It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
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It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
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It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
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It is good for me that I have been afflicted, in order that I might learn Thy statutes.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Psalms 119:71 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 12:10-11 For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
- Psalms 119:67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word.
- 1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are punished by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
- Psalms 94:12-13 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah, and teach out of your law, that you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.
- Isaiah 27:9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherah poles and the incense altars shall rise no more.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 71. It has been good for me that I…
71. It has been good for me that I was afflicted. He here confirms the sentiment which we have previously considered — that it was profitable to him to be subdued by God’s chastisements, that he might more and more be brought back and softened to obedience. By these words he confesses that he was not exempt from the perverse obstinacy with which all mankind are infected; for, had it been otherwise with him, the profit of which he speaks, when he says that his docility was owing to his being brought low, would have been merely pretended; even as none of us willingly submits his neck to God, until He soften our natural hardness by the strokes of a hammer. It is good for us to taste continually the fruit which comes to us from God’s corrections, that they may become sweet to us; and that, in this way, we, who are so rebellious and wayward, may suffer ourselves to be brought into subjection.
The last verse also requires no exposition, as it contains a sentiment of very frequent occurrence in this psalm, and, in itself, sufficiently plain, — That he preferred God’s law to all the riches of the world, the immoderate desire of which so deplorably infatuates the great bulk of mankind. He does not compare the law of God with the riches he himself possessed; but he affirms, that it was more precious in his estimation than a vast inheritance.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He confesseth that before that he was chastened, he…
He confesseth that before that he was chastened, he was rebellious, as man by nature is.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 119:71 [It is] good for me that I…
Psa 119:71 [It is] good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted] And thereby humbled; for else the fruit of affliction is lost, and they are always impaired that are not improved by their sufferings, as all God’s people are sure to be at length. The Lacedemonians of old (and the same is said of the Hollanders of late) grew rich by war, and were bettered when all other kingdoms were undone by it. The saints make benefit of their crosses, which to others are destructive.
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That I might learn thy statutes] Luther saith of some of Saint Paul’s Epistles, that they can never be understood but by the cross. Qui tribulantur, sacras literas melius intelligunt (saith he in another place) Through trails they better understood the Bible. securi et fortunati eas legunt sicut Ovidii carmen, that is, the afflicted do best understand the Scriptures, when the wealthy and secure read them but as one of Ovid’s poems.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Good; necessary, and greatly beneficial. He repeats what in…
Good; necessary, and greatly beneficial. He repeats what in effect he said before, Psa 119:67, partly to intimate the certainty and importance of this truth, and partly because it is a great paradox to worldly men, who generally esteem afflictions to be evil, yea, the worst of evils.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain See here, 1. That it has been the lot…
See here, 1. That it has been the lot of the best saints to be afflicted. The proud and the wicked lived in pomp and pleasure, while David, though he kept close to God and his duty, was still in affliction. 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. David could speak experimentally: It was good for me; many a good lesson he had learnt by his afflictions, and many a good duty he had been brought to which otherwise would have been unlearnt and undone. Therefore God visited him with affliction, that he might learn God's statutes; and the intention was answered: the afflictions had contributed to the improvement of his knowledge and grace. He that chastened him taught him. The rod and reproof give wisdom.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right,....…
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 Psa 89:30.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 71. It is good for me that I…
Verse 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted] See on Ps 119:67.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 119:71-72. It is good for me — Necessary…
Psa 119:71-72. It is good for me — Necessary and very beneficial; that I have been afflicted — He repeats what, in effect, he said before, (Psa 119:67,) partly to intimate the certainty and importance of this truth, and partly because it is a great paradox to worldly men, who generally esteem afflictions to be evils, yea, the worst of evils. The law of thy mouth — Not only thy promises, but even thy precepts, which are so unpleasant and disagreeable to ungodly men; are better unto me — More needful and profitable, and therefore more desirable; than thousands of gold and silver — Because they not only give me abundant satisfaction and comfort in this life, but also conduct me with safety and delight unto that eternal and most blessed life, where gold and silver bear no price.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain It is good for me that I have been…
It is good for me that I have been afflicted - See the notes at Psa 119:67. Whatever may have been the form of the affliction, it was good for me. The design was benevolent; the result has been my own benefit. This will be the experience sooner or later resulting from all the afflictions of the righteous.
That I might learn thy statutes - That I might be brought more fully to understand what they require; and that I might be led to conform to them. It is implied here
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(a) that this is the tendency of affliction; and
(b) that this is an advantage - a good.
