Psalm 119:121-136
English
Standard Version (ESV)
Ayin
121
I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my
oppressors.
122
Give your servant a pledge of good;
let not the insolent
oppress me.
123
My eyes long for your salvation
and for the fulfillment
of your righteous promise.
124
Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your
statutes.
125
I am your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know your
testimonies!
126
It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been
broken.
127
Therefore I love your commandments
above gold, above fine
gold.
128
Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
I hate every false way.
Pe
129
Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps
them.
130
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding
to the simple.
131
I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your
commandments.
132
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with
those who love your name.
133
Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get
dominion over me.
134
Redeem me from man's oppression,
that I may keep your
precepts.
135
Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your
statutes.
136
My eyes
shed streams of tears,
because people do not keep your law.
What
are God’s laws? Many of us have
memorized the ten commandments, some people hold to the Jewish or other
religous man-made laws, but Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 22:37 – 38 37 And he said to him, “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. 38 This is the great and
first commandment. 39 And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22%3A37-39&version=ESV)
We
can measure all that we do and say by these two commandments. Most of us would probably say that the first
one we have down but the second one we need to work on more. But is that really true. How many of us love the Lord so much that we
would do anything for Him or are we like Peter who really wanted to do
everything for Him but when push came to shove he froze? I would imagine most of us could admit to
this. We find that we don’t have time to
read our Bible because we have other obligations pulling us away but God will
understand, right? After all He gave us
this life to live and we are just living.
I
do not like to see people put some people on a pedestal while others are rated
as second or third class people. This is
the second commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself”. Who is our neighbor? Is it the person that just lives in the same
part of town as us? Do I have to love
those snooty people in the rich district?
Do I have to love those people on the street? Do I have to love those people who are middle
class, who have little influence on my life?
As a teacher it was easy to love that child who always did as I
instructed but God commanded me to love all of my students. When I truly showed them genuine care and
concern, they responded with respect.
When we view people as God’s creation rather than an inconvenience then we
are loving our neighbor as ourselves.
I
am now placed in a new setting and a new group of individuals that God is
asking me to love as myself. I pray for
compassion and a deep love from the Father for them, so that they may know my
Lord and Savior through my actions. I do
want justice for those who I could have called “my students” who need tender
loving care. I ache daily for those
children. May my life shine with the
Glory of the Father in Heaven in whatever situation I may find myself.
I,
like David, want the Lord to grant to me steady feet that go forward for
Him. I too have tears for those who do
not follow these commands but more so, I have tears for those with whom these
people come in contact with. May God bring people into their lives that show
them His glory.
Seek
Him and know that He wants you to love Him more and more each day and that He
wants you to love your neighbor as yourself.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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