Psalm 119: 81-88

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of all Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

81.  My soul faints for Your salvation, but I hope in Your Word.

82.  My eyes fail from searching Your Word, saying, "When will You comfort

       me?"

83.  For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, yet I do not forget Your

       statutes.

84.  How many are the days of Your servant?  When will You execute judgment

       on those who persecute me?

85.  The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law.

86.  All of Your commands are faithful; they persecute me wrongly;  Help me!

87.  They almost made an end of me on earth, but I did not forsake Your

       precepts.

88.  Revive me according to Your loving kindness, so that I may keep the

       testimony of Your mouth.

The eleventh Hebrew letter (of the eleventh section) signifies the hollowed hand.  The hand is hollowed either to retain something that actually lies in it or to receive something about to be placed in it.  Thus, the hand may be God's, as the giver of bounty, or man's, as the receiver of it.  The scope of this section is that man holds out his hand as a beggar, asking for the mercy of God. (James Neale and R.F. Littledale, 1879)

81-88.  Davids enemies have brought him to the lowest condition of anguish and depression, but he is faithful to the Law, and he is trusting God.  This octave is the midnight of the Psalm, dark and black.  Stars shine, however, and the last verse promises the dawn, and the strain will become more cheerful.  Meanwhile, it should minister comfort to see an eminent servant of God so used by the ungodly.  Evidently, in our persecutions, no strange thing has happened to us.  see- (1 Peter 4: 12-14)

81.  My soul faints for Your salvation.  David wished for no deliverance but God's.  And he was eager for that divine deliverance, which he desired up to the full measure of his strength, yes, and beyond it, until he fainted.  So strong was his desire that it produced depression.  The sincerity and eagerness of his desires were proved.  Nothing else could satisfy but deliverance worked by God's hand.  His nature yearned for salvation from the God of all grace, and he must have it or utterly fail.

He felt salvation would come because God can neither break His promise nor disappoint the hope His Word has given.  The fulfillment of His Word is near when our hope is firm and our desire is fervent.  With God's promise, hope alone can keep the soul from fainting.  Yet hope does not quench the desire for a speedy answer to prayer.  It increases our importunity; it stimulates ardor, and sustains the heart under delays.  The frequent experience of the Christian is, we are faint, yet we are pursuing.  Hope sustains when desire exhausts.  While the grace of desire throws us down, the grace of hope lifts us up.

82.  My eyes fail from searching Your Word, saying, "When will You comfort me?"  His eyes failed from eagerly gazing for the Lord's promised appearance, and in weariness his heart cried for comfort.  We may not set times for God, for this is to limit the Holy One of Israel, but we may urge our suite with importunity and make fervent inquiry as to why the promise tarries.

This experience of waiting and fainting is well know by experienced saints.  It teaches many precious lessons that would never be learned by any other means.  Among the choice results is this:  The body rises in sympathy with the soul, for both heart and flesh cry for the living God.  When will You comfort me?  A humble eye lifted to heaven in silent prayer may flash flames that will melt the bolts which bar the entrance of the vocal prayer.  Heaven will be taken by storm by the artillery of tears.  Blessed are the eyes that are strained in looking for God.  The eyes of the Lord will see that such eyes do not actually fail.

83.  For I have become like a wineskin in smoke.  Empty wineskin's were hung in the tent, and when the place reeked with smoke, the skins turned black from soot, and in the heat, they became wrinkled and worn.  The psalmist's character had been smoked with slander and his mind parched with persecution.  David was half afraid that he would become useless and incapable through so much mental suffering.  He feared that people would look on him as an old wineskin that could hold nothing and answer no purpose.  What a metaphor for a man to use who was a poet, a divine, a master in Israel, a king, and a man after God's heart!  It is no wonder if we are made to think little of ourselves and are filled with depression.  Some of us know the inner meaning of this simile, for we have felt dingy, mean, and worthless, fit only to be thrown away.

Yet I do not forget Your statutes.  This is the patience of the saints and the victory of faith.  The man of God might be blackened by falsehood, but the truth was in him; he never gave it up.  He was faithful to his King, even when he seemed deserted and left to the vilest uses.  The promises came to his mind, and the statutes were there too.  The worst circumstances cannot destroy the believer's hold on God.  Grace is a living power that survives when all other forms of existence would suffocate.  Fire cannot consume it, and smoke cannot smother it.  You may be reduced to skin and bone, and all your comforts may be dried out of you, yet you can hold fast to your integrity and glorify God.

84.  How many are the days of Your servant?  Like a hired servant, David had a  certain term to serve, and he would not complain.  Still, the time seemed so long, because his grief was heavy.  No one knows the appointed number of our days except the Lord, and so the appeal is made to Him not to prolong them beyond His servant's strength.

When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?  He had pleaded his case in the Lord's hands. He prayed that the sentence might be given and executed.  David wanted nothing but justice.  He wanted his character cleared and his persecutors silenced.  David knew that God would certainly avenge His elect.  But the day of rescue tarried. The hours dragged heavily, and the persecuted one cried day and night for deliverance.

