July 5 -- Psalm 119, Day 3

Read Psalm 119:17-24
Context: continuation...day 3
Text:
g Gimel
17 Do good to your servant, and I will live;
I will obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed
and who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

In every letter segment of this psalm, the writer has used at least six different terms to describe God's word, and each segment has eight separate verses. As I read through these verses, I wonder who the author was and how long it took him to come up with this poem.

Verse 23 gives us a little glimpse into his life. He apparently took a lot of flack from the rulers of his time. We don't know if these are Israelite rulers or Persian rulers if it is during the exile, but apparently he was pretty outspoken in his faith to receive persecution from such a high level. My Study Bible suggests that maybe he held some official position, such as that of priest.

Verse 22 gives more information -- apparently he was scornful of some group of people, either the rulers mentioned in verse 23 or maybe others who persecuted him for his faith. He may also have been contemptuous of those who didn't follow God's word. This is actually the first request he's made of God in the psalm.

The more we learn about God's word and his guidelines for life, the easier it is to be judgmental or to have contempt on those who blatantly stray from the truth. Then it's just one small step until we become like the pharisees -- expecting others to be a 'good' as we are and judging them when they aren't. I pray today that God will take away scorn and contempt from our lives, that he will open our eyes to the wonderful things he has in store for us, and that His word would be our counselor.