ROSES WILL BLOOM AGAIN
Psalms 119:
81-88
Intro:
For those brethren who either want to deny or refuse to deal with the
fact of depression, then I will highly recommend that they refrain from reading
Psalm 119. This huge Psalm is packed full of moments in the life of David that
are, without a doubt, midnight moments of depression.
Whether it be mental depression that affects the spiritual man, or
whether it be spiritual depression that affects the mental man, depression is
real and no amount of denial by the spiritual elitists will make it disappear.
There are times in the midnight hour, when one can get to the point that
it seems that the roses will never bloom again.
No doubt, that David's prior sins had come before him, and absolutely no
doubt that his enemies were dogging his every step, but even in this dark hour
of the winter time of depression, David's relationship with his God remained in
tact and was very strong, and eventually would lead him out of this dark and
dismal midnight hour. This message
is from the heart of one preacher that has been there, and in reality, is still
there. Shame on any hyper spiritual
legalist who would dare imply or say that this state is a sin, or a spiritual
weakness. Most of those that
believe this way, are the very ones that inflict more pain on the wounded, and
tend to kick a man when he is down.
God's army remains as the only army in history that will shoot it's own wounded.
Love and compassion for the brethren has vacated the ranks of most
preachers today.
I.
THE DARKNESS OF THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
(verse 81-82)
A)
When I cannot feel His Presence
(verse 81)
"My soul fainteth for thy salvation; but
I hope in thy Word"
The word "fainteth" means
"having little strength or vigor, feeble, lacking conviction,
boldness or courage; timid; an abrupt temporary loss of consciousness; to
weaken in purpose or spirit". This
statement deals with the feelings of the innermost soul.
David is saying, "I cannot feel your salvation, I cannot feel your
presence". These were the words of
the man "who was after God's own heart"!!!!
He had grown weary with waiting, faint with watching, and worn out with
urgent need. In truth, haven't all of us, especially God's men, been in these
circumstances before or are now?
Only the untruthful or self denying person would contend that this state
has never been their lot. Notice that this condition did bring the Psalmist to
realize that his only hope was in the declared Word of God.
Yes, in this state, we may seek or search for other solutions, but in the
end, a child of God will always turn to the only source that can and will
provide help for the hurting soul.
B)
When I cannot feel His Participation
(verse 82)
"Mine eyes fail
for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?"
Undoubtedly, one of the
hardest things, as a Christian, is to wait upon the Lord.
While our soul is content in it's state of redemption, our flesh is never
content, because it lives for the moment, and the flesh craves time because
that is all that it has. The
impatience and restlessness of the flesh can be overcome temporarily, but lives
on in order to surface on another day.
Our flesh wants to be self
sustaining and self sufficient, therefore it will never yield totally to the
promises of God. When we become
spiritually sick or depressed, the flesh will then rise up in strength.
This was the obvious condition of the
Psalmist in this verse. The
Psalmist trusted God's promise, but had grown weary in waiting for the assurance
of that promise. In this midnight
hour scene, the constant battle between the flesh and the spirit had left the
Psalmist weak and possibly even doubting that God was going to comfort him in
his pain. Notice that his question was "When wilt thou comfort me?", not, "Will
you comfort me?" He was not
doubting that God would, but he was growing impatient waiting for the when.
II.
THE DEEPNESS OF THE MASSIVE HURT
(verses 83-85)
A)
My Enemies have Smoked my Reputation
(verse 83)
"For I am become like a bottle in the
smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes"
This is the same David, who
in his youth, was ruddy and of a beautiful complexion, and goodly to look at.
But now he is shriveled up like a bottle of skin.
His character had been smoked with slander, and his mind was parched with
persecution. All this had been
inflicted by those who were closest to him, and by those who had said that they
loved him. He now had arrived at
the thought pattern that possibly his usefulness had seen it's course, and that
men would look upon him as an old, worn out skin bottle, which could hold
nothing and answer no purpose. Here
was a man who had been king, a poet, and a man after God's own heart, but was
now seemingly a cast away and a has been. Many of us have felt the pain of
similar situations, and the isolation that is a result of this feeling of
worthlessness. It is no wonder that
during these low times, we slip into a depressed state.
It is a dangerous and destructive thing to feel useless and unwanted.
Notice that it was in the midst of this depressed state, where very few
things seemed to have any meaning in life, that the living power of the grace of
God shined through the dark clouds.
A man may be reduced to skin and bones, and all his comfort may be dried out of
him, but he will still hold fast to the grace and glory of God.
