Psalm 119 - Kaph
The young Hebrew is learning that life is not a "bed of roses without thorns" - and in fact, sometimes it may have seemed as though it was a bed of thorns without roses! Basically, He's saying, "I understand that I need afflictions sometimes, so that I'll learn - but how bad do they have to get, and how long do I have to stay in them?"
The present stanza reflects those feelings. He's prayed, he's waited, he's meditated, he's tried to find the good in it, but he feels - strongly - that it's time, and maybe even past time, for the Lord to give him relief. He prays, "My soul faints for Your salvation, but I hope in Your Word. My eyes fail from searching Your Word, saying, 'When will You comfort me?'"
Think about what he's saying here! He cries out, "My eyes fail from searching Your Word . . .?" What could he mean? The answer points up one of the chief purposes for affliction. Even prior to this the student undoubtedly had a close - and growing - relationship with God's Word, but now, through even more severe affliction, he's had to seek the truths of that Word in an almost desperate way! He says, "My eyes fail," and he means he's searched the Word so much, for so many hours at a time, that his eyesight is beginning to fail! He does it because he wants and needs some promise, some understanding, some realization of God's loving Nature - something from which he can draw hope.
But, interestingly enough, he's really - though not obviously to him – finding out that this problem is really a good thing after all, because it's only when his need is great enough that he REALLY searches God's Word!
And this young student needs to be learning yet another great thing: he needs to be learning to reason with the Lord, to lay out arguments before Him. Not that he can thereby persuade the Lord - God always knows what to do - but the student himself needs to be fully persuaded, to be exercised in prayer so as to be ready for the answer! So he argues, "For I have become like a wineskin in smoke . . ." Wineskins are permanently damaged by smoke, and the student is telling God that he may be permanently damaged by this affliction if it goes on much longer – so now he strongly feels that it's time to send relief!
But he goes on to yet another argument. He says, "How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?" He's saying, "Lord, my life is slipping away. I only have so many days to live in this life, and time is going on - relieve me or it will be too late for me to learn the lesson You're trying to teach me!"
And that's not all – he's moved by his adversity to continue with a third argument. He says, "The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law - Your commandments are faithful, but they persecute me wrongfully!" He's asking the Lord to execute judgment upon these persecutors because they're breaking His law.
Finally, a last one - he says, "Help me! They almost made an end of me on earth, but I did not forsake Your precepts!" Here he's just saying, "Lord, I've been tried - almost to death - but I'm still believing Your Word! I've been tried enough! If it goes on much longer, I'll be dead!" Then he throws in the clincher: "Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth!"
What do YOU do in such an extreme, long-lasting trial? Do you really SEARCH the Word for some morsel of hope? Do you lay out reasons before your Lord? James tells us that "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Sometimes our problem is that our prayers haven't been very fervent. May the prayer of the student become our pattern BEFORE we're in great affliction!