May 21, 2020 -- Psalm 119:170 -- In need of rescue

Let my plea come before you;

deliver me according to your word.

Psalm 119:170 English Standard Version

In the previous verse the Psalmist asked “let my ringing cry come before you”; now he is begging for the LORD’s help. He needs rescue. The world’s influence is so persistent. So subtle. So brazen. So evident in movies and commercials and social platforms.

The Psalm writer wants to watch over his life and his actions. He is aware that he will pass over so much of his own sin. He knows He needs the LORD His God and His illuminating Spirit to show him all his faults and deliver him from this. Jerry Bridges wrote:

We need to be watchful in the little things of everyday life, the little issues

that seem so unimportant—the little lie, the little bit of pride, the little lustful

glance, or the little bit of gossip…the truth is, it is in the minutiae of life

where most of us live day after day. We seldom have to say no to an outright

temptation to adultery. We often have to say no to the temptation to the

lustful look or thought. And as some unknown person has said, “He that

despises little things shall fall little by little”. It’s true, we need to be on the

lookout for the “little things,” so that we will be prepared to say no to the

more obvious sins. Watching is the first step in avoiding or battling any

sin, especially worldliness.

Jerry Bridges as quoted in Growing Up Christian Karl Graustein, page 70

For the last twenty-one, eight verse stanzas the Psalmist has been enumerating the open sins and subtle sins, the sins of enemies and recklessness of his own sin-hardened heart. He knows we need the rescue of the LORD our God. Thanks be to God for the glorious work of Jesus Christ.

We read in Galatians 1 that Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age (Galatians 1:4). What a powerful statement. What a indictment against our sin. Many people who regularly read these devotions have told me they are so tired of Psalm 119. They are tired of the constant references to law and sin. No doubt. I understand. I embarked on this because I readily ignore how bad my own sin is. This chapter of the Bible drives home my need for rescue, for the Savior of my soul in Whom we have a Father, a purpose and an eternal home.

Mighty God, thank You for answering King David’s prayer. Thank You for providing the way of salvation, long before King David even knew he needed rescue. Thank You Lord Jesus, our Rescuer and our Everlasting King. Thank You Spirit of the Living God for guarding us and keeping us in the flood of Jesus’ great grace and rescue. Spirit of God, watcher of our souls, light Your search-lamp within our souls and minds and hearts so that what we consider to be little evils will be rooted out and more room will be made for the eternal delights of living in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Amen.