Psalm 119:22

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12 that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The verse we consider today from Psalm 119 mentions a persecution heaped upon believers that comes in the form of reproach and contempt.

Psalms 119:22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

We begin by defining reproach and contempt.

Reproach – A source or cause of disgrace or shame (to a person, etc.); a fact, matter, feature or quality bringing disgrace or discredit upon one.

Contempt – The action of contemning or despising; the holding or treating as of little account, or as vile and worthless; the mental attitude in which a thing is so considered.

When, like the psalmist, a person’s life is dedicated to keeping God’s testimonies, he will become the object of reproach and contempt. He will be evil spoken of. He will be discredited, ridiculed, and despised. His keeping of God’s testimonies is precisely the reason reproach and contempt are heaped upon him. The life of a godly man exposes the sin, foolishness, rebellion, and utter stupidity of the ungodly. Instead of repenting and cleaning up their lives, the ungodly will rather try to shame and discredit those who expose them.

Psalms 38:20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

Proverbs 29:27 …he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

1 Peter 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

It has been thus since the dawn of time as witness the case of Cain and Abel.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

Cain and Abel were brothers. Therefore, we see that reproach and contempt can even come from those of our own family.

Matthew 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

While on the one hand, we should rejoice when we are reproached for the name of Christ and the good we do, on the other hand such reproach is painful to bear. Therefore, the psalmist seeks relief in asking God to remove it from him. We should always ask God to remove the reproach and contempt rather than trying to remove it ourselves by letting up on our obedience to God’s testimonies. It is much to the psalmist’s credit that in spite of the persecution it brought upon him, he continued to keep God’s testimonies. Furthermore, it is best to commit this matter to God in prayer rather than trying to defend yourself. As I have often said, you cannot prove innocence to those who are determined to believe guilt. Thomas Manton said that “prayer many times proves a better vindication than an apology.” God is well able to silence those who reproach and despise you. Matthew Henry said it well:

“God has all men’s hearts and tongues in his hand, and can silence lying lips, and raise up a good name that is trodden in the dust.”

When He so pleases, God can even make our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7).

Now our psalmist advances the fact that he had kept God’s testimonies as a reason why God should remove this reproach and contempt. The psalmist was not bragging. He was simply acknowledging the truth about his own conduct. He knew it was only through God’s mercy and strength that he could keep His testimonies. But, like Paul, he had not received God’s grace in vain (1Corinthians 15:10). He had rather used it in pursuing a constant obedience to God. And when he failed, as do we all, he consistently applied the remedy of repentance and confession and thus stayed on course in keeping God’s testimonies. Anyone who lives like that has a plea that he can bring to God when he is reproached by his enemies. It is a plea that God will vindicate in due time as the following passage assures us:

Psalms 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Of course, today’s verse has its ultimate realization in our Lord Jesus Christ of Whom it is written:

Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

Psalms 69:7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Psalms 69:20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

At His second coming in glory every reproach and contempt ever heaped on our sinless Saviour will be completely removed and His enemies will be forced to bow the knee and confess that He is Lord. And all Christ’s followers will share in His vindication. Then shall the prayer of this psalm be fully and eternally answered.

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Psalm 119:21

Sometimes God’s commandments are not kept because sinners are ignorant of them. But all too often, God’s commandments are disobeyed because of an attitude problem. The verse we take up today speaks directly to this latter cause of disobedience.

Psalms 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

The word proud in this verse is a noun and refers to a proud person. To know what a proud person is like, we need to define the adjective proud that is describing him.

Proud – Having or cherishing a high or lofty opinion of oneself; valuing oneself highly on account of one’s position, rank, attainments, possessions, etc.; Usually in a bad sense: Disposed to take an attitude of superiority to and contempt for others; arrogant, haughty, overweening, supercilious.

The proud have such a high opinion of themselves that they look down on others. They are too stuck on themselves. But our verse takes this a step further in that it characterizes the proud as they which do err from thy commandments. In this case, the attitude of the proud goes beyond seeing themselves as superior to other men. Their attitude is also taking them to the point of defying Almighty God. They are daring to pit their opinions against those of God. They think they know better than the only wise God what is best for their lives. They are not going to let anything God commands get in their way. Thus they err from His commandments.

What is it to err?

Err – To ramble, roam, stray, wander. To go astray; to stray from (one’s path or line of direction). To go wrong in judgment or opinion; to make mistakes, blunder. To go astray morally; to sin.

The attitude of the proud interferes with the process of making good decisions. This applies to every area of life whether it be work, education, relationships, sex, or religion. Once we think too highly of ourselves and our opinions, we set ourselves up to go astray. When you see someone who has been taught the right path of God’s commandments veering from it, you can charge it to this: they have let pride take over.

We all have a problem with pride. If you do not think you do, then that is proof positive that pride has the upper hand in your thinking. Speaking of pride, Joseph Hall wrote:

“Honourable and beloved, this vice is a close one; it will cleave fast to you; yea, so close that ye can hardly discern it from a piece of yourselves: this is it that aggravates the danger of it.”

One of the best kings that Judah ever had was King Hezekiah. It is written of him that he “wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God” and that “he did it with all his heart” (2 Chronicles 31:20-21). After Hezekiah had been granted an additional fifteen years of life in answer to his prayer, we read this sad chapter from his life:

2 Chronicles 32:25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

My point is this: if good King Hezekiah had a problem with being proud, so can you and I. Pride reared its ugly head in Hezekiah’s life when he was experiencing great blessing. And just as today’s verse teaches, God rebuked Hezekiah for it. When we are making advances in spiritual growth and blessedness, we need more than ever to be on our guard against the subtle workings of pride. For it is at such times that we are prone to feel the least vulnerable to a downfall. We must never entertain too high of an opinion of our ability to withstand the temptation to err. Beware of ever thinking too highly of your spiritual growth. You have not yet reached such a degree of perfection as to be beyond the reach of pride. Hence it is written:

1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

And nothing will bring about a downfall more quickly than pride.

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

It is pride that keeps us from facing our sins and weaknesses and thus dealing with them. We just do not want to accept that we could be so depraved, so vulnerable, as to have such a problem. We like to think we are made of better stuff, that we have come too far in our spiritual growth to be susceptible to such things. And thus we condemn ourselves to erring from God’s commandments. Why do you think some people get stuck in the wrong church and never get out, even when the truth is clearly presented to them? It is because they are too proud to admit that they could have been that wrong. They see themselves as just too sincere, too good to err.

Now our verse tells us that God has rebuked the proud that are cursed. When something is rebuked, it is forced back or repulsed as when Jesus rebuked the winds and waves (Mark 4:39). The Lord finds proud people repulsive. He pushes them away from Himself. His curse rests upon them as the following verses make plain.

Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Proverbs 15:25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud:….

Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

Luke 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

If you do not want the Lord to keep His distance from you; if you do not want Him to find you abominable; if you do not want Him to destroy you; if you do not want Him to scatter you and to resist you; then you need to repent of your pride and to be constantly on your guard against it. This monster is ever lurking in the shadows looking for a chance to pounce on you. Be always on the lookout! We would all do well to heed this admonition:

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:….