Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.12UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.08UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.55LIKELY
Sadness
0.59LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.67LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.15UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.71LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.89LIKELY
Extraversion
0UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.77LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.55LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Psalm 119:81-88
We come to the next section of Psalm 119 - verse 81-88, designated with the label Caph.
When we go through trials we will often cry out, “Lord get me out of this.”, or “I’m not sure how much longer I can do this!”
The Psalmist is starting off this Psalm in a very similar way.
Three times in these eight verses he uses various forms of the same Hebrew root word, Kalah,
My soul faints v. 81
My eyes fail v. 82
They had almost consumed me upon earth v. 87
The psalmist is exhausted, and at his limits.
Kalah means worn out, completely consumed, about to perish - coming to an end.
The situtation has not just been emotionally draining, but physically.
At some point, or maybe even points, in your life you will suffer as a faithful servant of God.
Some fierce or terribly painful trial will lead you to feel you cannot go on.
The Holy Spirit of God inspired this passage for times such as this.
I want to look at three positions we can find ourself when we are at our whits end.
I.
When I Am Failing
v. 81-83
The psalmist is under heavy persecution.
He is failing - not that he is failing a test - but his stamina, his drive is failing.
We will sometimes find ourselves in similar situations.
We are at our end.
But when you do, the Psalmist gives us some things to do:
A. Hope
v. 81 he says, “But I hope in thy Word.”
When things get tough, turn to God’s Word - you will not be sorry!
When we hope in God’s Word, we will see that He will
A. Hope - Save
We have many examples in scripture, and even in our lives, where God has helped us before…He has not changed.
Now there are times when God wants to help us through the trial, rather than help us out of the trial.
But there are many times that He does save us from the trial.
And we must always remember the ultimate salvation as He makes all things good according to His purpose!
Secondly we see that when we are failing, we need to
B. Remember
The Psalmist says
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, Saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; Yet do I not forget thy statutes.
Evidently this man sought God’s Word so much that his eyes began to fail and strain.
He was seeking to find out when God would comfort him.
The Psalmist describes himself as a bottle in the smoke.
We need to be careful not to view this through Western eyes.
Wine skins were bottles made from animal hides stitched together with cords.
After they were filled, the weight of the liquid would gradually cause them to stretch.
This expansion would eventually allow the contents to leak through the enlarged openings formed by the stitching.
At that point, the wine would be transferred into new wineskins.
The used, stretched-out skins would be hung over a fire, where the heat and smoke would cause them to shrink and become firm again.
At some point, the bottles would become so stained by soot, so saturated with the taste of smoke, and so dried out that they were useless and therefore discarded.
This is the state where the psalmist finds himself.
He is stretched thin, then dried over the smoke and fire till he feels useless.
But the Psalmist says - “Yet do I not forget thy statutes.”
When we remember God’s Word, even when we are tired, weary, and feel abused....God will show himself faithful, and will...
B. Remember Comfort
Although the psalmist does not answer it here, we do see many promises in God’s Word that shows that He will comfort!
Charles Spurgeon said, “Grace is a living power which survives that which would suffocate all other forms of existence.
Fire cannot consume it, and smoke cannot smother it.
A man may be reduced to skin and bone, and all his comfort may be dried out of him, and yet he may hold fast his integrity and glorify his God.
It is, however, no marvel that in such a case the eyes which are tormented with the smoke cry out for the Lord’s delivering hand, and the heart heated and faint longs for the divine salvation.”
The second position we can find ourselves when we are at our whits end is...
II.
When I Am Fearing
Vs. 84–85
84 How many are the days of thy servant?
When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me, Which are not after thy law.
We often begin to have doubts when we become overwhelmed by trials.
He began to fear that this would never end.
The Psalmist is utterly exhausted and frustrated from his ordeal, and now the psalmist cries out to God for answers.
Translations vary on this first question, it is not completely clear what he was asking, but it is clarified by his followup question.
I don’t believe he is saying “How many days do I have left before I die?”
Rather he is saying, “How many days do I have to suffer?”
When was God going to bring judgment.
Many people assume it is a sin to question God, but Scripture does not say that.
James told us to ask God for wisdom
As believers, we apply this verse to many situations of life, but the context of James states that it is regarding trials.
However don’t loose faith!
Do not doubt God!
The very next verses tell us
So yes, we will have times of doubt - but pull out of that and choose to
A. Trust
John Philips, Bible teacher and commentator, says, “Apart from God’s Word, there is no answer to the seeming indifference of God to the sufferings of His saints.
There is no answer to His mysterious silences.
His people pour out their hearts in impassioned, [persistent] pleas, but God remains silent.”
and yet in this silence, we must not loose our trust!
Trusting is a choice!
When we Trust He will...
A. Trust Act
Just as Proverbs says
If we trust in Him we can have faith that He will direct our path, He will tells you where to go from here.
The truth is we may never see what happens to those who attack us.
I have seen some things, but I do not always see.
But what we do see is how God acts on us!
God will act in us to Give us Peace, to give us strength, to give us the help to uphold us.
So in times of doubt - make the choice to Trust!
But Secondly -
B. Obey
We see this in the negative example is shown in the men who laid traps for the Psalmist.
Again referring to them again as proud, he says they dig the pits for him and he shows that their deeds are not after the Law.
Their actions were blatant violations of God’s law.
But no matter what others do, we need to obey!
And if we will obey, the Bible tells us we will be rewarded.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9