psalm 119 chiastic structure, part two

Read Psalm 119 at Bible Gateway.

You know, I want the chiastic structures and patterns in the Word of God to follow along nicely and neatly, without loose ends and odd sections that don’t fit. And sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t … we have seen this over and over in Torah, where many times the paragraph divisions make no logical sense, and the parashahs have loose ends and dangling bits. And it is our attention to those sections that often reveal the most amazing truths, as we meditate on it.

Psalm 119, the psalm in praise of the Torah, is also proving the same. It is not what I expected (is it ever LOL?) But this is what I have found as we progress from the bookends toward the central axis of the psalm:

Psa 119:33-45 (hey + partial vav):

1a) Psa 119:33-35, hey I shall keep Your law to the end:

1) Psa 119:33-34, I shall keep Your law to the end;

33, Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; and I shall keep it to the end;
34, Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart;

2) Psa 119:35, Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it;

1b) Psa 119:36-40, Revive me / turn away my reproach:

1a) Psa 119: 36-38, Incline my heart to Your testimonies / revive me in Your way:

36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness;
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way;
38 Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You;

central axis) Psa 119:39, Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good;

2a) Psa 119:40, Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness. {p}

central axis) Psa 119:41, vav Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—Your salvation according to Your word;

2b) Psa 119:42-43, Turn away the reproach of my enemies:

42 So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word;
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances;

2a) Psa 119:44-45, I shall keep Your law forever:

1) Psa 119:44, So shall I keep Your law continually, forever and ever;
2) Psa 119:45, And I will walk at liberty (rachab), For I seek Your precepts;

Psa 119:151-160 (partial qoph + resh):

1a) Psa 119:151-152, The truth and eternity of the Lord’s commandments:

151, You are near, O Lord; And all Your commandments are truth;
152, Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever. {p}

1b) Psa 119:153-154a, resh Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law; Plead my cause and redeem me;

1c) Psa 119:154b, Revive me according to Your word;

central axis) Psa 119:155-156a, Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes; Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord;

2c) Psa 119:156b, Revive me according to Your judgments;

2b) Psa 119:157-159, Plea for restoration in the face of persecutors and enemies:

157, Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your testimonies;
158, I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word;
159, Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness;

2a) Psa 119:160, The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. {p}

Please notice that even though these two sections do not follow the stanzas nicely and neatly, their structures are nearly identical! And we have left behind Psa 119:17-32. I do not yet know where it fits. But we will continue on and learn what we can learn, and then perhaps the next time we visit this psalm, we will be able to fill more of it in. ♥