Good Laws
Psalm 119:33-40
Verses 38-39 Fulfill Your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.
Having been reminded yesterday that we are to be aware of what we look and think about, the psalmist once again turns his prayer to pleading with God.
The psalmist asks the Lord to keep His promise and that likely was a request to make sure that God remembered to bless those who obey Him. But notice that it isn’t for himself that he is asking God to remember His promise. The psalmist’s reason for this request is because he wants God to be feared. When this verse is looked at in direct translation, it is asking God to establish His word in His servant, to those who are devoted to revere Him. In other words this is a request that God would help plant His Word deep in the hearts of those who are devoted to Him.
The psalmist’s pleading is that the Lord help him plant the truth of the law deep in his heart so that there can be evidence of his connection to the Lord and through living the law can show reverence to God. This man of song understood that God would benefit from his living out the law. It wasn’t the law that caused people to seek God but the result of a person living it out.
The psalmist also knew that it was when he wasn’t living according to the law that he was showing that he didn’t value the law but more importantly it showed that he didn’t value the Law-Giver. This meant that to disobey the law was to bring disgrace to the name of God and this should be something that all who claim to be Christian should avoid.
He closes the second verse with a reminder that he knows that the law is good. While it isn’t always comfortable, it is always good. The law is good because it helps shape us to be more and more like Christ. It is also good as it shows the truth of God’s work in His people. While those that aren’t part of God’s chosen people can still live moral lives they won’t exhibit the joy of law-abiding that we can as we Christians longing to live as His children.
Making It Personal
How has God used His law to refine your life? How has the law brought you to revering Him? Does your life reflect your reverence for God?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to revere Jesus? How can the commandments help you show Jesus you respect Him? How does it make you feel to know that obeying Jesus shows others that you respect Him?
Closing Prayer
Father, our lives should be revealing Your love through the law but when we don’t obey we are showing contempt. Father, give us a heart that longs to obey You and bring You glory from all. In Jesus’ name, amen.