Psalms 119:42

Psa 119:42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer] i.e. To stop an open mouth. Verbal apologies are sometimes necessary, but real always; we should, by a pious conversation, put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, who, like Blackamoors, despise beauty; like dogs, bark at the shining of the moon. We are also to beg deliverance of God, for the confutation of such as say we shall never be delivered.

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.

Psa_119:42

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: far I trust in Thy Word.

The reproach answered

His state was this--depending upon, and trusting to that word of promise which the Holy Ghost had applied with power to his conscience; not relying upon the bare letter of truth, but leaning upon the sure word of promise which had been brought home with power to his heart. Being, then, in this state, he only had a greater hungering and thirsting after further food. What he had already received from God had not brought into his soul lasting satisfaction; it had rather enkindled his appetite for more. Fresh wants called urgently for fresh deliverances; new diseases required anew the healing hand. Being in this state, then, he longs after the mercies of God, and hungers after His salvation. He was driven as well as drawn, impelled by urgent necessity as well as allured by Divine encouragements. An enemy was at hand who dogged his steps, an accuser with a heavy bill of charges was waiting at his gate.

I. There are many accusers that reproach a living soul.

1. The law of God reproaches every living soul to which it is spiritually applied, for disobedience to it.

2. Our own heart is continually reproaching us, for our shortcomings in all we desire to perform to Gods glory.

3. Professors of religion are continually casting their reproaches upon us. They treat us as Peninnah treated Hannah.

4. Even the world will sometimes reproach Gods people for covetousness, worldliness, a slanderous tongue, resentment of injuries, levity, frivolity, carelessness, etc.

5. Satan often reproaches the children of God (Rev_12:10).

II. The inability of the creature to answer any of these reproaches. Can he bring forward his good works? No; the sentence of the law is within, and good works, could he perform them, are merely external things. Can he bring forward resolutions, and promises, and vows to do better for the future? No; these promises, resolutions, and vows spring from the flesh, but condemnation is written in his spirit. Shall he answer these reproaches by his own prayers? No; for the condemnation of the law is written in his spiritual conscience, and only so far as prayer is indited by the Spirit, will it go up out of a spiritual heart.

III. The desires and breathings of the soul after such a manifestation of mercy as shall afford a sufficient answer (verse 41). If you will observe, the word mercies is in the plural, there being many mercies; but salvation is in the singular number, there being only one salvation. In what way, then, did he want these mercies? Merely as standing in the letter of the word? Only as recorded in the inspired word of truth?--as things to look at--as objects hung up, as it were, in a picture, merely for the eye to gaze upon? No; he wanted them in his heart, to come to him, to visit him, to be breathed into him, to be made part and parcel of him, to he the life-blood that should circulate in his veins, to be the very Kingdom of God set up with power in his soul. And why did he want internal mercies? Because he had internal reproaches. Why did he need mercies in his soul? because condemnation was in his soul. It was there the sentence of death was written; it was there the sentence of acquittal was to be recorded. It was there that reproach was felt; it was there the answer to the reproach was to be given.

IV. The way in which these answers are communicated. If the law reproaches, salvation in the heart is an answer to its reproach. If our own heart condemns us, to have a sense of Gods salvation in the soul is an answer to every reproach that the heart can bring. If the world condemns us, casts out our names as evil, imputes to us practices which we abhor, tarnishes our fair fame, and throws upon us every base imputation, if we have salvation in our hearts, it is a sufficient answer to all the reproaches that are cast upon us. (J. C. Philpot.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me. This is an unanswerable answer. When God, by granting us salvation, gives to our prayers an answer of peace, we are ready at once to answer the objections of the infidel, the quibbles of the sceptical, and the sneers of the contemptuous. It is most desirable that revilers should be answered, and hence we may expect the Lord to save his people in order that a weapon may be put into their hands with which to rout his adversaries. When those who reproach us are also reproaching God, we may ask him to help us to silence them by sure proofs of his mercy and faithfulness.

