Psalm 119:173

Psalm 119:173

The hand that is ready to help

We have encountered these scenarios before, in the Psalm. The verse reads like the author is doing a deal with God, “I have chosen to obey Your precepts, so I expect Your right hand to be ready to help me!” In actual fact, having got to know him a little bit, it turns out that the writer is actually voicing a plea for God’s help in living in obedience to His Word. In other words, he has made a choice, he will follow God’s precepts, but in order to do so he needs heavenly assistance. 

Living according to the commands and laws of the Lord is a tough call, all of us will slip up at times, if we have any understanding of ourselves, we know that there will be moments of weakness, times of disobedience and rebellion, occasions when tiredness or distractions take our focus off the Word of God. That is why we all need to cry out, “May Your hand be ready to help me.” 

Isn’t it true that we all know that the statutes, commands, precepts and laws of God are give for our very best? Deep down we realise that to obey the Lord is the very greatest course that we can choose for our lives, we have it in our hearts to be obedient and that is because we love the Word of God, but human weakness, the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil leave us floundering in muddied waters from time to time, and we struggle to get free and get clean. That is why we all need to pray, along with the psalmist, “May You hand be ready to help me.” God knows what we are like, He knows our tendency to break promises, to fall short and to be victims of our sinful natures, so to those who are willing to plead for help, He is willing to use the strength of His mighty hand and pull us out of the mire. Hallelujah! 

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