Anything that will lead a man to obey God is a blessing and a favor. Whatever leads a sinner to secure the salvation of his soul is a gain to him. No matter what it may cost; no matter what he may be required to give up; no matter to what persecutions and troubles it may expose him; no matter what he may suffer, or how long he may suffer; no matter though poverty, contempt, toil - even the rack or the stake - may be the consequence of his religion - yet it is again to him; and he will be thankful for it in the end - for nothing that can be endured in this life can be compared with the sufferings of the world of despair; nothing on earth can be “compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us in heaven.” See the notes at Rom 8:18.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 71. Cp. Psa_119:67.
71. Cp. Psa_119:67.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (71) It is good . . .—See Psa_119:67. Probably…
(71) It is good . . .—See Psa_119:67. Probably the result of discipline on the nation is intended, though the “sweet uses of adversity” were long ago a truism of moralists. See Æsch., Agam., 172:
“Who guideth mortals to wisdom, maketh them grasp lore
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Firmly through their pain.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain It is good for me that I have been…
It is good for me that I have been afflicted (see the comment on ver. 67). That I might learn thy statutes. The whole nation "learnt God"s statutes" by the affliction of the Babylonish Captivity. Individuals "learnt" them equally by their special chastisements.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 71.
Ver. 71.
1. David knew what was good for him.
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2. David learned what is good essentially. Active obedience is learned by passive obedience.
Ver. 71. Affliction an instructor.
1. Never welcomed: "Have been."
2. Often impatiently endured.
3. Always gratefully remembered: "It is good, "etc.
4. Efficient for a perverse scholar: "That I might learn."
5. Indispensable in the education of all. J.F.
Ver. 71. The school of affliction.
1. The reluctant scholar sent to school.
2. The scholar's hard lesson.
3. The scholar's blessed learning.
4. The scholar's sweet reflection. C.A.D.
Psalms 119:71*
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Even though the affliction came from bad men, it was overruled for good ends: though it was bad as it came from them, it was good for David. It benefited him in many ways, and he knew it. Whatever he may have thought while under the trial, he perceived himself to be the better for it when it was over. It was not good to the proud to be prosperous, for their hearts grew sensual and insensible; but affliction was good for the Psalmist. Our worst is better for us than the sinner's best. It is bad for sinners to rejoice, and good for saints to sorrow. A thousand benefits have come to us through our pains and griefs, and among the rest is this that we have thus been schooled in the law.
That I might learn thy statutes. These we have come to know and to keep by feeling the smart of the rod. We prayed the Lord to teach us (Ps 119:66), and now we see how he has already been doing it. Truly he has dealt well with us, for he has dealt wisely with us. We have been kept from the ignorance of the greasy hearted by our trials, and this, if there were nothing else, is just cause for constant gratitude. To be larded by prosperity, is not good for the proud; but for the truth to be learned by adversity is good for the humble. Very little is to be learned without affliction. If we would be scholars we must be sufferers. As the Latins say, "Experientia docet", experience teaches. There is no royal road to learning the royal statutes; God's commands are best read by eyes wet with tears.
Ver. 71. It is good for me, etc. I am mended by my sickness, enriched by my poverty, and strengthened by my weakness, and with S. Bernard desire, "Irasecaris mihi; Domine", O Lord, be angry with me For if you chide me not, you consider me not; if I taste no bitterness, I have no physic; if thou correct me not, I am not thy son. Thus was it with the great grandchild of David, Manasseh, when he was in affliction, "He besought the Lord his God": even that king's iron was more precious to him than his gold, his jail a more happy lodging than his palace, Babylon a better school than Jerusalem. What fools are we, then to frown upon our afflictions! These, how crabbed soever, are our best friends. They are not indeed for our pleasure, they are for our profit; their issue makes them worthy of a welcome. What do we care how bitter that potion be that brings Health. Abraham Wright.
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Saints are great gainers by affliction, because "godliness", which is "great gain", which is "profitable for all things", is more powerful than before. The rod of correction, by a miracle of grace, like that of Aaron's, buds and blossoms, and brings forth the fruits of righteousness, which are most excellent. A rare sight it is indeed to see a man coming out of a bed of languishing, or any other furnace of affliction, more like to angels in purity, more like to Christ who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; more like unto God himself, being more exactly righteous in all his was, and more exemplarily holy in all manner of conversation. Nathanael Vincent, 1697.
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. If I have no cross to bear today, I shall not advance heavenwards. A cross (that is anything that disturbs our peace), is the spur which stimulates, and Without which we should most likely remain stationary, blinded with empty vanities, and sinking deeper into sin. A cross helps us onwards, in spite of our apathy and resistance. To lie quietly on a bed of down, may seem a very sweet existence; but, pleasant ease and rest are not the lot of a Christian: if he would mount higher and higher, it must be by a rough road. Alas! for those who have no daily cross! Alas! for those who repine and fret against it! From "Gold Dust", 1880.
