Psalm 119:39

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled God and His Word.  The introduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

"Turn away my reproach which I dread,

For Your ordinances are good."

 

Disapproval can be devastating.  To be unwelcome by men is difficult enough, but to be rejected by You cannot be endured, either in this life or the next.  ’Turn away’ is the Hebrew ‘עָבַר, ‛āḇar: A verb meaning to pass through or over, to cover, to go  beyond, to go along, to be crossed over, to make to cross over, to go through, to go away.  In this case, the word means to cause something to pass away.   ‘This too shall pass.’  We can endure when we know there is an end (Romans 8:18-25, 2 Corinthians 4:17).  ‘Reproach’ is the Hebrew ‘חֶרְפָּה, ḥerpāh: A feminine noun meaning reproach, scorn, taunt.   We see this in Psalm 69:9, Jesus took the weight of the full reproach of men.  ‘Dread’ is the Hebrew יָגֹר yāg̱ōr which has the sense of a specific fear, and appears only 5 times in the O.T., notably of Job whose worst fears were realized (Job 3:25).  The Psalmist begs for this to be removed so that he can fully enjoy Your judgments.  The reproach of man can surely obscure the goodness of God.  So it is these days, where otherwise faithful men are caving to the reproaches of a world that hates You (Psalm 2).  Why not stand firm in the presence of God (Psalm 27:1-4)?  I fear that so many who appear godly on the outside have not been cultivating an inner life with You that will survive the storm (Psalm 1:1-6, Matthew 7:24-27), and often they are essentially unarmed, taking up their own clever ideas and not Your word (Ephesians 6:10-17).

 

‘Persecution in the form of calumny may also be prayed against, for it is a sore trial, perhaps the sorest of trials to men of sensitive minds. Many would sooner bear burning at the stake than the trial of cruel mockings…If God turns away our eyes from falsehood, we may also expect that he will turn away falsehood from injuring our good name. We shall be kept from lies if we keep from lies…We mourn when we are slandered; because the shame is cast rather upon our religion than ourselves…When men rail at God's government of the world it is our duty and privilege to stand up for him, and openly to declare before him, “thy judgments are good;” and we should do the same when they assail the Bible, the gospel, the law, or the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’[1]


[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:39, e-Sword edition


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 119:75

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."   In this section, Yodh, the Psalmist seeks comfort (v. 76) and compassion (v. 77) because of Your affliction (v.75) and the subversion of the arrogant (v. 78).   We had just seen in v. 67 and v.71 the good that comes from affliction, and now we see here that this affliction is from You and an expression of Your faithfulness.   Of course this is true, since all good comes from You.   This is part of the ‘exceeding faithfulness’ of Your word (v. 138).   Through affliction we truly seek You (Psalm 78:34, Hosea 5:15).   Through affliction comes praise and satisfac...
Read more

God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To  know  wisdom and discipline, To  understand  the sayings of understanding, To  receive  discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, To  give  prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion; Let the wise man  hear  and  increase  in learning, And a man of understanding will  acquire  guidance, To  understand  a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)   “My son, if you will  receive  my words And  treasure  my commandments within you, To  make your ear pay attention  to wisdom, Incline your heart  to discernment; For if you  call out  for understanding, Give your voice  for discernment; If you  ...
Read more

Psalm 119:76

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant."   ‘O may Your lovingkindness comfort me’, yet how often I have refused to be comforted (Psalm 77:2).    Why is that?   ‘According to Your word’ is, in my pride, the last thing I want.   I want to be comforted on my terms, not on Yours Lord!   That is not true comfort, yet my flesh deceives me.   As I learned in my early counseling sessions, I had to come to grips with the reality that I just wanted relief, I didn’t want You.   I wanted temporary relief then to go on running my own life.   Your lovingkindness is such that You won’t allow that.   You know that onl...
Read more