85.  The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law.  References to pits:  Ps 7:15; 9:15: !0:2;141:10; Prov. 26:27; Eccl.10:18; and Ex.21:33.  Pits would be dug out and were supposed to be covered so that an ox or donkey would not fall into them. Prisoners were sometimes shut up in pits and left without water to die of thirst.  David's foes tried to trap him as a hunter would an animal.  They worked hard to ruin him; they dug pits, not one, but many.  If one would not capture him, perhaps another one would.

Neither the men nor the pits were according to the divine law.  These men were cruel and crafty deceivers and their pits were contrary to the Levitical law (Ex.21:33) and to the command that tells us to love our neighbour as ourselves(Matt.19:19.  It was well for David that his enemies were God's enemies and that their attacks on him had no sanction from the Lord.  It was his gain that he was aware of their devices.  He was put on guard and watched his ways, lest he should fall into their pits. While he kept to the law of the Lord he was safe, although it was still uncomfortable to have his path made dangerous by the craft of wanton malice.

86.  All Your commandments are faithful.  He had no fault to find with God's law, even though he had fallen into sad trouble by being obedient to it.  Whatever the command might cost, it was worth it.  God's way might be rough, but it was right; it might make enemies, but still it was his best friend.  He believed that, in the end, God's command would turn to his profit and that he would not lose by obeying.

They persecuted me wrongfully.  The fault lay with the persecutors and not with God or himself.  He had done no injury and had acted according to truth and justice.  Thus, he confidently appeals to God and cries, Help me!    This is a golden prayer, as precious as it is short.  The words are few, but the meaning is full.  Help was needed to avoid the snare, to bear up under reproach, and to act prudently to baffle his foes.  God's help is our hope.  Whoever may hurt us, it matters not, so long as the Lord helps us.  Many times troubles saints have groaned these words.  They suit a thousand conditions of need, pain, distress, weakness, and sin.  No other help is sufficient.  But God's help is all sufficient, and we cast ourselves on it without fear.

87.  They almost made an end of me on earth.  His foes almost destroyed him.  Evidently, he had fallen under their power, and they used that power in an attempt to consume him.  He escaped by the skin of his teeth.  The lions are chained.  They can rage no further than God permits.  The psalmist perceives the limit of their power; they could only touch his earthly life and earthly goods.  On earth, they almost ate him, but he had an eternal portion that they could not even nibble at.

But I did not forsake Your precepts.  Nothing could drive him from obeying the Lord.  If we stick to the precepts, we will be rescued by the promises.  If we are resolved to die sooner than to forsake the Lord, we will not die, but will live to see the overthrow of those who hate us.

88.  Revive me according to Your loving kindness.  This is a most wise, most blessed prayer!  If we are revived in our personal holiness, we will be out of reach of assailants.  Our best protection from tempters and persecutors is more (spiritual) life.  Loving kindness can do no greater service than to give life more abundantly.  When we are revived we are able to bear affliction, to baffle craftiness, and to conquer sin.

So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.  If revived by the Holy Spirit, we will exhibit holy character.  We will be faithful to sound doctrine when the Spirit visits us and makes us faithful.  None keep the Lord's Word unless the Word of the Lord's mouth revives them.  We should admire the spiritual prudence of the psalmist.  He does not pray for freedom from trial but for renewed life, that he may be supported under it.  When the inner life is vigorous, all is well.  In verse 80 of the previous octave, David prays for a sound heart.  Here, he seeks a revived heart. This is the root of the matter, seeking what is most needful.  Lord, let it be heart work, and let our hearts be right with You.

The commentary is from the Treasury of David - Charles Spurgeon

My thoughts of verse 88...

If we should find we have fallen into the pit of depression and are feeling worthless, hopeless, empty and dead inside, it is really difficult to get out.  At this point we are not feeling the joy of the Spirit or delight in God's Word and we are too limp to fight.  There is one thing we can do though, and that is  pour out our heart to the Lord and tell Him exactly how we are feeling, and why, if we know the reason, and ask Him to get us out of this. 

What I generally do at times like this, after praying, is to put on some praise and worship music, and get busy doing something physical. After that, I will go to His Word, whether through using a devotional first and then following the Scripture references from it, or to passages of Scripture that I know will help lift me up and give me hope again. 

The enemy would have us believe all his lies that we are worthless, and good for nothing, stupid, and a mess up.  We have to remind ourselves we are in a spiritual battle and we can win it, because God has provided us with everything we need, to do so.  We need to put  aside what the enemy is telling us and remember who we are in Christ Jesus. Continue to pray, praise, and meditate on His Word daily and He will enable us to win the battle against the enemy.
(2 Peter 1: 3-10; Ephesians 6:10-18; Psalm 62:8)

I'd love to hear what others really delighted in, what caused you to pause for thought, or maybe what you would like to be able to apply more consistently to your own life... or any other thought regarding this portion of the Psalm.

Until next week,  ~Annie~