Psalm 119:146

We come today to the second verse of this octave of Psalm 119 entitled Koph and we find the psalmist still crying to his God.

Psalms 119:146  I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.

In the preceding verse the psalmist cried to God to hear him.  In today’s verse he cries to God to save him.  So long as we live in this fallen world driven by the prince of darkness, so long as we live in bodies of flesh wherein dwell all manner of sinful lusts battling for the control of our minds, we will need to be saved.

But to fully grasp the nature of the salvation the psalmist cried for, we must consider what he attaches to his request: and I shall keep thy testimonies.  The psalmist desired to be saved from anything that would hinder him from keeping God’s testimonies.  Whether it was a temptation to disobey God's commandments, or an enemy that would steal his Bible or otherwise hinder his service to God, or whatever might come between him and his Bible, the psalmist cried to be saved from it.  He was not requesting to be saved just so he could have the personal comfort and ease of being delivered from a difficult situation.  Rather, he wanted to be saved to serve his Lord.

If you are in any kind of tribulation and you are asking God to save you out of it, consider why you want to be saved.  If your main objective is your own easiness and pleasure, you may well be denied your request as we are warned in this verse:

James 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

But if you pray to be saved so that you may serve and glorify God, so that you may go up to His house to offer thanks to His name, so that you may bear witness of His truth to others, then you may be assured that whatever deliverance is needed for these purposes will be granted.  And if you truly love God’s testimonies, you will be content with the salvation that enables you to keep them, whether that salvation be experienced in poverty or wealth, sickness or health, life or death.

When Hezekiah fell ill and was told he would die, he prayed to be delivered.  But as he prayed to be saved, he had in view being able to go up to the house of the Lord as we see from this verse:

2 Kings 20:8  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

And we know the sequel of the story.  Hezekiah was saved in that he was given fifteen more years in which to honour his God in His service.  This prayer to be saved to serve the Lord delights the heart of God.  It is your bargaining chip with Him.  I suggest you make frequent use of it. 

In conclusion, let me stress that this prayer for salvation was directed fervently to God:  I cried unto thee.  Commenting on this fact, Thomas Manton wrote the following:

“In mercies and afflictions, our business lieth not with men, but God; by humble dealing with him we stop wrath at the fountain-head:  he that bindeth us must loose us; he is at the upper end of causes, and whoever be the instruments of our trouble, and how malicious soever, God is the party with whom we are to make our peace; for he hath the absolute disposal of all creatures, and will have us to acknowledge the dominion of his providence and our dependence upon him.  In treaties of peace between two warring parties, the address is not made to private soldiers, but to their chief:  ‘The Lord hath taken away,’ saith Job; ‘When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?’  Job xxxiv.29.”

If you give weighty consideration to what Mr. Manton has written, you will find it rich as do I.