I remember playing Bible Trivia when I was younger. Now, it’s seems odd, or even irreverent, to refer to anything in the Bible as trivia, so let me share some information about the Psalms which may be lesser-known and not as important as the gospel.
Psalms has won at least four gold medals in the world of the Bible Olympics. Of course, these stats are based on our modern English translations of the Bible, not the originals. First, it is the longest book of the Bible by number of chapters with 150 although Jeremiah is longest when measured by word count. Second, Psalms has more earthly writers than any other book of the Bible. At least seven different authors or groups of authors wrote the Psalms. David wrote half of them, and about one-third of the 150 are unattributed. (Who are the authors of Psalms?) Of course, God is the author, but He used humans to write it. Third, the shortest chapter in the Bible by verses is Psalm 117 with 2 verses. Lastly, the longest chapter in the Bible by verses is Psalm 119 which has 176 verses.
Psalm 119 has some interesting facts about it in Hebrew (the language in which it was written) which don’t transfer into the English translation. Psalm 119 consists of 22 eight-line sections. Each section corresponds with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the first letter and down to the last letter of the alphabet. Each line in a section begins with that section’s letter of the alphabet. Imagine that it was originally written in English. The first section would be the A section, and every one of the eight lines in the A section would begin with the letter A. Next, would be the B section, and on and on until the Z section at the end. This is lost in translation, but it shows you that the writers were creative and sought ways to make truth memorable for singing and reciting and teaching.
One more fact about Psalm 119 is that the psalm revolves around God’s word. “Your word” or some synonym of it occurs in practically every verse. The psalmist is made happy, convicted, taught, made wise, freed, enlightened, saved, and guided by God’s word. What about you? Are you being changed by God’s word because you’re letting it get into you?
This week you’ll read…
2 Chronicles 25-34: “The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. So He brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to Him, and the Lord was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that the Lord is God” (2 Chronicles 33 in The Christian Standard Bible).
Psalms 116-119: “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalms 119 in The New International Version).
Hebrews 11-13: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11 in The Christian Standard Bible).
1 Peter 1-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1 in The Christian Standard Bible).
- August 15 (Thurs):
- August 16 (Fri):
- August 17 (Sat):
- August 18 (Sun):
- August 19 (Mon):
- August 20 (Tues):
- August 21 (Wed):
CSB are daily readings linked to The Christian Standard Bible on BibleGateway.com.
MSG are daily readings linked to The Message Bible on BibleGateway.com.
NLT are daily readings linked to The New Living Translation on BibleGateway.com.
NIV are daily readings linked to The New International Version on BibleGateway.com.
Thoughts on Life and Jesus 