Psalm 119 is an instruction how, in the midst of cultural upheaval, to stand firm as does God and His Word in the Heavens.
Psalm 119:107: “I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.”
“quicken” or “chayah” means, “sustain; restore.”
Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we are by nature spiritually dead; and that when the miracle of the new sirth takes place we are born again by the quickening work of the Holy Spirit. We also learn from 1 Peter 1:23 and 2 Peter 1:4 that the Word of God is the instrument used by the Holy Spirit “so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…”; it is the “seed” of the new life which is dropped into our souls and which makes us “alive to God” (Romans 6:11). A Christian is one who is born again (John 3:3, 6, 8); who receives the new life of the Risen Lord (John 1:12-13).
It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who prompts us to pray, and for an illustration of this there is Acts 9:9-11. Immediately after his conversion, and as evidence that he really had been converted, Saul of Tarsus prayed (v. 11)! This is the first exercise of the new life (Luke 18:13). As Christians we are frequently conscious of the Holy Spirit within us urging us to pray. He leads us to the place of prayer and then He shows us how to pray (Romans 8:26-27). Think how the disciples needed this quickening when they were in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44).
Note what Psalm 71:20 says, where the operative word is “again”. The psalmist had fallen and he needed to be lifted up and revived. It is easy for us to get spiritually out of touch with the Lord and to become disobedient (Jonah 1:1-3); to deny the Lord (Luke 22:54-62); to turn away from Him (John 6:66); to become carnal (1 Corinthians 3:1-4); to walk in the flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25); to allow wrong attitudes (Philippians 4:2); and to become lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16). At such times we need the quickening work of the Holy Spirit to renew our love for the Lord and our determination to please Him.
How easy it is to get into bondage to sin (Romans 6:12); to self (Romans 6:16); and to Satan (Luke 22:31)! In Psalm 119:153 the Psalmist prayed, “Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.” The Lord Jesus Himself, from the Throne, is the great Liberator, as we learn from John 8:36; but He liberates us by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as we learn from Romans 8:2, and the medium through which He works and quickens is the Word of God.
Many times in Psalm 119 the psalmist prays that God would show him the right way and enable him to walk in that way. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit does as we turn to God’s Word with the desire to hear Him speaking to us (Psalm 119:18); as we meditate upon what we read (v. 15); as we compare scripture with scripture (Acts 17:11). This is the only way to discover the kind of life God wants us to live and to receive His enabling.
How can we be weaned away from worldly living and become absorbed with those things which are glorifying to the Lord? Colossians 3:1-2 will help us. How easy it is for us to live only for this world, and what a tragedy it is when this happens! See 1 John 2:15-17.
In Psalm 119:92-93, where the writer is saying in effect, ‘If God hadn’t quickened me when I was in trouble I would have perished. But God did quicken me, and He did it through His Holy Word.’ At such times we should always turn to the Word of God.
In conclusion, notice again that the Holy Spirit is the one who quickens, but we must do two things: (1) “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18); (2) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Colossians 3:16).
