Psalm 119: 81-88, Persevere in the Pain
Introduction: Verses 81-88 are the 11th of the psalmist’s original 22 divisions in “Psalm
119.” Remember that each section has 8 lines, each beginning with the same letter of the
Hebrew alphabet, so this week, we’re at the eleventh letter ‫ כ‬Kaph. The poet continues
the theme of the significance of God’s Word in our lives.
I. Verse: 81-83: “My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope
in your word. 82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, ‘When will you comfort
me?’ 83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.”
A. Have you been there…your soul fainting with longing for God to do something?
B. The writer doesn’t stop with the feeling of desperation, though; there’s a but that
follows the feeling. This guy put his hope in God and His Word. (In fact, he
searched God’s Word until his eyes were crossed by the searching.) Although he
feels like a useless, tossed aside wineskin, spiritually dry…what he does is turn to
the Word. The world will tell you to trust your feeling, but the Word will tell you
to take every thought/feeling captive and make it obedient to Christ, or each one
has the potential to control you (2 Cor. 10:5).
C. His seemingly hopeless question of ‘When will you comfort me?’ is actually proof
of his understanding that true comfort isn’t possible anywhere else. We can be
hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down without being crushed, in
despair, abandoned, or destroyed (2 Cor. 4: 8-9). Hardship has a way of bringing
us to the end of ourselves so we’ll look to the Lord. C.S. Lewis reminds us that
“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks
in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf
world.”
II. Verse 84: “How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?”
A. Were you the kid who always wanted to know how many licks were to make up
your spanking? Maybe, like the poet, you didn’t argue how just it was, just how
long you had to endure.
B. We’re such impatient creatures, and even mature men like this writer, who accept
that vengeance is the Lord’s and it’s His job to take care of the problem, struggle
with persevering through the pain.
III. Verses 85-87: The reason for his pain was that “The arrogant dig pits to trap me… I
am being persecuted without cause… They almost wiped me from the earth.” This man
isn’t dealing with a crying toddler, a mouthy teen, or a situation at work that is especially
frustrating; the enemy wants him dead, even though he is innocent! Yet, in his pain, the
psalmist is still able to escape making it “all about me”: Instead of taking matters into his
own hands, he cries out, “help me!” because the enemy’s actions are “contrary to your
law.” If you’re His child, then it’s God that they’re really messing with, not you. In the
midst of his cry for help, he is still able to focus on the fact that “All your commands are
trustworthy.” Also, despite the pain, he is also able to truthfully announce, “but I have not
forsaken your precepts.” Folks, our flesh will draw us to lash out at God as we’re
persevering in pain, but our example here is to acknowledge pain before a mighty God
and cling to Him and the truth of His Word while we wait for our Daddy to take care of
business at the time that best serves His Kingdom.
IV. Verse 88 closes this section of “Psalm 119”; at a time when he’s spiritually dry, the
psalmist appeals to God’s unfailing love to revive him; at a time when the enemy has
almost killed him, he looks to God’s unfailing love to preserve his life. And he closes
with the purpose of allowing another day to live: obedience to God’s Word. So, hundreds
of years after his harrowing experience, let’s pray verse 88 along with him:
“In your unfailing love
preserve my life,
that I may obey
the statutes of your mouth.”
Amen and Amen!