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PSALM 119:25-32 DALETH

What happened when you worked hard at school and you received top

marks in all the exams? You deservedly sat back and enjoyed the

relief of not having to study for a while. Rightly so, serious studying

takes a lot out of you, it drains you. But then, after the summerholidays, you have to get back into it again.

One of the dangers in getting good marks is that you might start to take

for granted the hard work that is necessary. I shall soon be receiving

essays again and, - keep it to yourself if you know of any of the

students, - but generally we dont always give the highest marks for the

first essay. We wouldnt want the students to drop their standards and

think the task is too easy.

In the previous section, - gimel, - the psalmist has had a good time

studying Gods Word; he concluded by saying, v.24 Thy testimonies also

are my delight and my counsellors. What a difference now! He has gone

from the mountaintop into the valley; he has left the heights and now he

is in the depths. He has fallen from delight and he is now in the dust,

v.25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust.

Im sure you have found it the way I have found it and the way the

psalmist describes it here. There are times when all is going so well,

everything is falling into its proper place. When you sit down to study

Gods Word the lessons are jumping out at you and you are so

encouraged; work is going well, family life also if it would only stay

this way all the time, life would be great!

But we have lived long enough to know that in life we experience the

highs and the lows, - glad times and sad times. Here is the psalmist and inthe previous section he was rejoicing in the Lord and His Word. Sadly,

look at what has happened now. He has sunk! He has fallen on his face to

the ground. He hasnt the energy to pick himself up again.

Isnt it so true that the enemy attacks us the hardest when we are enjoying

the blessings of God! If you are faithful in Gods work you will know the

opposition the opposer throws at you and you come to expect it. When

things are going well, it is so dangerous and so unadvisable to lay downour armour. We ought not to take anything for granted.

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2Remember how Samson made the mistake of fooling around with

Delilah, and Eve, she ought never to have had the conversation she

had with the serpent the enemy never becomes your friend, no matter

how wide the smile on his face!

Here in this section the psalmist is down. He is so low. Yes, He is down

but, praise God, he is not out!

He turns in the only direction the believer should turn he turns to the

Lord in prayer and he makes four simple requests in order for him to get

back onto his feet again

REVIVE ME v.25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou meaccording to thy word.

Look at this: His enemies were slandering his name (v.23 Princes also

did sit and speak against me).

They were closing in on him and restricting him (v.61 The bands of the

wicked have robbed me). They were causing mischief for him.

They were spreading lies and stories about him that had no

foundation (v.69 The proud have forged a lie against me).

They were causing him to suffer (v.83 I am become like a bottle in thesmoke).

They were trying to rob him of his confidence, as they despised him

(v.141 I am small and despised).

And they even threatened his life (v.109 My soul is continually in my

hand).

It is no wonder his soul cleaveth unto the dust.

Turn over please to Jer. 32:2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged

Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison,which was in the king of Judah's house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut

him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD,Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall

take it. Then turn to Jer. 37:4, Now Jeremiah came in and went out among thepeople: for they had not put him into prison. 5 Then Pharaoh's army was come

forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard

tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 6 Then came the word of the

LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of

Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire ofme; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to

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3Egypt into their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight

against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire .

Now the princes and rulers in Jerusalem did not appreciate what

Jeremiah was saying so, in 37:15 we read, Wherefore the princes were wroth

with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan thescribe: for they had made that the prison. 16 When Jeremiah was entered intothe dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked himsecretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah

said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king ofBabylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended

against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me inprison? 19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying,

The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray

thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of

Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

Now turn to Jer. 38:6, Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into thedungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison:and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water,

but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

Here is an apt description of someone who cries out to the Lord,Ps.119:25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy

word. The writer of this psalm is surrounded by a prison out of which

there seems to be no escape accept by calling out.

You remember, in a previous psalm (Ps. 40), the psalmist rejoiced in

the Lord, v.2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he hath put a new

song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.

How often when we look at all around us and there is no release from

that which is pressing in then, the only direction to look is thedirection the psalmist looked also, quicken thou me according to thy word.

When you look into Gods Word you find real people who have

suffered all types of real trials, pains and anxieties.

They teach you that when life seems to be at its very worst, God

comes along with His very best and gives you the grace you need, II Cor.12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of

Christ may rest upon me. Lord, quicken me, REVIVE ME.

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4TEACH ME v.26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teachme thy statutes. 27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I

talk of thy wondrous works.

The Lord never does anything without having a reason. He is orderly

and planned, nothing takes Him unawares or is outside of His will.Nothing!

What is the way to proceed then? Well, it is proper, of course, to pray

that the Lord will deliver you out of the situation in which you find

yourself,

v.134 Deliver me from the oppression of man

v.153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me

v. 154 Plead my cause, and deliver me

v.170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according tothy word.

