Bible Delight: Heartbeat of the Word of God: Psalm 119 for the Bible Teacher and Hearer

by Christopher Ash

First in a series of looking at culture & context of preaching & teaching. Bible Delight unlocks Psalm 119 and explains -




How to be delighted in the Bible

How to get your bearings in the longest psalm

What each of the 22 sections means

What your reaction should be through Personal Response Questions

Genres: Christian, Christianity

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2008

About the author

Christopher Ash works for the Proclamation Trust in London as director of the Cornhill Training Course. He is also writer in residence at Tyndale House in Cambridge, and is the author of several books, including Out of the Storm: Grappling with God in the Book of Job and Teaching Romans. He is married to Carolyn and they have three sons and one daughter.

Reviews

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this for sermon prep through Psalm 119. Great resource.

This year I purposed to study Psalm 119 in my morning quiet time. I got several commentaries and books on Psalm 119 to read as I took notes in my Bible. During the school year it was hard to find time (and a quiet place) to work on this study, but I got through it before the year was half over (just barely). This little book was probably the best book I read on the Psalm. Clear, concise and very readable. The final chapter was so good. I enjoyed this book and it added immensely to my study of this incredible Psalm. Recommended

[Andrei Neacsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

O carte care merita recitita.

[Jonathan Sussex · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd time reading this, it is a great way to tackle the behemoth of the Psalms, breaking it down into the 22, 8 verse sections

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful side route when I got up to Psalm 119 to do this book alongside it. Recommend!

Love his translation that helps appreciate the poetry of it. E.g. "the soul that clings to the dust of death (v25) now clings also to the testimonies of God (v31)"

And his balance of triumphant praise and desperate prayer, all shown to be under grace.
As he says in conclusion: "grim grim grim ... Or great great great great ... Is not an authentic Christian response. The authentic response is to say I really don't know. I am held by the word of God from a painful present to a glorious future. And that word brings into the present a foretaste of joy, hope, peace and praise. And the praise is all muddled up with the prayer. I don't know whether to laugh or cry; and I do both at the same time. That is authentic Christian experience.

[Amy Kannel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Ash has been the most delightful companion and mentor over the last nine months as I've taught through Psalm 119. I've deeply appreciated his careful translation that preserves the repetition in the Hebrew, and I've benefited in so many ways from his wise and winsome commentary. It is rich and thoughtful yet extremely down-to-earth and practical. The concluding chapter was the best of all and such a satisfying ending!

I highly recommend this as a tremendously helpful and enjoyable guide for digging into and meditating on this underrated and overlooked psalm--it's SO much more than just a lo-o-o-ong chapter about "read the Bible" over and over!

[Anna Goodwin]

“The people of God delight in the word of God, because this word alone ties us to the pain of the present to the glory of the future. May God help us sing it.”

[Sharon Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This commentary on Psalm 119 is broken down into twenty two sections, making it ideal as a devotional daily reader. The writer identifies eight ‘word’ words in the psalm, although different translations may record variations on these: Instruction, Testimonies, Precepts, Statutes, Commandments, Judgements, Word, and Promise. These are covenant words: “and covenant is the wallpaper of the psalm; it lies behind every verse.” He refers to these words as two-way words with the first direction being grace – that these are words that create and sustain relationship. There are two questions for personal response at the end of each section, this is a great devotional for developing a love for God’s word and the psalms in particular.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Every time I have tried to read the longest Psalm in the Bible, I lose focus long before the end. Knowing it was structured as an acrostic but not knowing Hebrew, I felt I was missing something and wanted to dig deeper. I picked up this book as it was one of the few I found that tackled it section by section.

This book did meet all my expectations. It broke down the Psalm into manageable chucks and exposed some of the original structure and language that I didn't know before. The author did a good job of looking for deeper meaning and application. However, just like the psalm itself, the book suffers from much repetition that makes the second half a tough slog.

[Danieltituscom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Ash does a wonderful job capturing the main idea of each stanza and communicating the tune as this lengthy psalm is sung. He even sees some connections between stanzas as well. I only wish he saw more of a macro structure, but this is a great read. I profited from it.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and helpful, though possibly a little long for a daily devotional.

[Scott Tubman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A ripper of a book! The short chapters work perfectly as a reading companion for your devotions. One stanza of Ps 119 and a quick read of Bible Delight and you can't go wrong!

[Jason Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent devotional journey through psalm 119

[Jared Segerstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic devotional commentary on Psalm 119. It both informed my mind and refreshed my soul.

[Patrick Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK I’ve read the book. Now I’m going to read it again. And again. And then again. Why? Because the writer of Psalm 119 points me to my choirmaster and lets me pour out my heart to my God.
If that doesn’t make sense to you, then you need to read Psalm 119 and this book.
Thank you Chris.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely gives one pause and makes you wrestle. Christopher Ash provides a better understanding to Psalm 119 and makes his commentary accessible and easy to read. I struggled at times with what I perceived to be a "doom and gloom" approach - for a book called Bible Delight, there are often Eeyore passages. But I realized that often the Christian experience is this tug between pain and joy, between prayer and praise. While I still think Christians can be a little more joyful than what Ash describes at times, this book helped me better understand what it means to delight in God's Word.

[Gavin Felgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible, with 176 verses separated into sections based on the Hebrew alphabet. I also read it in its entirety last summer, and when a friend heard that I'd done this, she lent me this book which analyses and interprets the whole psalm.

I enjoyed it a lot, though. The writer takes one section of the psalm at a time and points out the recurring themes, including rescue from enemies (not surprising, as many of the psalms were written by the exiled King David), and remembering God's word and continually studying the Gospel.

The writer does a good job of pointing out repeated phrases in the psalm, and explaining what everything means to him. I would recommend this to anyone else with an interest in reading the Bible and understanding it more.

[Becky Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Whatever we may say in theory about the Bible in our doctrinal statements, until we rejoice in it we are practical liberals. Our joy in the word is the litmus test of the value we actually place on that word."

I'm not a Bible teacher, but I've been dipping in & out of "Bible Delight" over the last year, and it's a real gem of a book. At first glance Ps 119 appears to be a fairly long, repetitive & dry psalm, but this book has really helped me understand it more, & to see what real joy in God's word looks like.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful devotional commentary on Psalm 119 that is broken up into 22 chapters covering each section of the Psalm. The author gives his own translation, which I always enjoy. The book is full of wisdom and practical application. Perhaps the most striking thing is the author does not become boring despite many of the themes repeated throughout the psalm. It would be helpful for anyone preaching on Psalm 119 or just for regular devotional study.

The more I read Christopher Ash, the more I like him.

[Matt Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book to read cover to cover it's really good, especially in stirring up love for the word of God and reliance upon it.

As a commentary on Psalm 119 it has to be worth a full 5 stars. Theologically deep and full of practical application. Also a helpful model of how to interpret and teach from the Psalms.

[Hanrong Tham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read.