Psalm 119 - Verses not directly mentioning Scripture

In the longest Psalm, which is also the longest chapter in the Bible, nearly every verse is a direct reference to the Word of God.  In Psalm 119, different verses use different ways to refer to the Scripture, such as God's "statutes" or "precepts" or "testimonies" for example.  Some verses refer poetically to God's word as His "ways" or "judgments."

It is very interesting that the longest chapter of the Bible is devoted to the subject of the Bible itself.

I have long heard the claim that every verse but two (some say three) in the 119th Psalm refers directly to the word of God.  I have searched and searched for these two or three, to no avail.  My own dim eyes and weak mind never saw them.

Finally I read an article that made this claim - that there were some verses in the chapter that did not directly mention the scripture - so I wrote the author and asked about it.  He replied that he had found five such verses.*  Here they are.  If these mention the Scriptures directly, they are doing so in only the broadest poetical sense.  So it truly seems, as I've often heard, that there are a few verses in the 119th Psalm that do not directly mention the word of God.

Psalm 119:84 - How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?

"Judgment" may refer to God's word as it does in other verses in the chapter, but this seems less likely in verse 84.  This is a plea to execute judgment on an individual (by the hand of God) rather than to speak judgments (from the mouth of God.)

Psalm 119:90 - Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

Verse 90 is only an indirect reference to the word of God.  He established the earth through His word, Hebrews 11:3, II Peter 3:5, etc.  The word of God is not directly mentioned in verse 90, but a result of His word is: the establishment of the earth and its abiding.  "Faithfulness" may also be a poetic or an indirect reference to God's word, though this is a stretch.

Psalm 119:121 - I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.

Again, verse 121 is only an indirect reference to the word of God.  If the psalmist had truly done judgment and justice, he had done it according to the Scriptures.  But he doesn't come right out and say it that way, "I have done judgment and justice according to they word."

Psalm 119:122 - Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.

In verse 122, a broadly poetical interpretation could make "surety" (pledge, promise) refer to God's word.  This may be a bit of a stretch, but it is a possibility.

Psalm 119:132 - Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

In verse 132 there is no direct reference to the word of God.  There is only a vaguely indirect reference - those that loved the Lord's name in the past.  The psalmist would only know of them and the mercy God showed them by having read of them in God's word.

So there are at least five verses in the 119th Psalm that are not clear, direct mentions of the word of God.  Of course, the psalmist did not include verse numbers - men added them later.  So it may not have been the psalmist's (or God's) intent to divide this Psalm the way that we currently have it in our Bibles.  But under our verse numbering system of these poetic couplets, these are the four that do not directly mention the scriptures.

In any case, the 119th Psalm is a marvel of poetry and devotion to the word of God.

(*Thanks to Doug Kutilek for this list of verses).

VM