The psalm, which is anonymous, is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ("happy are those whose way is perfect").

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

British politician William Wilberforce recited the entire psalm while walking back from Parliament, through Hyde Park, to his home.

[14] Because of this structure, the Psalm was one of the main occurrences of the Hebrew alphabet in the texts of the medieval and modern West.

Their antiquated spellings shown in the Authorized King James Version of 1611 were written with influences of Latin and German medieval theological scholarship—forms that greatly differ from the standard modern-day renditions.

Some printed editions (such as the Jewish Publication Society's The Holy Scriptures,[17] the New International Version and the Legacy Standard Bible) also show the actual Hebrew letters along with these subheadings.

The grounds for the prayer are established in the first two stanzas (alef and beth): the Torah is held up as a source of blessing and right conduct, and the psalmist pledges to dedicate himself to the law.

What makes Psalm 119 unique is the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Torah and the psalmist's loyalty to it.

Several dozen prayers are incorporated into the Psalm, e.g. "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."

[citation needed] The Rule of Saint Benedict assigned this psalm to four minor canonical hours on Sundays and three on Mondays.

[32] In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read in sections between the 24th and 26th days of the month.

In Protestant Christianity, various metrical settings of Psalm 119 have been published, including "O God, My Strength and Fortitude" by Thomas Sternhold, which appeared in the Scottish Psalter of 1564.