Psalm 119 Daleth | HSB Series

The Word will take us from clinging to dust to kicking it up!

Psalm 119:25–32 (KJV 1900)

25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.

26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: Teach me thy statutes.

27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

29 Remove from me the way of lying: And grant me thy law graciously.

30 I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me.

31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.

32 I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.

Troubled Soul

The Psalmist is not sure whether he can go on.

What does he do in that situation? He lifts up his soul to God.

Psalm 119:25 “25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.”

Psalm 119:28 “28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.”

Whatever we do, or whatever our state may be, let us deal candidly with God & declare to Him our whole case. - William Plumer

Not about information but about living honestly before the Lord.

If we are sad, the Lord can cheer us. If we are in the dark, the Lord can give us light. If we have no strength, He can strengthen us. If our wants are many, He can supply them. If we are shut up & cannot come forth, He can enlarge us. Whatever is our case, let us state it all ... before the Lord.

Psalm 119:27 “27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I talk of thy wondrous works.”

Quicken Me: Bring me to life according to your Word

Revive Me

Psalm 119:25 “25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.”

This is something the psalmist knows he can't do for himself.

Have you ever been there? You were at the point you didn’t know how you would go on. You were ready for it to be over & you couldn't go on? So you call out to God, revive me!

He’s crying out to God as he lies face down on the ground. He’s sunk to the dust under the crushing weight of trouble & grief.

Adam was created out of the dust of the earth & dust is often associated in the OT with Sheol, the place of the dead.

The point is that our God can bring life from death! Exodus 8:19 “19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.”

By your Word

Psalm 119:28 “28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.”

Revival, in the biblical sense, is marked by an awareness of sin & an urgency to confess & make things right. Psalm 119:26 “26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: Teach me thy statutes.”

Such comfort in the words. Thou heardest me. John 10:28-29 “28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

Understanding that the life of the faithful is in God's hand & under His protection is vital to your revival & being strengthened.

and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.”

Make Me: Teach me and I will speak of your great name.

Psalm 119:27 “27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I talk of thy wondrous works.”

He wants God to cause him to understand the way of God’s precepts. He longs to not just know, but to understand, God’s Word to such an extent that it transforms his whole life, inwardly & outwardly.

Two words God loves to hear from us are these: Teach me

Psalm 119:12 “12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: Teach me thy statutes.”

The written Word of God & the activity of the Spirit of God go together.

The Spirit speaks through the Word that He inspired.

Ecc 4:13 “13 Better is a poor

Strengthen Me

Psalm 119:28 “28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.”

It’s as if his soul is melting away in the shedding of his tears.

Story of Elijah in 1 Kgs 19.

Elijah prays for revival. God brings fire down from heaven.

So excited he outruns a chariot to the capital to wait for the nationwide revival.

He is met with this message. 1 Kings 19:2 “2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.”

God strengthen Elijah. I Kings 19:6 “6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.”

Side note: Reminded this is also the chapter he meets Elisha. We never know when God will bring people into our lives that will multiply our life’s investment. 1 Kings 19:19 “19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.”

Strength is available

God will strengthen by feeding upon His Word. Psalm 138:3 “3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”

When we are most aware of our utter helplessness & most reliant on God’s strength, it is then that the soul that weeps because of grief is strengthened. 2 Cor 12:9 “9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Remove me: Protect me from lies and provide for me your law.

Psalm 119:29 “29 Remove from me the way of lying: And grant me thy law graciously.”

This is done by the grace of God exercising itself through His written Word.

As we saw last week. Psalm 119:9 “9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

God’s law is a gift

Psalm 119:29 “29 Remove from me the way of lying: And grant me thy law graciously.”

The only way to expel the lie is to accept the truth of God & His Word.

Grant me Your law graciously that I might conform to its directions.

If the law be not in our hearts the lie will enter. - Spurgeon

Shame me not

Psalm 119:31 “31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.”

“There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.”

This aversion to shame has been & will continue to be seen throughout this psalm (6, 31, 46, 80, 116).

Shame is the result of wandering from the faithful path.

The only way to escape shame is by making God & His Word the priority of our lives.

Shame call to hide

Shame calls us to hide like the woman at the well.

But just because pride moves us to hide our shame in the wrong places doesn’t mean that our instinct to hide is completely wrong. It isn’t.

We do need a place to hide, but we need to hide in the right place.

And there is only one place to hide that offers the protection we seek, where all our shame is covered and we no longer need to fear: the refuge of Jesus Christ Hebrews 6:18-20 “18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Enlarge my heart

Psalm 119:32 “32 I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.”

Confessing, Clinging, Choosing to Run

When his heart is set free from the constraint of trouble & anxiety, the psalmist will use his liberty for more energetic service.

An enlarged heart is a soul that has been strengthened through the steady intake of God’s Word.

In the beginning of this section he’s clinging to the dust (25). By the end he’s clinging to God’s Word.

He’s moved in a beautiful progression from confessing to choosing to clinging to running.

That's the response & the resolution of the believer to God's grace & power in the way of godliness. Hebrews 12:1 “1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

Conclusion

What a change from vs 25 to vs 32. From cleaving to the dust to running in God’s will.

How is this possible?

According to God’s Word.

Feel like you are melting? He will strengthen you!

Feel like our clinging to dust? The Word will teach you how to stand up and run!