My soul languishes for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail with longing for Your word,
While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
The arrogant have dug pits for me,
People who are not in accord with Your Law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!
They almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I did not abandon Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your faithfulness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Psalm 119:81-88 (NASB)
Psalm 119 – Kaph is the eleventh letter of the Hebrew Alphabet and means king. Almost every section of Psalm 119 contains a reference to being persecuted. However, this kaph section contains more than its fair share. I think this is no accident as those, who are leaders, often experience more persecution than the common Joe Schmo.
The design of the kaph is that of a bent pipe. According to Raskin (2003), this symbolizes a person who is bent in submission. For Believers, this means that we need to bow in submission to God. Given that the kaph also means king, we can apply this to desiring a king or leader who is in submission to God. This brings to mind King Jehoshaphat from last week’s post Psalm 119 – Yodh. When he submitted to God’s will, his nation was saved from war and the people were blessed because of following their king who submitted to God.
What we can learn from the Kaph section is that even in the middle of persecution, we have hope, because our hope comes from God. “The believer may be afflicted but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:8, 9). Here he languishes for God’s saving help but hope is still alive (MacDonald, 2016).” Isn’t this what we want from our leaders? Leaders who are committed to following God’s precepts.
First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. I Timothy 2:1 & 2
“This verse [vs.2] takes on special color when we remember that it was written in the days of Nero. The terrible persecutions which were inflicted on the Christians by this wicked ruler did not affect the fact that Christians should pray for their governmental heads (MacDonald, 2016).” In fact, Paul tells us to not only pray for our leaders, but also intercede for them and give thanks as well. Sometimes this seems like too tall an order to do, but we need to remember it is ultimately God who is in control.
Just as Paul has written to Timothy concerning authority, he also writes to the churches in Rome in Romans 13:1-7:
Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.
This is not a very popular passage in America, especially if you did not vote for the person who is in authority. However, we are to respect those in authority because they are placed there by God. And it is our job to pray for the leaders in our lives. This includes our bosses, preachers, elders, and government leaders. What will happen when we pray for them and ask for God’s guidance in their leadership? …So that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (I Timothy 2:2). God knows that the leaders in our lives can cause us despair, or give us a peaceful life. It is our job to implore God to guide them.
Go back and reread this kaph section of Psalm 119 as spoken by a leader. If a leader depends on God for all things, I think you can hear the despair and yet hope that God will help him/her in his/her position. And if you are a leader, I’m sure there have been times when you have felt the same as the Psalmist.
There are two important lessons from the kaph section for all of us, whether we are leaders or not: submit to God and put our hope in God. If we do both, we will live godly lives and we don’t have to be anxious concerning who is in power over us, because the one in power over the leader is God, Himself.
Resources:
MacDonald, W. 2016. Believers Bible Commentary (2nd Ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Raskin, A. 2003: Letters of Light. (audio book). Sichos Publishers.
Photo Credit: By Beckstet – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15563212
Sofit caph and caph letter.png. (2020, October 5). Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Retrieved 16:50, July 14, 2021 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sofit_caph_and_caph_letter.png&oldid=481727269.
