Psalm 119:65–80 (May 5, 2025)

Psalm 119:65–80 (ESV)

Teth (ט)

65 You have dealt well with your servant,

O Lord, according to your word.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in your commandments.

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I keep your word.

68 You are good and do good;

teach me your statutes.

69 The insolent smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

70 their heart is unfeeling like fat,

but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,

that I might learn your statutes.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me

than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Yodh (י)

73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;

give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,

because I have hoped in your word.

75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,

and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

76 Let your steadfast love comfort me

according to your promise to your servant.

77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;

for your law is my delight.

78 Let the insolent be put to shame,

because they have wronged me with falsehood;

as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

79 Let those who fear you turn to me,

that they may know your testimonies.

80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,

that I may not be put to shame!

Teth (ט) and Yodh (י)

This portion of Psalm 119 highlights the sanctifying work of affliction, God’s faithfulness in discipline, and the psalmist’s longing for covenantal steadfast love.

1. GOD – The Faithful Covenant-Keeper

“You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word.” (v. 65)

The psalmist begins with טוֹב עָשִׂיתָ (tov asita), which means “You have dealt well,” affirming God's covenantal goodness. “Dealt well” conveys intentional kindness rooted in divine promises, not merely circumstantial ease.

God's dealings are always "according to His Word", כִּדְבָרֶךָ (kidvarekha)--reflecting His unchanging covenant character. So, if we are confused as to what God is doing in our lives, we need to look no further than to open up the Word and meditate on it steadfastly! (I do not recommend flipping the Bible and randomly putting a finger on it to "hear" from God. That's not faith. That's "voodoo." We have to read the Word steadfastly.)

In contrast to worldly definitions of "good," God’s goodness may include affliction. " "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes" (v. 71). God "disciplines" those He loves (Heb. 12:6). This section richly reflects Deuteronomic theology—God blesses through obedience, but also refines through suffering.

2. GUILT – The Pride of an Unyielding Heart

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” (v. 67)

The Hebrew שָׁגָה (shagah), which means "to go astray," implies not just wandering, but a willful deviation from the covenant path.

The psalmist confesses that affliction served as a tool of restoration, not punishment. Affliction was not the problem—it was his own pride that led him astray.

“Their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.” (v. 70)

The imagery of the “fat heart” (לֵב טָפַשׁ כַּחֵלֶב) (lev tafash ka-chelev) conveys insensibility, like a calloused conscience, dulled by spiritual obesity and self-indulgence.

In contrast, the psalmist’s delight is in the Torah—a piercing and refining mirror of God’s holiness.

3. GOSPEL – Christ, the Afflicted One for Us

“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” (v. 71)

This verse is pregnant with Christological meaning. Jesus, the Suffering Servant, was afflicted not for His own sin but for ours (Isa. 53:5).

Where the psalmist says, “It is good for me to be afflicted,” Christ embodies this more fully: “It was necessary for Him to suffer” (Luke 24:26).

The Word made flesh is the living Torah. Christ not only teaches God’s statutes—He fulfills them and writes them on our hearts (Jer. 31:33).

4. GRACE – Covenantal Love That Renews the Soul

“Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.” (v. 77)

“Your mercy” here is רַחֲמֶיךָ (rachamekha), which means "compassion/womb-love"—a rich term that echoes God’s maternal tenderness.

The psalmist doesn’t demand life by law-keeping, but pleads for life through mercy. His delight in the law stems from knowing the Lawgiver intimately.

He longs for God to comfort him (v. 76) “according to your steadfast love” (חֶסֶד, chesed), the loyal love of the covenant.

5. GRATITUDE – A Heart That Trembles Yet Trusts

“May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!” (v. 80)

The psalmist’s response is a longing for blamelessness (תָּם)—not sinless perfection, but a wholehearted, undivided devotion.

The ultimate hope is not being put to shame, not because of his record, but because he stands in God’s steadfast love and truth (v. 76).

This anticipates Paul’s confidence in Romans 10:11: “Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Conclusion: The Heart Learns Through Affliction

Are you in a season of pain? Are you confused, wondering how a loving God could allow such difficulty? If “God is love,” shouldn’t a life loved by God be pain-free?

But is that true?

Psalm 119:65–80 challenges that assumption. It reminds us that a “pain-free” life is not necessarily a blessed one. In fact, God’s Word is both a scalpel and a salve. He wounds to heal, disciplines to restore, and afflicts to teach us His ways.

This is not punishment—it is love. As the psalmist declares, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (v. 71).

Our ultimate comfort lies not in the absence of hardship but in the presence of Christ—the One who bore the greatest affliction so that we might be upheld by grace.

Let us therefore delight in His Word—not merely as information, but as the Living Word, who meets us in our suffering, teaches us in our confusion, and walks with us every step of the way.