Well, this evening we'll continue
our meditation in Psalm 119, and we'll read the first four
verses of this section. That's 25, 26, 27, and 28. And we just read them again. My soul cleaveth unto the dust. Quicken thou me according to
thy word. I have declared my ways, and
thou heardest me. Teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way
of thy precepts. So shall I talk of thy wondrous
works. My soul melteth for heaviness.
Strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Well, we see in these verses
really the psalmist's breath of prayer to almighty God. We see how he confesses his position
and also comes and tells God his needs. And it's wonderful
that we have these patterns in the Word of God. that instruct
us in our little lives what to do and how to pray and so he
comes and he explains what he feels like in his innermost being
you would see my soul cleaveth unto the dust that means I'm
sure he felt so low he just couldn't really raised himself above the
ground. There he was, down and in a low
place. Well, God's people understand
what he meant because God's people do come into a position like
that where we feel to be right down and unable to lift ourselves
up. And such a statement may seem
extreme at first sight, but if we think about it, we realise
it's very true. My soul quick cleaveth unto the
dust. But he's not happy to remain
there. And again, that's the evidence,
really, the life of God in the soul. We don't want to remain
there in the dust. And therefore he prays, quicken
me, quicken thou me, according to thy word that means you wanted
to be made spiritually alive according to the glorious descriptions
that we have in the Word of God quicken thou me according to
thy word and what a blessing it is therefore if we have that
living desire to be found spiritually alive and realizing that We need
God to do it, quicken thou me according to thy word. The word
of God speaks to us so gloriously and wonderfully about those who
are made spiritually alive. And that's clearly what he desires
to have. And then he says, I have declared
my ways. And again, that would seem to
be that here he is in prayer to his God, And he's speaking
to God and telling God how he is, the position he's in, how
he feels. And that's a wonderful privilege
for us today to realise that we have a God who we can come
to and we can declare our ways to him. Perhaps we might be too
embarrassed to declare our ways to others, but to God, who knows
all about us, we can freely come. I have declared, he tells us,
my ways. And then he says, and thou heardest
me. Well, he had faith to believe
that God had heard his prayers. He wouldn't have seen God in
a physical way. But he would have seen God by
faith. And that's a blessing for us
today. And as we come to God, not in a physical way, but by
faith, confessing our sins, declaring our ways to our God, believing
that he does hear and he does answer. And what a mercy to have
a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God. I have declared
my ways, and thou heardest me. Faith, believe. And then he comes
and he asks, teach me thy statutes. We haven't got details of precisely
what he declared to his God, but perhaps he really wanted
God to show him the right way, to show him in the way wherein
he should walk. And therefore he comes with his
prayer, teach me thy statues. And it's good to come to God
and confess our ignorance. And it's good to come to our
God and to ask that he will teach us. Remember, the disciples prayed
to the Lord Jesus, teach us to pray. And that's just one situation. There's many things that you
and I need our God to teach us. And the blessing is that God
teaches us in a right way. And God teaches us in such a
way that we don't forget. You and I can read and we can
study, we can easily forget things, but when God speaks and implants
his laws, his statutes, into our hearts, we don't forget them. Teach me thy statutes. And then he says, make me again
just to remind ourselves he's explaining his personal testimony
his personal desires make me to understand the way of thy
precepts he wanted to be directed in the way that he should go
he didn't want to make mistakes he didn't want to be left to
himself and they praised therefore to his God that he would make
him to understand the way of thy precepts. It was God's precepts. It was God's ways. It wasn't
his. And he wanted to understand,
therefore, the way, the right way that he should walk in and
he should go in. Because it was indeed that way
which would be wonderfully and greatly blessed. And then he
acknowledges that if God favours him in this way, he's able to
say, so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. And that's a good example
for us today. See, when our God gives us a
right understanding of his precepts to us, it's good, therefore,
to speak of the wondrous works of God, how he's directed us,
how he has, instructed us, because surely it is for the honour and
glory of his great name and the edifying of those that we speak
to and declare what he has done for our souls. So shall I talk
of thy wondrous works. Really, all God's works are wondrous. And it's good when we can understand
them and see them and rejoice in them. What a mercy then to
