Psalm 119 - Kaph: Rescued from the Pit

"Kaph. My soul languishes for Your salvation;

I wait for Your word.

[82] My eyes fail with longing for Your word,

While I say, "When will You comfort me?"

[83] Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,

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 arrogant have dug pits for me,

Men who are not in accord with Your law.

[86] All Your commandments are faithful;

They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!

[87] They almost destroyed me on earth,

But as for me, I did not forsake Your precepts.

[88] Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,

So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth." 

(Psalms 119:81-88)

 

 

The Psalmist goes from death to life, from hopelessness to hope, from darkness to light.  Internally his soul languishes (v. 81), his eyes fail (v. 82), and his flesh suffers (v. 83), and yet he waited for Your word, anticipated Your comfort, and did not forget Your statutes.  Externally he was persecuted (v. 84), entrapped (v. 85), and slandered (v. 86) to the point of near destruction (v. 87), yet he knew that Your judgment is sure and he was determined not to be carried away by their evil.  His primary concern was to be strengthened for obedience towards You, not for revenge towards them.

 

‘This portion of the gigantic Psalm sees the Psalmist in extremis. His enemies have brought him to the lowest condition of anguish and depression; yet he is faithful to the law and trustful in his God. This octave is the midnight of the Psalm, and very dark and black it is. Stars, however, shine out, and the last verse gives promise of the dawn. The strain will after this become more cheerful; but meanwhile it should minister comfort to us to see so eminent a servant of God so hardly used by the ungodly: evidently in our own persecutions, no strange thing has happened unto us. [1 Peter 4:12]’[1]


 


[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119 - Kaph, e-Sword edition

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To  know  wisdom and discipline, To  understand  the sayings of understanding, To  receive  discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, To  give  prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion; Let the wise man  hear  and  increase  in learning, And a man of understanding will  acquire  guidance, To  understand  a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)   “My son, if you will  receive  my words And  treasure  my commandments within you, To  make your ear pay attention  to wisdom, Incline your heart  to discernment; For if you  call out  for understanding, Give your voice  for discernment; If you  seek  her as silver And  search  for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of Yahweh And find the knowledge of God
Read more

Friendship with the World

"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ( - Jesus, Luke 7:34 NASB) 'You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.' (James 4:4 NASB) 'It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.' ( - the Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15 NASB) Was Jesus, in fact, a friend of sinners? What is to be the nature of our relationships as believers with unbelievers? As believers, should we refer to ourselves as ‘sinners’? As I've reflected on much of the teaching I've heard in recent times, as well as many conversations I've had, it seems to me much confusion abounds regarding these questions.  I hear the term 'contextualization'
Read more

The Cost of Christlikeness

Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 NASB) In my previous blog entry I spoke from Romans 8:28-30 on how God works all things for His children to become like Jesus in their character. As I thought about this, it seems to me that two questions or issues immediately arise from this assertion: What about those who do not ‘love God’ and are not ‘called according to His purpose’? (from Romans 8:28) What will it cost me to fully participate in God’s purpose for my life? In short, I believe the common answer for both is joyfully submitting to God’s Lordship in their lives, that is, His absolute control over all things. Let me explain: For the unbeliever, we see God’s goodness to all people in creation (Acts 14:17), and that He has orchestrated all things so that people would
Read more