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 satisfaction (Psalm 74:21, Psalm 22:26). 

The idea behind ‘afflicted’ is to be bowed down.  Oh what a need we have to be humbled!  With the slightest relief we stray and seek our own.  What a wonderful teacher affliction from You is.  Through it we see you, in particular we see here the incredible combination of righteousness and faithfulness.  We see this combination elsewhere in these Scriptures: Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 26:23, Psalm 40:10, Psalm 96:13, Psalm 119:75, Psalm 119:138, Psalm 143:1, Isaiah 11:5, Isaiah 16:5

 

‘Saints are sure about the rightness of their troubles, even when they cannot see the intent of them…It was not because God was unfaithful that the believer found himself in a sore strait, but for just the opposite reason: it was the faithfulness of God to his covenant which brought the chosen one under the rod…Our heavenly Father is no Eli [see 1 Samuel 2:29]: he will not suffer his children to sin without rebuke, his love is too intense for that.’[1]

[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:75, e-Sword edition


Comments

  1. MelApril 28, 2023 at 12:08 PM

    The problem I have when I undergo troubles is that sometimes troubles come because I am not where I should be. Other times, like with Job, troubles come even though a person is right with God. However, I certainly agree with the fact that God uses troubles to teach us.

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