It’s been a while since I have shared from Psalm 119

So here is the lesson I gleaned from the Dalet verses (25-32):

Do you know what having one’s soul clinging to dust looks like?

In order to cling to dust one must be bent over. Being bent over is a sign of depression. When one has become depressed, they have lost their way.

The only thing that will revive and strengthen this one is the Word of God

In the world that we now live in, when a person is pressed, or de-pressed, the world’s answer to that is to turn to prescribed medications, and/or specialty doctors, aka psychiatry.

But in the Dalet verses (dalet being Hebrew and meaning door or poor) in Psalm chapter 119,

We are told that one is revived and strengthened through the Word of God.

This is also confirmed in Psalm 107:4-16

Because there are some who need to hear these verses, I’m going to go over them briefly now. So, I encourage you to open your Bible and read it for yourselves either before or after reading what I shared below.

Psalm 107…

Verse 4 speaks of a person wandering. This is a person who is lost. The verse says in a desolate way. This could mean that their behavior is destructive. It can be destructive in a number of ways. The person can be addicted to alcohol and/ or drugs. The person can be violent in nature or criminal in nature. There are a lot of symptoms that can manifest for a person who is lost.

The verse continues that they have no city to dwell in. This lost person has no rest. They have no peace.

Verse 5 speaks of the lost one as being hungry and thirsty. Many will read that and think that it’s talking about food.

Is physical food what the lost one is looking for, or is it something more?

And just when this lost one was ready to give up…

Verse 6 says
Then …
…they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.

This is the answer
This is what needs to be done

Imagine all the time wasted in wandering
Before one figures out to call out to the Lord who delivers and leads us

Verse 7 let’s us know that the gift this person received is a gift of rest and peace

Verse 9 reminds us that satisfaction for the soul is found in Jesus.

(To both the thirsty and the hungry Isaiah 49:6-13)

So if ever you hear anyone say that their soul is tired. This is a clear indication that they need to cry out to the Lord so that they can be filled and refilled.

Verse 10 speaks of the one who sits in darkness.

This is depression.

[[Who purposely would sit in darkness except one who does not know where the light switch is to turn on some light?

People can enter the room where the one in darkness sits and not be able to help that one turn on the light because even they don’t understand that Jesus is the light beyond quoting a set of programmed words.

You can hold a match, but unless you strike it, it will not burn and give its light.

John 1:5-17
Matthew 5:14-16]]

Jesus who is the light that needs to be turned on in the lives of many is avoided by some because when we turn on lights it reveals and exposes.

Verse 10 exposes the bondages and chains of the one who sits in darkness.

We are told that they are bound in afflictions.

So it is important to be able to identify the afflictions. There are many. Stress can be an affliction. Grief can be an affliction. Even greed can be an affliction.

So the first thing is to identify the affliction.

This is done by listening to the individual speak.

Jesus said that out of the heart the mouth speaks. So, listen for the chains of affliction.

Then, don’t be surprised by what you will find.

You see, verse 11 tells us ahead of time why a person is sitting in the darkness of depression instead of turning on the light

Verse 11 says of this one that they rebelled against the words of God.

Therefore, this is one who rejects the Word of God when they hear it.

So, God allows us to “bump our heads”. (This is the free will experience that so many like to champion, and that God allows. Initially, I didn’t understand until I learned that Obedience is learned through the things suffered. So we are allowed to learn that God only wants what is best for us and that it is in our best interest is to submit to God’s will – but, not under coercion.)

When they get tired they will reach for the light switch and use it.

How?

Verse 13 tells us just how simple it is.

They cried out to the Lord in their trouble and He saved them.

The simplicity of this is see in Genesis 1:3

In the darkness God simply called for there to be light and light came to be. We are created in God’s image so all we have to do is call out for the light too.

Verse 14 says it is God who brings us out of the darkness. It is God who breaks the chains.

Verse 16 says it is God who breaks the Gates of bronze and bars of iron. These are two metals that are known for their strength. But there is nothing stronger than God.

The gift this person receives is a gift of freedom. They are no longer a slave. The chains have been broken.

So just like the Dalet verses show,  in Psalm 119, our strength, our revival comes from the Word of God

And we need to ask God to help us to understand His Word so that we can unlock it and apply it in our lives

And they (the poor and in need, the hungry and thirsty) cried out to the Lord in their trouble…

Wait on the Lord to answer. God’s timing is not our timing; and God is never late.

Open the door when He comes

…and he delivered/ saved them out of their distress

Jesus said that he came that we might have life more abundantly.

Jesus enriches us – when we listen and obey (Luke 6:46)

The choice is yours
Will you open when He knocks?