פ PE.
“Wonderful are Your testimonies; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments. Turn to me and show me mercy, as You do to those who love Your name. Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.”
צ TZADE.
“Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments. The testimonies You have laid down are righteous and altogether faithful. My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words. Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it. I am lowly and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true. Trouble and distress have found me, but Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.”
It’s time to talk about wickedness and our attitude towards it. Satan is alive and well and promoting as much wickedness as possible. Are we disturbed in our souls by wickedness, or do we view wickedness as a mere distraction, something we ignore as much as possible unless it affects us? There’s no doubt where the writer of this psalm stands: he is horrified by wickedness and can’t tolerate it.
“I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments. Turn to me and show me mercy, as You do to those who love Your name. Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.”
We don’t know precisely when this psalm was written, but what we do know was that things are steadily deteriorating morally in both Judah and Israel. One prophet mentions that there are as many shrines in Jerusalem as there are roof tops and there are altars at the head of every street. Fertility cult prostitution is the order of the day, and women are sewing charms in veils to try to capture people’s souls. People are even offering their own children as live burnt offerings to Molech. Amid this flood-tide of evil, one man is crying out to God for deliverance and justification. The writer feels as if he’s completely isolated; all his colleagues are going along to get along, and they mock him for not capitulating along with them.
“Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments. The testimonies You have laid down are righteous and altogether faithful. My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words. Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it. I am lowly and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true. Trouble and distress have found me, but Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.”
God’s word is the psalmist’s only hope, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can hold on. So far, the psalmist has survived by persistently reminding himself of God’s greatness and power, God’s holiness and righteousness, and God’s justice. But the psalmist is baffled. Why doesn’t God deal with all these evil people? Why is God tolerating this muck?
APPLICATION: One of the great movies in recent years has been the movie Amazing Grace. This movie tells the story of William Wilberforce, a British Christian, who made his way into the British Parliament and worked tirelessly to shut down the transatlantic slave trade. Ultimately, Wilberforce and those working with him succeeded. On August 1, 1834, Britian passed the Slavery Abolition Act, outlawing the owning, buying, and selling of humans as property throughout its colonies around the world. The fight against slavery cost Wilberforce dearly in terms of his personal fortunes, his family, his friends, and even his health.
At the time, the slave trade was a highly lucrative if cruel business. France later followed, abolishing slavery on April 27, 1848. Denmark began a ban on the transatlantic slave trade in 1792 and strengthened this ban in 1803; however, even as late as 1847, the Danes ruled that slavery should be “phased out” over a twelve-year period, beginning with the new born babies of enslaved women. Presumably, the women would remain as slaves.
Slavery remains alive and well, if it has taken on new disguises. These days, women and children are being cautioned to be careful in public places, even inside stores, lest someone kidnap them and sell them as sex slaves.
I am using slavery as an example. The founder of World Vision once said that he “wanted his heart to break with the things that break God’s heart.” Do our hearts break over evil? The psalmist says, “My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.” Do we weep because people are flouting God’s laws, or do we shrug our shoulders and attempt to ignore them?
The famous British statesman Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Commenting on this phenomenon, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light.”
King was shot down shortly after making that speech, a martyr to the cause of civil rights after years of having his life and the lives of his family members threatened. But King’s achievements still remain as a lasting memorial to his bravery. We don’t know the fate of the writer of Psalm 119, but his work also remains as a memorial to his passion for righteousness and for God and His word. May we be willing to follow the examples of Wilberforce, King, and the writer of Psalm 119!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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