Psalm 119:42 – Whose Word Counts Most?
Now I can return my taunter a word,
For I trust in your word.
The lesson here is both simple and profound. Some of my background thoughts on it are in my post on Psalm 119:38.
In Hebrew poetry, making a thought parallel by using synonyms is common, as for example in Psalm 119:30, “I have chosen faithfulness as my path. / I’m in place with your judgments. God’s faithfulness and judgments are placed in parallel in the verse. These words are not full synonyms, but they have overlapping semantic ranges, and combine to point us to some of God’s acts, and two aspects of them. Words may also be antonyms, providing a contrast or a more complete picture (what it is, what is opposed to it, or what it is and what it is not).
This verse stands out because the same Hebrew word for “word” is used in both halves. To paraphrase: “I have a word in response to taunts, because my word comes from your word.”
Let me point out a New Testament parallel to this thought. In the temptations of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13) we find Jesus needing a word to respond to a taunter, in this case the taunter. Where does the response come from? From God’s word.
Don’t limit this to quoting scripture. Filling your mind with scripture is good. But filling your mind with truth in all ways at all times is even better. Let your normal life parallel scripture. One thing I noted when studying other ancient near eastern literature as compared to the Bible was the fact that the Bible is perfectly willing to be critical of those in power. There’s no whitewash of God’s friends. They’re presented as they are.
I was struck by this while listening to 2 Kings 15 in Audible the line in verse 5, “David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” This is stated in the middle of a passage comparing the disobedience of King Abijam. That’s being honest about those in power, even when it would be more convenient to omit some things.
How can you honestly reflect God’s word to others?
(Featured image from Adobe Stock by Munali. Licensed. Not public domain.)