The November Movement

5 Lessons on Suffering from the Longest Psalm in the Bible

When we think of Psalm 119, we might think "really long Psalm" or "acrostic song" (i.e., each section starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet) or "a really long, acrostic song all about Scripture (all but a few of the 176 verses make specific reference to God's Word). Rarely do we think "suffering." But here in this longest-of-songs is a treasure trove of how to prayerfully think about suffering. Consider a few ways this song can be a steady counselor during times of hardship.

5 Lessons on Suffering from the Longest Psalm in the Bible
1. Suffering Leads to Singing

It's frequently overlooked, but the songwriter behind Psalm 119 had a reason for writing. It wasn't that he went to a Bible conference and was so full of fresh insights and faith that he just had to write a song all about God's Word. Rather, this song was brought about by a time of great suffering in his life. Throughout the meditations on Scripture are frequent references to his own shame (v6), destitution (v25), affliction (v67), the wicked generally (v53), and the wicked persecuting him (v84). In other words, had the Psalmist not been persecuted, we wouldn't have this wonderful song.

This shouldn't surprise us. As we call to mind your favorite prayers in Scripture, chances are very, very good those prayers were brought about through suffering. And as we'll see if we follow the theme of suffering through this song, singing during and after suffering is often the sweetest.

People turn in many directions when suffering: finding solace in friends, finding distraction in entertainment, finding numbness in drugs or alcohol, finding escape in sleep or even su***de. But the Psalmist shows us the right direction, that suffering is always a call back to God's Word.

Not only does God's Word illuminate the path we walk during suffering, it's also the only source of sense during the extreme disorientation suffering always brings.

By turning to God's Word, we are reminded that God made me (v73). And the God who made me is good (v68) and in goodness afflicts me (v67). And while those who sin against us are guilty, God can use their evil for great good (v50). Only in the story of Jesus' death and resurrection will we find true reassurance from a God who is absolutely capable of using evil for good. Only in God's Word will our desires - rocked by suffering - be ordered according to eternity rather than our comforts.

Whenever suffering comes into your life - and it will - it will always be a call for you to value (v72) cling ever more tightly to God's Word. (v92)

In fact, we might say that suffering is really how we learn to pray and praying is the only way to suffer well. Suffering is so often what God uses to shake us out of the smallness and staleness of our prayers and to lift our hearts to him in new and desperate ways. As C.S. Lewis famously wrote, "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

We might also say that suffering is what makes prayer really real. Real in the sense of vital and important and life-giving (v28). And real in the sense of brutally-yet-respectfully honest (v82).

Whenever suffering comes into your life - and it will - it will always be a call for you to raise your heart to the Lord in prayer (v82).

Wouldn't it be great if we could "learn our lesson" without hardship and suffering? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the process of growing as a Christian was simply reading the Bible, hearing sermons and prayerfully getting more holy every day? Alas. We aren't machines and sanctification isn't a linear process of grace constantly leading to holiness. More often than not, the key that opens new doors of sanctification is suffering.

The Psalmist's understanding of how God used suffering is bracing: "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." (v71)
What was true for our Savior must be even more true for us: "...he learned obedience through what he suffered." (Heb. 5:8) In God's trustworthy hand, suffering becomes a spiritual scalpel, cutting away our idolatry, disbelief, worldliness, prayerlessness and selfishness. In God's hand, suffering leads to sanctification.

Whenever suffering comes into your life - and it will - it will always be a call toward greater holiness, great Christlikness.

A final word of encouragement from the big picture of Psalm 119: God will use your sufferings not only for you but also for others and, ultimately, for Himself. Just as the Psalmist's pain led to a wonderful song and countless voices raised to God in praise, so your suffering will be seen by others as a testimony to God's grace, an echo of the sufferings of Christ, an example to follow and even a warning to unbelievers. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:29 that "it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake." Take courage and pray that God would use your sufferings to silence demons, to glorify His name and to give courage to others in their sufferings!

