Ps 119:81-83 (KJV)
81) … My soul fainteth for thy salvation: [but] I hope in thy word.
82) Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83) For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; [yet] do I not forget thy statutes.
Have you ever been in a situation that seemed to be hopeless? Did you ever feel as if you were all alone as you faced a tragedy in your life? Here, in our text we find the author of this Psalm (probably King David) recording an event in which he felt both hopeless and alone. In the next three “Think on These Things” we will be looking at these verses, trying to find a remedy when we face these same feelings during our walk on earth. As we continue our study, we are going to see that the remedy will involve different aspects of God’s Word.
All three of these verses follow a pattern involving two basic parts:
a. an explanation of his feelings during times of tragedy b. a remedy for those feelings
Notice:
vs 81 – a. “My soul fainteth for thy salvation” b. “[but] I hope in thy word”
vs 82 – a. “When wilt thou comfort me?” b. “Mine eyes fail for thy word”
vs 83 – a. “For I am become like a bottle in the smoke” b. “[yet] do I not forget thy statutes”
In today’s devotion I would like us to look at verse 81 –
““My soul fainteth for thy salvation: “
What is the Psalmist frame of mind during this tragedy? His innermost man was longing for the Lord to come back and save him from this sinful world. Folks, when the Psalmist was faced with the difficult times of life, his mind traveled to the many promises of his eternal homecoming when he will dwell eternally in the presence of his Lord being separated from the many sins and sorrows this world has to offer.
He tells us that his soul “fainteth”; in other words, as he struggled against this trial, his inner man felt totally drained, and unable to continue on. It seemed as if he could not continue on… he longed for the second coming of His Lord.
“[but] I hope in thy word”
What is the remedy for feelings of weakness and the inability to continue on? What is the encouragement that we need as we long for the glorification of our body and dwelling in our eternal home? Finding hope in His Word!
The idea of “hope” carries with it the assurance of a future event’s occurrence. In other words, although His second coming has not taken place yet…. It is through His Word that we find ASSURANCE that it will take place. We are given confidence that He will come again and deliver us from this fallen world as we search the pages of Scripture. Folks, we can KNOW CERTAINLY that He is coming for us, and through this guarantee find strength to continue on.
When the burdens of this life bring about feelings that we cannot continue on we can receive strength through the assurance that we will be delivered from this present evil world and enter into the eternal presence of our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.
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