Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according to your word. I am troubled above measure; quicken me, O Lord, according to thy Word (Prayer-book Version). The point here can best be seen in a contrast. The Apostle Paul had some severe bodily infirmity, which he calls a "thorn in the flesh." He prayed to God about it, and asked that he might lose his trouble; have his circumstances changed; have the "thorn in the flesh removed." The apostle in this was on a lower level than the psalmist. He too had some serious form of bodily trial, or temporal trouble, that almost overwhelmed him; and he too took the matter to God in prayer. But he did not ask for any change of his circumstances; he asked to be quickened, soul-quickened; to be so filled with Divine life, and made so soul-strong, that he could rise above his circumstances, however distressful they might be. And the apostle had to be taught by God the lesson which the psalmist had learned ages before. God's answer to his prayer was, "My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness." Power to bear is a better Divine blessing than any mere removal of suffering from our bodies. The wonder of our Lord's bearing in the judgment-halls and Calvary is the soul-strength that triumphed over circumstances. I. SOUL-LIFE IS BETTER THAN RELIEVED SUFFERING. But we find this very hard to believe. We only do believe it as we realize that God's idea for a man's life is not the providing of a pleasant time, but the providing of a scene which shall become a moral discipline, out of which spiritual character may be evolved. The suffering has in view the character; and to remove the suffering may be the worst thing that could happen to the man. The sigh of the Divine using of the suffering for the highest ends is found in the imparting of soul-strength. It shows the suffering to be a blessing to us. II. SOUL-LIFE REALLY MATES AND MASTERS THE SUFFERING. For the real measure of the suffering is the measure of power to bear which the sufferer has. Some can bear nothing; some can bear anything. At one time we can bear what at another overwhelms. Then strength to bear - the soul-life of full trust in God - does actually lift us above our sufferings, and make them feel, as Christ's yoke is, easy and light. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.WEB: I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word. |
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