have such a God. And then he comes down and he
tells us again his situation. He says, My soul melteth for
heaviness. Strengthen now me according unto
thy word. we may feel sometimes burdened,
weighed down with the heaviness perhaps of the trials and difficulties
and temptations and the sin of our heart, the indwelling sin
which only we know about my soul melteth for heaviness well it's
good to be able to come and confess our sins confess our situation
The Word of God so encourages us, if we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. So if we are, perhaps like this,
melting for heaviness, ready to give up, and you see how,
again, He joins that position with a desire to God that he
might be helped. And he says this, strengthen
now me according unto thy word. We've noticed and we will notice
in this 119th Psalm how many times the psalmist refers to
thy word. And it's good for you and me
in our little lives to remember God's word. It is his word and
that's what we should rely upon and that's what we should seek
to for direction and guidance and understanding to the great
and glorious Word of God. And it is indeed strengthening
as we read God's Word. But you see when we have this
heaviness Solomon tells us in the Proverbs in the twelfth chapter
he says, heaviness in the heart maketh it stoop. We're bound
down sometimes with heaviness, but a good word maketh it glad. A good word from the Lord, a
good word from the scriptures lifts us up and strengthens us. What a blessing it is then to
have such a God who is truly mindful of us, truly gracious
to us. In the book of Isaiah, the prophecy
of Isaiah, we're told what God does to appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion. The psalmist here was mourning,
wasn't he? He was mourning in the first
verse we read, his soul cleaving to the dust. And then also in
this last verse, my soul melteth for heaviness. He's mourning,
and Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 61, to appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion. Well, the true church of God
do have mourning times. Mourning because of their sin,
mourning over him for all that they have cost the Savior through
their sin. And then he says, to give unto
them beauty for ashes the oil of joy for mourning. You see, there is that relief
in that condition of mourning. The garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness. Yes, there is a change. The change
from heaviness to the spirit of praise. And what a blessing
it is when the Lord does touch our hearts and we're able to
Praise him and realize how he has led us, how he's directed
us. Does it not lift us up? The spirit
of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Yes, wonderful and gracious truths
we have. My soul melteth for heaviness. Strengthen thou me according
unto thy word. That was the rules that he sets
before us. According to his word. And what do we see in the word?
We see the life of the Saviour. What do we see in the life of
the Saviour? We see his heaviness. We see
his sufferings. We're told, for as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by
Christ. You see, there are the two sides.
For the blessing of God, we are brought down and then we are
raised up. and there is a great privilege
and union to know what it is to have fellowship with his sufferings
because the amazing thing is that brings joy into our hearts
because as the Spirit shows to us that we're led in this way
to bless us it's not something which is against us it's something
which is a blessing to us fellowship with his sufferings. So our consolation
is then to abound in Christ. And then just one final reference,
and that's in the last verse in Psalm 42, and Psalm of David. And he says in that Psalm, Why
art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within
me. Well, there can be various reasons
for that, but the truth is that we do find ourselves understanding
what the psalmist said here. The question, why art thou cast
down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within
me? But thankfully, the Word of God
doesn't stop there. It leads us on. What does it
say? Hope thou in God. Hope thou in God. Not in ourselves. Not in what we can do. Not in
what men and women can do. Hope thou in God. Because there is a future. And this is what he says. For
I shall yet praise him. Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it?
To believe. The Lord will bless. We're brought
down, we're raised up to praise him, to bless his name, who is
the health of my counsellors and my God. Well, that's a very
wonderful statement, isn't it? And how wonderful it is if we
can also echo those words and come in with those last words
and my God. that God who has called us, that
God who is leading us, that God who is directing us, that God
who has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that
we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what
man can do unto me. The fear of man bringeth a snare. Let us look up. Let us look to
that great and glorious Saviour. and believe these great words,
strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Well may God graciously
bless these few thoughts and help us to meditate on them.