Psalms 119:173
Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.
This petition of the
psalmist echoes one of the petitions of the prayer of Jabez recorded
amidst the genealogies of 1 Chronicles.
1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
That God’s hand be
with us and help us is a thing to be sought. Consider what we are
asking when we ask Almighty God: let thine hand help me.
The hand of God is big enough to contain all the waters in the earth
and skies in its hollow so as to measure them. This hand when
outstretched is so large that it can measure the entire universe.
This is the hand that “hath laid the foundation of the earth.”
Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span (the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended)….
Isaiah 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
This hand became flesh
and blood in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. When this hand of
God in Christ touched a fevered woman, the fever departed; when it
touched a leper, the leprosy departed; when it touched the ears of a
deaf man, he heard; when it touched the eyes of a blind man, he saw;
and when it touched the body of a dead man, he came to life again
(Mark 1:30-31, 40-42; 7:31-35; 8:22-25; Luke 7:11-15). This is the
hand that rescued Peter when he began to sink in the boisterous sea
(Matthew 14:29-31). I point all this out to show you the exceedingly
great power of the hand of God to help! There is no greater help
than the help of that hand for whatever your need might be because it
is the help of Omnipotence.
But if you would have
that hand help you, then you need to also be able to advance this as
a plea: for I have chosen thy precepts.
When it comes to the eternal salvation of God’s children, that
does not depend upon their choice, but rather upon God’s choice of
them (Ephesians 1:4; 2Thessalonians 2:13). But the quality of their
lives in this earth and the help of God in their pilgrimage is
conditioned upon their choice. Just consider how much of your life
is shaped by the choices you make. If we would have God help us,
then we need to choose His precepts to govern the course of our
lives. It is as simple as this: “The LORD is with you, while ye
be with him” (2Chronicles 15:2).
Think
of it like this: in His precepts God is stretching His hand out to
you. If you choose those precepts you are taking His hand in yours.
In this way God’s hand will help you as you muddle your way through
this fallen world. In fact, God has promised you the help of His
hand when enemies arise against you. Note the words I have italicized
in the following passage that lines up with today’s verse.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
But if you do not
choose God’s precepts and if you refuse their counsel, then God’s
hand will not be there to help you, even though you seek it.
Proverbs 1:20 ¶Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Note the words I have
italicized above. The Lord stretched out His hand and they refused;
they did not choose to fear Him. If you refuse the hand of God
outstretched to you in His precepts, He will refuse the help of His
hand in your calamity. What a fearful thought!
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