"17.Deal Bountifully with your servant,
That I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
21 you who rebuke the proud-the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept your testimonies
23 Princes also sit and speak against me,
But your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors."
The word Gimel in the Hebrew is defined as the "justified repayment", or the giving of reward and punishment.
In this section of the psalm, David is asking God to deal with any issue inside of him that is stopping him from living and keeping God's word. At the start of this passage, we see the words " Deal Bountifully" with your servant- this comes from the Greek word Gamal meaning to ripen; to recompense. David wants God to make his heart perfect for harvesting. As any farmer would know, to get any kind of good harvest, you cannot do it in a single afternoon and expect a plentiful return. Even though David is not a farmer, he understands the obstacles that come with wanting a good, full harvest. He knows that when he us asking God to deal with his heart, it will take time. He also knows that in order to remove the bugs and pestilence from his "garden" will require a daily inspecting of his mind and spirit. Lori Waugh compares this passage to growing pumpkins, "In Mid to late June, the ground is prepared, the seeds are planted and the ground is watered. By August and September, the vines begin to bloom, with tiny pumpkins beginning to develop. The excitement, however, begins to fade with the squash bugs begin to take over the vines, causing the vines to shrivel and die, making our labor nothing more than wasted time....It can be a real pain to try and get rid of the bugs, because they are easily hidden from view, and we must spend every day searching for and removing them from the crop. Then there are the weeds. If we leave the crop without tending to it, even for a few days, the weeds are to much to control. It is a daily struggle that needs continuous labor on our part to get rid of."- Lori Waugh-http://comefillyourcup.com/2017/02/23/psalm-119-gimel/
In the same way a pumpkin gardener has to remove the bugs and weeds from her crop, we as Christians must daily inspect the hidden places of our lives and ask God to remove the reproach and contempt that tries to sneak in and destroy the work that God has begun in us.
David understood the time constraint that would come when he asked God to "deal bountifully with Your servant". But he also recognized that not only were God's words and commands good, David describes them as " MY delight and MY counselors" {emphasis mine}. He enjoyed having God show him "the wondrous thing from his law" and we should embrace this same spirit of humility that comes form God dealing with our own hearts.
As we begin this new year, lets us speak this prayer of David over our spirits and allow God to work in us and through us so that at the end of the "season", our harvest will be bountiful and prosperous because we trusted God to plant the seeds in our garden that flourished into the things he desired for our lives.
Adam Semple- A Young Man on a journey through the Psalms
