Psalm 119 Gimel
Posted on Saturday, December 08, 2007 at 11:17 AM by David Zavadil
Originally posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 at 11:18 AM by David Zavadil
17 ¶ <GIMEL> Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 ¶ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 ¶ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
21 ¶ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
22 ¶ Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
23 ¶ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 ¶ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
The author of this psalm changes pace on us. In Gimel, we find a change to a prayer. The psalmist request of God and as we will see in Daleth, his confession.
Verse 17 begins with the phrase, Deal bountifully with your servant. When you think of the word bountifully what comes to mind? Abundance, greatness or goodness? In 21st century American Christianity bountiful blessing is always to be desired, but then so is a bountiful plate, family, household, job, etc... We struggle with wanting the most of everything. The psalmist however is not seeking bountiful blessing of material things but the bounty found in God's dealings with His people. He desires the most God has, God himself. His eye is first on God but then also on himself. Note, your servant. God provides the bounty, we are to be the stewards of that same bounty.
The phrase your servant calls to question our mindset or attitudes concerning our relationship with God. How do we view ourselves in light of God and His Word? Do we see ourselves as deserving of God's attention and bounty or as servants, serving a Holy God and being blessed by God's bounty. It causes me to ask as the Westminster Divines, "What is man's chief end?" I then must cry out in prayer, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!" Only as we grasp this concept and apply it to our lives will we be able to fully live and keep God's word.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. The prayer turn to God's illumination of His Holy Writ in our lives. There is a doctrine within the Church called Perspicuity. This doctrine states that the Scripture as written is clear enough for us to understand what is needed about God. Within the text of the Scripture the gospel is clear enough that some deep theological interpretation known only to a few is not needed. The psalmist here prays that God will open his eyes even more.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Consider the thought of God's wondrous works. As you read the Scripture, do you see God's "wondrous things?" Our prayer, like that of the psalmist, should be that our eyes would be open to see God's "wondrous things" throughout the Scriptures. A challenge I gave to the members of Grace Presbyterian Church was to read through the Book of Numbers and list all of the "wondrous things" you find in that book. Try it, you will be surprised how many wonders you find.
19 ¶ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! We are all sojourners, pilgrims in this life on earth. Our citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. Php 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We travel this earth, for God's glory, until we are called once again to come home. As we travel we are not alone, we have the body of Christ, the Church, joining us in this journey. Our brothers and sisters feel our pains, struggle with us as we pray and rejoice with us. Yet, too often we live as though we are alone and can do it ourselves. It makes me wonder, why did the psalmist pray that God would not hide the Word from him? I see him finding in the Word, friend, counselor, teacher and guiding light. Through our journey on earth, the Word of God is the one place we can always turn for a true answer, for guidance, for direction. As sojourners we need to have our eyes opened to see "wondrous things" as God leads us to pursue the call of the heavenly prize.
In verse 20 we continue the theme of a traveler. 20 ¶ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. The picture that comes to mind is one we have seen in all of the old movies and cartoons involving the desert. In those movies there always seemed to be some man, crawling around crying, "Water! Water!" He was consumed with one thing, his longing for water. In our journey hear on earth we are to be consumed with longing also, not for water or material things, but for the Word of God. We should be consumed with a desire to know what God desires of us, to know what He wants to teach us, to know how we are to live. Is your life consumed with longing for God and his Word? What are those things that consume you? I am a fan of the music of Rich Mullins. In his song, "My One Thing," he sings,
Save me from those things that might distract me
Please take them away and purify my heart
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing
'Cause what will I have when the world is gone?
The life we call Christian is not a problem because God is too difficult to understand, no our problems stem from our distractions. We are not consumed with a longing for God and His Word, we are consumed by the distractions, the TV, the radio, our cars, our jobs even, at times, our families. The psalmist calls us to radical living, open our eyes, seek the cross, and be consumed with the things of God.
21 ¶ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. Sin will be with us throughout this journey on earth. It is the common trait among all human beings. God does and will deal with each of us as we struggle. The sins of sinners, the pagans, the heathen, we can understand. The sin and wanderings of the saints are often more difficult to understand. The psalmist reminds us that God will take care of the sinful. He will bring the rebuke. This statement is in contrast to our eyes being opened and our longing for God consuming us. If we continue in faithfulness upon the path of righteousness, we will not be rebuked. If we stray, even the slightest, we will find God's rebuke. Not our of anger but love. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
22 ¶ Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. Our prayers of repentance and forgiveness will bring cleansing. Here the psalmist prays for a removal of the reproach or scorn and a removal of the contempt or anger. How often have you found yourself struggling with some secret sin and live a bitter angry existence Friends, pray that God will open His Word to you and that you will find freedom from the angry bitter existence Search out the Scripture and see God's blessings and desire to make you pure. Pray for His purify power to be active in your life.
23 ¶ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. This verse seems odd in light of the earlier discussion. Yet it serves to address our attitude as we take our journey. We are to plant our minds and hearts upon the Word of God. Rather than dwelling on what other people are doing or thinking about you, focus yourself on God and His teachings.
24 ¶ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. He closes this passage with a reminder of what brings him the most gratification, the Scripture. Where do you go when facing trials? What or who is your source of counsel when problems arise? Take joy, delight in God's Writ for in it you will find guidance and direction for the weary traveler. Come to Jesus, and find your rest. Delight in his teachings and statutes as they carry you through the day. Meditate on His wondrous works and consider all of his promises to a sin filled world. God's Word is truly amazing.
Edited on: Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:22 AMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
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