Tell Him Everything

My soul clings to the dust;  
give me life according to Your word!  
When I told of my ways, You answered me;  
teach me Your statutes!  
Make me understand the way of Your precepts,  
and I will meditate on Your wondrous works.  
My soul melts away for sorrow;    
strengthen me according to Your Word!  
Put false ways far from me. 
and graciously teach me Your law!  
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;  
I set Your rules before me.  
I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD;  
let me not be put to shame!  
I will run in the way of Your commandments. 
when You enlarge my heart!  

Psalm 119:25-32

The language the author uses throughout Psalm 119 gives us a glimpse into what he is experiencing -- desperation, longing for justice, affliction, fear, anxiety, insecurity, anticipating disgrace, suffering taunts, ridicule, slander, distress, and oppression. In this portion of the Psalm, we find the Psalmist in deep anguish such that he proclaims, “My soul clings to the dust” and “My soul melts away for sorrow.” 

In the next sentence, our Psalmist says, “When I told of my ways, You answered me.” The Psalmist does the one thing that gives life, yet many of us fail to do it. He turned to the Lord with the specifics of his situation. Often when we are in an uncomfortable place (whether of our own making or others sin against us), we begin to devise ways to save ourselves, or we start talking to our friends, framing our situation in such a way as to garner their support.

The Psalmist turned to the Lord, and he tells us that the Lord answered him. Once we realize that God does not miss a single detail of our lives, that He sees not only the circumstance we are in but hears our self-justifying thoughts, we learn there is no better place to turn than to the One who already knows all and can help us. How do we know we can turn to the Lord, even with our sin? He tells us in Exodus 34:6 that He is, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” The author of Psalm 103 reminds us of this and adds:

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him (vs 10-14).

How do we know we can trust His words? We know we can trust Him, because He gave His only Son, His perfect Son, to die in our place. Jesus knew what it was to have His soul “cling to the dust” and “melt away for sorrow.” Jesus took unfairness and shame that did not belong to Him but to us.

Our Psalmist asks God to graciously teach him, to help him understand, and to strengthen him. Finally, he says to the Lord, “I will run in the way of Your commandments when You enlarge my heart!” He knows that unless God does the work in his heart, his desires will continue to be self-justifying instead of God-pleasing. Self-justification or self-glorification is a heavy burden. Yet there is rest in wanting to please God, because it means acknowledging our sin, our guilt, and the state of our heart. We “tell God of our ways,” and we look to our Savior who bore shame and disgrace in our place. Rest and freedom come in knowing that our lives, for those who believe, are hidden in Christ, and we are already seated in the heavenly realms with Him (Ephesians 2:5-6). What can man do to us? Enlarge my heart, Lord, that I will run in the way of truth!