But sometimes He doesnt deliver you immediately. Sometimes he

might deliver you to permit circumstances to crowd round you again.

Why does God do this sort of thing? Why does God allow the

believer to suffer then to save him out of it to suffer again?

At the very base of it all, as part of this world we are subject to all

that happens in it including suffering and illness and trials, - being a

Christian does not make you exempt.

However, - and this is not belittling illness and trials, - turn to James1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patiencehave her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 5 If

any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, andupbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing

wavering. What does all that mean?!

What the psalmist is teaching us here is that there are still many

lessons we need to learn in the school of life. For the Christian, temporallife is preparation for eternal life.

Heaven is perfect and we are not, Lk. 3:5 Every valley shall be filled,and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made

straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, - the Lord is continuing to

work to make us fit for Glory.

Instead of saying to Him, Lord, why have You given me this

ailment? we find the psalmist asking, Lord, Make me to understand the

way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

Yes, even illness and suffering is an opportunity for service and

bringing glory to God.

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5 Each Thursday evening, - and I say it to the folk so often, - Im so

encouraged to see people out at the meeting who really might not be fully

fit to be out but they have a heart for the Lord, for His Word and for

the place of prayer.

The psalmist here spoke to the Lord about what was happening tohim and the Lord answered by giving him wisdom and strength.

By faith, he expected to see Gods wonders displayed in the midst of

his trials.

Conclusion

Our time has gone, we have only managed not even halfways through

our section; we shall take it up again this evening, but do you see already

how God can use even the darkest of trials for His own purposes?

Like some of you, I was seriously ill and I cannot honestly remember

asking the Lord why He allowed this to happen to me. I doknow though

He taught me lessons during that time I have never forgotten and I

dont think I would have learned any other way.

God knows what He is doing, and He never does anything without

having a reason behind it and His reason is ultimately for His glory

and honour, but it also is for our good and development in the faith.

Surrounded by idolatry and paganism, the captive Daniel prayed ontothe Lord, 2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hastgiven me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we

desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

When the Pharisees were out to hound Jesus and to catch Him doing

or saying something they thought He shouldnt have been, we find the

Lord Jesus in prayer, Mt. 11:25 I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven andearth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast

revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight .

If you are in the midst of some trial that seems so heavy to bear, yes,

call upon God to lift you out of it, - there is nothing wrong in asking for

deliverance from God. Sometimes though, He doesnt, - it is not for your

good that He delivers you; at those times, ask Him to quicken you, to

revive you even in the midst of it all.

And through it all, never lose sight of the fact He is in control and

that He has permitted the adversity for some reason known only to Him

and that through it all He is teaching you in preparation for glory.

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6 What is there we can say to folk going through difficult times

without the Saviour? You dont know Christ, you might pray, but

there is no power in your prayer.

You see, this psalmist had a living relationship with God, v.57 Thou

art my portion, O Lord. How canyouhave this same relationship? Onlythrough the Lord Jesus Christ, when you come to Him, confess your sins

and invite Him into your life.

Then, through the trials, His promise is good for you too, that He will

never leave you nor forsake you.

Our confidence is in Him, completely in Him

Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,

Were tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,

Lifes trials will seem so small when we see Christ;

One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,

Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,

Were tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;

But there is One in Heaven who knows our deepest care,

just go to Him in prayer.Amen.

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7PSALM 119:25-32 DALETH

This morning we took note of the psalmist going through great times of

difficulty and how relevant his faith was during those times.

He began by asking the Lord, v.25 quicken thou me according to thy word

and v.26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.

We used the titles REVIVE ME TEACH ME. His soul has been

cleaving unto the dust, but the Lord raised him unto his knees and now

he is beginning to stand upon his feet again. He prayed next

STRENGTHEN ME v. 28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thoume according unto thy word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me

thy law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid

before me. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy

word.

Throughout the psalm the psalmist makes it clear that he is suffering

because of his commitment to God and His Word, v.75 I know, O LORD,

that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me .

He was actually going through all this heartache because he loved the

Lord and sought to be obedient to Him.

Have you ever heard someone say, It would be easier not being a

Christian?

Yes, in some ways I believe it would. There wouldnt be the same

pressure on you to live as God instructs you in His Word to behave. You

could explore other avenues to help you contend against your troubles.

As a Christian God expects more from you and it is sometimes

difficult living up to the stresses of being His child. That, in itself, is a

strain.

But being a Christian and living as a Christian ought to live and

behave and believe opens up all kinds of opportunities that does not

belong to the unbeliever.

Instead of childishly kicking out and flying in a rage just because

everything isnt going his way, the psalmist, - through his difficulties is

actually being brought closer to his Saviour. His soul melting for

heaviness, the lies and accusations of his enemies around him are actually

making his standing with God more precious. He couldnt go through itwithout Him!

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8 And notice too that he didnt storm against his enemies and call

down all sorts of judgments upon them, instead he prayed for them, v. 136

Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law .

