Good morning. The longest single chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. This Psalm is an acrostic, with the first word from each section (stanza) beginning with one of the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza contains 8 verses, which means that it totals 176 verses. That number makes it the longest of all the Biblical chapters, and each stanza carries its own statement regarding walking with God in a meaningful and successful spiritual life. Many Biblical scholars consider the 119th Psalm to be the pinnacle of Old Testament scripture. It has amazing depth and is constructed with such poetic beauty that it would be difficult to argue against such a point of view. We should also remember that like every Psalm, it was written with the intention that it be sung in worship.
The 119th Psalm is indeed powerful, lovely, and well known. But did you know that the shortest single chapter in all of scripture is found very near to the longest? Psalm 117 is the shortest Biblical chapter with only two verses. With so few words to work with it would be hard to imagine that the message of Psalm 117 could be considered as important as the 176 verses of Psalm 119. But please take a moment to consider the truths that are shared with us in those few words:
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Praise Him, all people of the earth!
For His unfailing love for us is powerful.
And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
The first verse commands us to praise the Lord, and by “us” we need to understand that the command extends to every human being. No matter your ethnicity, your nation, or your language, praise the Lord!
The second verse tells us why such praise is deserved. It is because the love of God is overwhelming, is all powerful, and it never fails. His faithfulness means that He loves us no matter what and that faithful love will never end.
I don’t often suggest that you might try and memorize an entire chapter of scripture, but in this case, it is doable and well worth the effort!
Let’s carry the truth of this brief but powerful song to the Lord in our hearts throughout the day.
Vern