Ver. 71. It is good for me, etc. There are some things good but not pleasant, as sorrow and affliction. Sin is pleasant, but unprofitable; and sorrow is profitable, but unpleasant. As waters are purest when they are in motion, so saints are generally holiest when in affliction. Some Christians resemble those children who will learn their books no longer than while the rod is on their backs. It is well known that by the greatest affliction the Lord has sealed the sweetest instruction. Many are not bettered by the judgments they see, when they are by the judgments they have felt. The purest gold is the most pliable. That is the best blade which bends well without retaining its crooked figure. William Secker, 1660.
Ver. 71. It is good for me, etc. Piety hath a wondrous virtue to change all things into matter of consolation and joy. No condition in effect can be evil or sad to a pious man: his very sorrows are pleasant, his infirmities are wholesome, his wants enrich him, his disgraces adorn him, his burdens ease him; his duties are privileges, his falls are the grounds of advancement, his very sins (as breeding contrition, humility, circumspection, and vigilance), do better and profit him: whereas impiety doth spoil every condition, doth corrupt and embase all good things, doth embitter all the conveniences and comforts of life. Isaac Barrow, 1630-1677.
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. In Miss E.J. Whately's very interesting Life of her Father, the celebrated Archbishop of Dublin, a fact is recorded, as told by Dr. Whately, with reference to the introduction of the larch tree into England. When the plants were first brought, the gardener, hearing that they came from the south of Europe, and taking it for granted that they would require warmth, forgetting that might grow near the snow line, put them into a hothouse. Day by day they withered, until the gardener in disgust threw them on a dung heap outside; there they began to revive and bud, and at last grew into trees. They needed the cold.
The great Husbandman often saves his plants by throwing them out into the cold. The nipping frosts of trial and affliction are ofttimes needed, if God's larches are to grow. It is under such discipline that new thoughts and feelings appear. The heart becomes more dead to the world and self. From the night of sorrow rises the morning of joy. Winter is the harbinger of spring. From the crucifixion of the old man comes the resurrection of the new, as in nature life is the child of death. "The night is the mother of the day, And winter of the spring; And ever upon old decay, The greenest mosses spring." James Wareing Bardsicy, in Illustrated Texts and Texts Illustrated, 1876.
Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. It is a remarkable circumstance that the most brilliant colours of plants are to be seen on the highest mountains, in spots that are most exposed to the wildest weather. The brightest lichens and mosses, the loveliest gems of wild flowers, abound far up on the bleak, storm scalped peak. One of the richest displays of organic colouring I ever beheld was near the summit of Mount Chenebettaz, a hill about 10,000 feet high, immediately above the great St. Bernard Hospice. The whole face of an extensive rock was covered with a most vivid yellow lichen, which shone in the sunshine like the golden battlement of an enchanted castle. There, in that lofty region, amid the most frowning desolation, exposed to the fiercest tempest of the sky, this lichen exhibited a glory of colour such as it never showed in the sheltered valley. I have two specimens of the same lichen before me while I write these lines, one from the great St. Bernard, and the other from the wall of a Scottish castle, deeply embosomed among sycamore trees; and the difference in point of form and colouring between them is most striking. The specimen nurtured amid the wild storms of the mountain peak is of a lovely primrose hue, and is smooth in texture and complete in outline; while the specimen nurtured amid the soft airs and the delicate showers of the lowland valley is of a dim rusty hue, and is scurfy in texture, and broken in outline. And is it not so with the Christian who is afflicted, tempest tossed, and not comforted? Till the storms and vicissitudes of God's providence beat upon him again and again, his character appears marred and clouded by selfish and worldly influences. But trials clear away the obscurity, perfect the outlines of his disposition, and give brightness and blessings to his piety. Amidst my list of blessings infinite Stands this the foremost that my heart has bled; For all I bless thee, most for the severe. Hugh Macmillan.
Ver. 71. That I might fear thy statutes. He speaks not of that learning which is gotten by hearing or reading of God's word; but of the learning which he had gotten by experience; that he had felt the truth and comfort of God's word more effectual and lively in trouble than he could do without trouble; which also made him more godly, wise, and religious when the trouble was gone. William Cowper.
