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As a kid, I loved horses. On Saturdays, my brothers and I would go to my parents’ paint store with them. Across from the paint store was a hobby shop that sold Breyer horse models. Every Saturday, I would go across the street and gaze longingly at them, picking out the ones I most wished I could buy. I earned quarters for doing little chores at the paint shop, so I saved my quarters for several months until I could finally buy one of the horse models, the Black Stallion from the book series I had read.
Last week, we looked at delighting in God’s Word (Psalm 119:89-96). This week we will continue this theme but from the perspective of what we prize. What is most precious to us? What are we willing to sacrifice and endure for? What is our hope and encouragement?
Teth
65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The insolent smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
70 their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces. [1]
Psalm 119:65-72
“You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word” (vs 65) – Our tendency is to complain, to look for the things that are wrong, the things that haven’t gone the way we would like. The psalmist’s mindset is that God has dealt well with him, and this isn’t because he has a charmed life. He has been afflicted, he has strayed, and he has been verbally attacked by others. Yet, the psalmist says to God, “You have dealt well with your servant.”
Particularly, God has dealt well with the psalmist according to His Word. For the psalmist to state this, he must know God’s Word. He knows who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised. Then, the psalmist can view his experience through the lens of God’s Word, and be certain that God has dealt well with him. The psalmist isn’t simply stating a fact, but is also expressing gratitude for how God has dealt well with him and for God’s faithfulness.
“Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments” (vs 66) – The psalmist’s petition in verse 66 is based on what he knows from God’s Word. Because he believes God’s Word is absolute truth, he can confidently and expectantly petition God to teach him good judgment and knowledge (James 1:5). Along with gratitude, we respond to God dealing well with us by living a life characterized by godly wisdom (James 3:13-18) and obedience (James 1:19-25; 2:14-26) for God’s glory.
Poole and Kidner offer a helpful understanding of “good judgment”: “Hebrew, the goodness of taste, an experimental sense and relish of divine things.” (Poole) “Judgment, here, is literally ‘taste’, not in our sense of artistic judgment, but of spiritual discrimination: ‘for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food’ (Job 34:3). Cf. Hebrews 5:14.” (Kidner)[2]
The psalmist knows that it is not wise to trust his own heart, judgment, and knowledge. He needs wisdom from God. He is humble enough to ask God to teach him.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (vs 67) – Like the psalmist, I have learned the hard way due to my own sin, someone’s sin against me, or simply because we live in a fallen world. Affliction has driven me to God and motivated me to want to obey (most of the time).
Spurgeon wrote, “Often our trials act as a thorn hedge to keep us in the good pasture, but our prosperity is a gap through which we go astray.”[3] I have grown to understand this through health trials. My failing body keeps me dependent on God. Without the hedge of health trials, I would be prone to relying on myself instead of God and His Word.
In Jesus, we have the perfect example. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). We don’t tend to think of Jesus needing to learn obedience since He is God, but He was also fully man. In His humanity, he learned obedience through His suffering or affliction. Jesus perfectly trusted the Father and kept God’s Word even unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
“You are good and do good; teach me your statues” (vs 68) – The psalmist shares “God is…” and “God does…” truths. God is good, and He does good. This declaration follows the psalmist’s affliction. The psalmist knew that God is good and does good even in his affliction. Circumstances change, but God’s character never changes. He is always good and always doing good towards those in Christ. He is conforming us to the image of Jesus which so often happens in the refining fire of trials and affliction (Romans 8:28-29).
Our typical response in trials and affliction is complaining and doubting God’s goodness. Despite the affliction, the psalmist asks God a second time to teach him His statutes. His hope is in God and His Word. He is willing to sacrifice and endure to grow in his understanding of God’s Word which is not for merely acquiring knowledge. It is to grow in his relationship with God.
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things” (Psalm 107:8-9). God is good, and He does good.
“The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts” – The psalmist committed to obedience and faithfulness not only in affliction but in the face of false accusations as well. If we flip it around, his obedience and faithfulness did not spare him from false accusations. David was a man after God’s own heart, but he was falsely accused. Jesus was the only one truly righteous, and others smeared him with lies. Those who are in Christ should expect to be hated and to suffer as Jesus did (1 Peter 2:21; John 15:18-20).
We are tempted to retaliate or at least defend ourselves in the face of false accusations, but the psalmist was committed to keeping God’s word with his whole heart. He didn’t let the sin of others distract him from whole-hearted obedience. “To such slanders and calumnies, a good life is the best answer. When a friend once told Plato, what scandalous stories his enemies had propagated concerning him,—I will live so, replied the great Philosopher, that nobody shall believe them.” (Horne)[4]
“their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law” (vs 70) – The psalmist expands on verse 69. The insolent are “dull, insensitive, drowning in luxury and excess” (David Guzik). The heart of the insolent is bent on self and the world. In contrast, the psalmist delights in God’s law. As in verse 69, the psalmist is not distracted by the wickedness of the insolent. His affection is fixed on God and His Word.
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues” (vs 71) – The psalmist repeats God’s goodness and good work in his affliction (vs 67). He specifies part of the good work: that he might learn God’s statutes. I know I have grown more in my understanding of God and His Word in affliction. I know God more personally and deeply than I would have without affliction. The affliction exposes my need for God, and causes God’s character to shine all the more brightly in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
“The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (vs 72) – The psalmist ends with an astounding, counter-cultural assertion. God’s Word is better than worldly wealth. He uses the picture of thousands of gold and silver pieces, but we can insert anything besides God that captures our hearts – anything we deem as precious or valuable, sacrifice for, delight in, and on which we place our hope and affection. God’s Word is unsurpassed, unmatched, and unrivaled. Can we say with the psalmist, “The law of your mouth is better to me than anything else?”
Reflection
Mark Futato in his commentary on Psalms, summarized Psalm 119 with five teachings about the Lord’s instruction. Today, we will arrange our reflection questions within these five teachings.
As you think through today’s section of Psalm 119:
1. What is God’s instruction? What is your attitude towards that instruction?
2. We learned about the psalmist’s desire for God’s instruction. How would you describe your desire for God’s instruction generally and specifically from today’s verses set midst affliction?
3. What is one specific step to take to live in keeping with God’s instruction in today’s verses?
4. How have you seen the benefits from God’s instruction? Be specific?
5. What is revealed about God’s heart in His instruction (hint: “God is…” and “God does…” truths)? How does that encourage you to respond in whole-hearted obedience?
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 119:65–72.
[2] David Guzik, Psalms, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Ps 119:65–66.
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