances he composed it. It is quite possible that this is a variation of his daily journal, perhaps gathered and composed over the course of his life. His usage of phrases such as “a young man,” in verses 9, 99, 100, 141, and “an old man,” in verses 84-87, may indicate that this is David’s spiritual diary. If so, it is worthy of imitating. God keeps a diary even if we don’t (see Malachi 3:16-18; Romans 14:12).

One of the things I think we are really bad at, as humans, is learning from the past. I believe that we tend to get so focused on the present, or what might come, and we neglect to learn lessons from our history… Much needed lessons. Psalm 78 is a history lesson that can teach us some of those lessons.

In Psalm 78, the psalmist desires to teach the nation of Israel something about God’s character, and in order to do this, he goes back into Israel’s history and gives an example of God’s faithfulness in spite of their rebellion. Like a road map, it lays out the course that Israel has taken through the generations, and shows how God continues to be faithful.

Despite all God had done for them, and all He had been to the Israelites, they didn’t keep His covenant and they refused to walk in His ways. They were a redeemed people, yet they were rebellious, full of complaining, and despised the provisions that God gave them. For their rebellion, their revolt and defiance of His authority, God brought punishment and retribution upon them. When the people repented, pardon was given. God’s grace led them to the land of promise.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful expressions of redemption can be found in Psalm 51. In fact, this may well be one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture.

Psalm 51 is an expression of repentance. And it displays the possibility of redemption for those who are willing to confess their sin and repent of it.

It is the result of David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba. You probably know the story found in 2 Samuel 11-12. David saw a beautiful woman whom he desired. He took her and committed adultery with her, resulting in a pregnancy. In order to cover his tracks, he tried to have the woman’s husband come home from war and visit is wife. When that failed, he had the husband murdered. And he thought he got away with it.

But he didn’t. God knew what David had done, and sent the prophet Nathan to convict David of his sin. It worked. David repented, and wrote Psalm 51 as a result.

That’s a very condensed version of the events that transpired, but I think you get the big idea. What David’s words in Psalm 51 show is that there is power in confessing our sin and repenting of it before God.

Psalm 51 can be broken into three different sections, and show us the progression he went through as he turned from his sin and returned to God.