Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:75
I know, O LORD, that thy judgments [are] right, and [that] thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
75. that thy judgments are right ] Righteous (R.V.), lit. righteousness. Cp. Psa 119:7 ; Psa 119:62, &c.
hast afflicted me ] Cp. Deu 8:2-3; Deu 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. Deu 32:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 119:75
I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Divine rectitude and fidelity
I. The truths declared.
1. In all the afflictive events of life, we are to recognize, not only a directing and an overruling Providence in general, but also the application of its provisions and dispensations to individuals.
2. All Gods providential dispensations, not excepting the most painful ones, are in accordance with perfect rectitude.
3. The dispensations of Providence in application to those whom God designs to bless, are the operations of Divine love.
II. The certainty expressed. We know also that Gods judgments are right, and that His afflictive dispensations are but the awful visitations of love. But how?
1. From the Bible. The doctrine that there is a comprehensive, minute, all-wise Providence, and that all providential dispensations towards the people of God, however afflictive, are expressions of faithful love, and in close connection and harmony with the designs of the Cross of Christ, is conveyed in every part of the Word of God.
2. From the revealed character of God. He is just, and wise, and good. It is our bliss to be assured of this. To His natural perfections of eternity, intelligence, power, and immensity is added every moral attribute in infinite perfection. What He is in Himself, that He is in His doings.
III. The state of mind manifested.
1. Here is expressed a proper sense of the nature, in themselves, of the painful events which befall us. They are viewed as judgments, and felt to be afflictions.
2. Here is manifested the absence of all disposition to murmur, repine, and rebel against the appointments of God. The language indicates a heart, as well as a tongue, free from hard thoughts of God.
3. This language is expressive of the deepest submission to the will of God.
4. Here is expressed confidence in God, that some gracious design is comprehended in His painful visitations, and that they will terminate in some merciful result. It is faith ascending her watch tower, putting herself in the posture of expectation, and looking out for the blessing, though she does not know from what quarter, at what time, or in what form the blessing will come, yet still believing it will come. (J. A. James.)
Mans relation to Gods rule
Every mans religion takes colouring and character from his conceptions of God. I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right. This is the utterance of a sure faith, a faith which has all the certainty of knowledge. And elsewhere we meet it oftentimes, as (Psa 23:4.) His felt conviction of the Divine presence and the Divine love inspired him with courage, and cheered him with light in the darkest day of his earthly experience. And this position commends itself at once to the highest and clearest reason, and to the deepest affections of man. It is through faith in the perfect and paternal God that the wearied spirit of man finds rest. I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right. This is the utterance of a devout soul, faithful and active within its own sphere. What a contrast in spirit it presents to that of the lives which so many libel How many men and women pass their days in an unconscious protest against the Divine providence. Everything to them is a bar, a hindrance, a stone of stumbling, a rock of offence. Nor can cure come to this direful malady of spirit until the thought of Gods sovereign rule becomes a fixed conviction in the soul and a ground principle of life. This kills that selfishness which, by magnifying our individual importance beyond all proper proportions, becomes the prolific root of discontent. Disappointments come to man and cherished hopes fade. What then? Is hope gone–following health or wealth in their flight? Is trust buried in the tomb? No, for we know that God reigneth, always supreme in darkness as in light, in tribulation as in joy. We know that though clouds and darkness are round about Him, justice and mercy are the habitations of His throne. A very noticeable fact in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ is His recognition of the trials of the human lot. One of His earliest utterances was a blessing on the mourners and a promise of comfort. He was Himself a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Thus He becomes to man the highest revelation of the religion which God requires. And when the most trying crisis of His life was upon Him–when the cross was in view, and the agony of His soul was at its height; yet did He, out, of His living trust in God, nevertheless say, Not My will, O Father, but Thine be done. This is Christs testimony to the great and consolatory truth set forth in our text: that whatever comes to pass in the Divine order of events is right; God rules in and over all affairs and events, and His is the rule of infinite wisdom, infinite justice, and infinite love. (John Cordner.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 75. I know – that thy judgments are right] All the dispensations of thy providence are laid in wisdom, and executed in mercy: let me see that it is through this wisdom and mercy that I have been afflicted.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
