Mark Daniel Twombly's Blog, page 2
April 18, 2023
Psalm 119:71
(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)
"It is good for me that I wasafflicted,
That I may learn Yourstatutes."
In the scope of Teth, we see a radical redefinition of whatis good compared with our inclinations. ‘You have dealt well’ (v.65). Howso? According to Your word, butmagnified and focused in affliction, whether that be through Your sovereigntyin difficult circumstances, or with difficult people - in this case, crafty,arrogant liars (v. 69). The pressurewithin and without grows us (see Romans 5:1-5, Romans 8:28-30, James 1:2-4 among many others!). Hope in a perfect result! See the notes on v. 67. ‘It is good’ because ‘You are good and dogood’ (v.68). ‘Good’ here is a variationof what we see in vv. 65 (‘well’) and v.68, it is the Hebrew ‘טוֹב, ṭôḇ: A verb meaningto be happy, to please, to be loved, to be favored, to seem good, to beacceptable, to endure, to be valuable, to do well, to do right…while thepsalmist asserted that it was good for him to have been afflicted, for therebyhe learned the Lord's decrees (Psa 119:71).’ The sinfulness of our hearts reveals that this must be a primary meansof seeing and seeking Your goodness. ‘Learn’ is the same as ‘teach’ in v.68, is common in Psalm 119, and hasa sense of training. I think of theregular angst of this life. Am I aseager to rid myself of sin as I am to rid myself of pain? Father, how sweet this is in that it drivesme to see and to seek You. "Yieldnow and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you." (Job 22:21) How would I yield without affliction? And how would I receive Your goodness without yielding to it?
‘Waters of a full cup are wrung out to God's people,Psa 73:10. 2. That it has been the advantage of God's people to be afflicted… ThereforeGod visited him with affliction, that he might learn God's statutes; and theintention was answered: the afflictions had contributed to the improvement ofhis knowledge and grace. He that chastened him taught him. The rod andreproof give wisdom. [Proverbs 29:15]’
‘Even though the affliction came from bad men, it wasoverruled for good ends… It was not good to the proud to be prosperous, fortheir hearts grew sensual and insensible; but affliction was good for thePsalmist. Our worst is better for us than the sinner's best. It is bad forsinners to rejoice, and good for saints to sorrow… We prayed the Lord to teachus (Psa 119:66), and now we see how he has already been doing it. Truly he hasdealt well with us, for he has dealt wisely with us… To be larded by prosperityis not good for the proud; but for the truth to be learned by adversity is goodfor the humble. Very little is to be learned without affliction. If we would bescholars we must be sufferers.’
Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Psalm 119:71, e-Swordedition
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:71, e-Swordedition
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