Sometimes the only light shining in the darkness of depression is the
light of God.
B)
My Encounters have speeded my Death
(verse 84)
"How many are the days of thy servant?
when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?"
When a person reaches the
state of uselessness, then life itself loses it's meaning.
This is what David was now praying to God.
"How long do I have to live in this condition?
Extended days of life now seemed to be more of a
burden than a blessing. For
those precious souls who have experienced and endured these dark times, we know
that the heavier the burden, the longer the days.
At this point, the Psalmist seeks relief from the heavy pressures of
persecution and attack. He now asks
God to either shorten his days, or to
execute judgment on his persecutors. Here is yet another sign of
depression, in the anger that arrises when we are persecuted and forgotten.
We know that the Bible says,
"vengeance is mine, saith the Lord", but the flesh does
not abide in or obey the Word of God.
C)
My Entrapment is systematicly being dug
(verse 85)
"The proud have digged pits for me,
which are not after thy law"
Just as hunters, who hunt
wild beasts and make pitfalls and snares to entrap their prey, David's foes had
did the same for him. It sometimes
seems unbelievable how mean and vicious even those who claim to be God's people,
can become. There sometimes seems
to be no end to the dastardly deeds and the ungodly depths they will become in
order to smear the reputation of a man of God.
The systematic plots of our enemies are careful and viciously planned and
executed. It should be no surprise
to any of God's men that the Psalmist, as well as us, started asking God just
how long this persecution would last.
I believe too much is accredited to the devil, because many a persecution
of a man of God was devised and plotted without any aid from
Satan.
Our only comfort in these circumstances is to know and realize that our
enemies are also the enemies of God, and that though, they may never answer to
us for their wrongs, they will answer to God.
III.
THE DAWNING OF THE MORNING HOPE
(verses 86-88)
A)
Help is on the Way
(verse 86)
"All thy
commandments are faithful; they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me"
The Psalmist knew that God's
command would cost him, but he knew that it was worth it.
His way may be rough, but it still was right.
The way of God had been his best friend in the past, and would not prove
to be an even greater present help.
Even though he had felt lousy while in the dark of the night, he now realized
that he would not be a loser. He
also now realized that the fault for this current condition and circumstances
lay with his persecutors and not with God nor himself.
This was and is the first step toward healing, in that he was reassured
that help was on the way. The words of this request "Help thou me" were few, but
the meaning was full. Help was
needed so that the persecuted Psalmist could avoid the snares of the enemy and
might recover from the reproach. It
really does not matter who hurts us, as long as God helps us.
No other help is sufficient.
We must always remember that faith is like film, it only develops in the dark.
B)
Healing is on the Wake
(verse 87)
"They had almost
consumed me upon earth, but I forsook not thy precepts"
Having understand that help
was on the way, the Psalmist was now on the road to healing and recovery.
It would be a slow course, but a sure course.
The word "almost" signifies just how close he had come to being
completely consumed by his aggressor, and by the condition that this
persecution had caused him
to enter. Evidently, he had fallen
under their power to a large extent, and had escaped by the skin of his teeth.
The Psalmist now sees the limit of the enemy's power and that the maximum
they could inflict, would be to consume him upon the earth.
They could touch his earthly life and earthly goods, but he had an
eternal portion that they could not even nibble at.
David could now say that even in this low, dark state of persecution and
depression, he would not forsake the precepts of God.
He knew that if he stuck to the precepts, he would be rescued by the
promises.
C)
Happiness is in the Word
(verse 88)
"Quicken me
after thy loving kindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth"
The word "quicken",
regardless of where it is used in the entire Bible, always means "to bring, give
or restore life". Our best
protection from tempters, persecutors and even our own flesh, is more life.
Since God is the giver and sustainer of life, both physical and
spiritual, then He is the only source we can plead and pray to for results.
His loving kindness can never grant us a more useful and protective
blessing than to have life more abundantly.
Since it usually becomes the final aim of our enemies that we die, as was
in the case of David, then when God granted us more life, and life that is
sustained, our enemies are baffled and defeated.
When quickened by the Holy Ghost, we shall have a holy testimony, and
will have a holy character.
No one can keep the Word of the Lord's mouth unless the Word of the
Lord's mouth quickens them. Notice
that the
Psalmist is now praying not
for freedom from the trial, but for renewed life that will support him under the
weight of the trial. Indeed, as the
title of this message indicates, "Roses did bloom again in David's Life".