75-78. in faithfulnessthatis, without in the least violating Thy faithfulness; because my sinsdeserved and needed fatherly chastisement. Enduring chastisement witha filial temper (Heb12:6-11), God’s promises of mercy (Ro8:28) will be fulfilled, and He will give comfort in sorrow(Lam 3:22; 2Co 1:3;2Co 1:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole 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
Ps 89:30.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Still David is in affliction, and being so he owns, 1. That his sin was justly corrected: I know, O Lord! that thy judgments are right, are righteousness itself. However God is pleased to afflict us, he does us no wrong, nor can we charge him with any iniquity, but most acknowledge that it is less than we have deserved. We know that God is holy in his nature and wise and just in all the acts of his government, and therefore we cannot but know, in the general, that his judgments are right, though, in some particular instances, there may be difficulties which we cannot easily resolve. 2. That God’s promise was graciously performed. The former may silence us under our afflictions, and forbid us to repine, but this may satisfy us, and enable us to rejoice; for afflictions are in the covenant, and therefore they are not only not meant for our hurt, but they are really intended for our good: “In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me, pursuant to the great design of my salvation.” It is easier to own, in general, that God’s judgments are right, than to own it when it comes to be our own case; but David subscribes to it with application, “Even my afflictions are just and kind.”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
75 I have known, O Jehovah / that thy judgments are justice. By judgments, in this psalm, we are to understand the precepts of the law; but as the prophet immediately adds, that he was justly chastised, he seems to use the word in this verse, for the punishments by which God stirs up men to repentance. These two words, צדק, tsedek, justice, in the first clause, and אמונה emunah truth, in the last, have here nearly the same signification. In the first clause, the prophet confesses in general that God so regulates his judgments, as to shut the mouths of the ungodly, should any of them complain of his cruelty or rigor; and that such equity shines forth in them, as to extort from us the confession that nothing is better for men than in this way to be called back to the consideration of themselves. He next exhibits an example of this in his own person. Even hypocrites sometimes yield God the praise of justice when he chastises others, and they never condemn his severity, so long as they themselves are spared. But it is the property of true piety to be less austere and rigid censors of the faults of others than of our own. The knowledge of which the prophet speaks, is a sure evidence of his having made a strict and earnest examination of himself; for, had he not well weighed his own guilt, he could not by assured experience have learned the righteousness of God in his afflictions. If it is considered preferable to take the word judgments in its usual acceptation, the meaning of the text will be: Lord, I know that thy law is holy and just, and severely as thou hast afflicted me, I still retain the persuasion of this truth; for even in my afflictions I discern the righteousness, which corresponds with the character of thy word.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(75) See Psa. 119:67-71.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments [are] right, and [that] thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Ver. 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right ] That is, that I suffer deservedly. To thee, O Lord, belongeth righteousness, &c., Dan 9:7
And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
right = righteousness, as in Psa 119:7.
afflicted = humbled.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I know: Psa 119:7, Psa 119:62, Psa 119:128, Psa 119:160, Deu 32:4, Job 34:23, Jer 12:1
right: Heb. righteousness, Gen 18:25, Rom 3:4, Rom 3:5
thou in: Psa 25:10, Psa 89:30-33, Heb 12:10, Heb 12:11, Rev 3:19
Reciprocal: Lev 26:43 – and they Deu 7:9 – the faithful 1Ch 16:12 – the judgments 2Ch 33:19 – before he Job 33:23 – to Psa 4:1 – have mercy upon me Psa 19:9 – judgments Psa 33:4 – the word Psa 119:39 – for thy Psa 119:67 – but now Psa 119:138 – faithful Psa 119:175 – and let thy Jer 31:18 – Thou hast Lam 1:18 – Lord Dan 4:37 – all Hos 14:9 – for Eph 6:1 – for Heb 12:5 – despise Heb 12:6 – whom Jam 1:12 – the man 1Pe 1:6 – if
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 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 Gods favour to him; but those that delight in Gods law shall not be left destitute of those tokens.