“Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” (Ps 119:175-176 AV)
A very mature prayer indeed. The two ‘lets’ are connected. One cannot have a soul that lives without yielding to the judgments of God. Perhaps the reason we struggle so much is we refuse to yield to the help that is God’s word. There is another point of encouragement. Even though the author has gone astray, he has not forgotten the commandments of God. He forgot them or ignored them, which resulted in being lost. But, on the whole, he has not forgotten the word of God. What he neglected or rejected now becomes his only way back. What struck me this morning is that little word, ‘help’. Together with ‘live’, the Spirit affirmed God’s grace and willingness to take me from where I am to where I need to be. What we need to see is the attitude of surrender in the passage above. By using the word ‘let’, David is surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit through His word. He realizes his condition. He is a lost sheep that has gone astray. This has caused his soul hardship and a will to live. He is at the depths of his sin. The saving grace here is he remembers the word of God is the key to recovery. Not merely reading it and studying it. Rather, he seeks the LORD’s operation in applying His word to the life and soul of the saint. There must be a willingness to admit to our condition and then seek the only remedy available – the perfect word of God.
Prior to most medical procedures, there is a handout with very specific directions. I remember the hand out for my colonoscopy. The instructions went seven days out. There were foods I could not eat. There were medications I could not take. From day seven to the day of the procedure, the instructions required I modify my behavior for a procedure that would go smoothly. If I violated any of the instructions, there was elevated risk involved. No corn, no NSAIDs, not nuts, etc. Then there is the dreaded prep. Forcing that down was like nothing I had ever experienced. The first time was not so bad. The second was a nightmare. Never again! Whether I liked it or not, I had to follow the instructions to the letter. If I deviated from them at all, the doctor would refuse to do the test and I could be looking at something far worse — cancer. Letting the doctor’s judgement and instructions was the only way to secure an outcome of life.
What a precious passage above. David, the onetime Shepard boy, knew a thing or two about sheep. As the sheep realizes it is lost, it calls to its flock and overseer. He or she knows they are not where they belong. They remember that feed and cover are with those whom he or she left. Yes, the rod and staff comforts. It may be a bit of sharp raps here and there, but they keep him in line. That rod and staff may limit liberty, but liberty isn’t all that it's cracked up to be. The sheep calls out because he remembers. The sheep calls out because he misses what he once had. David is calling out to the Good Shephard of his soul because he remembers what it was like to live in communion with God. He calls out because he realizes the judgments are meant for his good and his pleasure. He desires them again. He knows, like a sheep, the only hope of a blessed life is under the watch-care of the One who loves him the most.
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