Sweeter Than Honey 4

Text: Psalm 119:41-72

A primary assertion is made in the passage before us this morning. When approaching a passage with as many points of truth as this one it is good to understand the author by selecting the driving theme.

Primary assertion: God is Good

On the believer level I don’t know anyone that would disagree with this statement.

We have an old saying.

Good is Good - All the Time.

All the Time - God is Good.

You see this as a stand out of this passage.

Some idea of the measure of good is seen in nearly ever verse.

vs 65 - ‘Well’

66 - ‘good’

68 - ‘good’ and ‘doeth good’

71 - ‘good’

72 - ‘better’

Interestingly enough the author speaks of the goodness of God from the background of affliction...

Psalm 119:71 KJV 1900

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; That I might learn thy statutes.

Affliction is the mirror by which we understand the ‘goodness of God’.

AFFLICT', verb transitive [Latin affligo, afflicto, of ad and figo, to strike; eng. flog; Gr. to strike; , Latin plaga, a stroke. Hence, eng. flail, g being suppressed; Latin flagellum. See Flog.]

1. To give to the body or mind pain which is continued or of some permanence; to grieve, or distress; as, one is afflicted with the gout, or with melancholy, or with losses and misfortunes.

2. To trouble; to harass; to distress.

Websters 1828

Exposition on affliction

Source of affliction (v. 65),

Purpose of affliction (vv. 66–68),

Realities of affliction (vv. 69–72).

Affliction forms a central theme of these verses. The psalmist talks in vv. 67 and 71 of being “afflicted.” But his burden was to learn something from affliction, to see what God wanted to teach him in affliction. And he writes to help us do the same.

Affliction is not a foreign topic to the Bible

PhilipIan’s on joy is written from prison.

Jesus whole ministry was pinned against the affliction of the Jewish people

even Paul himself promised the suffering believers

Romans 8:28–29 KJV 1900

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

This is what the Psalmist learned...

Psalm 119:65 KJV 1900

TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word.

We are likely to judge God’s goodness on OUR standard of Good.

You and I would be willing to look and see that God is good when things have been in fact - good. But the Psalmist measures goodness not by the lightness or strength of affliction but by the willingness of God to keep his word whether I like what comes my way or not.

Lord, you have been good to me when I have enough money to make the end of the month. When my wife and I haven’t argued. When I get a raise we are likely to say....

MMMM God is good.

Let me remind you that God is good all the time. because it is not the circumstances that determine the goodness of God.

The goodness of God is his ability and willingness to remain faithful to his word. Wait what if I don’t like that… tough God is going to remain good to His Word. There have been millions come and go that said God was weak, unimportant, or non existence in light of what his word said. It didn’t affect God. He stayed God. IF all creation rose up and declared that God was not in fact good it would do nothing to diminish his goodness because His goodness is not based on our measure of Good.

It is based on His faithfulness to his Word.

It is with this standard of Good that we measure the goodness of God. If we are honest with this measure of Goodness we find...

He is good; we are not

We can look at this passage and see what affliction has taught the Psalmist about God’s goodness.

God’s Goodness vs My Goodness

vs 66 God’s goodness brings understanding - I’m ignorant of good judgment

vs 67 God’s goodness is direction and purpose - I went astray

vs 68 God’s goodness does good - I lack Wisdom

If we like Isaiah spend to much time thinking on the Holy goodness of God we have to find ourselves confessing that we are of unclean lips and dwell among a people of unclean lips. because this who we are by nature.

Man’s Nature isn’t good...

vs 69 God’s goodness is truthful - Man is manipulative

vs 70 God’s goodness is delightful - Man is consuming

vs 71 God’s goodness is instructive - Man is forgetful

vs 72 God’s goodness is profitable - Man is temporal

So in light of God’s goodness we can see how God who is willing to stay by his Word is the measure of Good. We in our sinfulness waver like waves on a sea. I can do actions that are good but if I were actually good than all I would do is good. My motivations are good but this is impossible because not only am I not good by my whole person is corrupted with the same lack of goodness as all of humanity.

You and I share more in common with the murderous, rapist than that of a holy God. But we don’t really believe this or we would trust our judgement less and trust his word more. We would look at affliction in light of God’s goodness and see it as a tool to separate us from the self dependence that keeps us from understanding the real meaning of Good.

