How's Your Hebrew?

If you have been on this journey with me through Psalm 119 from the beginning, them I'm sure you will remember that this Psalm (written originally in Hebrew) is an acrostic poem with 22 stanzas, one stanza for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each line of each stanza begins with the corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  In other words, in the original language, each line of the aleph stanza begins with the letter aleph, and so on.  Can you recite the Hebrew alphabet up to this point?  Maybe you could practice that today and then you'll really be able to impress your friends!  (Unless, of course, they are are already fluent in Hebrew!!)

Our study has been loosely modeled after a study of Psalm 119 written by Pam Gillaspie and titled "Sweeter Than Chocolate."  In the leader materials for that study, referring to the zayin stanza where we currently find ourselves in our journey, Pam writes, "This is one stanza where a little Hebrew goes a long way.  The stanza letter is "Z" and three of the eight lines begin with the word zakar which is Hebrew for "remember."  The psalmist first calls on God to remember His word to him (v. 49) and then tells how he has remembered the LORD's ordinances of old (v. 52) and that he calls the LORD's name in the night (v. 55)."  While I, and probably all of you as well, am not a Hebrew scholar, I think it is helpful to have these hints about the original language as we study.  This seems to me to be helpful in staying in the context of what the psalmist was originally trying to communicate as he wrote and helps us to form correct interpretations which will then lead us to make correct application.  As we continue on, watch closely in the next three stanzas for other truths the psalmist remembers.  

Two other words to note as we move through this stanza....the words "comfort" and "hope".  The two words translated as "comfort" (nechamah, v. 50 and nacham, v 52) derive from the same Hebrew word (one a noun, the other a verb).  Can you see a connection between remembering the word of God, as the psalmist has done, and then comforting oneself and others with it?  The word "hope" (v. 49)  is closely tied to this concept.  We first saw this word, translated as "wait", in the vav stanza.  Hoping and waiting do not mean sitting by with our fingers crossed; rather it is a faith, an expectancy that has confidence in God!

If you have time today, do some additional research/word studies on these two words to see what you can learn.  Use your concordance to check some cross references, some additional verses where these words are used.  This is a good way to firm up your understanding of these concepts.  Also, as you're thinking on these concepts, consider the following questions:

• Where do you typically turn for comfort?
• How adept are you at comforting yourself from God's Word?
• Once you have considered what Psalm 119 has to say about comfort, why not see what the New Testament has to say.  Do some reading in 2 Corinthians and see what you can learn about comfort.  What is the application for you?

"Our comfort is abundant through Christ."  (2 Corinthians 1:5b)