Ver. 71. That I might learn. "I had never known, "said Martin Luther's wife, "what such and such things meant, in such and such psalms, such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties, had not God brought me under some affliction." It is very true that God's rod is as the schoolmaster's pointer to the child, pointing out the letter, that he may the better take notice of it; thus he points out to us many good lessons which we should never otherwise have learned. From John Spencer's "Things New and Old, "1658.
Ver. 71. That I might learn. As prosperity blindeth the eyes of men, even so doth adversity open them. Like as the salve that remedies the disease of the eyes doth first bite and grieve the eyes, and maketh them to water, but yet afterward the eyesight is clearer than it was; even so trouble doth vex men wonderfully at the first, but afterwards it lighteneth the eyes of the mind, that it is afterward more reasonable, wise and circumspect. For trouble bringeth experience, and experience bringeth wisdom. Otho Wermullerus, 1551.
Ver. 71. Learn thy statutes. The Christian has reason to thank God that things have not been accommodated to his wishes. When the mist of tears was in his eyes, he looked into the word of God and saw magnificent things. When Jonah came up from the depths of ocean, he showed that he had learned the statutes of God. One could not go too deep to get such knowledge as he obtained. Nothing now could hinder him from going to Nineveh. It is just the same as though he had brought up from the deep an army of twelve legions of the most formidable troops. The word of God, grasped by faith, was all this to him, and more. He still, however, needed further affliction; for there were some statutes not yet learned. Some gourds were to wither. He was to descend into a further vale of humiliation. Even the profoundest affliction does not, perhaps, teach us everything; a mistake we sometimes make. But why should we compel God to use harsh measures with us? Why not sit at the feet of Jesus and learn quietly what we need to learn? George Bowen, in "Daily Meditations", 1873.
Ver. 71. Statutes. The verb from which this word is formed means to engrave or inscribe. The word means a definite, prescribed, written law. The term is applied to Joseph's law about the portion of the priests in Egypt, to the law about the passover, etc. But in this psalm it has a more internal meaning; that moral law of God which is engraven on the fleshy tables of the heart; the inmost and spiritual apprehension of his will; not so obvious as the law and the testimonies, and a matter of more direct spiritual communication than his precepts; the latter being more elaborated by the efforts of the mind itself, divinely guided indeed, but perhaps more instrumentally, and less passively, employed. They are continually spoken of as things yet to be learned, either wholly or in part, not objectively apprehended already, like God's law... They are learned, not suddenly, but by experience, and through the means of trials mercifully ordained by God; lessons therefore which are deeply engraven on the heart. "Good is it for me that I have been in trouble, that I might learn thy statutes." "I have more understanding than my teachers, because thy statutes I have observed." John Jebb.
Psalms 119:72*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain It is good for me that I have been…
Psa_119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes.
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The uses of affliction
I. Afflictions promote virtue, and goodness of heart, as they tend to compose our minds to a sedate and thoughtful disposition and habit.
II. Afflictions tend to restrain our appetites and passions within reasonable bounds.
III. Afflictions, by means of a sedate and considerate habit, which they produce and confirm, tend to strengthen our minds with fortitude and constancy,
IV. Afflictions tend to soften our hearts into tender sympathy and kind affection towards our fellow-creatures. (J. Drysdale, D. D.)
Good to be afflicted
It is not good for some people to have been afflicted at all, and yet it is not the fault of the affliction; it is the fault of the persons afflicted. It might have produced in them a splendid character if all had been right to begin with; but, inasmuch as all was wrong, that very process which should have ripened them into sweetness has hastened them to rottenness. I hope, however, that I may say of many here present, or that they can say of themselves, It is good for me that I have been afflicted; The inquiry is, How has it been good?
1. It has been good in connection with many other good things. We are so constituted that we cannot bear very much prosperity. Some men might have been rich, but God knew they could not bear it, and so He has never suffered them to be tempted above what they are able to bear. Others might have been famous, but they would have been ruined by pride, and so the Lord in tender mercy has withheld from them an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, denying them this apparent advantage for their real good. Where God favours any man with prosperity He will send a corresponding amount of affliction to go with it, and deprive it of its injurious tendencies.
2. It is good to have been afflicted as a cure for evils existent within our nature. David says, Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I have kept Thy Word. That is the case with many of Gods servants. They were prone to one peculiar temptation, and though they may not have seen it, the chastening hand of God was aimed at that special weakness of their character. The Lord would have us aware of this, and therefore He often sends trial to reveal the hidden evil.
3. Affliction is also useful to Gods people as an actual producer of good things in them. Some virtues cannot be produced in us apart from affliction. One of them is patience. If a man has no trial, how is he to be patient? A veteran warrior is the child of battles, and a patient Christian is the offspring of adversity. There is a very sweet grace called sympathy, which is seldom found in persons who have had no trouble. We are told that our dear Lord and Master Himself learned sympathy by being tempted in all points like as we are. He had to feel our infirmities, or else He could not have been touched with a fellow feeling towards us. It is surely so with us.
