“Life: Its Sustenance and Its Aim"

Psalm 119:17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.

How do you view life?  In reality, everything depends upon a true and adequate view of life.  The person of the world views life as a field for pleasure, the soldier for military prowess, the student for learning, the businessman for wealth, the statesman for politics, but the Psalmist for the service of the Lord.

 In considering himself a servant, the psalmist was picking up a common thread that runs through the Patriarchs in Genesis,  the prophets of Israel, and even the Apostles--they were all servants of the King of kings.

The plea of verse 17 is that God would deal bountifully with his servant.  There is no statement that the Psalmist has merited this bounty, but rather a reliance that God is able to supply all "the servant's" needs.

            The aim of verse 17 is that the Psalmist's life will be directed to keeping God’s Word.  Since God has made man, it is His aim that man should keep that which should enable him to fulfill that purpose.  It is a soul satisfying aim, and with the Word of God as the law of our being, there will be great reward for us as we find ourselves servants of the King.