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כ (Kaph) Put your hope in God’s word
Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law 11/22
Psalm 119:81-86
Andy Nagahara
We return to our series on Psalm 119, which is also called a hymn to the Law. For today’s eleventh part, we will focus on verses 81-88, in which the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “כ (kaph),” is placed at the beginning of each line of the paragraph.
This character is thought to derive from a letter depicting a palm (Hebrew: כף kaf).
What can we learn from the state of the psalmist when he was in the midst of life-threatening hardship, and yet still appealed to God, putting his hopes in Him? I will read and talk about it a little by little. Now, let’s read the first two verses.
1. When will you comfort me? (81, 82)
81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
While this seems to be a sung poem, and the two verses are well formed in pairs, its content is serious. It looks as if his wishes have not been fulfilled at all, and that he has been waiting so long that his mind and body are approaching the end of their limits.
Why should I be put in such a predicament?
And why do I have to wait so long?
But the psalmist knows. He knows that the only one he should hope for is God, even though he has no response at all at the moment.
So he continues to wait, even though he screams. He will not give up hope.
Many of us, however, act differently from the psalmist. We go like since God doesn’t respond anyway, or since God doesn’t exist, we find something to rely on. And then we tend to pursue temporary comfort.
Although you may not want to recall it, you may have experienced terrible, painful, and long-lasting suffering. However, there is a crucial difference between us and the psalmist. It is that God came as one person, Jesus, and that Jesus has prepared for us the Church, which is His body. Actually, the fact that we are gathered here now to worship God ( even though we may have barely made it here with heavy hearts) means that we, just like the psalmist, are looking forward to “God’s word,” even if we cannot hear it now, even if we feel His presence is weak.
What we want to follow the psalmist’s example is to turn to God and say, “I long for your word.”, and keep asking, “When will you comfort me? That means that we do not break our relationship with God. It may sound like mere monologue to those who don’t acknowledge God. There may be times when even we ourselves doubt that. But our relationship with God will not cease unless we stop calling out to Him.
In fact, here is the essence of the worship we offer. Do you remember the call of Jesus that you heard in the message last week? “Come, and you will see.” We heard that Jesus is the one who knows who we are, what we have done, and what we are struggling with, and invites us to “follow him and be with him”. God came as Jesus to this world that is full of injustice and sorrow. And we are descendants of Peter (the rock). Just like Peter himself, we are too weak to be called rocks, too often hurting each other and betraying God. Even for those of us who doubt whether God really exists and whether He really loves us, He says, “Follow me, and you will see”. Responding to that call is the worship we offer. In that sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that offering worship is ” a matter of risking our lives.
2. When will you punish my persecutors? (83, 84)
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?
This leather bag, as you may immediately associate with the English Bible, is a bag made by tanning animal skins to hold wine or other liquids. But unfortunately, the meaning of this “leather bag in the smoke” metaphor is not quite clear. It has been speculated that they are fumigated to help sterilize and ferment the contents, or that they are so old that they are no longer used with their contents in them, but simply hung above the cooking area, and are blackened by soot, but we cannot know the exact intent of the psalmist. It is a metaphor that appears only in this passage in the Bible.
However, based on the connection from the previous verse and the second half of this verse, there is no doubt that the expression means adversity. Perhaps by analogy with the latter part of this verse, he was in such a state that he could have stopped obeying God, as that Job experienced. Yet the psalmist continues to have hope in God. And in verse 84, we see that the psalmist’s suffering is not due to the pain of loss, as Job’s was, but because of the attacks of those who seek to take his life.
Likewise, we ourselves and our family members may suffer unreasonable attacks at work, school, or other places. A place where we could normally reap many benefits and be happy becomes a place where we not only have a hard time staying, but where we are physically and mentally damaged. In addition, it is people who are supposed to be colleagues or friends who share the same goals that cause the pain. However, we live in a society where the stronger and more advantaged have more say, and there is a tendency for the oppressed to demand a reason for their oppression. The term “self-responsibility” is used to justify the lack of consideration by those with power and wealth for those without.
