12.1.2012 PSALM 119.82 MINE EYES FAIL FOR THY WORD

the following taken from spurgeon's 'treasury of david'

psalm 119.82 -
my soul fainteth for Thy salvation:
but i hope in Thy word.

his eyes gave out with eagerly gazing for the kind appearance of the Lord, while his heat in weariness cried out for speedy comfort. to read the word till the eyes can no longer see is but a small thing compared with watching for the fulfilment of the promise till the inner eyes of expectancy begin to grow dim with hope deferred. we may not set times to God, for this is to limit the Holy One of Israel; yet we may urge our suit with importunity, and make fervent enquiry as to why the promise tarries. david sought no comfort except that which comes from god; his question is,
'when wilt THOU comfort me?
if help does not come from heaven it will never come at all;
all the good man's hopes look that way,
he has not a glance to dart in any other direction.
this experience of waiting and fainting is well known by full grown saints,
and it teaches them many precious lessons which they would never learn by any other means.
among the choice results is this one-
that the body rises into sympathy with the soul,
both heart and flesh cry out for the living God,
and even the eyes find a tongue,
'saying, when wilt Thou comfort me?
it must be an intense longing which is not satisfied to express itself by the lips,
but speaks with the eyes,
by those eyes failing through intense watching.
eyes can speak right eloquently;
they use both mutes and liquids and can sometimes say more than tongues.
david says in another place,
'the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping' psalm 6.8
specially are our eyes eloquent when they begin to fail with weariness and woe.
a humble eye lifted up to heaven in silent prayer may flash such flame as shall melt the bolts which bar the entrance of vocal prayer,
and so heaven shall be taken by storm with the artillery of tears.
blessed are the eyes that are strained in looking after God.
the eyes of the Lord will see to it that such eyes do not actually fail.
how much better to watch for the Lord with aching eyes
than to have them sparking at the glitter of vanity.                                spurgeon

'for thy word'  the children of god make more of a promise than others do;
and that upon a double account-
partly, because they value the blessing promised;
partly, because they are satisfied with the assurance given by god's word;
so that, whereas others pass by these things with a careless eye,
their souls are lifted up to the constant and earnest expectation of the blessing promised.
it is said of the hireling,
that he must have his wages before the sun go down,
because he is poor
and hath set his heart upon it. deuteronomy 24.15
or, as it is in the hebrew,
lifted up his soul to it,
meaning thereby both his desire and hope.
he esteemeth his wages,
for it is the solace of his labours,
and the maintenance of his life
and he assuredly expectedth it,
upon the promise and covenant of him who setteth him awork.
so it is with the children of god;
they esteem the blessings promised,
and God's word giveth them good assurance that they do not wait upon  Him in vain.   thomas manton

'saying, when'  the same spirit of faith which teaches a man to cry earnestly,
teaches him to wait patiently;
for as it assures him that mercy is in thee Lord's hand,
so it assures him, it will come forth in the Lord's time.     john mason, 1688


'when wilt Thou comfort me?  it is a customable manner of God's working with His children,
to delay the answer to their prayers
and to suspend the performance of his promises;
not because he is unwilling to give,
but because He will have them better prepared to receive.
tardius dando quod pettimus instantia nobis orationis indicit (written by chrysostom, one of the church fathers
-meaning he is slow to give that which we seek,
that we should not seek slowly,
but may be awakened to instancy and fervency in prayer,
which he knows to be the service most acceptable unto Him
and most profitable unto ourselves.     william cowper

let us complain not of God
but to God.
complainst of God give vent to murmuring;
but complaints to God, to faith hope and patience.    thomas manton

the prophet, to prevent it from being supposed that he was too effeminate and faint hearted,
intimates that his fainting was not without sufficient plainness,
that he was for a long time, as it were, cast off and forsaken.     john calvin

the people of God are sometimes very disconsolate and need comforting,
through the prevalence of sin,
the power of satan's temptations,
the hidings of God's face,
and a variety of afflictions,
when they apply to god for comfort,
who only can comfort them,
and who has set times to do it;
but they are apt to think it long and enquire,
as david her,
when it will be.      john gill

 a poor woman had been long time questioning herself,
and doubting of her salvation;
when at last the Lord made it good unto her soul  THAT CHRIST WAS HER OWN
(note: ! :)!  oh happy day! )
then her minister said unto her,
the Lord will  not always give His children a cordial,
but He hath it ready for them when they are fainting.     thomas hooker

comfort is necessary because a great part of our temptations lies in troubles
as well as allurements.
sense of pain may discompose us
as well as pleasure entice us.
the world is a persecuting
as well as a tempting world.
the flesh troubleth
as well as enticeth.
the devil is a disquieting
as well as an ensnaring devil.
but yet comfort,
though necessary
is not so necessary
as holiness.
therefore, though comfort is not to be despise,
yet sincere love to God is to be preferred,
and, though it be not dispensed
so certainly, so constantly, and in so high a degree, in this world,
we must be contented.
the Spirit's comforting work is oftener interrupted than the work of holiness;
yet so much as is necessary to enable us to serve God in this world,
we shall assuredly receive.      thomas manton