Psalm 119:22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.

David asks for grace to be saved from ridicule and contempt. He obviously doesn't like to be looked down upon. He wants, as we all do, to be respected for who he is and for what he believes in. He knows of bitter experience, that it is not always so.

We can face scorn and contempt for at least two reasons. Atheists or people who hate God will despise those who believe in God. When we are God's friends, the world quickly becomes our enemy. When we love God and His words, we must expect to be mocked and ridiculed in various ways. We can carry this mockery with a raised head, for it is really directed at God. Then it is an honour for us to suffer for his name.

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Psalm 119:21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. 

Earlier in this Psalm we have seen that the psalmist has an humble and teaCHable attitude. He longs for God and wants to gain insight into his commandments that he can live according to God's will. He is filled with joyful confidence in the Word of God. He bows to the judgments of the Lord and will obey his precepts. He is meditating on the blessings of obeying the law of the Lord.

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Psalm 119,20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.

That's a strong word David uses when he says, "I am consumed day and night!" "My soul is broken!" (NB). He is eaten up on the inside. He is crushed. He loses his powers. He feels like hs is perishing. It is not external adversity or difficulties in life that stifle his strength and powers, it is his own length.

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Psalm 119.19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! 

David starts this verse by putting words on who he is. He is a guest on earth. He is a pilgrim. He is a sojourner. He doesn't have his home here. He belongs to another city and is on his way home. So are we. It is the same position we are in, whatever status we have, or how well we succeed in life, we will always feel like alien on earth. We do not have our lasting home in this world, for our eternal and permanent abode lies in the coming age. When the earth is recreated and everything in heaven and on earth have been brought together into one under the dominion of Jesus Christ, then we will no longer be alienated.

It is the secular culture and prevailing philosophies that make Christians feel alienated in the world. What is politically correct in our time is often on a collision course with what is right, true and good for us who hold on to the Bible as God's Word.

It is this feeling of not belonging, feeling of being a stranger, feeling of being an outsider on earth that makes us cry out to God: "Do not hide your commandments from us!" We are being squeezed on all corners, but have our footing in the revelation of the word of God. We need to live in revelation. We need new light in the Word every single day. We need the safe feeling of being led by God's commandments. We need a constant reminder of the promises associated with living in accordance with the law of the Lord. We must find comfort and joy in the Word of God.

As an alien on earth, we need open communication with our right home. As pilgrims and friends of God, we need to hear the living words that come out of the mouth of God. The Bible is God's letter of love to us. We pray that we always may hear the glorious voice of our dear bridegroom through what we read in the Bible.

“My life on earth is so brief, so tutor me in the ways of your wisdom.” (TPT)

Psalm 119.18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

This prayer is perhaps the secret of David’s appreciation of the word of God. He prays that God must open the eyes of his heart to a spiritual understanding and insight. God's law is full of wonderful things, but it is not always easy for the human eye to grasp it. Therefore, we need to pray the prayer for revelation that David prays in this verse.

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We can put, life in abundance, as heading over the next eight verses that all start with the letter gimel. We gain this life through prayer and faithfully adhering to the Word of God.

G

Gimel

Psalm 119.17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.

David starts this section with a heartfelt prayer: Do good to your servant. He does not come with a claim, because he has no reason or right to demand anything from God. But he can turn to God in humble prayer. This is something we can all do. We can come before God with our passionate and heartfelt prayers.

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Psalm 119.16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

David finishes the eight verses that start with beth in a wonderful way. This essence is largely about the joy he finds in the word of God. Now he tells how he rejoices in God's statutes. He says that he finds joy in all the laws of God and does not want to forget to walk in his words.

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Psalm 119.14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.

We meet a wonderful attitude of heart in this verse. The focus is on God's law or testimony. The psalmist says that God's Word shows him how to live and that he finds great joy in living the Word. He uses strong words: "I delight, I rejoice, I find the supreme happiness in your statutes! I delight in walking by your testimonies." He actually says that he finds greater joy in following what God says than in all the riches of the world.

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Psalm 119:13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. 

In this verse we find a content and satisfied tone. David tells of how he has built up and encouraged God's people with what he himself had learned from God's law. This is something he has done in daily life in his conversations with people. This is something he's doing all the time. He says he likes to say what the Word of God says. This is not a quiet process in his heart, but he does it with his lips. He quotes the word of God aloud, both for himself and for others to the hear what God's law says.

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