KAPH. My soul faints for Your salvation, but I hope in Your word. My eyes fail from searching Your word, saying, ‘When will You comfort me?’ For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, yet I do not forget Your statutes. How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me? The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law. All Your commandments are faithful; they persecute me wrongfully; Help me! They almost made an end of me on earth, but I did not forsake Your precepts. Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

Three times in our text today, we find the Hebrew word kalah (v 81, 82, 87). This word is rendered a variety of ways in our English translations, but generally holds the idea of being consumed. The writer states, “My soul faints (kalah) for Your salvation...” We, as the people of God ought to be filled with longing for the salvation which God bestows. As we consider the context which surrounds this particular phrase, it would appear that the writer seeks to see the realization of his salvation. When the difficulties of life press upon us hard, we often will seek the wonderful release and rest which God has in store for His people. Still awaiting it however, the writer declares, “...but I hope in Your word.” That is, he places his trust in that which the Almighty has promised. God is faithful. He will fulfill His promise of salvation to those who are His, in His time.

Again, the Hebrew kalah appears, now in the phrase, “...My eyes fail (kalah) from searching Your word...” How diligent do you read God’s word? Till your eyes become consumed? The Psalmist did. Perhaps not on a day by day basis, did He so fervently search out the will of God, but at the present, under distress, he turns his attention to the Scriptures, to seeking out God’s will and way. This is indicative of a general manner of life which the writer conducted himself in. As God’s people, we must continually be speaking with God (via prayer) and allowing the Lord to speak with us (via the Word). When difficult times arise, the occasion for such communication with the Lord should increase! When trials beset us, these are the times we must be diligent to speak with the Lord, and receive instruction from His will more and more. Sadly, this is the very time some will shut the Lord out, feeling discouraged and alone. Recall the well known writing, “Footprints”? The man, looking back upon his life, saw at times only a single set of footprints in the sand. Seeing this, he complained that in the most troublesome times of his life, the Lord left him to contend by himself. The Lord softly corrected him, “No, it was in these times that I carried you.”

Jesus used wineskins to teach the people in His day; here, the Psalmist uses the figure of a wineskin to illustrate the affliction which he endures. He describes himself as a “wineskin in smoke”. Before wine would be put into a wineskin, it would be hung in smoke to dry, where it would shrivel up. With the oppression (smoke) of his enemies all about him, the writer still maintained focus on the will of God. Perhaps the illustration might suggest to us the very thing that the apostle Paul spoke of on several occasions, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). And again, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Just and the wineskin must first be shrivelled by the smoke, the child of God, in preparation for his eternal reward, must endure hardships.

The Lord is an avenger for those who have been wronged. He will repay the evils which evil men have visited upon His people. To this end, the Psalmist inquires, “How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?” When will it end, Lord? That the writer does not intend to avenge himself is evident – he knows it is the Lord’s duty, and the Lord’s vengeance will bring great destruction upon the tormenters of the righteous. Time and season belong to the Lord, even the days of our life upon the earth, and the days which the wicked employ to mistreat the children of God.

Still with the cruelty and harm of the unrighteous, the Psalmist tells a bit of what has taken place. “The proud have dug pits for me...” Not only have his enemies persecuted him, speaking against him and bringing violence upon him, but they have also conspired to trap him, to bring about his fall. Among the ways that the Lord defends His people is with the use of irony. In Psalm 7:5, we read of the wicked, “He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.” So often, the schemes and wicked works of men will come back upon their own heads. What a wonderful God we serve, who is day by day our protection.

Again, we encounter the Hebrew word kalah, now in verse 87. The writer says, “They almost made an end (kalah) of me on the earth...” The degree to which those who despise the Lord and his people will go has no end. In the first century A.D., many Christians lost their lives due to those who opposed them and the Lord whom they served. Paul speaks to the Romans of Priscilla and Aquila, fellow “...helpers in Christ Jesus: who have for my lie laid down their own necks...” (Romans 16:3-4). The apostle Paul time and again brushed with death, often at the hands of those who stood in opposition to the way of God. From the reading of Scripture it appears, and by the word of history it is declared that Paul’s life was eventually taken by lawless men, on account of his faith.

The Psalmist also endured great trial from unjust and unrighteous men. They almost consumed his life! But notice, “...I did not forsake Your precepts.” Though his persecutors elevate their attack, his faith was firm. How would we stand? Shall we find the Lord to be a refuge for our souls, wherein we are able to withstand the attack of any foe?

Finally, as these hardships press on, the writer pleads for revival from the Lord, “Revive me according to Your lovingkindness.” Refresh us Lord! Renew our spirits! Give us new life and energy and purpose! Help us to walk aright, and to see the big picture. We must never allow ourselves to become worn down or worn out. The apostle Paul tells us that our inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). We are constantly to seek the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), that we might show forth the glory of God.

Lord, revive us according to Your lovingkindness, so that we may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
Is lying wrong? Some verses approve lying (Joshua 2:4-6; James 2:25; Exodus 1:18-20; 1 Kings 22:21-22; 2 Kings 8:10; Romans 3:7; 2 Corinthians 12:16), while others condemn it (Exodus 20:16; Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 5:20; Proverbs 12:22; Ephesians 4:25; Revelation 21:8). Is there a contradiction?