Psalm 119:81-96

Psalm 119:81-96

Kaph

We have arrived at the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This means we are halfway through! In this section the Psalmist is crying out to God from the pit of persecution. We do not know the context, but he is suffering at the hands of his enemies. He hopes that God will quickly give him relief.

1. He grew impatient waiting to experience the promises of God (81-82).

“salvation” in this context is deliverance from his circumstances. We don’t know how long he had been enduring his current situation, but it appears it had been a while.

“soul longs” an inner longing. The good news is the believer can have this. Without spiritual life our soul could not long. Those who have no faith in God cannot long like the believer longs.

“eyes long for your promise” He wants to see an answer this side of eternity. He wants a physical deliverance.

“When will you comfort me?” We see impatience on the part of the Psalmist.

“comfort” is the removal of this horrible situation he is experiencing.

“I hope in your word” He already has hope. He believes the promises of God.

As Christians there are times when we want God to act in this world. We don’t want to wait. We need God to remove the misery we are in. This is ok. It is proper to pray like this. We do not know what prayers God will answer on this side of eternity. We certainly should not expect Him to answer the ones we do not pray.

Impatience is not a virtue. However, impatience can be used of God. If our impatience drives us to:

Mope

Get Angry

Complain

Sin

That is not good.

If our impatience drives us to prayer that is a good thing. That is what the impatience of the Psalmist did.

2. He would not forsake the Word of God regardless of his physical circumstances (83).

“wineskin in the smoke” Wineskins were used to keep wine in. they were made from the hides of animals. They had to kept in good shape. He describes himself as an old wine skin, emptied of its contents and hung above a fire. This would cause the wineskin to shrivel up. It would be unattractive and useless. That is how he feels.

Physical suffering can cause us to feel ugly.

Physical suffering can cause us to feel dry spiritually and emotionally.

Physical suffering can cause us to feel useless.

“Yet I have not forgotten your statutes” The devil works overtime when we suffer. He will try to convince us our suffering is proof the Word of God is not real. The Psalmist would not believe his lies.

There have been many pitiful saints. They lie in bed wrinkled by the years. They are dry and cracked. To some they appear useless. They have not forgotten His statutes. Will that be you?

3. He is anxious for his enemies to be removed (84-86).

Verse 84 is one of the only verses that don’t contain a direct reference to the Word of God.

“How long?” echoes the thought in verse 82, “when?”.

“your servant” He reminds the Lord who he belongs to.

“endure” continue in this state. Notice there is no hint of him forsaking the Lord. He will endure until the Lord rescues him. The Lord may have us live a very long time in difficult circumstances. Now is the time to prepare ourselves spiritually for those days.

“When will you judge?” He won’t judge them himself. The judgment refers to a physical one. He wants his enemies removed, defeated, destroyed.

“help me” (86) What a simple but profound prayer.

“insolent” proud, arrogant

“dug pitfalls” They wanted to trap the Psalmist.

With words? To be used against him? This happened often with Jesus “He said destroy…” Look at verse 86. “They persecute me with falsehood”

With an actual trap?

Regardless, their methods were ungodly.

“they do not live according to your law?”

One day the Lord will remove us from this world. Until then we must deal with suffering and persecution. Our only hope is the Lord will remove our persecutors and our infirmities. There is nothing wrong with praying that He would do so. There ought to be a holy anxiety within us to be freed from the suffering sin has brought into this world.

“All your commandments are sure” The Word of God is trustworthy.

4. His enemies are anxious to have him removed from the earth (87).

“they have almost made an end of me on earth”

His enemies wanted him dead. They did everything in their power to make that happen. In our suffering we should remember this is the motive of the enemy. He wants all who love God removed from the earth.

Dead

Transformed into one who does not love God.

He wants to remove us and our testimony.

“but I have not forsaken your precepts” The enemy did not have his way. The Psalmist was still alive and still trusting in the Word of God.

When the enemy had done all but kill us will we still stand on God’s Word?

5. He rests in the love of God (88).

“in your steadfast love” instead of being consumed with how much the enemy hates him, he is consumed with how much God loves him.

“give me life” The opportunity, the energy, the vitality, the fortitude.

“that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth” He knows he cannot live a godly life without the strength of the Lord. He relies on grace.

Friend, when we are filled with the love of God we can endure all things. Do not trust in yourself. You will give out and give up. Remind yourself of the love of God. Suffering can be endured when the love of God is our fuel.

Lamedh

We have come to the twelfth letter. This section reminds us that God’s Word endures forever.

1. Creation is a witness to the Word of God (89-91).

“Forever” God’s Word proceeds from Him. He is eternal, therefore God’s Word is eternal.

“firmly fixed in the heavens” God is in heaven. His Word originates with Him. To destroy God’s Word, one would have to destroy God. God cannot be destroyed. Therefore, His Word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

“you have stablished the earth” We read the creation account in God’s Word. Creation is a testimony to all generations that God created the heavens and the earth.

“it stands fast” Think of all the stars and planets. They did not exist. God spoke them into existence. This shows the power of the Word of God.

“By your appointment they stand” They probably refers to the “all things” at the end of verse 91.

“this day” They continue. They have lasted since day 1.

It is very important that we get out understanding of creation from the Word of God. I’m not intimidated by any so-called science that departs from Genesis 1-3. I am a young earth man, and I don’t see how anyone could not be if they only read the Bible. If we depart from the creation account in Genesis, we have discredited the Word of God as soon as we have opened it.

2. Our perseverance is a testimony to the Word of God (92-93).

“I would have perished in my affliction” He would have forsaken God. He could not have continued without the Word of God.

“for by them you have given me life” (93) This is where his strength to continue came from.

The law of God was his delight. It brought him joy in sorrow.

“I will never forget your precepts” Have you ever wondered why you keep believing? It is the power of the Word of God. God keeps you by His Spirit and His Word.

Without a Bible we would have nothing objective to hang our faith on. We could only speculate. Our ideas about God would be a guess at best. God has given us His Word to keep us.

We know what we believe.

We can defend what we believe.

What we believe encourages us.

Just as every generation sees the moon and stars, every generation sees the Word of God. This book goes from generation to generation.

3. The hatred of God’s Word is a testimony to its importance (94-95).

It’s clear in this Psalm that Psalmists sees much of his suffering is caused by his devotion to God’s Word. If he forsook the Word of God, his life would be easier from an earthly standpoint.

“save me” refers to the wicked in verse 95.

“they lie in wait to destroy me”

“I have sought your precepts”

“I consider your testimonies”

He won’t give up on the Word of God even when his enemies try and kill him.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible is attacked so much?

Have you ever wondered why Christians are attacked so much?

Muslims and other religions don’t get near the hate Christianity does.

You won’t see many people attacking the Koran.

The reason the Bible is attacked is because it’s true. The battle is spiritual. Satan hates the Bible.

4. The Word of God is greater than anything we have on earth (96).

“I have seen a limit to all perfection” When God created everything on the earth it was good. We are blessed to see creation in its beauty. But there is a limit to the creation.

Stars fall

Mountains erode

Streams dry up.

People age

There is a limit to things on the earth.

“your commandment is exceedingly broad” There is no limit to the Word of God. You may read the whole Bible but you’ll never contain it all. You can drink from the Word of God your entire life and the cup will still be filled to the brim.