Psalms 119:17

Psalms 119:17 says, GIMEL.  First the identifier, then verse one says, Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.  David asked God to deal bountifully with him so that he might live and keep God's word.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, God has already dealt bountifully with us by giving us salvation, so we should keep His word for as long as we live.  Verse eighteen adds, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.  I believe that David was asking for his eyes to be opened specifically so that he could see the wonderous things of God, and we should ask the same thing of God.  Someone may have perfect vision physically and still be spiritually blind.  Verse nineteen states, I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.  Though man was created to have dominion over the earth, due to sin, we have become strangers to the earth spiritually.  Heaven is our home spiritually, so we are simply passing through this world.  Verse twenty adds, My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.  David said his soul broke in longing for the judgments of God at all time.  We should long to follow God's judgments, or laws, at all times also.  Our judgments may be wrong, but God's never will. Verse twenty-one declares, Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.  Those who are too filled with self pride to accept Jesus Christ and follow God's laws are cursed to everlasting separation from God.  We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone, but once we are saved, we are still required to follow God's law, and if we don't, we will still be held accountable I believe.  We cannot be a follower of Christ and ignore God's commandments just because we are saved.  Verse twenty-two adds, Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.  David asked God to remove His reproach and contempt from him because he had kept God's commandments, but we know that David did not always do that, and neither do we.  For that reason, the only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ.  For David, it was faith in the coming Messiah, and for us it is faith in the Messiah Who has come, Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-three says, Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.  David said that even though other leaders spoke against him, that he continued meditate on God's word.  We likewise should not be concerned with what the world says about us, but we should simply meditate on God's word.  Verse twenty-four adds, Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellers.  God's testimonies, or truths, should be our delight and counsellers as well.   Too often I believe we act as though following God's law is a burden, but it should be a delight instead.