{"id":2023,"date":"2007-03-30T02:10:28","date_gmt":"2007-03-30T02:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2007\/03\/pleas-and-praises-4.html"},"modified":"2007-03-30T02:10:28","modified_gmt":"2007-03-30T02:10:28","slug":"pleas-and-praises-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2007\/03\/pleas-and-praises-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Pleas and Praises"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last verse of Psalm 119, which marks the end of this series, surprises:
\nI have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,
\nfor I do not forget your commandments (119:176).
\nFor the first time in the entire psalm — that I recall — the psalmist admits that he’s messed up. Or does he? Samson Raphael Hirsch, a rabbinic commentator, translates like this: “If I have strayed.” Not “I have gone astray” but if<\/em> I have strayed.
\nEven if we make the last verse conditional, the central themes continue to emerge: “seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.” Seek me out God — the psalmist seems to be saying — when I wander away. Why? Because, even if I wander, I have not intended to wander.
\nPerhaps there’s a better explanation: perhaps the wandering is not moral but geographical — that is, I’ve gotten myself caught in the middle of those who deny your Torah. Find me, God, and deliver me. Why? Because I’ve been faithful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last verse of Psalm 119, which marks the end of this series, surprises:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalm-119"],"yoast_head":"\nPleas and Praises - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2007\/03\/pleas-and-praises-4.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pleas and Praises - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The last verse of Psalm 119, which marks the end of this series, surprises:\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2007\/03\/pleas-and-praises-4.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-03-30T02:10:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"xscot mcknight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pleas and Praises - 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