For I trust in thy word. His faith was seen by his being trustful while under trial, and he pleads it as a reason why he should be helped to beat back reproaches by a happy experience. Faith is our argument when we seek mercies and salvation; faith in the Lord who has spoken to us in his word. "I trust in thy word" is a declaration more worth the making than any other; for he who can truly make it has received power to become a child of God, and so to be the heir of unnumbered mercies. God hath more respect to a man's trust than to all else that is in him; for the Lord hath chosen faith to be the hand into which he will place his mercies and his salvation. If any reproach us for trusting in God, we reply to them with arguments the most conclusive when we show that God has kept his promises, heard our prayers, and supplied our needs. Even the most sceptical are forced to bow before the logic of facts.

In this second verse of this eight the Psalmist makes a confession of faith, and a declaration of his belief and experience. Note that he does the same in the corresponding verses of the sections which follow. See Ps 119:50, "Thy word hath quickened me"; Ps 119:58, "I entreated thy favour"; Ps 119:66, "I have believed thy commandments"; Ps 119:74, "I have hoped in thy word." A wise preacher might find in these a series of experimental discourses.

Ver. 42. So shall I have, etc. I shall have something by which I may reply to those who calumniate me. So the Saviour replied to the suggestions of the tempter almost wholly by passages of Scripture (Mt 4:4, 7, 10); and so, in many cases, the best answer that can be given to reproaches on the subject of religion will be found in the very words of Scripture. A man of little learning, except that which he has derived from the Bible, may often thus silence the cavils and reproaches of the learned sceptic; a man of simple hearted, pure piety, with no weapon but the word of God, may often thus be better armed than if he had all the arguments of the schools at his command. Comp. Eph 6:17. Albert Barnes.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer, etc. When the heart realizes assured salvation, it is supplied with abundant answers to those who sneer at the delights of faith. Henry Law.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer, etc. Hugo Cardinalis observeth that there are three sorts of blasphemers of the godly, the devils, heretics, and slanderers. The devil must be answered by the internal word of humility; heretics by the external word of wisdom; slanderers by the active word of a good life. Richard Greenham.

Ver. 42. So shall I have, etc. For I should give them a short answer, and a true one, that I trust in thy word; I put my confidence in thee, who canst make good thy promises, because thou art omnipotent; and wilt, because thou art merciful. William Nicholson.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer, etc. This follows the phrase, "according to thy word." Christians should learn from the example of David what to oppose to the reproaches and false accusations of the enemies of the truth. Nothing is done by railing; but weapons should be taken from the word of God; and these are strong through faith in God for the overturning of both the Devil himself and his instruments. For truly with weapons of this kind the Saviour himself discomfited Satan in the wilderness (Mt 4:1-11); and Paul (Eph 6:10-18) puts on himself, and commends to the Christian soldier, the girdle of Divine truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Solomon Gessler.

Ver. 42. Wherewith to answer, etc. It is not forbidden to believers, modestly and fully, to answer those that reproach them, and to rebut the lie. See Pr 26:5 27:11. But to be able to answer them is received as a blessing from God. Martin Geier.

Ver. 42-43. In Ps 119:42 there is a play upon the two senses of the term "word, "thus: "and I will answer my revilers a word, for I have trusted in thy word." Having trusted in thy word of promise, I shall have a word of reply to make to them when thou shalt graciously hear this prayer. Take not thy word of truth (i.e., of promise) out of my mouth; let me have it still to speak of before my enemies and to rest upon for my own soul. If God were to fail in fulfilling his word of promise, it would, in the sense here contemplated, be quite taken out of his mouth. Henry Cowles.

Ver. 42. Faith's answer to reproach found in the fact that she trusts God's word.

Ver. 42-43, 47. Faith, hope, and love. "I trust." "I have hoped." "I have loved." Faith warring, hope testifying, love obeying.

Psalms 119:43*

Ver 43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Do not prevent my pleading for thee by leaving me without deliverance; for how could I continue to proclaim thy word if I found it fail me? such would seem to be the run of the meaning. The word of truth cannot be a joy to our mouths unless we have an experience of it in our lives, and it may be wise for us to be silent if We cannot support our testimonies by the verdict of our consciousness. This prayer may also refer to other modes by which we may be disabled from speaking in the name of the Lord: as, for instance, by our falling into open sin, by our becoming depressed and despairing, by our labouring under sickness or mental aberration, by our finding no door of utterance, or meeting with no willing audience. He who has once preached the gospel from his heart is filled with horror at the idea of being put out of the ministry; he will crave to be allowed a little share in the holy testimony, and will reckon his dumb Sabbaths to be days of banishment and punishment.

