This portion of the Psalm falls under the Hebrew letter “ר” (Resh), meaning “head” or “leader.” It is noteworthy that the Psalmist asks God to preserve his life — a prayer that also appeared in the previous section. Clearly, the Psalmist was concerned about his earthly life, and whenever a threat arose from his adversaries, he raised his voice to God to preserve it. Yet there is a deeper sense to this prayer: that of someone asking God to preserve their soul, which was perishing as the outcome of God’s own law — that the wages of sin is death.
We may long to become the head of our office, our organisation, or even our church, but the truth is that we have already been made the head of our own life. If we learn to exercise this leadership by steering our life along the footprints of Jesus, who is the Way, then God will extend our jurisdiction, and in due course we will find ourselves leading many wandering souls into His fold.
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
The question is this: have we ever truly recognised the position given to us as head of our own life? And if we have, how far have we used that leadership to keep our life on the right path — walking closer to our Father God, marching in the footsteps of our Elder Brother, Jesus?
Defend My Cause And Redeem Me
Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.
Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.
Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees.
Your compassion, LORD, is great; preserve my life according to your laws.
Psalm 119:153-156 (NIV)
Usually, each of our prayers follows the pattern of the Psalmist: drawing God’s attention to our suffering and asking Him to redeem us. In doing so, we lay a condition before God — that if He redeems us, we will not forget His law. The problem is that keeping His law is the primary thing that keeps our suffering away, yet there is a widespread misunderstanding that following God is inviting trouble. Looking at the Psalmist’s words, it can be observed that he was suffering because of some overpowering evil force, and so he pleaded that God should rise above the level of that evil power to deliver him. The same mindset persists with us today: whenever trouble comes, we assume that something has overpowered God, that for a while the situation is beyond even His control, and that our petition would somehow spur God to regain control so that we might be redeemed.
Instead, we should learn that God is always in full control, and seek to understand the reason for our suffering. This approach will, in time, make our suffering feel light and momentary (2 Corinthians 4:16–17).
Secondly, the Psalmist was specifically asking God to defend his cause. But if God simply defends our cause, we will never become a vessel in His hand through which He accomplishes His own purpose in our lives. Whatever we ask Him in prayer is, of course, meant to defend our own cause, and we rarely incline our ears to hear Him and learn from Him. James brought out this very truth in his letter (James 4:3). Further, we expect God to preserve our life as though He has promised to do so. But Jesus highlighted a deeper truth in the following verse:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28 (NIV)
God never promised to preserve our earthly life; rather, He is keen on preserving our soul — the life He gave us at Creation, an eternal life. When we lost that eternal life, God sent His Son, filled with the fullness of eternal life and the living Word, to give back what we had lost (John 10:10).
Another misunderstanding prevailing among believers is that salvation is far from people of other faiths who worship lifeless objects and stand distant from the Living God. We presume ourselves to be keepers of His law, and on that basis, we assume God is obliged to preserve our lives. We forget that God preserved our lives out of His compassion, at a time when we too were wayward and running far from Him. Hence, receiving eternal life is not earned by keeping His law, but is given through His pure grace — extended to everyone, whether they keep the law or not. God atoned for us through the life of His Son Jesus, to redeem us and keep us with Him forever.
Laws Of God Are Eternal
Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes.
I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word.
See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love.
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
Psalm 119:157-160 (NIV)
In the previous portion of this Psalm, we come to understand that God has made everything to last for ever. This is because He has given us eternal life, and in order to sustain us in that life, He has made every other thing to be everlasting as well. If we are wasting away outwardly while being renewed inwardly, we shall inherit eternal life, which will enable us to dwell with our Creator for ever. The Psalmist understood this, and acknowledged the truthfulness of the Word of God, together with His everlasting covenant and law.
Beyond this, there is a seemingly contradictory approach to God in the Psalmist’s words. He declares his love for God’s precepts, yet asks God to save him not on the basis of his own discipline and piety, but on the basis of God’s love. Even so, he did not fully comprehend that love, and appeared to assume that God hates those who do not obey His Word — leading him, in turn, to hold such people in contempt. The prophet Jonah displayed the same attitude toward the Ninevites in their sin. We so easily place ourselves on a high pedestal while regarding others as grave sinners beneath us. Yet the truth is that God has forgiven the sins of all people on earth, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. In forgiving them, God did not look upon their deeds, but acted out of the abundance of His grace and the immeasurability of His love. In other words, because God laid the sins of all mankind upon His Son and sacrificed Him, every sin of every person on this earth has been forgiven.
If this is so, the simple truth is that we, as believers, have been made aware of our forgiveness through grace upon grace, while others remain unaware of this same truth — even though the saving grace of God continues to sustain them still. It is difficult for us, as believers in Christ, to accept that everyone on this earth is already a forgiven child of God, whether they know it or not. Therefore, as we come to grasp something of the depth of God’s love, we should learn not to hate those who have not publicly embraced a particular faith through conversion, but rather to love them — for God has written His law upon their hearts from the very beginning (Romans 2:14–16).
God, help us to understand that You are in full control of everything, and grant us the courage to face the difficulties of our lives so that we may see them from Your perspective. Help us to grasp not only that Your laws are everlasting, but also that Your law fits into the life of every person living on this earth, irrespective of their mistakes and misunderstandings. Help us to see others — those who do not yet know that their sins have been forgiven — through the lens of Your eyes. Amen!
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