Even those who believe in God do not often pray, like “Do something about that person,” because they associate it with biblical words such as “You shall not curse”. But as the psalmist exclaims, to wish judgment on the unrighteous is not to curse. Seeking righteous judgment is the right thing to do.
Also, when you hear the word “ordeal,” you may think that you should not run away from it. You can run away. Actually, you must run away if you can. Mary and Joseph also fled to Egypt when they learned that the life of baby Jesus was being sought by King Herod.
As God prophesied through the prophet Isaiah, He came to this world as Jesus to help the lowly and afflicted, and gave us hope by Himself being lowly and afflicted, and suffering death on the cross. This week, I would like to invite you to read over chapters 53 and 61 of Isaiah along with this psalm. There we find the hope brought to us by Jesus Christ. At the end of Isaiah 61, it says, “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Let’s keep our hope in Jesus, the Word of God that has become reality.
3. Help me and preserve my life (85-88)
85 The arrogant dig pitfalls for me,
contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for men persecute me without cause.
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 Preserve my life according to your love,
and I will obey the statutes of your mouth.
Here I am, trying to be right in God’s eyes first and foremost, while the wicked flourish and live selfishly, why should I suffer this terrible thing, being persecuted by people who torment me for no good reason? Although he trusts in God, the psalmist seems very lonely, as he is surrounded by enemies who conspire against him.
However, we are not alone, like the psalmist.
For as I told you earlier, Jesus has prepared the Church as His body. Please remember this. What does it mean for the church to be the body of Christ? This should be well noted.
In the world, there are many organizations and communities. For example, companies, schools, hospitals, governments, local governments, political parties, and so on. The Church is similar to them in some respects, but there are fundamental differences. We are not the owners, managers, employees, or clients of the church.
As I have said from time to time, the church is a big family. The family has no owners, no managers, no employees, and no clients. Families share both joys and sorrows together. Families do not have to pursue profit. Families accept each other’s personalities as they are. And, are also a group of people at different stages of life.
I think this is something that those of you who have read with me today of the psalmist’s struggles can agree with me, but if we can only share the fun, it is not a family, it is a hobby circle. The borderline between whether a church is a club of religious interests or the family of God and the body of Jesus is whether or not they can carry each other through hardship. While there are many attractive communities in the world, churches also tend to forget their essence over time, and become like clubs that are just for fun, or organizations that place the highest priority on profit and efficiency. As we enter our 30th year, Your Church as God’s family is not perfect at all, but we would like to pursue the way it should be as a direction to aim for.
Now, the psalmist, who has asked God many “whys,” is about to close this section of כ(Kaph) with a declaration of triumph and a wish for the future. (87) He said, “Though I have come through very painful times and there are still unresolved issues, I have not abandoned your admonition. I am still alive.” This is a declaration of victory.
In the words of Jesus, “Do not be afraid of those who can stop your breath but cannot take away your life,” which I introduced you in my previous message, the description of “being alive” here is more than still breathing; it is a declaration that we have “life” and that we are connected to God. Therefore, the psalmist’s wish that is placed at the end of this verse 88, “Preserve my life (Let me live),” is a desire to “walk with God by sharing His thoughts with him.”
We, too, should sing to God with this desire, sincerely hoping for a word from God.
(Prayer)
Thank you, God, for inviting each of us to be a part of your body, and for keeping us here at Yourchurch.
Also, thank you that even though we are placed in different positions as members of a family, we are your body and can share both joy and sorrow with each other.
Please fill each of us with Your Spirit so that we may be able to bear one another’s burdens.
Thankfully and hopefully, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summary
We are the Church (Body of Christ) precisely because we are connected to God through the worship that each one of us offers from the bottom of our hearts. Worship keeps the church healthy. A healthy Church (Body of Christ) shares joys, sorrows, and pains.
For Discussion
1. Where is the difference between the Psalmist and us?
2. What does it mean that the church is the body of Christ?