Psalm 119

Feb 1, 2022

"My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees."

- King David, Psalm 119:71

Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it."

- Dr. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

Well, today, I'm going to say to you what I say to my three year old grandson, Fisher, when he climbs into my truck: "Fasten your seatbelt, buddy, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" This is a hard message from God, reserved for people who believe Jesus came to bring us life… life in all its fullness. (John 10:10).

Psalm 119 is famous for being the longest song in the Bible. (Kind of like most of my sermons… Smile). It has 176 verses, which makes it not just the longest psalm, but also the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 66 references to "suffering" - that's noteworthy because there are 66 Books in the Bible. Could it be that the writer is telling us that there will be a trace of suffering in every book that God writes… in every chapter of our life? Could it be that everything you're going through in your life, whenever you get to a new level… in a new relationship… a new business… a new position… a new arena, that if you stay in it long enough, you will discover soon enough that there is some pain connected to it? And the sooner we can learn that and equip ourselves to use that, the quicker we can get to a level beyond that.

God never said that our lives would be without pain. Pain will be a scarlet thread that runs through every chapter of our book. And oftentimes, when we're in it, it will seem like the longest chapter of our lives… like it'll never end.

I am worn out waiting for your rescue,

but I have put my hope in your Word.

- Psalm 119:81

While Psalm 119 has 66 references to "suffering," it also has 66 corresponding intense requests for prayer.

I rise early, before the sun is up,

I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.

- Psalm 119:147

Psalm 119 has 22 sections, and each section has a name that theologians have discovered corresponds with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Could it be that the author wants you to know that God knows your life from A-Z… that He knows everything you're going through?

You made me, You created me,

Now give me the sense to follow your commands

- Psalm 119:73

Psalm 119 has 22 sections, and each section has eight verses… and they all tell the same story over and over and over again. They are an incomplete work. There is no resolution! Ever feel like, just as you get one problem solved, just as you overcome one crisis… boom… another crisis comes crashing in right behind it?

I have suffered much, O Lord;

restore my life again as you promised.

- Psalm 119:167

This author firmly believes that God is the Alpha and Omega. That He is the Beginning and the End. That He is the Introduction and the Conclusion. Which means that if you are stuck, or stumbling, or suffering in the middle part of your life today… Do me a favor and stick around… ‘cause the best part of your life is still ahead! Friends, these 176 verses are the story of your life and mine! So don't judge me when I'm only 70 verses into my life. Don't draw conclusions about yourself when you're sitting at 100 verses… God is not finished!

If you're in a hard place today… if it feels like it will never end… read Psalm 119. Cry out to God. Trust in His Word. And take heart… ‘cause after the longest chapter of David's life, he wrote in Psalm 120:

I took my troubles to the Lord;

I cried out to Him,

And He answered my prayer.

- Psalm 120:1