Affliction is Instructive

First, observe, in vv. 66, 68, that affliction is instructive: “Teach me good judgement and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments…. You are good and do good, teach me your statutes.” When God afflicts his people, he intends to teach them.

Specifically, affliction taught the psalmist two things. It taught him, first, “good judgement and knowledge” because it taught him to “believe in [God’s] commandments” (v. 66). When our affliction drives us to the Scriptures (as it should), we learn to trust God’s Word, which produces in us sound judgement and healthy knowledge. God wants us to learn about and believe him in our afflictions.

Second, it taught him that, even in the midst of affliction, God is good. And he learned this from the Word. God’s Word, not his circumstances, taught him God’s character.

When you are afflicted, what is your first response? Complaint? Prayer for deliverance? Perhaps we need to learn to ask God what he is trying to teach us in our affliction.

Affliction is Corrective

Second, in v. 67, observe that affliction is corrective (or, perhaps, preventative): “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

The word translated “went astray” is used in Leviticus 5:18 and Numbers 15:28 of a sin committed in ignorance. It is translated in Job 12:16 as “deceived.” The picture here seems to be that God used affliction to correct the psalmist, to prevent him from sinning unintentionally by relying on his Word. Affliction drove him to the Word, where he learned God’s truth, which corrected previous sinful tendencies and prevented him from falling into future unintentional sin.

Sometimes, God afflicts in order to correct, or in order to prevent his people from falling unintentionally into sin. In your affliction, ask yourself, is God allowing this in order to correct a sinful tendency, or in order to prevent a sinful temptation?

Affliction is Painful

Even though he recognised that his affliction came from God (v. 65), the psalmist did not minimise the pain it brought him: “The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law” (vv. 69–70).

Consistently in the Scriptures, God’s people recognise his sovereign hand over their circumstances, but they never deny that it is painful. While the psalmist recognised the sovereign direction of God over his circumstances, he was not content with pat answers when the pain he was feeling was very real. This should instruct us in two ways.

First, don’t be afraid to admit that your affliction is painful. There is nothing inherently “spiritual” about putting on a brave face and quoting Romans 8:28 when you experience the pain of affliction.

Second, be wary of offering pat, impersonal answers to the very real and painful afflictions of others. I don’t doubt that Job’s friends really were his friends and really wanted to help him, but ultimately they didn’t help. They failed him on two counts. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (chapters 4–31) offered answers to his suffering that ultimately weren’t even true. Elihu (chapters 32–37) offered answers that were technically true, but completely unfeeling. That is why it is so significant, in the end, that his family and friends “showed him sympathy and comforted him” (42:11). They didn’t give him answers, but they showed compassion. People who are suffering don’t always need the technically correct answer, sometimes they just need comfort. It’s not always about the nail!

Affliction is Beneficial

While affliction is painful, it can—for the believer—be beneficial. The psalmist tells us this in v. 71: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”

When last, in a time of affliction, did you say, “This is good”? For the psalmist, affliction was good because it drove him to the Word. He learned about God’s Word, and therefore about God (see v. 68), best in times of affliction, because that is precisely when he went to the Word. Affliction was the school in which he learned God’s Word.

When you are afflicted, there is no better place to turn than to the Word. God’s Word—particularly, perhaps, the Psalms—run the full gamut of human emotions. The writers of Scripture knew what it was to be afflicted, and they wrote in order to teach us in our afflictions. Do you let your afflictions drive you to the Bible, so that you might learn God’s statutes?

Affliction is Transformational

Finally, in v. 72, the psalmist learned that affliction is transformational. Specifically, it transformed his entire value system: “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” As his affliction drove him to God’s statutes (v. 71), he found that those statutes became more precious to him than anything else.

How precious is God’s Word to you? It will never be as precious as it ought if you do not strive to learn it. And there is no better time to learn it than in times of affliction.

Affliction tempts us to weariness and faintheartedness. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us to not grow weary or fainthearted, and tells us that the only way to achieve this is to look to Christ, who endured affliction on our behalf so that we do not have to be beaten down by it. Look to Christ, and lean on him in your times of affliction.