“It is time for the Lord to act”
[Psalms 119:121-128]
When is it now? I think now is the time to keep the grace and to practice the commandments of God with the power of God’s grace that we have received. There are times when we receive grace, but it is very important to keep the grace that we received and to practice God's commandments more and more with the power of that grace.
If we look at Psalms 119:126, the psalmist says: “It is time for the LORD to act, For they have broken Your law.” Based on this word, I would like to think about two things: (1) What time is it now? (2) What should we do at this time?
First, what time is it now?
There are two things that Psalms 119:121-128 teaches us:
(1) Now is the time for the people to break the Lord’s commandments.
Look at Psalms 119:126b – “… , For they have broken Your law.” Now is the time to break the commandments of God. And now is the time to oppress those who do justice and righteousness (v. 121).
In other words, it is a time when the arrogant oppress the servant of the Lord (vv. 122, 125).
(2) Now is the time for the Lord to act.
Look at Psalms 119:126a – “It is time for the LORD to act ….” Here, act of Lord can be thought of in two ways: (a) Act of the Lord refers to God's judgment (Park). God will judge those who violate God's commandments. God will judge those who continually and intentionally violate His commandments. Also, God will judge those who oppress the saints who practice justice and righteousness. God will definitely judge the arrogant. (b) Act of the Lord refers to God's salvation. Look at Psalms 119:123 – “My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation And for Your righteous word.” The time when the arrogant oppressors abolish the Lord’s laws is the time when our eyes fail looking for God’s salvation. Of course, the oppression itself may be tiring, but rather, it is tiring to long for the Lord's salvation and His righteous words. Therefore, this time of breaking the commandments of the Lord is the time to pray for the Lord's salvation and His word.
Second, what should we do at this time?
What should we do at this time when we break the Lord's law and His commandments? How are we to act when the arrogant are oppressing us, the servants of the Lord, who practice justice and righteousness?
(1) We must love the Lord’s commands more.
Look at Psalms 119:127 – “Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold.” At such time, the psalmist loved the commands of the Lord more than gold. We should too. We must love the Lord's commands more and keep them more when we are under pressure from breaking the Lord's commands. As we keep the commands of the Lord, the persecutions and sufferings of this world that are to come must not lead us far from them. On the contrary, we should not compromise in the midst of tribulation and persecution. Rather, we should devote ourselves more to love and keep the commands of the Lord.
(2) We must consider all the Lord’s commands right.
Look at Psalms 119:128 – “and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.” Like the psalmist, when people break the commands of the Lord, we must consider them right. And we must hate every false act that goes against His right commandment.
Now is the time that people are breaking God's commands. Now is the time for God to act. Now is the time for God's judgment and salvation. God will judge those who break His commands, and will save those who keep His commands. In this time, we must love the Lord's commands more and more. And we must consider all the Lord's commands right in this time. Hopefully, as we consider God's commands right, I hope and pray that we will hate every wrong path.
Experiencing God’s action,
James Kim
(As I consider all God’s commands right)