THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CXIX: Appreciating And Applying Scripture For Every Spiritual Need, Psalm 119

S. Qoph - Handling Sleeplessness Due To A Burdened Heart

(Psalm 119:145-152)

I. Introduction

A. Psalm 119 tells of the profitable use of God's written Word, the Scriptures, and the psalm is formed as an acrostic where each section has a Hebrew letter that begins each of the eight verses in its respective section.

B. Section "Qoph" in Psalm 119:145-152 explains how Scripture equips the believer to handle sleeplessness due to a burdened heart, and we view the passage for insight and edification (as follows):

II. Handling Sleeplessness Due To A Burdened Heart, Psalm 119:145-152.

A. The verse numbering system in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1085), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 119:145-152 (as follows):

1. "I call with all of [my] heart, answer [me], Jahweh; Your prescribed statutes I will observe," v. 145.

2. "I call to You; deliver me and I will observe Your solemn charges," Psalm 119:146.

3. "I come before (qadam, B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 869-870; J. A. Alexander, The Psalms, 1975, p. 503) the morning twilight and cry out for help; I wait, hope for Your words," v. 147.

4. "My eyes anticipate [are already awake before; qadam again; cf. v. 147; Ibid., Alexander] the [night] watches to meditate upon, study Your word utterances, Psalm 119:148.

5. "Hear my voice in accord with Your loyal love; Jahweh, revive me according to your verdicts," v. 149.

6. "The pursuers, persecutors of evil devices come near [but] they are far from Your law," Psalm 119:150.

7. "You (emph. pron.), Jahweh, are near, and all Your commandments are true," Psalm 119:151.

8. "Of old, aforetime (pedem, B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 869) I gained knowledge from Your solemn charges that you established them [to last] forever," Psalm 119:152.

C. We consider significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The psalmist recognized that the issue of concern on his mind caused him sleeplessness, so in his trial he recalled his need for Scripture's guidance and insight, Psalm 119:145-147: (a) He prayed with his whole heart for God to answer him, but he also promised to heed God's Word as his help, v. 145. (b) He noted that he sought God's aid while pledging carefully to read Scripture's instructions, v. 146. (c) With his heart's burden keeping him awake in the night, the psalmist used his mind during his sleepless hours to anticipate God's fulfillment of His Scripture's promises regarding his need in the trial that he faced, v. 147.

2. Thus realizing his need to be exposed to Scripture on his concern, the psalmist read and applied God's Word to his need, Psalm 119:148-152: (a) He used the time offered by his sleeplessness to muse on applicable Scripture passages, Psalm 119:148. (b) He handled the feelings of false or true guilt he faced by leaning upon God's grace, His loyal love, for a correct relationship with the Lord, v. 149a. (c) The psalmist found comfort in recalling that closely applying Scripture brought him close to the God Who helped him, Psalm 119:150-151a. (d) The psalmist was also encouraged to recall that God's promises are reliable in his time of insecurity and trouble, Psalm 119:151b. (e) The psalmist was encouraged to recall that God's Word had proven itself to be reliable in experience even from the distant past, Psalm 119:152.

3. In doing these things, the psalmist found hope for renewal from the wear produced by his trial as God passed judgment on the situation in his favor, Psalm 119:149b.

Lesson: The psalmist noted that in facing a trial that left him suffering sleeplessness, God wanted him (1) to take the time provided by being awake to get into Scripture and confess any sin it exposed in him that would have hurt his fellowship with God. (2) Then, he was to trust God's promises to help him, (3) being encouraged in knowing that (i) trusting God's promises brought God's help and that (ii) God's record of past help both for him or for saints of the distant past who faced similar trials meant His Word was timelessly applicable and authoritative!

Application: (1) If we suffer sleeplessness due to a burden of the heart, God wants us to focus on what His Word directs us to do at that time. (2) This step may involve actually rising out of bed and opening up our Bible for insight or remembering passages we know address the issue we face. (3) Recalling the ancient trustworthiness of God to apply His Word to the issues that burden us in the night can provide great comfort at such a time.