All he wanted was to keep on living for the Lord, in obedience to His

Word. He discovered Gods grace was all-sufficient for his daily needs ofstanding up against such unbelief in his community. All he wanted to do

was to live peaceably for God!

He would not become involved in the ways of his neighbours, 29Remove from me the way of lying: 30 I have chosen the way of truth: ... 31 I

have stuck unto thy testimonies. He wanted none of it!

Often when we are being pursued by those in opposition to us we can

allow them to take up so much of our time, and our thoughts, - time and

thoughts that we could be using for the Lords advantage somewherebetter and more fruitful.

The devil tried to waste Jesus time by turning rocks into bread or

from jumping off a high tower. The devil is interested in diverting our

attention away from the things of God and our work for Him.

It is to our shame that sometimes the weedling he gets up to does

sidetrack us and lead us along a dead-end where he is waiting with all his

fiery darts.

The psalmist was wise to him. Rather than pray for the Lord tochange the enemy or to mete out appropriate punishment, the psalmist

prayed that the Lord would change himand enable himto overcome.

The Bible tells us not to cast our pearls before swine (Mt. 7:6), - it is

a waste of time and a waste of effort.

In the circumstances, pray instead REVIVE ME, TEACH ME,

STRENGTHEN ME and finally

DEFEND ME v. 31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me notto shame. 32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlargemy heart.

The psalmist did not want to shame the Lord. He would do

everything in his power not to shame Him. So what did he do? He

turned the matter over to the Lord by faith.

Sometimes it is necessary to confront, but more often than not

confrontation makes you no better than the one confronting you. A

slanging match achieves nothing good for the Lord!

Winning arguments the worlds way loses your witness. How did

Christ do it when confronted by Herod? Herod questioned with him in many

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9words; but he answered him nothing (Lk. 23:9). Is. 53:7 He was oppressed, andhe was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the

slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his

mouth.

Its hard keeping quiet when someone says something you know iswrong, but if they say it in a way that is trying to antagonise you what

is the point of entering into discussion?

I often think, How much would Christ have achieved if He had spent

all His time trying to sort Judas Iscariot out? He would have been wasting

His time. Or, if Jesus had discussed day-in and day-out the finer points of

theology with the Pharisees they would kept Him away from the work

He was called to do.

Instead, the psalmist leaves these people behind him. He turns toGods Word, and he trusts in the promises of God and he believes that

God is able to work out the circumstances that would enable him to grow

in his faith.

At the end of the day, God moved Heaven and earth to save you, -

Heaven was emptied of the Second Person of the Trinity for a short

season and earth became His home for that time. Gods Word speaks

about His goodness to us where better to turn in times of trial and

adversity?

Faith in God, as directed by His Word, is the way of escaping the

confinement of the enemys plots and plans and sets us free to glory in

Christ.

Conclusion

Have you noticed something altogether beautiful here and so

tremendously simple? At the beginning of the section (v.25) the

psalmist is defeated on the ground, his face is in the dust but look at

him now, v.32I will runthe way of thy commandments.

At the beginning he was as good as down and out, and now he is

up and running again.

God is so good. I can understand this portion of Scripture. Like you,

Im sure, there are times when it seems we were as good as down and

out. You move about in the dust and you cannot get up and get back to

were you once were.

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10 The dust is getting in your eyes and you cannot see properly, it is

getting in your mouth and you cannot speak properly, and its getting in

your ears and you cannot hear properly, you need to call out, Lord,

revive quicken thou me according to thy word.

Teachme, Make me to understand the way of thy wondrous works.Show me, Lord. Let me see into the mind of your servants your

servant David as he cried out, Ps. 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; andtake not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and

uphold me with thy free spirit. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the

sacrifices of righteousness.

Let me see in Your Word how Habakkuk began in sorrow as he

called to You, 1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! evencry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!And then we find him at

the end of his prophesy he had gone from sorrow to a song, 3:18 I willrejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is

my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to

walk upon mine high places.

Yes, revive me, teach me, and Lord strengthen me. Do you realise

that the Lord Himself, - in the Garden of Gethsemane, - asked His Father

to strengthen Him? (Jn. 17:1 Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thySon also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he

should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.)

In His Word God shows you how to contend with adversity. When

you have fallen over and your face is in the dust He can set you on your

feet again and He can make you run like you used to.

Yes, Lord, defend me. Ps. 124:1 If it had not been the LORD who was onour side, now may Israel say; 2 If it had not been the LORD who was on ourside, when men rose up against us: 3 Then they had swallowed us up quick,

when their wrath was kindled against us: 4 Then the waters had overwhelmedus, the stream had gone over our soul: 5 Then the proud waters had gone over

our soul. 6 Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.

May the Lord encourage us in our studies of His Word together today

for His glory and for His honour. Amen.