Psalm 119:17  Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Deal bountifully is the Hebrew word ‘gamal’גמל and means to mature, ripened fruit, and a child weaned from its mother. Gamal has the idea of being nourished until completely ripe. Hebrew is a very colorful and picturesque language and in this verse I see a motif of “maturing in God” while using the image of a vineyard with grapes ripening to maturity.

I believe that the word with (‘al’  עַל) is a play on words with deal bountifully (gamal).  The word with is a preposition, however when not used as a preposition, its root word ‘alah’ עלה can means to grow up. Unless a vine grows and bears fruit to maturity it is of no use or value.

Your servant comes from the root word ‘abad’ עבד and when speaking of the ground refers to tilling, cultivating or dressing a vineyard. The purpose of tilling is to prepare the soil for planting.  Tilling agitates and breaks up soil, mixes in organic matter producing a base for seeds, and it helps to removes weeds.   ‘Abad can also mean Servant of the Lord, one doing the will of God, as a true worshiper or one executing the purpose of God. Tending the “garden of our heart”, walking in step with the purposes and plans of God, is an act of worship.

The words may live  ‘chayah’ היה means to live, become strong, food, and restored from sickness. When considering the maturing vineyard motif, this is a picture of healthy, vibrant, nourishing fruit ready for the picking rather than the idea of grapes rotting on the vine, worthless and never being used for what they were intended.

Then we have the words and keep ‘shamar’ שׁמר which is the word for watchman, to keep, preserve, and to guard. Interestingly, it can also mean’ lees of wine’ which refers to the residue that separates from the wine and settles at the bottom of the vat after fermentation and aging.

Lastly, word ‘dabar’ דבר can be explained as, words spoken from the heart of God. In the parable of the sower, perhaps better titled as the parable of the soil, we know that the seed is the Word of God, Luke 8:14-15  And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

In order for grapes to fully mature, the plants need to be carefully watched over and pruned. If they are not pruned regularly they will become wild and overgrown, never reaching maturity. Not only will the crop be useless, but it can also spread disease to the rest of the vineyard making it difficult to produce again the following season. Isaiah 5:2 speaks of God giving everything needed to produce good fruit but instead, only worthless grapes were produced. He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

God’s plans are for us to bear fruit…eternal fruit that remains.  We must abide in Him, yielded to God’s timing and pruning process that will bring us into full maturity, reaching our potential and fulfilling our purpose in Him.