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“I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors. Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me. My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes. I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies! It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken. Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:121-128
David is struggling here, whether it is from some unknown outside source or whether it is from within …his own sinful heart. But, he is struggling none the less. And we all say…it seems that he is usually struggling. So I must ask, Why does that surprise us? The life of the believer is always filled with struggle. Jesus told us that in this life we will have tribulation…Paul tells us that the church will be persecuted…and John tells us in Revelation, by virtue of one his letter to one of the 7 churches, that suffering is a character trait of the Christian. So, (this me thinking as I stroke my beard…which is a good reason to have a beard)…so, that is why we see so much of David’s struggles. David is just like us in so many ways…so God has us see him struggle and what he does and where he goes when he struggles.
You gotta’ love his first statement, “I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.” This is not an arrogant statement but a statement of fact based on who he is in Christ according to God’s own standard. God had revealed Himself to David in a special way and he knows who he is in Christ…he is assured of and secure in his position as a son of God…as God’s servant, “Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me.” He knows what to ask because God has pledged good and He has guaranteed that good which is what “pledge” means in the Hebrew. God is always good for His promises.
All of us can relate to this next statement, “My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.” BUT how many of us actually pray this statement?The Hebrewword translated “long” as in “My eyes long…” is the word “fail” which communicates the fact that he is so tired …so stressed…so overwhelmed that it is hard for him to hold onto the truth, even the truth he just professed. Do you ever “feel” that way? Do you ever struggle like that? Of course, you do. We are supposed to, so that we will grow in grace and become more and more dependent upon God and His work in our lives.
Next he says, “Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.” He wants to remember these, for he knows God’s steadfast love and God’s Word are the only things that will keep him going in times such as these. See what he does and where he goes when he struggles.
A third time David calls himself God’s servant. “I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!” Are we so confident with God our Father? If not, that may be the problem and why we are so easily swayed and troubled. But, wait, David IS confident and at the same time he IS struggling, which tells us that this life is a struggle and we are constantly in need of God’s encouragement through His Word. For it is knowing, recounting and living by the Words of Promise that we endure through the conflicts and hardships of life. Principle to rely on: We endure in dependence on God and His Word with His Spirit working through us for it is what God has called us to.
David calls out to the LORD…the only One who can and will act on his behalf, “It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken.” He is not trying to tell God His job, nor is he criticizing God’s inaction…he is calling on God to fulfill His promise to act. It is time to, “Arise and Judge”, as David looks forward to the day when God will do just that. He recognizes God is the only place to go and that God is the only One who can do anything about the stresses and struggles of life. But…
He also recognizes that we are responsible to act as well concerning many of the things that bring about the stress on our lives and the lives of those in our world. As we see here, we must choose to pray to our God and Father. Then we must choose to love God’s commandments, “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.” He knows that those who choose to love God’s commandments must also “…hate every false way.” Then we must also choose to arise and stand with God against the continuing growth of profanity, immorality and idolatry…every opposition to God’s commandments…we must hate the things that God hates. This brings clarity to life as we love His commandments and hate false ways that He clearly spells out in His Word. With clarity comes peace, driving away confusion which breeds fear!
So, David shows us the way. Or rather, God shows us the way through David, another believer who is journeying through this fallen world knowing that he must depend upon God because he doesn’t have what it takes to persevere without God and His Word.
God Bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
