The Golden Alphabet Part One

Extract

The Golden Alphabet — Part One — Psalm 119:1-16
C. H. Spurgeon

Prefatory Word

‘The treasury of David,’ in seven large volumes, is to be found in thousands of libraries, but it is too huge a work to be commonly known among the thousands of Israel, Hence it came into my mind to publish certain parts of it in smaller books, that many more might be profited by it. The One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm is of such a size as to stand out from all the rest, and claim a separate treatment. It is known among the Germans as “The Christians’ golden A B C of the praise, love, power, and use of the Word of God” and from them I have borrowed the title of this volume. Each portion of the Psalm begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As a specimen, we would show how the first eight verses may be so rendered as to begin in each case with the letter A, or Aleph. “A blessing is on them that are undefiled in the way; and walk in the law of Jehovah;

A blessing is on them that keep his testimonies, and seek him with their whole heart;
Also on them that do no wickedness, but walk in his ways. A law hast thou given unto us, that we should diligently keep thy commandments.
Ah, Lord! that my ways were so directed that I might keep thy statutes!
And then shall I not be confounded, while I have: respect unto all thy commandments.
As for me, I will thank thee with an unfeigned heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

An eye will I have unto thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.” This psalm is a wonderful composition. Its expressions are many as the waves, but its testimony is one as the sea. It deals all along with one subject only; but although it consists of a considerable number of verses, some of which are very similar to others, yet throughout its one hundred and seventy-six stanzas the self-same thought is not repeated: there is always a shade of difference, even …