Give Me Life - Psalm 119:25 (3 Minute Read)
My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! - Psalm 119:25
The psalmist here is plagued with distress - one that leads him to a desire for death. He was unable to overcome these distresses and powerless to soar above his grief. Whatever it was that sparked this feeling of darkness and despair, he was glued to it, just as the dust was glued to him. But this is not mere despair, but a deep and gut-wrenching one. This is anguish that pulses down to the very core - to the soul. The psalmist is in a gloom that is inescapable and heavy, for what caused this malady was not some slight offense or surface evil, but was a significant and upending one, one that pervaded his thoughts and sent him continually to the dust. Some have called this the "dark night of the soul," or "a foreboding darkness," and a great many have fallen prey to this sad state. And here, we see that the word of God is not impotent, but is very relevant in any and every human experience, even this very common one of sorrow and depression.
The cure, however, for the psalmist is not enlisting the help of professionals, or medicine, nor is it hiding himself from the world, instead it is life! The psalmist needs life amidst the world of death around him. Here, revival is requested. “Revive me, O Lord!” is the cry of his heart, “give me new strength and stamina!” This is a prayer that we will far too often neglect. Life can be given by the Lord alone to his suffering saints, and when we entreat him as the Psalmist does, he bestows to us life at once! There is no delay, he will do it! Jesus says that if we “know how to give good gifts to [our] children, how much more will [our] Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Ask! It is according to God’s word - the revealed way that he enlivens saints - that the psalmist asks for life. The world has only counterfeit life. The world can only offer more dust disguised as gold. But the Lord gives life according to his word. Be encouraged dear saint, Christ will continue to shine his face upon you, to give you new life.
S.D.G.
