“Unless thy law [had been] my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.” (Ps 119:92-93 AV)
There is speculation as to who the author of Ps.119 might be. The consensus is David. Yet it cannot be known for certain. Those who opt for David assume the psalm is written in his younger years prior to his ascension to the throne. If this is the case, then the above verses have a particular poignant application. The affliction of which he refers could be anything. If it is written while he fled from Saul, this would coincide with many other entries with the holy scriptures. David knew his anchor during times of affliction was the word of God. If he didn’t have the word, he had nothing. However, if David is speaking of a much more somber application is in the affliction from God because of our sin, then the meaning is even more liberating. Either way, the means by which we navigate through times of trial or correction is the word of God. David also knows that through the word of God, life after affliction is the benefit. Life during affliction as well. The point to be made here is God’s word is David’s delight to the degree affliction will not be the definition of his last days. If he is to perish, he is to do so with the word of God as his delight. If the word of God is his delight, then affliction will not be the nature of his passing. I think I can attest to that with many experiences.
Many years ago, I had the privilege of helping a dear saint graduate to eternity. In fact, this event was the first of many similar experiences I had the privilege to participate in. I was a hospital chaplain and was called to a room where someone was dying. You never know what you’ll face when called to such a situation. Most of the time, the people involved don’t know the LORD and there is little comfort you can offer. But this was different. When I arrived, the patient could not see. They were very weak. I asked if he knew the LORD. He said yes. He said he was gloriously saved from his youth. Looking on his face, the observer could easily discern that his case we indeed a redeemed one. I asked what I could do to ease his situation. Did he want me to sing a hymn? Did he want to pray? What was it that he needed at that moment in his quickly fading life? He asked that I might read Psalm 23. This I did. I read it very, very slowly and loudly. When I was done, he asked me to read it one more time. Before I got to the end, he had passed into eternity. Talk about a memory of ministry I will cherish for a lifetime, and that is one of them. As he lay in his bed dying, all he wanted was the word of God. He passed into the arms of our beloved Savior as he heard about his loving Shepard! How glorious a way to go into heaven!
There is an obvious application here that is not a totally pleasant one. What David could be referring to is the cleansing nature of God’s word. If the word of God was not His delight, then the affliction which sin brings would end his life prematurely and with much affliction. Fast forward a few years. In another such case, I was called to a room where someone was dying. This person was a victim of a beating. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was in the wrong neighborhood. A gang attacked and left him bleeding, broken bones, and punctured organs. As he lay dying, he was in great pain. They tried to make him comfortable. Again, I asked if he knew the LORD. He said he didn’t. I asked if he would like to. He refused. With his family all around him, he passed off into eternity with great affliction. This you man lived a life of adversity toward his Creator. He would not submit to his God. I have seen backslidden saints pass in similar fashion. The word of God was sufficient to save their souls, but was found wanting as their guide for life. They died in their affliction because the word of God was not their delight. Either way, you look at these verses, it is clear to say that delight in the word of God comforts in our affliction and ends with a quickening. To ignore the word of God is to add to our affliction. Doing so will also result in a loss of quickening.
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