Psalm 119:153-160 NKJV
ר RESH
153 Consider my affliction and deliver me,
For I do not forget Your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me according to Your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
For they do not seek Your statutes.
156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.
158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
The eight verses of today’s reading all begin with the Hebrew letter “Resh,” reflected below in bold type. (Again, today’s devotion is an extended prayer.)
“Consider,” that is, see my affliction, O LORD. See how I’m struggling, how I’m suffering. See, and deliver me! Because I do not forget Your law. Not that I have lived according to it without sin, but neither have I abandoned it. I repent of my sins and look to You for forgiveness through Christ, according to Your promise. I am Yours. Deliver me!
Plead my cause, Lord Jesus. Be my Advocate in the courtroom of divine justice, and redeem me from sin, from death, from the devil, and from every evil, because I cannot redeem myself. In Your Word, You have promised life to those who take refuge in You. So grant me life instead of death!
On the other hand, Your salvation is far from the wicked. For they are not interested in Your Word. They do as they please, not as pleases You. And, therefore, in their impenitence, they have You for a Judge and not for a Savior.
If only they knew You as I do, O LORD! Your tender mercies and compassion are truly great! On that basis, I ask You to judge me kindly and to preserve my life.
Because many are my persecutors and enemies. They seek to turn me away from You. They seek to punish me for being faithful to You. But I will not turn away from Your Word, no matter how many people turn against me.
I see treacherous and violent people all around me. I see lawlessness increasing in the world, and it sickens me, because men have rejected You, Your Word, Your truth, and all that is good and right.
But as for me, see how I love Your Word and Your commandments, O LORD. In the midst of the darkness, death, and destruction of this world, preserve my life, because You are faithful and true.
Yes, the entirety, the whole sum of Your Word, is truth. Everything You say is true. Everything You do is right. Everything You command is just. Everything You foretell must come true. And everything You have promised must be fulfilled, always. I praise You for Your faithfulness, O LORD! Amen.