Jump Start # 632

Psalms 56:8 “Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?”

The subtitle of this Psalm tells us that it was written by David when the Philistines seized him in Gath. David was being pursued by King Saul. He was running for his life. He thought he could cross the border into enemy territory and the chase would end. His thinking was that he could at least find some peace there. The problem is that Gath was the city of Goliath, the giant that David had killed. Others of Goliath’s family had been killed as well. The Philistines did not welcome David and he had to once again flee. He was being hunted. He was on the run.

The beginning of this chapter magnifies the intensity of what David was experiencing.

• Man has trampled upon me (1)
• Fighting all day long he oppresses me (1)
• For they are many who fight proudly against me (2)
• They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps (6)

David talks of fear. Our verse describes tears, “Put my tears in Thy bottle.”

My dad has been having some eye trouble recently. He went to the eye doctor and was told that there are three different kinds of tears. I didn’t know that. I haven’t given much thought about tears. I’ve seen women tear up at weddings. They are happy. I’ve seen tears at funerals. That’s hard to witness. I tend to think that women tear up more than men do, or at least they aren’t ashamed to admit it. The movie “Brian’s Song,” always got me. There is a scene where Gayle Sayers is in the Chicago Bears locker room and he tells his teammates about their fellow player, Brian Piccolo, who is dying of cancer. Sayers states, “I just love Brian Piccolo.” I’m bawling at that point!

David was aware that God knew of his troubles. God had witnesses his tears. Instead of saying dumb things such as “Man-up” or “big boys don’t cry,” God stored David’s tears in a bottle. He kept those tears. We keep things that are important to us. We keep ticket stubs when we were dating. We keep photos and souvenirs of trips we’ve taken. We keep the stick figured drawings that our children made when they were small. Henry Ford tried to capture the final breath of his idol, Thomas Edison. It sits in a glass test tube in a museum in Dearborn, MI. God was keeping David’s tears. They were important to God.

Remember, the Psalms are poetic. God doesn’t have real bottles in Heaven and how would David’s tears get from his cheeks to Heaven? This is a figure of speech to show the intimacy, closeness and compassion of God. Every tear is important to Him. The things that bother His children, bother Him. God understood. God cared.

Have you ever thought about how many times you have cried in your life? Seems to me that that older we get the less we laugh and the less we cry. Kids seem to be crying or laughing all the time. Maybe we could learn something from them. For many of us, our crying is limited to movies and funerals. Could it be that we ought to cry more? Could it be that things ought to bother us but they don’t? Have we just gotten use to wrong and it no longer causes us to shed any tears? Do prodigals no longer cause us to cry?

David wasn’t watching a movie, nor was he at a funeral. His life was upside down and the fear and stress caused him to cry. God noticed. God kept those tears in His bottle. David would get through those dark days. He did so with God’s help. When it seemed like the whole world had turned on him, God was still there. God was on his side. He was the anointed and God was not about to let him die. I’m not sure if David grasped all of that.

So, we must wonder, does God keep our tears in His bottle? Do we each have our own bottle? Again, don’t make these thoughts too literal, but in a sense He does. He knows. If He knows when a sparrow falls, He knows the tears upon your pillow. He is aware of what is hurting you. He longs for you to turn to Him. To find comfort in His word. To dedicate yourself to him. God allows the tears. Sometimes it’s the tears that bring us closer to Him. We like laughter, but tears are important.

There is a hymn that asks, “Does Jesus care…” The chorus answers that question. It says, “O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touch with my grief. When the days are weary, the long night dreary, I know my Savior cares.”

This is not the only time David cried. Multiple places in Psalms mentions the tears of a heart that is scared and afflicted. You are not alone with your tears. Health issues, the coming of death, prodigals in your family, a marriage that is anything but bliss, a church that is at war with itself are all genuine causes of tears. God knows. He’s got them all in His bottle. I tend to think that some have more tears in their bottles than others. Life can be like that.

Keep holding to God’s hand. He loves you and will not forsake you. He knows what you are going through. He has your tears in His bottle!

Roger