FRIDAY 28th
Psalm 119:25-32 (ESV) – Section Four – Hebrew – DALETH
‘My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes! Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!’
In this collection of verses, the psalmist in the first sentence uses the words dust and life. He is obviously at a low ebb, in fact in verse 28 he is in a state of deep sorrow, it is as if clinging to the dust speaks of his being near to death, you will remember that it is from dust that man was made, and it is to dust we will return, and he knew this and he is wanting a quickening, a reviving and he knew from his reading of the Word that what he needed came from God, he says ‘give me life according to your word’. He asks this in several verses in this psalm. (See verses 37, 40, 88, 107, 149, 154, 156, 159)
The lesson that we can learn from these verses is that when we are at a low ebb, it may be during a season of sickness, or depression or bereavement that we too can turn to the Word of God for it has the power to minister to us, it can lift our soul, our spirit and restore joy, restore hope and renew our confidence in God. In verse 28 again, the psalmist says, ‘strengthen me according to your word.’ The references for this verse in my Bible (v28) referred me back to Psalm 22 where the psalmist on that occasion, David, also talked about lying in the dust of the earth, (v15) he was at a low point, but he knew where his help came from, he knew that the LORD God would come quickly to his aid. And we too can also know the aid of the LORD God in our lives, as we call out to him, while at the same time we do as the author of psalm 119 did and ‘cling to his testimonies’ (119:31) See the psalmist although he was at a low point, clinging to the dust, was still clinging onto God, he knew where his help was to be found, he knew where his only hope could be found.
We can turn to many sources in the world in which we live today for help, and we are grateful for them, consultants, counsellors, clinicians, but we must never turn to them at the expense of giving up on God or turning away from God, he should be our first point of call, we come to the Creator, remembering that Jesus himself said, ‘”Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”’
If you feel that you are just clinging on today, life has lost its sparkle, pressure and workload is weighing you down, maybe sickness is besetting you, there is help, there is hope, it is to be found in God, it can be discovered in his Word. In Psalm 42:5 we read, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.’
In Lamentation 3:24-26 we read ‘“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.’
Peter says in his epistle, ‘casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you’. (1 Peter 5:7) Today allow God to come by his Holy Spirit and to minister to your soul, allow him to come and to renew you, restoring your joy, restoring your hope and to redirect your steps in the way he has planned for you to go.