The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever
The judgements of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether
They are more desirable than gold, yes than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of honeycomb
Moreover, by them your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is a great reward.
Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden falults.
Also keep back your servant from presumptiuous sins
Let them not rule over me
Then I will be blameless
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
Be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
The judgements of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether, They are more desirable than gold, yes than much fine gold.
One thing that is quite interesting to take note of is that the author does not equivocate when it comes to where he is positionally, relative to those judgements. Whether guilty or innocent, whether recieving evil or good from the hand of the LORD, he makes clear that the judgments of the LORD are righteous and true and better than the best wealth analogy possible. Not only this he says they they are righteous altogether. So you get this sense in which he's literally saying, whatever the LORD decides is always right. And that decision is more precious and desirable than the highest form of wealth in all of the Earth. How does one come to such a conclusion? When so many of the world think that God has abandoned them or left us to our own plight. Which paints God as malevolent at worst and ambivalent at best. Yet this is not what He says about His people. He says that He knows the good things that He has planned for us, to prosper us. I begin to ask myself, what does David know of God that I do not yet understand.
Moreover, by them your servant is warned; In keeping them there is a great reward.
By keeping the precepts, commandments, and laws, we understand God's judgments. That they are entirely righteous. For the scripture says, "all things work to the good of His glory for those who are called according to His purposes and love Him." So then we know that God's judgements are righteous, but also, they are intended to benefit His people by giving them a true understanding of God's motives, which are self-glorification; which is the highest good a man can achieve, to glorify God and worship Him forever. Not only is it our highest end, it serves as our highest good. For when we worship and glorify God, we're also practicing righteousness which leads to the feeding of the poor and the caring for the elderly and all the beneficience that this world should expect to see of someone who is commanded to love thy neighbor as you love yourself. Worship of God is not a matter of bowing your face and leaning totally on worshipful gestures but never conducting beneficial acts of service. The worship of God is the reverence of His position in all matters; as the Cheif Organizer and Excutor of judgements. Thus we can know that when we do good, we do so because God planned it so. And when we do bad, we do so because God has planned it so. All to the end that we might understand His glory and His holiness. It is to this point that we now turn to what may well have been the motivation for this entire writing.
Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden falults.
David says plainly; You can't even know all the wrong things you do! You are utterly sinful, against God, backslidden. Yet, earlier He made clear that God's judgements are altogether righteous. This obviously includes the judgement that no man would be able to discern all of his errors. And what is David's response? To overlook it? NO! To pacify the conscience by offering the platitude that "nobody's perfect"? NO! He accepts that he's sinful and wicked and can't even know the extent of his transgression. He quickly follows with a request that glorifies the only being that we should glorify, which is the Most High God of Heaven. He says to the one who can; "Acquit me of hidden faults". This acceptance that he has hidden faults and the plea to be free of them is rooted in the former understanding. Namely:
- The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
- the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
- The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart
- The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
- The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever
David understands the matters of the LORD are not trivial and not only this, they lead to life.
Also keep back your servant from presumptiuous sins
Does David end with giving over to God what only God can do? Does he say to himself, "God can handle my hidden sins, because I can't even see them, but the ones I can see, I'll deal with, so that I can be holy"? NO! He gives to God what is His to do. Keep back your servant from presumptious sins. There are three moving parts in this sentence. Keep Back - Your Servant - From Sin
David is pleading to the one you can; Keep me away; why? Because I'm your servant. Why? Because I know that sin offends you. If I am your servant, and I understand you, I understand also that I cannot, neither rid myself of unknown sins but also known and presumptious sins. Father, keep thy servant from all these things. And to what end is this?
And Then.....I Will Be Blameless
And THEN he will be blameless. David is making abundantly clear that his blamelessness as it were is totally built on the foundation of God being the author of his righteousness. And does not the scripture say that God himself is both the author and finisher, or perfector of our faith, which is a gift from Him also, to which only those who have been drawn by the Father recieve, and these, none of which Christ will cast out on the last day? The very same. David's recognition of this is paramount in our understanding because it should affect how we think about our lives. Do you vainly believe that you are different than David? If in fact the Spirit is within you and you are called...does not the Father seek to treat you the same, to give you the same understanding. I say that He does.
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