Sojourner On The Earth - Psalm 119:19

“I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!” - Psalm 119:19

This plea that we read from David is one of great depth. It is a cry that goes down to the very core of our being and is said by our lips only when we are truly honest with ourselves and with the God we profess to serve. We are not home here on the Earth; we are in no way in a place of comfort and lasting residence; we are strangers. 

A home is a place of great warmth, whether it be an inn with many beasts or a home of brick and stone, because we are meant to be there, with those who love us and with those whom we love. There is joy and gladness in that place. Of course, we experience this as part of the church, and on the Lord’s Day, and in a family that knows and loves the Lord. But, like so many others, we are not home on this Earth (Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11), and yet we have grown accustomed to its imitations of comfort. We have been lulled into submission to it, and a trance has taken us over. We see the world, not as a temporary place, a land of pilgrimage or a transitory voyage, but we have come to love it here rather than long for what has been promised to us by our Lord. We have often been blinded into thinking this place is all that there is or will be. 

In confession of his true circumstance, David asks the Lord that he hide not his commandments from him. It is common in this life for us to fear a condition of being in need, of wanting. Yet, David here is asking that the Lord never make him be in want of his holy commands. David recognizes that this world has nothing to offer him and that he is a stranger, and this recognition requires that we confess our need for a guide, a guard, a companion, and a comforter. We will be on this Earth for perhaps 100 years. Let us be constantly preparing to be removed from this place and be taken by Christ to our true home.