4. It is good for me to have been afflicted because affliction is a wonderful quickener, We are very apt to go to sleep; but affliction often wakes us up. The whole of some mens religion is a kind of sleep-walking. There is not that vigour in it, there is not that earnestness in it, that there ought to be. They want to be waked up by something startling. Our trials and afflictions are intended to do that.
5. Again, according to our text, it is good for us to have been afflicted by way of instruction. Trial is our school where God teaches us on the blackboard. This school-house has no windows to let in the cheerful light. It is very dark, and so we cannot look out and get distracted by external objects; but Gods grace shines like a candle within, and by that light we see what else we had never seen. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The advantages of afflictions
I. They awaken us to serious thought. When, by reverse of fortune, we are deprived of the means of pleasures in which we had too profusely indulged; when the companions of our happier years forsake us; when pain and disease unfit us for tasting our wonted comforts, and forewarn us of death; on a sudden, the enchantment is broken; our conduct, to which we had not hitherto attended, rises in review before us; virtue and vice are exhibited in a light in which we had not viewed them before, and our souls, awakened from the dream of dissipation, commune seriously with themselves.
II. They serve to moderate our attachment to worldly objects.
III. They serve to exercise and display our virtues. It is the storm that tries the strength of the vessel.
IV. They have a natural tendency to improve our pious affections. When the fabric of our felicity falls, we perceive whose hand it was that supported it, and whose hand it is that alone can rear it anew. We feel our dependence on that Providence which, before, we had neglected to acknowledge, and seek, in communion with God, the consolation which our sufferings require.
V. They have a tendency to enliven our hope of immortality. The doctrine of a future existence is no longer regarded as a subject of cold speculation; it addresses itself to the tenderest feelings that can arise in the human breast; your minds are prepared to yield to the evidence by which it is confirmed, and you cherish it as your support under afflictions which admit of no other consolation. (W. Moodie, D. D.)
The uses of affliction
I. It affords opportunity for reflection, without which we can never properly know what we are or what we want.
II. It tends to create in us humility.
III. It is the means of leading us to repentance.
IV. It teaches us to put our trust in the righteousness of Christ.
V. It teaches us resignation.
VI. It improves our charity. (R. Mant, M. A.)
The benefits of affliction
1. It tries and calls forth the exercise of faith.
2. It enables us to exercise patience.
3. It tends to produce humility.
4. It makes us dependent and prayerful.
5. It tends to secure our obedience.
6. It teaches us to value our mercies.
7. It tends to make heaven very desirable. (D. Dickson, D. D.)
Affliction beneficial
I. In whatever form affliction comes, it is designed by God to do us good. An old writer says: Afflictions are used by God, as thorns are by husbandmen, to stop the gaps, and to keep us from breaking out of Gods ways.
II. The spirit in which affliction should be received. Trials must not be received thoughtlessly and as a matter of course; their cause and their purpose must be carefully studied. The grace of submission must be earnestly sought, that there may be no murmuring, much less rebellion, but patient endurance and resignation to the Divine will. Unwavering trust in God must be exercised. There must also be a willingness to learn His lessons, a teachableness of disposition, an earnest desire to endeavour to extract from our affliction all the profit which it is designed to bring.
III. The benefits resulting from affliction if received in a right spirit.
1. By sorrow the heart is made tender and susceptible to the influences of the Holy Spirit. Religion is welcomed by the bleeding heart as the choicest and most effectual balm.
2. Affliction rightly endured increases our love for Gods Word and obedience to His law.
3. Few motives to prayer are more powerful and effectual than those furnished by affliction.
4. Afflictions afford the best possible sphere for the exhibition and for the growth of the graces of the Spirit. How can we know we have faith unless our faith be tested? Hope, like a bright star, is best seen on a dark night; and love is most conspicuous when it clings in spite of perplexity and pain.
5. The benefits of affliction are not confined to the immediate sufferers. If rightly endured by us, others are benefited, both by our example and by the tender sympathy which we are led to feel for them in their distresses. (A. O. Smith, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Instruction from your mouth is
Instruction from your mouth is
Here "mouth" represents what God says. AT: "The instructions you have spoken are" or "Your instructions are" (See: Metonymy)
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than thousands of pieces of gold and silver
This can be stated more generally. AT: "than a large amount of money" or "than great wealth"
translationWords
good
suffer
statute
gold
silver
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.