GIMEL – ג

v.17-24

17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, 
         That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold 
         Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth;
         Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing 
          After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, 
         Who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away reproach and contempt from me, 
         For I observe your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and talk against me, 
         Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight; 
         They are my counselors.

Give me this, O LORD, that you will bless me out of the abundance of your grace so that I will live to keep your word, for without your grace, I have no hope of keeping your law. I am blind. Open my eyes then, Lord, that I may see rightly, and come to realize the wonders of your law (Col 2:2-3, Romans 10:3-5), and the promise of your salvation that is the end of it.

This world is not my home, so keep my feet on the right path; keep your law ever before me lest I be taken up with this world’s fleeting distractions and lose my bearings. As beasts are drawn to water, my soul thirsts with longing for your judgments; I focus my life steadfastly on your commands, for I long to stay true your word.

I take heed that your judgments against the prideful are destruction, because they vaunt themselves above your law (Deut. 27:26; Isaiah 26:9). They treat your servant with contempt and make me a thing of reproach for my devotion to your law and as a sign (Isaiah 8:18; Psalm 71:7; Hebrews 10:33); but you are our judge, therefore, remove their oppression. Even the powerful in this world have set against me in their courts, but I will set my mind on your truths, for your truth is ever my delight and my true counsel.

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