17 Charitably deal with Your servant, that I may live and observe Your word.
18 Clear-sighted make my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.† 19 Cast off; I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me! 20 Consumed is my soul with longing all the time for Your ordinances. 21 Cursed, insolent ones You rebuke; who wander from Your commandments. 22 Contempt and scorn take away from me, for Your testimonies I have kept. 23 Crowned princes even, conspiring against me, still Your servant will meditate on Your statutes. 24 Cherished indeed are Your testimonies to me; they are my counselors. ג (GIMMEL) – Part 1 Verses 17-20 “Keeping it Real” For the new Christian when it gets difficult, everything should be blessing and delight. The heart is reconciled. Sins forgiven. All is founded and built on the Mighty Acts of God in Jesus. Why must the psalmist cry out? How can it be that God should seem distant? But that is where he finds himself, so much that he calls to God to deal charitably or he will not even survive. And there is an added desire woven in with the basic cry – “and observe Your word.” Life is not simply to continue breathing and having a heartbeat. It is to be connected to God through His word. Going one step deeper, it is an interesting phrase “observe Your word.” It goes beyond hearing the word of God; works out from believing God’s word; develops even beyond meditating on God’s word. It means to look, watch, trust, and see with eyes of faith as God’s word works into and changes every part of life, as every bit of history is taken captive by the kingdom and plan of God. To see that by faith calls for more faith and a different vision than any of us can bring. “Charitably deal with Your servant.” We might think of Peter in Matthew 16 suddenly seeing, “You are the Christ,” and Jesus saying, “Blessed are you Simon . . . flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Even more to the point, think of Jesus in the garden praying, “Father, if it is possible [and the answer is, “No”] let this cup pass [again, “no”], yet not my will, but Yours.” “Let Me live and see Your word acting, conquering, victorious.” But there is only one way for that to happen and it is the cross. Isaiah 53 says, “Because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors.” (v. 12) Because of that He will live and observe “Your word.” Again, “out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied.” (v. 11) In this way Jesus has joined us in our separation, our sojourning – to find us, to meet us and to bring us back by showing us that He knows our cry and makes it His own. Verse 18 repeats the prayer slightly changed to open it up even more. “Clear-sighted make my eyes.” If God does not do this, if the Holy Spirit does not guide and open these things to us there is no way we can see any of the acts of God or any of His Word, or grasp any of the revelation (Torah) of God. (Verses 19-20) This is the only answer we have in our wandering. For all those times we feel cast off (and they are many), or a sojourner (wandering without plan or home), when the word of God seems closed and we call out for a word, a commandment, a revelation – for anything! When we are overtaken with longing and it gets to the point where it seems to be “all the time,” there is the Sojourner of God, the Lamb forsaken, the Servant (“Behold My Servant!” (1)) struck down. And He is there to bring the charitable dealing – the GRACE (2) of God with the wonderful “It is finished,” and we are connected again! Prayer: Lord Jesus, You came to me in my wandering, bearing my burdens and meeting me in the place of separation. When God seems distant, when heaven seems closed, remind me of Your sojourning, of Your walk of faith, of Your prayer in the garden, and how You know all that is in my soul. Help me when I am in the middle of things I do not understand – help me then to lean on You and know that no matter what anything seems or feels like; You are my Lamb forsaken and my companion in my journey every day and every hour. Amen. Notes: 1 For further reading: The Servant Songs of Isaiah show us Jesus as the suffering Savior. Piece by piece His ministry is revealed through: Isaiah 42:1-9 – the Servant will bring salvation to the world. Isaiah 42:18-21 – the Servant must walk by faith, not by sight, and so exalt the words and promises of God. Isaiah 44:1-5 – the Servant brings together all the Old Testament purposes of God and sends His people out as witnesses to the world. Isaiah 49:1-13 – the Servant, sent first to the people of Israel, has His mission expanded to the whole world. Isaiah 50:4-9 – the Servant draws His strength from the word of God in order to comfort and encourage, and in order to face the suffering that is involved in bringing us salvation. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – the Servant goes to suffering for our forgiveness. Isaiah 61:1-3 – this is the preaching of the Servant, as preached in the Synagogue at Nazareth, and it describes the results of His ministry. 2 GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
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Rev. Mark WilligPastor Willig is pastor emeritus of Friends in Christ Lutheran Church. Archives
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