17 Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h]with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, [i]the cursed,
Who wander from Your commandments.
22 Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight;
They are [j]my counselors.
It’s kind of funny how we ask God for the things that He is already doing (or has done). That doesn’t mean everything we ask is automatic, but we’ll come back to that. Here the psalmist asks God to deal bountifully with him, and God has already dealt bountifully with all of us, whether we acknowledge it or not. We’re not dead, after all, even though we may deserve it–“the wages of sin is death”.
Instead, the “gift of God is eternal life”, which is indeed a “wonderful thing” as the psalmist describes in v. 18. Yet this next statement speaks of a greater truth. The psalmist says “I am a stranger in the earth…” and well He might. Paul would call us sojourners, and if you’ve read the Creation account, you know we are different than any other creation on this earth.
He has indeed dealt bountifully with us, making us “a little lower than the angels” and giving us dominion over the animals of the earth, and even the earth itself. We are stewards on a vast scale, managing what does not belong to us, in a place that is not our eternal home. Yet that comes with a unique challenge, it makes this life a little more difficult. We cannot just react to life and go with the flow. God has given us more “power” and thus more responsibility.
We make decisions, not reactions, or at least we ought to, and that’s a tall order. Once again, I’m reminded of one of my favorite CS Lewis quotes, as it is a word from God–not actually in the Bible, but I can well imagine God saying it nonetheless, even though it is from a fictional work. “Be comforted, it is no doing of yours…”
So if it is not of our doing, we need to rely on the One who did accomplish it all. We need our eyes opened, so we can find the wonders of His law. If we wander, we will be cursed, but if we “observe His testimonies” we will find delight, and they will be our counselors. This journey of life is not easy, but it is part of God’s plan. Thus, let us “read the manual” if you will, and seek instruction from our Creator who set us on this sojourn.