TEXT: Psalm 119:25-32

SUBJECT: Exposition of Psalm 119 #4: Daleth

Tonight brings us to the fourth sermon in our study of Psalm 119. It's called "daleth" which is the fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Its content is not easy to organize--even Calvin admits that--but it is well worth our meditation. It opens with a man where some of us are--in defeat--and closes with him where we would like to be--triumphant in his God. How did he go from one to the other? Let's see.

He begins "My soul clings to the dust". The image is striking: the man is lying face down in the dirt. What has put him there? In the Ancient world, but one thing: devastating grief. In times of great loss, men would fall on the faces and cover their heads with dirt. Think of Jacob at the sight of his son's bloody coat; think of Jeremiah sitting on the ash heap that was once Jerusalem; think of the mothers who lost their infants to Herod's mad rage. Does anyone keep his composure at such losses? No. Even the mightiest man then "clings to the dust".

If the picture is not vivid enough, he adds a second: "My soul melts with heaviness (or grief)". The word means to "pour out" or to "leak" profusely. Jeremiah knew the feeling: "Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people...Send for skillful wailing women, that they may come...and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run with tears, and our eyelids gush with water..."

The man is distraught. He explains why: "Remove from me the way of lying". He has become the object of slander. Malicious men are circulating evil rumors about him. What kind? He doesn't tell us. But they are horrid, of that we can be sure. And shameful, see v.31b. Just imagine if someone accused you of child molesting. How would you feel? What would you say?

This horror is what the Psalmist felt so long ago. When hurting, we're tempted to sing the old spiritual,

"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen;

Nobody knows my sorrow".

But this is not true. "No temptation has overtaken you except such that is common to man..." Others have hurt as badly as you do. Including the writer of this Psalm.

How did he get over this sorrow and find the joy of His God? We don't have to guess; he spells it out for us.

He talked it over with God, v.26: "I have declared my ways". Great troubles often leave us dumb before God. Ezra lay prostrate for several hours, too hurt to "lift up [his] face to God". Job outdid him. Stunned by his reversals, the holy man sat speechless for seven days. Who can blame them? Their anguish was great. Yet we cannot justify them either. For the Word says, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you". The Holy Spirit is given to help you at such times, for He "makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered". Our Savior's life of pain and loss insures His full sympathy. "We have a high priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities".

Times of pain ought to be times of prayer. Precious times of prayer. Don't let them slip away from you. You mustn't let pain numb you; let it sensitize you to God.

He thought on God and His marvelous ways, v.27: "So shall I meditate on Your wondrous works". Our God is full of wonders. But none is greater than His turning evil into good. What could be worse than an excruciating pain that never goes away? Yet it was just that--"a thorn in the flesh"--that God used to make Paul the greatest preacher who ever lived. What could be worse than wasting your life? Yet it was just that--40 wasted years--that equipped Moses to lead God's people in the wilderness. What could be worse than a crucifixion? Yet it was just that--a cross--that earned our Lord a name that is above every name!

Thus, in times of pain, meditate on God's wondrous works. Force yourself to think: "All things work together for good to those who love God". Make yourself believe that it is this very suffering that fits you for glory.

He retained his holy curiosity, vv.26,27,29: "Teach me Your statutes...Make me understand the way of Your precepts...Grant me Your law graciously". What do you most want in times of pain? Relief. The Psalmist wants something else: he wants to know God's will for his life. Note carefully, he is not seeking an explanation for his pain! He wants to know how to glorify God in it! "Lord, what would You have me to do?"

This is not easy. Pain has a way of focusing our attention solely on ourselves. But we mustn't give in to that temptation. Self-denial is the believer's perennial duty. Not even pain negates it.

He remained obedient: "I have chosen the way of truth...Your judgments have I laid before me". Not only did he wish to know God's will, he also wished to do it. And, by His grace, did just that. Is it possible to obey the Lord in times of terrible pain? It is. Job's faith is well-known: "When He has tried me I shall come forth as gold". Less known is his obedience: "My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food".

God's will is our rule,

"In every condition,

In sickness and health;

In poverty's vale

Or abounding in wealth".

He remained hopeful. His condition was bad, about as bad as it could get. But God had not lost His power. He was yet able to "Revive me according to His Word...to "Strengthen me according to His Word...and to "Enlarge his heart". In times of trouble, we're prone to magnify the power of Satan, of evil men, or of our problems. At the same time, we're likely to minimize the power of God and of His Word. Yet what power does Satan have compared to our God? What power does your problem have compared to His Word? It was God who created Satan and not Satan who created God. Thus, God is sovereign; Satan is servant. It is His Word that "sustains all things"; your problems, therefore, are well within its capabilities.

Problems tend to produce despair. They ought to produce hope. "Tribulation--after all--"produces patience and patience character and character hope".

He remained ambitious. "I will run the way of Your commandments when You shall enlarge my heart". For the moment, he is slowed down by problems. But he's looking forward to being rid of them. Why? Not for the relief, but so that he can renew and improve his energetic obedience.

Do you have it badly? I know some of you do. Don't make it worse by compounding your problems with sin and unbelief and despair. No, take it as an opportunity for growth in grace. Take it as another chance to prove "His grace is sufficient".

Is it? "The Bible tells me so". But is it? Ask the Psalmist. He begins "clinging to the dust"; he ends "running the way of His commandments". He didn't do it on his own--no one could. He did it by grace. God's grace. "Whatever things happened to [him] were written for our admonition, that we might learn..."