In several places throughout Psalm 119, Jesus expresses His heart as He cries out to His Father when facing the slander and malice of those despise Him—even though He had done nothing wrong. Here are a few places where he does that and I hope you find these to be a comfort and an encouragement to follow in the steps of your Lord.
In Ps 119:22-24, Jesus prays,
“Remove from me reproach and contempt [that men heap on me]
because I have kept (and preserved) your testimonies.
Moreover, the leaders of men take their places of authority and slander [me],
But your servant meditates on Your Statutes.
And even more, your testimonies are my great delight—they are my trusted beloved counselors.”
In the above verses, you see Jesus crying out to His Father because He is being slandered by the leaders of society for keeping and preserving the testimonies of God in Scripture. But Jesus’ response (and recourse) is to continue to go deeper into understanding and applying the statutes of God, and to treat God’s statutes as His trusted counselors [as opposed to the trusted counselors of men].
In the very next verses in Ps 119:25-27, Jesus prays,
“My soul cleaves to the dust,
Revive me according to Your word!
I have recounted (listed, brought before you for your consideration) my ways (the things I have done), and you have answered me: Train me in your statutes!
Give me deep understanding, insight and discernment into the way of your Precepts, and then I will be able to see more clearly your glorious wonders.”
In these three above verses the thought from verses 22-24 continues with Jesus crying out that his soul is so low that He is eating dust from the ground. In this low estate, He cries out to His Father to revive Him according to the promises and processes of Scripture! (He is NOT willing to be delivered in any other way—no short cuts, no compromises!)
In verse 26, we have a remarkable insight: when Jesus goes to His Father and says, “Look, Father, here are the things I have done and you can see that I have done nothing wrong,” His Father listens and provides the following remedy, which Jesus embraces, which is “get a deeper experience into following My Statutes!” This will lead to being revived by seeing the glorious beauties of God!
In Ps 119:51, Jesus prays,
“The presumptious (arrogant) hold me in derision—a derision that is extreme in its intensity. But I have not (and will not) turn aside from your Instructions in the Law.
I have been comforted by remembering your wise and merciful judgments from ancient times [as recorded in the Scriptures].
Indignation has taken hold of me because the wicked who forsake your Instructions in your Law.”
In these verses you see the extreme hatred the proud/arrogant have for Christ, but this does not cause Him to abandon the refuge of God’s Law. This derision does not persuade Jesus to abandon the comfort that comes to Him as He considers the wise and merciful judgements of His Father. Instead, it leads Him to be indignant at the low regard they have for the counsels of God.
So, I hope all this provides some perspective and comfort that comes from realizing that you are not going through this alone! Furthermore, you are actually experiencing the sufferings, heart and mind of Christ! Keep being faithful!!!
This is a post from the blog at https://beholdthechrist.com
written by Dr. Richard Routh
May 14, 2021