The Comfort of God’s Word in Suffering (Ps 119:105-112)

When you read Psalm 119, you wonder if the psalmist was writing out of his own affliction and the remarkable comfort that God’s Word brings. That is the testimony of every Christian – God’s Word is a solace and place of rest for the wearied soul.

How does God work do this necessary work?

By showing us where we should go (vs. 105-106). In most Israelite households the lamp consisted of a small clay dish-like receptacle filled with olive oil. Normally the dish was pinched at one end to form a kind of spout into which they inserted a wick. Sometimes lamps would possess as many as 4 different spouts to multiply the burning wicks and the light they provided. A one-wick lamp produces as much light as one candle. That is one of the characteristics of God’s Word. It illuminates. It is God’ torch for a dark world. It doesn’t always tell the specifics of what decisions we are to make or how we are to make them, but it does enlighten the path to take. It clarifies the way we should go. Theologians call this the perspicuity of Scripture. That means the Bible is comprehensible to anyone with an open-mind. It doesn’t mean that getting religious training is worthless or that every detail can be understood without thinking, but it does mean that it is sufficiently clear.

By restoring us when we need it (vs. 107). This is what anyone wants right who is enduring suffering? They want relief; they want revival. The psalmist saw affliction “very much.” So, he asked that God would “revive him.”  He had the confidence to ask this, because he knows God would deliver – at the very worst – in the life to come. It was God’s presence and promises that kept him going.

By motivating us to sacrifice (vs. 108-109). A free will offering was a gift presented out of the benevolence of the heart of the giver. The Israelites gave “freewill offerings” to help furnish and construct the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Exod 35:29, 36:3) and the 1^st Temple (I Chron 29:5-9, 14) for the gifts for the supporting of the Temple service under King Hezekiah (II Chron 36:14) and for contributions toward the building of the 2^nd Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:4). It could be financial (e.g., property or currency) or food (e.g., grain, fruits, flour) or even an animal (e.g., dove). Freewill offerings were above and without compulsion. The word drives us to give sacrificially to others in need.

By building contentment (vs. 110-112). The psalmist says his enemies are laying a “snare” and yet He is content with the Word of God’s provision and protection. He is not worried about their deceptive devices; he is satisfied with God’s provision for Him to overcome their temptations. The psalmist says his contentment with the Word of God is like “a heritage forever.” The psalmist says his heart would be with God’s Word “to the very end.” It’s like he is saying sarcastically, “Why would I go anywhere else? Where else would I look? I am content to stay here with God’s Scriptures.” Such vocabulary speaks of a determined mind-set focusing on God’s Word. It communicates a willing submission to God’s Word

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