Psalms 119:81-88 - Homilies By S. Conway

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

I. PERSECUTED . That he was so is clear from the verses before us. For he says:

1. " Thy soul fainteth ," etc . ( Psalms 119:81 .) He was heart-sick at the long delay of the hoped-for help. Year after year, generation after generation, it has been at times the lot of God's people to suffer persecution. And then the piteous confession of these verses is heard.

2. " Mine eyes fail ," etc . ( Psalms 119:82 .) As one who steadily gazes out into the distance, looking for aid promised, expected, but does not come, at length his eyes become weary and dim, and his sorrow finds utterance in the plaintive words, "When wilt thou comfort me?" Hard, indeed, is the lot of such.

3. His very countenance and his body generally showed the marks of his distress . ( Psalms 119:83 .) Like as a wine skin-bottle hung up in the smoke of the fire would blacken and shrivel, become dry, parched, wrinkled, and useless, so the deep lines and the wasted look and the shrunken form told of the inward anguish of the soul.

4. It was near the close of his life , and his persecution , so wrong and unjust , still continued . ( Psalms 119:84-86 .) They sought to trap him as if he were a wild beast ( Psalms 119:85 ). So did the ungodly deal with him. Persistent, cruel, cunning, unjust, ever seeking his life—how piteous such a condition!

5. He was " almost consumed ." ( Psalms 119:87 .) As a brand blackened and charred, and all but burnt up and reduced to ashes. It is an emblem of uttermost distress. Yes; he was persecuted, and it was hard to bear.

II. BUT HE WAS NOT FORSAKEN .

1. For the promises of God were his stay . He hoped in them still ( Psalms 119:81 ). Did not forget God's statutes. Forsook not his precepts ( Psalms 119:83 , Psalms 119:87 ).

2. He was sure that God would fulfill his Word . ( Psalms 119:84 .) It was only a question of "when?"

3. His soul still turned to God . Praying for help ( Psalms 119:86 ). For quickening, so that he might keep hold of God's testimonies. Believing absolutely in the loving-kindness of God ( Psalms 119:88 ). Now, a man who can do all this, persecuted he may be, as this man was, but forsaken he is not. Oh the blessedness of real faith in God! Life is often terribly stern. Gethsemane and Calvary are along the way God's people often have to take, though never can they be to us so awful as they were to our Lord. But as unto him, so to us, light ariseth out of darkness; for such is the blessedness of the people of God.—S.C.