Happy and Blessed - Pt. 20

 

With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes. I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life. They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law. But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. (Psalm 119:145-152 ESV).

 

A trip to Israel is not complete without a visit to Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, or Western Wall. It is one of the holiest sites in the world. Today, it is the only remnant of the holy edifice that stood on the Temple Mount. This name is actually a translation of the Arabic term el-Mabka, which means “place of weeping,” and is the traditional Arab moniker for the wall. This description originated based on the Jewish practice of mourning the destruction of the Temple and praying for its rebuilding at the site of the Western Wall. Today it is a place where thousands make their desperate petitions known to God in the hope of a quick and complete answer to their needs. I’ve been there and prayed along with others on several occasions. It is an experience I will never forget.

 

It gives new meaning to the modern proverbs of “desperate times call for desperate measures.” The psalmist’s cries of desperation are becoming more and more urgent. In this section of our look through Psalm 119, the writer cries out at least four times, calling for God’s deliverance in the day and in the night. The psalmist’s cries for deliverance have become continuous, relentless. He won’t give up.

 

It seems the psalmist has reached a level of desperation. Yet each time he cries out, in his heart he expresses an equally strong affirmation of hope and comfort in God’s Word. And he expresses his unflagging commitment to obeying God’s decrees and statutes. Even as the psalmist’s enemies inch closer, even as God seems to remain silent, the psalmist puts his hope in God and his Word, and he commits himself to obey God. In obedience, the psalmist finds God’s heart and feels God’s closeness.

 

A life of faith includes moments when God seems silent. We don’t know why God doesn’t always answer immediately when we call. But if we reflect on all the promises God has made and kept we can be sure that God keeps his promises and will answer. Turning to God’s Word was a continual source of comfort and joy for the psalmist, especially in what seemed to be times of silence from God. That really is the only “desperate measure” that works!