I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. 122 Ensure your servant's well-being; let not the arrogant oppress me. 123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. 124 Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. 125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. 126 It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken. 127 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, 128 and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.

Have you ever seen a small child being mistreated? Perhaps you were in a public place and did not know the people involved but wanted to interfere and seek justice toward the perpetrator, and compassion, love and right treatment for the child. You probably did not actually do this but in your mind these thoughts came. Perhaps you thought or someone with you said that this was not your business (or as we say in Ala) your dog wasn’t even in that race. That experience was not an act of selfishness. It was not an act of vengeance because you were done wrong. It was feelings solely based on the good of another and what is fair and right. Now, when was the last time you actually became angry because you observed someone mistreating God. It may have been in their language, in what they were saying, their behavior or in some other way. Too often we tell jokes about sin (sin is what we do when we mistreat God – i.e., anytime we fail to live up to his will) and laugh at blatant disregard for his holiness, his majesty and his purity. We live in
a society that disparages anything that resembles respect for God and his will for man. Too often we are influenced by this acceptance of sin by society around us. Jesus was angry on one occasion when he saw this kind of behavior. On another he felt compassion and wept over those who rejected his father’s will. This sense of “right” is righteous indignation and we need to cultivate it in our hearts by extolling the virtues of God’s revealed word. When we, like the Psalmist, love the word of God and treasure it above purified gold, we will feel this kind of anger and compassion. This is not being judgmental of others or looking down on them. It is learning to feel what God feels based on his absolute righteousness.

O God, please help me to feel strongly about your will for my life. Help me to be pure and holy from the heart and not just as an outward show. Help me to never look down on others or judge them when they fail because I know that I am weak and totally dependent on your forgiveness myself. Help me to feel compassion for the lost and show them your will. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we allow his Spirit to control our lives.