For I have hoped in thy judgments. He had expected God to appear and vindicate his cause, that so he might speak with confidence concerning his faithfulness. God is the author of our hopes, and we may most fittingly entreat him to fulfil them. The judgments of his providence are the outcome of his word; what he says in the Scriptures he actually performs in his government; we may therefore look for him to show himself strong on the behalf of his own threatenings and promises, and we shall not look in vain.

God's ministers are sometimes silenced through the sins of their people, and it becomes them to plead against such a judgment; better far that they should suffer sickness or poverty than that the candle of the gospel should be put out among them, and that thus they should be left to perish without remedy. The Lord save us, who are his ministers, from being made the instruments of inflicting such a penalty. Let us exhibit a cheerful hopefulness in God, that we may plead it in prayer with him when he threatens to close our lips.

In the close of this verse there is a declaration of what the Psalmist had done in reference to the word of the Lord, and in this the thirds of the octaves are often alike. See Ps 119:35, "therein do I delight"; Ps 119:43, "I have hoped in thy judgments"; Ps 119:51, "yet have I not declined from thy law"; Ps 119:59, "I turned my feet to thy testimonies"; and Ps 119:67, 83, 99, etc. These verses would furnish an admirable series of meditations.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

42. (Psa 119:42) And (then) I will answer my reviler a word; for I trust in thy word. The best answer to the calumnies and insults of his enemies is that afforded by his manifest experience of God's favour, and the practical vindication thereby afforded. The addition of word, which in our idiom is superfluous, may have some reference to its use in the corresponding clause. As if he had said, Only let thy word be fulfilled, and I shall have a word to say in answer to my enemies.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By trusting in God’s word he assureth himself to be able to confute the slanders of his adversaries.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer] Many say, "My hope in thy mercy is vain;" but when thou fulfillest thy promises to me, then shall I answer to the confusion of their infidelity.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

VAU.

(42) So shall I have.—Better literally, as the LXX. and Vulg., and I shall answer my reviler a word, for I trust in Thy word, i.e., when reproached it will be enough to pronounce God’s promise. The repetition of davar here and in Psa_119:43 makes for this explanation in preference to that of the margin.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. So shall I have an answer for him that reproacheth me (R.V.)] Personal experience of God’s manifold lovingkindness manifested in his deliverance will enable him to return a conclusive answer to those who taunt him with the uselessness of serving God. P.B.V. follows some of the Ancient Versions in reading the plural, my blasphemers.

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.

So shall I keep thy law continually,.... Which denotes not the perfection of keeping the law, but the constancy of it: the psalmist was persuaded, that so long as he had the word of truth in his mouth, and the judgments of God in his view, he should be diligent and constant in the discharge of his duty, which these directed and encouraged him unto;

for ever and ever; in this life and that to come; when the law of God will be kept, and his will done perfectly by the saints, as it now is by the angels in heaven; or this may be connected with the law of God; which law is for ever and ever, being of eternal duration and obligation. The whole may be understood of the law of faith, or doctrine of the Gospel, and be rendered, "so shall I observe thy doctrine continually"; contained in the word of truth; which doctrine is for ever and ever, it is the everlasting Gospel.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me - I shall have something by which I may reply to those who calumniate me. So the Saviour replied to the suggestions of the tempter almost wholly by passages of Scripture Mat 4:4, Mat 4:7,Mat 4:10; and so, in many cases, the best answer that can be given to reproaches on the subject of religion will be found in the very words of Scripture. A man of little learning, except that which he has derived from the Bible, may often thus silence the cavils and reproaches of the learned sceptic; a man of simplehearted, pure piety, with no weapon but the word of God, may often thus be better armed than if he had all the arguments of the schools at his command. Compare Eph 6:17.

For I trust in thy word - I believe it; I rely on it; I confide in that, as my only comfort and protection.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That reproacheth me; that chargeth me with folly for my piety and trust in thy promises.

For I trust in thy word; or, because I trust, &c. This was the matter of their reproach.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me (comp. ver. 22). If God"s favor were manifestly shown him, his enemies would be sufficiently answered. For I trust in thy Word. This is what he looks for, since he has a full trust in God"s promises to his servants.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

trust

(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.