Desiring God’s Bounty

The basic idea of “deal bountifully” is that of doing or dealing with someone along the line of giving to them.  I can refer to doing either good or evil, though in this context it is surely good that is sought.  It frequently carries with it the idea of reward though that idea is not present in this text.  Here it carries with it the sense of giving freely or blessing, of providing that which is necessary.

The verb is in the imperative and we are reminded that this is not a command given to God, or the exercising of some power or authority over the forces in the world by faith as many would have us believe.  Rather, as we have noted before, this is the expression of the fervent desire of the heart of David.  He desires that God be generous and give to him.

We ought to note that this is not a plea for stuff.  Nor is it a plea for anything purely temporal or even terribly personal.  This appears to be a plea for God to give him (or to do in him) that which would enable him to, in turn keep the Word.  In this I am reminded of the prayer of Augustine that Pelagius took such exception to.  Lord command us what You will and grant us the power to do as You command.  Pelagius had no exception to the first part.  Indeed, there are not many who would.  Man is perfectly willing to grant that God has authority to command us to do as He sees fit.

It is that second part that is problematic for men.  We are loathe to recognize that we do not, of ourselves, have the capacity to obey and serve God.  That ability, a part of Adam’s nature, was lost in the fall and is regained only as a function of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  It is only when God deals bountifully with us that we are able to submit to and obey the Word.

“Deal bountifully” can be seen as an Old Testament synonym for grace.  The writer is asking God to give to him that which is unearned or underserved.  Apart from the gracious action of God on our parts, there is no hope for any success in obedience.  We cannot help but note that this grace is seen by David to be necessary in order for him to obey.  This is important.  The Scripture is consistent.  It portrays man as destitute of moral and spiritual ability and teaches that God requires obedience in order for standing to be achieved.  If those things are both true – then we are faced with one of two, well three possibilities:

1.        No one will ever become righteous and achieve standing before God.  The requirement of God for absolute righteousness means that the inability of man to commend himself perfectly to God results in “Zero” being saved.

2.        God sets the standard aside and essentially gives all men a free pass into heaven.

3.        God must do the work required to bring men to glory because He requires absolute righteousness from those who are not able to yield it.

The only other possibility is that man has the innate capacity to be righteous.  If this is so, then there is no need for grace.

It is interesting that David describes himself as God’s servant.  The contrast here is astounding.  There could be no more exalted human position than David as king of Judah.  Yet he identifies himself as the lowest of the low – a slave.  That is the paradox of Christianity.  The best place to be is the worst place to be!