Whenever suffering comes into your life - and it will - it will always be used for the good of others and for the glory of God.

God’s Word is Necessary

Most of us, deep down, want the same things out of life. Of course, I’m talking about ultimate things, not immediate things. On the immediate level, people have a wide variety of desires. Some people like to travel. Some people like fine dining. Some people prefer indoor plumbing and a comfortable bed. And other people like camping. There are a million different tastes, interests, and hobbies. But if we get to the level of the heart, I think people all around the world generally want the same things: We want purpose. We want to be happy. We want to know we are okay. We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We want to be known by someone bigger than ourselves. We want to live forever.
And if you dig around in those desires, you’ll find that most people are waiting for some word from somewhere so that they can finally know this good life. They want a law or a list that will tell them steps to take to get there. They want their teacher to say, “You’ve passed,” or their parents to say, “I love you.” They want to get a call from their dream job or their dream date. They want to hear good news about their retirement fund or their health or their kids. Many of them are listening intently to hear from the most sacred voice they know: their own. And some are desperate to hear from God.
The doctrine of the necessity of Scripture reminds us of our predicament: the One we need to know most cannot be discovered on our own. And it assures us of a solution: this same ineffable One has made himself known through his word. As the Westminster Confession of Faith explains, “Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation.” Holy Scripture, the Confession goes on to say, is therefore “most necessary” (WCF 1.1). The Scriptures are our spectacles (to use Calvin’s phrase), the lenses through which we see God, the world, and ourselves rightly. We cannot truly know God, his will, or the way of salvation apart from the Bible.
We need Scripture to live the truly good life. We need Scripture to live forever. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). There is no other book like the Bible. It reveals a different kind of wisdom, comes from a different source, and tells of a different love.
A Different Wisdom
Wisdom is one of the main themes in the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians. Writing amid a Greek culture that lauded fine-sounding philosophers and fancy orators as the rock stars of their day, Paul takes great pains to differentiate the gospel from that kind of wisdom. If you are looking for wisdom in sophisticated speech and powerful rhetoric, Paul says, you’ll not find it in the preaching of the cross (1 Cor. 1:18–25). You’ll not find it in my sermons (2:1–5). And you’ll not find it in many of yourselves (1:26–31).
The gospel is wisdom for the mature (2:6), but it has nothing to do with the “wisdom” this world longs to see. God’s wisdom is not of this age (v. 6a). It doesn’t belong to this earthly realm or this “not yet” moment in redemptive history. God’s wisdom is not of the rulers of this age (v. 6b). It has nothing in common with scheming powerbrokers or the cunning devices of the Evil One (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; 10:4–6). God’s wisdom is unique. It is not immediately obvious to all or universally appreciated by all (1 Cor. 2:7).



We can get very frustrated when people don’t see what we see, when good arguments from Scripture don’t seem to carry the day. But we should not be surprised. God’s wisdom is a secret and hidden wisdom. This doesn’t mean we must cross the sea or climb into the heavens to find the wisdom of God. It means God must speak to us if we are to be truly wise. All truth may be God’s truth, but all saving truth is revealed truth.
The word of the world is not like the word of God. One is new and now. The other is ancient and everlasting. One is fleeting (“doomed to pass away”; 1 Cor. 2:6) while the other is fixed and firm (“decreed before the ages”; v. 7). If we want the “wisdom” of passing fashions, impressive brains, and talented people, then we can look to the world. But if we want—and if we need—a wisdom that is beyond us, that is outside of us, that will never fail us, we must look into the things that “God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (v. 10).
A Different Source
So where do we go to learn the things God has revealed? Do we look to the trees? What about the inner light? How about community standards? Maybe human reason and experience? The clear testimony of 1 Corinthians is that only God can tell us about God. Just as the spirit of a person discloses the thoughts and feelings and intentions of that person, so also no one can make known the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:11). The only Being knowledgeable enough, wise enough, and skillful enough to reveal God to you is God himself.