A Look at Psalm 119:48

Psalm 119:48 “I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.”
 

David lifted his hands to God. The lifted hand is symbolic of surrender or submission. If someone put a gun in your back, by lifting up your hands you indicate you have surrendered to them. David stated that his life was surrendered to God. 

What is it to surrender to someone? It means we become their captive. They own us. We are subject to their whims. To become captive to mere man could be quite devastating. However, you always dwell in places of safety when you are a captive of God. 

David was a bondservant of God. A bondservant places himself in a position wherein the Lord has complete mastery over him. A bondservant is one who has the freedom of choice but chooses to continue to serve out of love. In Luke 2:29 we read of Simeon who said, “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.”  The word, "Lord," in this verse is not the typical word for Lord. It literally means authoritarian or dictator. Simeon looked upon himself as the servant of the Lord under His absolute mastery. The Lord was his complete master. Simeon was a mastered, subdued, and subjugated man. To think of the Lord as a dictator becomes negative only when we do not want to be controlled. David loved his God. He did not view being a bondservant as a negative thing because his desire was to be controlled by God. He submitted himself to God. He lifted his hands in surrender to his God. This was what separated David from most others. 

Today we don’t often understand such devotion. We tend to live for ourselves and to use God to get our way. We don’t see Him as the One who has complete mastery over us, yet we are quick to call Him Lord. Luke 6:46 says, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” 

Take some time to let this verse sink in. Meditate on it and as you do, consider the Lordship of Jesus in your own life.

Continued