Psalm 119:17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live, and keep your word. Deal bountifully with thy servant; Prayer-book Version, "Oh do well unto thy servant." The thought is expressed in another psalm (Psalm 116:7), "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." It reappears in the assurance of the New Testament, "He giveth more grace;" "He is able to make all grace abound." The psalmist felt straitened in his own circumstances, but he was quite sure that there was no straitening of the sufficiency of God. His very straitness seemed to make large demands on God; but he felt that he might pray for large and bountiful dealings. I. THE LARGENESS OF THE DIVINE DEALINGS INVOLVES COMPREHENSIVENESS, A large thing covers all. No satisfaction can be felt in God unless we are sure that every feature of our life stands in relation to him. The author of Psalm 139, puts this into poetical figure when he presents the hopelessness of ever getting from the presence of God. In heaven he is. On earth he is. In hell he is. Go where we may, God's hand is on us. Do what we may, God's grace and strength are there for our helping. We could not rest in God if we could, even mentally, fix any limit to the sphere of his operation. He would not be God to us if there was a single relation of life with which he was not dealing, or could not deal. II. THE LARGENESS OF THE DIVINE DEALINGS INVOLVES ADAPTATION. The charm of all human relationships lies in adaptation. A thing that fits us helps us much more than a far better thing that does not fit. We have a notion that largeness tends to make us indifferent to adaptation. If it covers, it need not fit. But all the best things we possess are not quantities, but adaptations. And God's bountifulness is chiefly apprehended in the surprise with which we find he can meet every form of recurring need. III. THE LARGENESS OF THE DIVINE DEALINGS INVOLVES GENEROSITY. The man who barely and exactly does for us what we immediately need gives us no impression of bountifulness. It seems to us that he has not much to give, so must carefully watch his giving. God shows himself in nature, pouring out a wealth of flowers and fruits, and going altogether beyond our need. He giveth spiritual grace and help generously, as if he would convince us of a sufficiency which should inspire us to "trust in him at all times." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.WEB: Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word. |
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