Psalm 119:75

I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(75) See Psalm 119:67-71.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 119:75-77. I know, O Lord — By the convictions of my own conscience, and by experience; that thy judgments are right — That thy corrections, as the next clause explains this, are just and proper, and that thou, in faithfulness, hast afflicted me — That is, in order to the accomplishment of thy faithful promises, and for my present and eternal good. Let thy merciful kindness, &c. — Yet, in judgment, remember mercy, and give me that support in, and deliverance out of my troubles which thou hast promised. Let thy tender mercies — Thy tender compassion, and pardoning grace; come unto me — Let me have the evidence that I indeed possess them, and experience their blessed efficacy in my own heart; that I may live — That, being passed from death unto life, I may live a life of faith, hope, and love, of joy and gladness, of holiness and happiness; for thy law is my delight — And while I rely on its promises, I make it my care to obey its precepts, and thus manifest the truth of my repentance. Observe, reader, a good man cannot be satisfied or happy without evident tokens of God’s favour to him; but those that delight in God’s law shall not be left destitute of those tokens.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

119:73-80 God made us to serve him, and enjoy him; but by sin we have made ourselves unfit to serve him, and to enjoy him. We ought, therefore, continually to beseech him, by his Holy Spirit, to give us understanding. The comforts some have in God, should be matter of joy to others. But it is easy to own, that God's judgments are right, until it comes to be our own case. All supports under affliction must come from mercy and compassion. The mercies of God are tender mercies; the mercies of a father, the compassion of a mother to her son. They come to us when we are not able to go to them. Causeless reproach does not hurt, and should not move us. The psalmist could go on in the way of his duty, and find comfort in it. He valued the good will of saints, and was desirous to keep up his communion with them. Soundness of heart signifies sincerity in dependence on God, and devotedness to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I know, O Lord - I feel assured; I entertain no doubt on the subject. This was the conviction of the mind of the psalmist in affliction. Mysterious as the trial may have been, hard as it may have been to bear, long as it may have been continued, and varied as may have been the forms of the trial, yet he had no doubt that it was all right; that it was for the best purposes; and that it was in strict accordance with what was best.

That thy judgments - This does not here refer to the laws of God, but to the divine dealings; to those afflictions which came in the way of judgments, or which might be regarded as expressive of the divine view of his conduct and life.

Are right - Margin, as in Hebrew, "righteousness." They were in accordance with what was right; they were so strictly just, that they might be called righteousness itself. This implied the utmost confidence in God, the most absolute submission to his will.

And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me - In faithfulness to my soul; in faithfulness to my own best interest. It was not arbitrary; it was not from malice; it was not that the affliction had come by chance; it was because God loved his soul, and sought his welfare. It was because God saw that there was some good reason why it should be done; that there was some evil to be checked; some improper conduct to be corrected; some lesson which he would be the better for learning; some happy influence on his life here, and on his happiness in heaven, which would be more than a compensation for all that he would suffer.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

75-78. in faithfulness—that is, without in the least violating Thy faithfulness; because my sins deserved and needed fatherly chastisement. Enduring chastisement with a filial temper (Heb 12:6-11), God's promises of mercy (Ro 8:28) will be fulfilled, and He will give comfort in sorrow (La 3:22; 2Co 1:3, 4).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I know by the convictions of my own conscience, and by experience.

Thy judgments, i.e. thy corrections, as the next clause explains this.

In faithfulness; in pursuance of thy promises, and in order to my good, that by my afflictions thou mightest purge me from those sins which might provoke thy wrath against me, and prepare me for a better administration, and more lasting and comfortable enjoyment of my kingdom.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right,.... His word, the doctrines and precepts of it, they are all consistent with the holiness and righteousness of God; and so are his judgments on wicked men, they are righteous, just, and true: God is righteous in all his ways, there is no unrighteousness in any dispensation of his; and such are his corrections of his own people, and which seem to be chiefly intended here and are so called, because they are done in judgment, with moderation and gentleness, in wisdom, and to answer the best purposes; and they are all right, for the good and profit of the people of God, that they may be partakers of his holiness, and not be condemned with the world: this the psalmist knew by experience and owned and acknowledged;

and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me; in faithfulness to himself, his covenant, and promise; that upon forsaking his law, and not walking in his statutes, he would visit sin with a rod, and transgressions with stripes, though he would not take away his lovingkindness; and in faithfulness to David, for his spiritual and eternal good, in great sincerity, heartily, cordially, with real affection and love: his rebukes were faithful; the chastisement was not above measure or desert, nor above strength to bear it; see Psalm 89:30.

Geneva Study Bible

I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

75. that thy judgments are right] Righteous (R.V.), lit. righteousness. Cp. Psalm 119:7; Psalm 119:62, &c.

hast afflicted me] Cp. Deuteronomy 8:2-3; Deuteronomy 8:16, where the same word is rendered to humble. All God’s laws are in conformity with the perfect standard of His righteousness: faithfulness to His covenant leads him to use the discipline of chastisement to teach men obedience to those laws. Cp. Deuteronomy 32:4.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 75. - I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right; literally, are righteousness - have in them nothing that is not just and good. And that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. The Prayer-book Version brings out the full sense of the words, "And that thou in very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled" (comp. vers. 67, 68, 71, with the comment furnished by Hebrews 12:5-11). Psalm 119:75

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The eightfold Jod. God humbles, but He also exalts again according to His word; for this the poet prays in order that he may be a consolatory example to the God-fearing, to the confusion of his enemies. It is impossible that God should forsake man, who is His creature, and deny to him that which makes him truly happy, viz., the understanding and knowledge of His word. For this spiritual gift the poet prays in Psalm 119:73 (cf. on 73a, Deuteronomy 32:6; Job 10:8; Job 31:15); and he wishes in Psalm 119:74 that all who fear God may see in him with joy an example of the way in which trust in the word of God is rewarded (cf. Psalm 34:3; Psalm 35:27; Psalm 69:33; Psalm 107:42, and other passages). He knows that God's acts of judgment are pure righteousness, i.e., regulated by God's holiness, out of which they spring, and by the salvation of men, at which they aim; and he knows that God has humbled him אמוּנה (accus. adverb. for בּאמוּנה), being faithful in His intentions towards him; for it is just in the school of affliction that one first learns rightly to estimate the worth of His word, and comes to feel its power. But trouble, though sweetened by an insight into God's salutary design, is nevertheless always bitter; hence the well-justified prayer of Psalm 119:76, that God's mercy may notwithstanding be bestowed upon him for his consolation, in accordance with the promise which is become his (ל as in Psalm 119:49), His servant's. עוּת, Psalm 119:78, instead of being construed with the accusative of the right, or of the cause, that is perverted, is construed with the accusative of the person upon whom such perversion of right, such oppression by means of misrepresentation, is inflicted, as in Job 19:6; Lamentations 3:36. Chajug' reads עוּדוּני as in Psalm 119:61. The wish expressed in Psalm 119:79 is to be understood according to Psalm 73:10; Jeremiah 15:19, cf. Proverbs 9:4, Proverbs 9:16. If instead of וידעי (which is favoured by Psalm 119:63), we read according to the Chethb וידעוּ (cf. Psalm 119:125), then what is meant by ישׁוּבוּ לּי is a turning towards him for the purpose of learning: may their knowledge be enriched from his experience. For himself, however, in Psalm 119:80 he desires unreserved, faultless, unwavering adherence to God's word, for only thus is he secure against being ignominiously undeceived.