March 17, 2020 -- Psalm 119:135 -- Walking in Blessedness
/Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
Psalm 119:135 English Standard Version
As in verse 132, so it is here, we have a reference to Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance [face] upon you and give you peace. (ESV)
Those who desire to keep the precepts and laws of the LORD live in the awareness of the LORD’s blessing. This echo of Numbers 6 carries with it the sense that the face of the LORD brings light or shines light on the servants He delights in. Just like a parent, who catching his child’s eye across the room might light up with a smile of love and encouragement, so our Father’s face shines upon us.
Once again, remember the twin verses which begin Psalm 119:
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart, (1 & 2 ESV).
No matter the enemies, no matter the circumstances, no matter the trials of one’s life, there is ever greater joy to be found in following the pathway of the LORD our God. He is our Source of blessing. He is the Desire of Nations.
One of the glories of God’s grace shown to us in Scripture is the fact that He gives constant references to His blessings and goodness. So often people dismiss the Bible as a long series of dreary laws and commandments and prohibitions. What is forgotten are the constant references to the blessing of God, the goodness of God poured out on His people. Especially as the world finds itself gripped with all kinds of fears and terrors, the people of the LORD walk in the light of His favour.
This is true because Jesus Christ has taken away our curse. When the Father in heaven sees us, He sees the perfect life of Jesus credited to us. The Spirit of God is sealed to us, we have the blessings of God delivered into our hearts and held there by the power of God. I heard Voddie Baucham preaching and say: “If you think it is possible to lose your salvation, then you would all day and every day and twice on Sunday”. If this all depended on us, our strength, our character, our good works we would fail. The glory of God’s shining face would long ago have left us. Thanks be to God all of this does not depend on us! We are guarded in the grace and love of God by the Spirit of God Who brings to us the fullest blessings of Christ’s salvation work.
Faithful Father in heaven with the psalmist we plead before Your throne: make us aware of Your blessings poured out on us. Teach us the way of salvation so graciously given to us in Jesus Christ. Thank You for the sealing work of the Holy Spirit so that our lives are bound up in Jesus’ accomplished work. Let the glorious knowledge of Your goodness cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. Let the missionaries and preachers who bring Good News see a revival. Let the world, frightened and bewildered as it is, learn of Your majestic goodness and may many, many kneel before You and declare: “my Savior and my King”. We pray this in Jesus’ glorious Name. Amen.
