Rescue will come to the Israelites, and they will see who their God is. He is not to be compared to the gods of the nations around them. They are idols: created objects. He looks down from heaven, totally in control. They that wait on his rescue will see renewal and soar again.
LORD, we choose to wait on you.
Jerusalem is a city with a great past, a troubled present, and a glorious future. The psalmist prays for the great city, aware of it all. He chooses to pray for peace, not because of blind allegiance but for his brothers and friends sake, and because the temple is there. The city is worth praying for because people are there, and the LORD’s presence is there. That is reason enough to pray for any city.
LORD, we pray for the place where you live, and the place where you plan to live. Bring peace to the city.
Hezekiah had made a huge mistake, letting the Babylonian envoys see all the treasures of his house. The Babylonians would be back, and carry some of his own descendants into exile. Yet, the king consoled himself with the assurance that these consequences would come after his death. How selfish! We need to think about our children and their children. What kind of world will they face? We are deciding that by our actions, or the lack of them.
LORD, we choose to obey, not for our sakes only, but for the future.
I confess to you, brothers and sisters, that I am angry right now. Circumstances have come together to bring stress to me and my family, and I feel overwhelmed. My first response, when I read a psalm like this, is to say “well, that doesn’t help.” But I realize that the psalmist is going through the same thing. He was looking to the hills, and wondering where his help was going to come from. He’s have a bad day, just like me. The fact is, his conclusion is the only one that makes sense. When I see just how complicated the mess I am in is, only the creator can help.
LORD, even though I don’t feel it, I know that you are my help. I trust in you. There is no one else that I can rely on.
Hezekiah was not known for his consistency. But his illness had taken him close to death. He called it being consigned to the gates of Sheol (10). He was probably 39 when he was taken ill, and expected to die at middle age. He reflected on the fact that his tent was going to be taken from him, and he would not see the LORD in the land of the living (11-12). He pleaded with God to restore his life, and the LORD did just that. He thanks the LORD for teaching him what is really important through the experience. He resolved that he and his children would worship the LORD all the days of their lives (19-20).
LORD, give us the wisdom to make our relationship with you a priority. May we not have to be at death’s door before we think about you.
The psalmist is upset because of the people he is forced to live among. They love deception and violence, and their constant influence is grating on his nerves. He prays for deliverance, and laments that he has lived in the wrong place for too long. The more we look at this corrupted world, the more we realize that there is no place to go. What we really need is not a new location, but God’s deliverance.
LORD, return to us, and deliver us from ourselves. We are in the wrong place.
The King of Assyria boasted that the LORD could not stop him, and he had evidence on his side. None of the other gods of the other lands could stop the king’s invasions. Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed. Their confidence was in the power of a God who is unlike any other. The LORD cannot be destroyed like the idols of the defeated lands. He is immortal, and they were not. The battle that took place in the hearts of the praying men stopped the king of Assyria in his tracks. 185,000 dead soldiers later, Sennacherib got the message.
LORD, we refuse to let the evidence change what we know about you. You are unstoppable.
Numerous times in this passage, the psalmist prays for understanding. Understanding will keep his soul alive (144, 175). Here is a believer, and a disciple. He does not simply trust the LORD for some future destiny, he clings to the LORD for survival. The commandments of the LORD are key to that survival.
LORD, give us understanding, so that we can continue to praise you, and learn your ways.
Isaiah’s message was not that the ransomed of the LORD were to be whisked off to heaven. They were going to return to Zion with everlasting joy. Jesus’ first ministry on earth was a foretaste of the kind of restoration and revival proclaimed here. God will come in vengeance, visiting his recompense (4), then the highway will be there, and the ransomed will return, with singing. We will see this event.
LORD, come and restore.
Lammdeni – Teach me. The psalmist repeats that plea eleven times in this psalm – seven times in this section. He is convinced that there is a purpose for life, but that he will not learn that purpose by accident. The secret to life lies in the words of God. He has made his choice. He has chosen to center his life around the revealed truth of the holy scriptures. Those who make such a choice will not be disappointed.
LORD, teach us!
Isaiah 40
Psalm 122
Isaiah 39
Psalm 121
Psalm 120
Isaiah 36-37
Psalm 119:89-176
Isaiah 35
Psalm 119:1-88
