Psalms 119:25 ¶DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
The psalmist acknowledges that his soul cleaves to the dust. Let us begin by defining cleave.
Cleave - To stick fast or adhere, as by a glutinous surface. In wider sense: To cling or hold fast to; to attach oneself (by grasping, etc.) to.
The psalmist’s soul is stuck to the dust; it is clinging to it. In order to understand what the psalmist is saying, we must understand what he means by the dust. First of all, our fleshly bodies are material in nature, made of the dust of this earth.
Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
On the other hand, our soul is immaterial in nature and dwells within our fleshly body until it departs at the death of the body.
Job 14:22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Genesis 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin
The soul is the seat of our consciousness and the place where our personality resides. A body without a soul has no personality. It is merely a hunk of clay. Now with this information in front of us we can get some idea of what the psalmist was confessing when he wrote: “my soul cleaveth unto the dust.”
Christians are given this commandment in 1 Peter 2:11:
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul….
Our battle is to not let our personality be controlled by the lusts of our fleshly body. The desires of the body should be controlled by the soul rather than the soul being controlled by the desires of the body. But, alas, our soul cleaves to the dust. Our fleshly desires exert a powerful influence on us and without the help of almighty God they will overpower us. Trying to rise above the pull of the flesh is like trying to get unstuck from powerful glue. This was Paul’s lament:
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Furthermore, Scripture describes a state of affliction and oppression as a lowly experience with the dust.
Psalms 44:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
To be in the dust is to be in a low condition. It is to be down, as we say.
Isaiah 26:5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
Have you ever been so low that you felt like you were groveling in the dirt? Our afflictions sometimes drag our souls down so that our faith falters, our love grows weak, and our hope is dim. In such cases our soul cleaveth unto the dust.
In short, a soul cleaving to the dust is a soul bowed down with sin and sorrow. Sound familiar? Now over against this cleaving to the dust, the psalmist prays to God: quicken thou me according to thy word. Let’s define what it means to be quickened.
Quicken – To give or restore life to; to make alive; to vivify or revive; to animate. To give, add, or restore vigour to (a person or thing); to stimulate, stir up, rouse, excite, inspire.
When our soul is cleaving to the dust, we need a revival. We need to be given vigour, renewed strength to rise above the power of the dust which holds us down. The good news is that God has promised in His word to give precisely this to those who humbly seek His help.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Psalms 113:7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
Therefore, when God quickens you it is according to His word of promise. When the psalmist was down, he sought the relief that is found in keeping with the Scriptures and so should we. You may be down low, cleaving to the dust, but if you seek the Lord's help and await His promised relief, it will come in due time. He will revive you. Did this meditation help anybody?
2 comments:
Yes! This and all the posts have been very helpful indeed. It is comforting to know that God will renew our inner man and help us in the battle against the flesh if we but rely on His promises and wait upon Him. Thank you, Judy H.
Yes! Me and my elderly mother are receiving The Lord's help, blessing and encouragement through your exposition of this great Psalm. We are also learning to sing the Psalms in our family worship, morning and evening, with the aid of Project Psalms online without musical accompaniment for anyone interested! Christian greetings from Wales,UK! Huw and Mam!
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