Jamieson, Fausset and Brown on Psalms 119:1

PSALM 119

Psa 119:1-176. This celebrated Psalm has several peculiarities. It is divided into twenty-two parts or stanzas, denoted by the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza contains eight verses, and the first letter of each verse is that which gives name to the stanza. Its contents are mainly praises of God's Word, exhortations to its perusal, and reverence for it, prayers for its proper influence, and complaints of the wicked for despising it. There are but two verses (Psa 119:122, 132) which do not contain some term or description of God's Word. These terms are of various derivations, but here used, for the most part, synonymously, though the use of a variety of terms seems designed, in order to express better the several aspects in which our relations to the revealed word of God are presented. The Psalm does not appear to have any relation to any special occasion or interest of the Jewish Church or nation, but was evidently "intended as a manual of pious thoughts, especially for instructing the young, and its peculiar artificial structure was probably adopted to aid the memory in retaining the language."

ALEPH. (Psa 119:1-8).

1. undefiled--literally, "complete," perfect, or sincere (compare Psa 37:37).

in--or, "of"

the way--course of life.

walk--act

in the law--according to it (compare Lu 1:6).

law--from a word meaning "to teach," is a term of rather general purport, denoting the instruction of God's Word.