What is the meaning of Psalm 119:71? It was good for me - The psalmist looks back and labels his past experience as “good.” - Scripture repeatedly testifies that God weaves apparent negatives into genuine positives (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20). - Good here is not defined by comfort but by divine purpose—similar to Paul’s “momentary light affliction” working an “eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). - By calling hardship “good,” the writer affirms God’s faithful character: “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:25). to be afflicted, - Affliction is not denied or minimized; it is acknowledged as real pain—echoing Job’s losses (Job 1–2) and Jeremiah’s laments (Lamentations 3:1–18). - In biblical testimony, God uses discipline as evidence of sonship (Hebrews 12:5–11). - Affliction humbles pride, strips self-reliance, and reorients the heart toward the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:2–3; 2 Corinthians 1:8–9). - David himself testifies, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). that I might learn - The goal is growth, not mere survival. Trials are classrooms, not cul-de-sacs (James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:6–7). - Learning here implies heart transformation, not academic information—“Teach me good judgment and knowledge” (Psalm 119:66). - The Spirit uses affliction to turn hearing into heeding (Isaiah 30:20–21; John 14:26). - God’s schooling always has a benevolent objective: “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Your statutes - Statutes are God’s fixed, authoritative commands—His revealed will (Psalm 19:8–11). - Affliction drives the believer to Scripture for comfort and direction, producing a deeper obedience (Psalm 94:12; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). - Loving God’s law marks true conversion: “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). - The verse therefore links outer pressure with inner passion for God’s word, as echoed by Jesus: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). summary Affliction, viewed through God’s providence, becomes a gracious gift. It refines faith, uproots self-dependence, and pushes the believer into the life-giving statutes of the LORD. In hindsight, the psalmist can call painful seasons “good” because they accomplished what prosperity never could: a deeper, lived-out knowledge of God’s word. |
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