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⁸¹ My soul longs for your salvation;
    I hope in your word.
⁸² My eyes long for your promise;
    I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
    yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
⁸⁴ How long must your servant endure?^{g]" style="font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;">[g]}
    When will you judge those who persecute me?
⁸⁵ The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
    they do not live according to your law.
⁸⁶ All your commandments are sure;
    they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
⁸⁷ They have almost made an end of me on earth,
    but I have not forsaken your precepts.
⁸⁸ In your steadfast love give me life,
    that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

Vs 81-88

Back in verses 49-56 we saw how God’s word brings us comfort in difficult times. We are used to thinking like that about Scripture. 

In this section we see how God’s word increases our discomfort. God’s promises don’t always make us feel warm inside. They grow a longing and an unsatisfied desire inside us. This isn’t a pleasant sensation but we shouldn’t run from it.

A sense of longing pours out of the Psalmist in these verses. His soul - who he is completely - longs for the Lord to completely save him (vs 81). His eyes long for God to keep his promise (vs 82). He is always looking out for evidence of fulfilment. It is important to see that reading God’s word has made these experiences worse. In the word we hear our faithful Lord making promises. Yet we don’t fully see the answers yet. So like the Psalmist we long for the time when they will be fulfilled.

As he waits he is struggling. He describes himself like an old bottle (“a wineskin in the smoke”). He is still living with those who persecute him (vs 84-87). This gap between promise and fulfilment is great for them - it seems to prove that they are right and the Psalmist is wrong.

But he does not move away from God’s word. He cries out for justice (vs 84), and that he will have life to keep hanging on to what the Lord has said (vs 88). 

This experience is a common one for the Christian. It explains why so many Christians and churches begin to waver on what God’s word says. It’s hard to stick closely to the Bible when it seems so out of step with our world. It is hard to hold on to God’s promises when we are waiting for fulfilment. It’s far easier to not take the word that seriously. If we do that we will ease our personal discomfort, and we will lessen the opposition that comes against those who hold on to the word. 

It is always a disaster to do that though. It may pay off in the short term - but moving away from God’s word is moving out of the way of blessing. It is moving away from the Lord himself. And it is ultimately moving from truth. The Lord may appear slow in keeping his promises to us - but that is not the reality. He is faithful and true.