Psalm 119:51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from your law. The proud have had me greatly in derision. Throughout this psalm there is evidence that the writer was in circumstances of limitation and difficulty. He was evidently trying to live a godly life in depressing surroundings; no one about him seemed to be in sympathy with him; and some even scorned the persistency with which he ordered his life in accordance with God's commandments. The condition may be represented by that of a godly prince in a godless court; but the thing is brought closer home to us if we take the position of a godly young man in a godless house of business. His companions will, as we say, "lead him a life;" will misrepresent his doings and sayings; call him names; point at him the finger of scorn. I. DERISION IS ONE OF THE MOST POTENT FORCES OF THE TEMPTER. We all want to stand well with others. We all love praise. It is right that we should. Many a man can bear blame, reproach, and denunciation, who is quite mastered by scorn and derision. Let a man "make fun" of him, and his amour propre is wounded. In this light, what a sublime triumph our Lord won by his patience on the cross when the scorners were all about it! But the godly man more especially wants to stand well with others, because in that way he testifies to them of the grace of God that is upon him. To be derided then seems to spoil his witness. So derision does two things, and serves the tempter's purpose well. 1. It wounds the good man's sensibilities. 2. It damages, and may even destroy, the good man's witness. Young men have stood strong before open temptation who have bent like reeds before subtle, yet strangely powerful, derision. And they who deride and misunderstand are the proud - a term which does not here suggest the "boaster," but rather the "self-confident." The man who relies on himself is ever ready to deride him who relies on God. Such reliance he cannot appreciate. II. STEADFAST GOODNESS HOPEFULLY RESISTS THIS TEMPTATION. Steadfast goodness is steadied goodness; and the steadying that is specially in mind in this psalm is that which comes from familiarity with God's Word, love for it, and practiced skill in the use of it. And the supreme instance of this steadying power is found in the temptation-scene of the Lord Jesus. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.WEB: The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don't swerve from your law. |
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