Old Testament • 7 Verses
1In my trouble I cried to the Lord: and he heard me.
2O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue.
3What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to a deceitful tongue?
4The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.
5Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar:
6My soul hath been long a sojourner.
7With them that hated peace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.
Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is an elaborate meditation on God's law that Catholic tradition treasures as a school of prayer. The Catechism teaches that love for God's Word is essential to the spiritual life (CIC 2653-2654). Each of the 176 verses mentions God's law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, or word, showing the psalmist's delight in divine revelation.
The Church prays portions of this psalm throughout the Liturgy of the Hours, allowing its themes to shape daily prayer. The repeated cry "Teach me your statutes" expresses the humble disposition that Catholic spirituality cultivates. The Catechism emphasizes that understanding Scripture requires the Holy Spirit's illumination (CIC 109-114).
The verse "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" has become a beloved expression of Scripture's guiding role. Catholic teaching affirms that God's Word, read within the Church's living Tradition, illuminates our journey through life. This psalm teaches us to love God's law not as burden but as gift, finding in His commandments the path to freedom and joy.
💡Catholic Reflection • Church Teachings
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