Psalm 119:83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.
Coming to verses 73-96 of Psalm 119, the octaves using the Hebrew letters yodh, kaph and lamedh, one notices that the psalmist continues to speak in terms of God's word and to make clear that he struggles at times. There is perhaps a perceptible movement in the three octaves from quite objective prayers (Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands, etc) to a more subjective long night of struggle (My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word, etc) and the final sunshine of a new day (Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens, etc). Certainly the Kaph stanza reflects a struggle, especially with persecutors - My soul faints with longing ... My eyes fail, looking ... How long? ... help me ... preserve my life. The picture in verse 83 is not a familiar one to us today but in days gone by when wine was often stored in animal skins, these containers would often be hung up in a smokey tent or near a busy kitchen chimney and would get dry and shrivelled and covered in soot and smuts. That is how the psalmist felt at times - dry and besmirched - and it is how we feel at times, too. Nevertheless, he was determined, as we must be determined, not to forget the God's decrees. He was not going to make his troubles an excuse for forsaking God's law. Rather he is determined to look to the Lord and his word. Meanwhile, he asks, how long and prays that the Lord will preserve him and his precious contents.
Coming to verses 73-96 of Psalm 119, the octaves using the Hebrew letters yodh, kaph and lamedh, one notices that the psalmist continues to speak in terms of God's word and to make clear that he struggles at times. There is perhaps a perceptible movement in the three octaves from quite objective prayers (Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands, etc) to a more subjective long night of struggle (My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word, etc) and the final sunshine of a new day (Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens, etc). Certainly the Kaph stanza reflects a struggle, especially with persecutors - My soul faints with longing ... My eyes fail, looking ... How long? ... help me ... preserve my life. The picture in verse 83 is not a familiar one to us today but in days gone by when wine was often stored in animal skins, these containers would often be hung up in a smokey tent or near a busy kitchen chimney and would get dry and shrivelled and covered in soot and smuts. That is how the psalmist felt at times - dry and besmirched - and it is how we feel at times, too. Nevertheless, he was determined, as we must be determined, not to forget the God's decrees. He was not going to make his troubles an excuse for forsaking God's law. Rather he is determined to look to the Lord and his word. Meanwhile, he asks, how long and prays that the Lord will preserve him and his precious contents.
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