Psalm 119:81-88

"In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of your mouth."

{Psalm 119:88} (NIV)

Whatever his affliction was, it threatened his life. The issue for him was life itself. This righteous man, who could write such beautiful words about the Laws of God, is in a place where if God doesn’t act on his behalf, he is going to die. 

This section starts with a declaration of the faintness of his soul. He has been looking for salvation that has been very slow in coming. He has trusted and obeyed; he has done what God has told him to do, and now he waits to see God move in accordance with the promise in the Law. 

The question is, “When?” This is a question of faith. There is no doubt God will save; truly this is the question of a righteous person. He describes himself as wineskin in smoke, someone who is emptied out, set aside from his true purpose, in the acid smoke of a fire where none of us can stay for long. Yet in the midst of his distress he knows that his true purpose on earth is to obey the Laws of God. His rationale for his prayer for preservation of life, is not that he might see his descendants, nor that he might accomplish world peace, but simply that he might obey God. This is the prayer of the Lord Jesus in the garden. This is the prayer of a righteous person who lives their life in their body through faith in the Son of God.

Psalm 119:81-88

New International Version (NIV)

כ Kaph

⁸¹ 

My soul faints with longing for your salvation,

    but I have put my hope in your word.

⁸² 

My eyes fail, looking for your promise;

    I say, “When will you comfort me?”

⁸³ 

Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,

    I do not forget your decrees.

⁸⁴ 

How long must your servant wait?

    When will you punish my persecutors?

⁸⁵ 

The arrogant dig pits to trap me,

    contrary to your law.

⁸⁶ 

All your commands are trustworthy;

    help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.

⁸⁷ 

They almost wiped me from the earth,

    but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸ 

In your unfailing love preserve my life,

    that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.