angela hormberg

Tag: Mem

  • Psalm 119:97-104

    Psalm 119:97-104

    Mem

    Commonplace –

    “Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

    Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me” (Psalm 119:97-98.

    Matthew Henry expounds on what it means to meditate.

    “What we love we love to think of; by this it appeared that David loved the word of God that it was his meditation. He not only read the book of the law, but digested what he read in his thoughts, and was delivered into it as into a mould: it was his meditation not only in the night, when he was silent and solitary, and had nothing else to do, but in the day, when he was full of business and company; nay, and all the day; some good thoughts were interwoven with his common thoughts, so full was he of the word of God” (Henry 578).

    As mentioned in the previous post, Mem, meaning water, “represents the sea of Torah, the ocean of Talmud, knowledge, wisdom” (“Mem”). David’s reference to God’s law being his “meditation all the day” means David was allowing the ocean of knowledge that is God’s law to wash over him. Like baptismal water symbolically washes away our sin, so meditating on God’s law washes our thoughts clean. As Henry noted, this allowed “some good thoughts” to interrupt David’s common thoughts, directing him to higher things. When we are meditating on higher things, we are not distracted by worrying thoughts of the day or wallowing in the mucky, dirty water of sinful thoughts.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Mem”. Angela Hormberg, Angela Hormberg, https://angelahormberg.com/2025/06/26/psalm-119-mem/, Accessed 29 June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119: Mem

    Psalm 119: Mem

    Part 13:Mem verses 97-104

    The thirteenth part is Mem, which is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey.

    “The letter MEM begins and ends the word mayim (water), signifying the lifeforce.

    In Jewish thought, the number forty represents the span of time necessary for things to come into fruition in nature. The forty years in which the Jewish people wandered in the desert.

    The number forty also signifies the meaning of the mikveh (Jewish ritual cleansing bath), which must be forty seah (a unit of measure) deep” (“Mem”).

    Hebrew4Christians defines Mem as water, but adds a bit more to the definition.

    “Traditionally, Mem has several related meanings: “waters”, “people”, “nations”, “languages”, and “tongues”. The name of the letter probably signifies water itself, and its most ancient [written] forms bore a resemblance to the waves of waters. As such, Mem represents the sea of Torah, the ocean of Talmud, knowledge, wisdom, etc.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Mem”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/mem/ , Accessed 26 June 2025.

    “Mem”. Hebrew4Christians. John J. Parsons. https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Mem/mem.html, Accessed 26 June 2025

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg