I Would Have Perished in My Affliction: Psalm 119:89-96
I Would Have Perished in My Affliction Psalm 119:89-96 Our affliction, if it had not been for divine grace, would have crushed us out of existence, so that we should have perished. Charles Spurgeon Have you ever been in a situation where you felt desperate? Did suffering ever lead to feelings of despair? In this section of Psalm 119, the psalmist's trouble had him to the point of despairing of life. He says, “I would have perished in my affliction” (Psalm 119:92). However, his life was sustained. The psalmist says he would have perished. Which means, though death seemed the natural outcome, he had not perished. The conditional clause that precedes this statement tells us why he didn’t die in his affliction; why he continued to press on despite his dire situation. It was not dependent on his deliverance from his affliction, because just a few verses later he cries to God, “Save me!” because the wicked are still pursuing him. So what kept him from perishing in his affliction? “If y...