Psalm 119 — More quotes from David Powlison

Here are some more quotes from Dr. Powlison’s article on Psalm 119. Besides reading Psalm 119 over and over again, I highly encourage your purchasing David’s article, Powlison, D. (2004). Suffering and Psalm 119. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Number 4, Fall 2004.

“Raw, unsmelted honesty is always perverted by the insanity of sin. Should you “get in touch with your feelings and say what you really think”? That will always prove revealing, of course. And you do need to face yourself and your world, acknowledging what is going on. And the opposites of unblunted honesty are other madnesses: indifference, busyness, stoicism, niceness, ignorance, self-deception, or denial. But how on earth will you interpret what you feel? Is what you really think true? Where will you go with it? Where is it heading? Honesty in the raw always smells: it’s godless, willful, opinionated, self-centered.”

“Reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible are legitimate implications of Psalm 119—when they aim for this Scripture’s desired result. But this passage aims for much bigger game. It aims to rescript the inner logic and intentionality motoring in your heart. That profound result is not a given, an automatic consequence of rubbing shoulders with the Bible. We have a tendency to mishear what God says, to misapply to our lives, to mistake means for ends. Yes, read your Bible. Study hard. Memorize. Done right, these means contribute to a blazingly fluent end. But this psalm does not exhort proper means; it demonstrates the radical end.”

“He [The Psalmist] has taken God’s point of view [about who he is; including his hopes and dreams] and God’s intentions to be his very own.”

“Here’s another implication. Our self-help culture is preoccupied with “self-talk,” with your inner monologue. Does what you say to yourself cheer you up or tear you down? Are you consciously self-affirming or obsessively self-critical? Do you say, “I’m a valid person and I can stand up for myself,” or “I’m so stupid and I always fail”? Entire systems of counseling are built around analyzing and then reconstructing your self-talk so you’ll be happier and more productive. But Psalm 119 gets you out of the monologue business entirely. It gets you about the business of a living dialogue with the person whose opinion finally matters. The problem with self-talk, whether “negative” or “positive,” whether “irrational” or “rational,” is that we aren’t talking to anyone but ourselves.”

“The Bible says radical things about the stream of consciousness that naturally flows from us and through us: “Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the days” (Gen. 6:5); “All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’ ” (Ps. 10:4). This does not only refer to vile and sordid lifestyles. It also means those everyday ways that minds operate without reference to the one true God. Functional atheism is our most natural state of mind.”

“The vocal faith of Psalm 119 is what happens when you wake up. It’s not hyper-religiosity. It’s sane humanity.”

“Let me step into the speaker’s shoes and state it in first person words. First, I face something terrible inside myself. My own sinfulness threatens that God would destroy me. Second, I face something terrible coming at me from outside. The sins of others and all of life’s troubles threaten to destroy me. Something’s wrong with me. Something’s wrong with what happens to me. Either way, whether sin or hurt, I suffer threats of pain, destruction, shame, and death. So I talk candidly to God about my double affliction. I deeply feel the inner and outer evils that I face. Psalm 119 teaches you to say things like this: “My soul cleaves to the dust. My soul weeps because of grief. My eyes fail. When will You comfort me?”

“And, of course, Psalm 119 also pleads for deliverance from painful troubles. As always, he wastes no words. He never meanders in the sloughs of religiosity. He cuts straight to the point.

• Save me.
• Help me.
• Rescue me.
• Plead my cause.
• Look on my affliction.
• When will You comfort me?
• When will you judge those who persecute me?
• Don’t let the arrogant oppress me.
• It is time for the Lord to act!”

“The lovingkindness of the Lord invites such pleas from His servants. Poverty? Bereavement? Sickness? Painful dying? Unfairness? Oppression? Betrayal? God cares, and the needy cry out.”

“As we saw, Psalm 119 opens doors into the rest of Scripture. Old friends became better friends.”

“Go back through Psalm 119 on your own (perhaps with four colors of highlighter in hand). Listen for affirmations about God. Listen for struggles inside and out. Listen for cries of honest need. Listen for expressions of conviction and delight.”