Scripture Focus: Psalm 119.136
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.
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Reflection: Why Do We Weep?
By Doug Hibbard
In the midst of the Bible’s longest psalm we find weeping.
Overwhelming sadness pervades today’s passage, with three vivid expressions of anguish over the unbearable reality of sin and oppression (v. 123, 131, 136). Darkness weighs on the psalmist like a heavy yoke. On one side of the yoke, the weight of human oppression pulls on the psalmist as the people reject God’s Word and God’s ways.
On the other side of the yoke, the weight of God’s lack of action heightens the darkness. The psalmist longs to better understand the words of the Lord, weeping over the lack of understanding that leads to sin.
This ancient story feels familiar, with our struggle mirroring the psalmist’s. We strive to live out God’s law to the best of our ability. But we see those who ignore God’s ways growing stronger while we grow weaker. Does the world feel this way to you? Does God seem silent or inactive in the face of oppression and injustice? This darkness can weigh us down in the core of our being, whether it is injustice on a large scale such as genocide or systemic racism, or the individual injustices of personal abuse, neglect, and harm.
This is why we weep with the psalmist. Weep for the pain inflicted on others. Weep for the pain we feel. Weep for our own shortcomings, knowing that our imperfect obedience to God brings suffering to ourselves and others. Weep because God’s deliverance is delayed.
We pant and weep with longing for God’s justice, but it is worth remembering that God’s delays bring space for His grace. And this grace includes us. We need God to first act in our lives, to bring us the understanding we need to live (v. 144), and then to right the wrongs around us.
Our closing verse shares the comfort the psalmist learned, that an understanding of God’s grace lifts the weight of our darkness. It is this grace that brings life, that ties together all of God’s words and righteousness. It is this grace that we live by, day by day, and share with others. It is this grace that comforts us even when we weep.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Blessed be the Lord day by day, the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens. — Psalm 68.19
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Today’s Readings
Isaiah 54 (Listen 3:14)
Psalms 119.121-144 (Listen 15:24)
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Read more about Praying Through Weeping—Guided Prayer
If prayer is relationship then when God weeps, we should join. What friend would weep, whom we would not join in weeping?
