The exquisite uniqueness of Psalm 119 is that its composer uses each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet to sing an octave of praise to God’s Word. Resh—the twentieth letter—focuses its tribute primarily upon the spiritual battle between evil and good, and the invaluable role God’s law, word, statutes, judgments, testimonies, and precepts play in providing strength, comfort and victory. It concludes with one of the most important and often ignored truths of Scripture and the rightly dividing of it—the entirety (not some but the sum) of God’s Word is truth.
Resh’s tribute is: “Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgments. Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word. Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (vv. 153-160).
“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
