ABSTRACT
The language of Psalm 119 is the language of devotional poetry: the outpouring of the most intense religious feeling. The psalm is apart from a short introduction (vv 1–3), throughout a prayer of the most personal kind, addressed wholly to the God. However, vv 1–3, like the rest of poem, provides very little information about the identity of the psalmist or about the circumstances in which the psalm was composed. That Psalm 119 is a wisdom psalm is further confirmed by the frequency of occurrence the verb byn, a verb that is extremely characteristic of, if not exclusive to, wisdom books, and of some other characteristic terms. The psalmist distinguishes himself from them, claiming knowledge of God that they do not yet possess, and appealing to them to "turn", or possibly "return", to him so that they may learn from him. The psalmist's references to worship are restricted to his own private prayer and the direct communication with God.
