Make Your Face to Shine Upon Your Servant

[Christsfreeservant]

“Redeem me from the oppression of man,​

That I may keep Your precepts.​

Make Your face shine upon Your servant,​

And teach me Your statutes.​

My eyes shed streams of water,​

Because they do not keep Your law.” (Psalm 119:134-136 NASB1995)​

This is a prayer, asking the Lord that he would redeem (deliver, rescue) his servant from the oppression (injury, persecution, cruelty, harassment, false accusations) of other human beings. For, if you are a follower of Christ, who is obeying the will of God for your life, according to the Scriptures, as guided by the Holy Spirit, you will face such opposition as this from other humans, often from others who also profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are following the teachings of man and not the teachings of the Scriptures.

And this can be very oppressive. And if our faith is not strong, and if our dependency is not totally in the Lord, but partially in humans, we might be in danger of retreating and of not fulfilling God’s call and his purpose for our lives. So this isn’t just about being rescued physically from human oppression, but this is about being delivered spiritually from human oppression so that we do not give up the fight and run away, and so that we remain steadfast in keeping the commands of our Lord, forever.

Sometimes when we are faced with oppression, and when we are being judged falsely and accused of what we did not do, and persecuted for the sake of righteousness, our countenance may reveal a certain sadness in our hearts, and we may not be cheerful, for we are troubled in our spirits. And then the countenance and character of God shines upon us in renewed joy and strength and purpose as he reminds us of the teachings of the Scriptures and of his calling and purpose for our lives, and of his power.

For those of us who are committed to serving the Lord with our lives, and to following his ways and his commands, and to obeying his calling upon our lives, we should also be those who literally shed tears of grief over the many who profess the name of Jesus with their lips, but who do not obey him with their lives in living holy lives, pleasing to God. It should grieve us that so many give lip service to God but who are still walking in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord in surrender to his will for our lives.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Make Your Face Shine Upon Your Servant
An Original Work / August 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love