Strengthen Thou Me

My soul melteth from heaviness; strengthen Thou me according to Thy word.  -- Psalm 119:28 (21st Century King James version)

 I think what many appreciate about the King James translation of the Bible is the more poetic language it uses.  This verse, for example, is like few of the other translations and it stands out -- have you had your soul feel melted from heaviness?  I have.  The poetic use of words accurately describes the feeling I've had and I knew it instantly when I saw the words, yet would not have had the words for it myself.  As Matthew Henry says, it can be a heaviness brought on from the guilt of sin or it can be from the weight of the afflictions we face.  In either case, the soul tires into a puddle; brain fatigue sets in, emotions are raw and exhausted, and even the physical demeanor droops from the heaviness of enduring another day, another hour.

Out of the Psalmist's melted, heavy soul comes a prayer: strengthen Thou me.  Then he injects  the promise like an old man clutches a cane to steady himself -- "according to your word."  God's Word is ever-present - more firmly than a cane or crutch.  From "In the beginning God" to "I will be your God" to "It is finished" to "I will be with you to the close of the age," God's words of promise to us supply the strength even when heaviness melts us to our quick.  So, take the Word and wrap it as a cloak around your tired, hurting, afflicted, weary soul and feel the resurrection rising up the tide of restoration in your being for another go at it.  Dear God, strengthen Thou me.  Amen.