Psalm 119:169-176
David finishes this Psalm and he is still having hope.
Psa. 119:169 Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
Give me understanding according to Your word.
Psa. 119:170 Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
As we finish this Psalm of David, he shows us one more time that he is still working this thing out. He has not attained to everything he reads in God’s Law. Usually, a cry comes when we are desperate for something. We need help, and we know that we are at the end of our rope. A pastor friend said: “If you are desperate for God, then you lack the right relationship. I am never desperate for my wife.” We used to sing that song: “I am desperate for you.” It has little to do with our relationship and everything to do with our lack of being able to help ourselves. O that the Church will begin to cry out to God again. In Israel’s history, there are a few times when they cried out to God. They were in a place of desperation for God to save them.
In our country, we are in that same place. We need God to step into our space and save us. When pastors start to meet to discuss whether the resurrection was even real, we need God. When the Church looks like the world, we need God. When the Church is powerless and more concerned about men’s feelings than the heart of God, we need God. So why do we always wait until things go wrong before we cry out to God? Where are the watchmen on the wall, those that will remain and pray for the nation until God turns this thing around?
Psa. 119:171 My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
Psa. 119:172 My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
Praise comes when we realize who God is. Did you know that God does not have to do anything to deserve honor and worship? We have new mercies every morning before we start our day.
Lam. 3:22-23 Through the LORD’S mercies, we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
There is enough in these two verses to worship God without Him doing anything for us ever again. Our worship must be directed towards Him because He never changes – Heb 13:8. When worship only focuses on what God has done, we have directed our worship towards the gift and not the giver. Is God enough to be worshipped?
Psa. 119:173 Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
Psa. 119:174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
And Your law is my delight.
The hand of God is very symbolic in scripture. It speaks of God’s ability to provide and protect. The hand and the heart are always closely connected. When the hand gives or protects, it is because it is in the heart to provide and protect. When you see how God has provided for you, you will learn to know His heart for you.
Isaiah 41:10, 13-14 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Psa. 119:175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
Psa. 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.
David ends this Psalm with one more request. Let my soul live, and let your judgments help me. After all, he is still prone to wander off like a lost sheep, but he knows God will look for him. Jesus assures us that God will come looking for us when he tells the parable of the lost sheep – Luke 15.
There is no other answer to our problem. God’s law is what we need to keep us safe and successful. Joshua affirms this for us when he says:
Josh. 1:7-8 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then, you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
