Week 3 Friday — Walking with the Word
Friday: ט Tet - Psalm 119:65-72
Friday: ט Tet - Psalm 119:65-72
Introduction
We come to the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tet (ט), which means “good” or “to surround.” How fitting for this stanza, where the theme of God’s goodness surrounds every verse. The psalmist is declaring the goodness of God and His Word in a variety of ways. And then he makes a stunning claim: “It is good for me that I was afflicted.”
We’ve all heard School of Hard Knocks stories of those who turned failure into wealth through hard work, perseverance, and grit. But the psalmist in our passage today has a different view.
This isn’t denial. It’s not toxic positivity. It’s hard-won wisdom from someone who has walked through the furnace and emerged with a deeper understanding of God’s Word. The psalmist has learned that affliction can be a classroom, and God’s Word is the curriculum that teaches us what we could never learn in comfort.
Scripture
⁶⁵You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word.
⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
⁶⁹The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
⁷⁰their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.
⁷¹It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
⁷²The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.— Psalm 119:65-72 (ESV)
Reflection
God Has Been Good
The psalmist begins with gratitude: “You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word” (v. 65). He’s thankful that God has dealt graciously with him all along. It’s not hard for us to agree, knowing full well that He has been more gracious to us than we deserve and always working for our good in everything. God has dealt with us not only according to His mercy but also according to His Word, faithful and true to His promises.
In verse 66, the psalmist asks for “good judgment and knowledge.” Knowledge alone isn’t enough. He’s asking God to teach him wisdom. The right use of knowledge so he might be effective in his mission and able to withstand attack. His prayer is grounded in his trust in God’s goodness and his past loyalty to God’s will.
Then comes verse 68, the high point of the stanza: “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” The psalmist is declaring that God Himself is good and everything God does is good. And because of those truths, he’s confident to ask for God’s instruction, for God to reveal the counsel of His Word and help him apply it to his life.
Affliction as School
Verse 67 contains a powerful confession: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” The psalmist not only confesses to his past rebellion but also asserts that in spite of his past, he is now able to keep God’s Word. His past is not an excuse nor a disqualification for his present and future obedience.
This leads to one of the most startling statements in all of Psalm 119: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (v. 71). The furnace of affliction, trial, and pain was actually his school of learning. It was the struggle that helped him grow. Not just in experience but also in wisdom, learning through the Word of God. He acknowledges that his spiritual growth, character development, and relationship with God deepened in this School of Hard Knocks.
This doesn’t mean God causes affliction just to teach us. But it does mean that when affliction comes—and it will—God uses it. He redeems it. He transforms it from something meant to destroy us into something that refines us.
More Valuable Than Gold
In verses 69-70, the psalmist faces lies and attacks from enemies. Yet even while being slandered, he draws strength and support from God’s Word. “The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts” (v. 69). It was more important that he please and honor God than to try to please people and give in to their demands. His answer to his detractors was increased determination to follow God’s Word.
The stanza closes with a declaration of value: “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (v. 72). God’s Word has become more precious to him than earthly treasure. This is a lesson that must be learned. This is the result of God’s faithfulness to speak to all the circumstances of his life. This is his accounting of God’s ongoing goodness in spite of him and his past.
The psalmist has learned what really matters. Not wealth. Not comfort. Not the approval of others. God’s Word is the treasure that endures, the wisdom that guides, the truth that sustains.
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” — This is the way.
Prayer Prompts
Lord,
I thank You that You have dealt well with me according to Your Word. You have been faithful even when I’ve wandered. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, not just information, but wisdom to apply Your truth to my life. Forgive me for the times I went astray, and help me keep Your Word now. You are good and You do good, even when I don’t understand Your ways. When affliction comes, help me see it as a classroom where You’re teaching me what I could never learn in comfort. When enemies attack with lies, give me strength to keep Your precepts with my whole heart. Let Your Word become more valuable to me than any earthly treasure. Amen.
Response
Reflect on these questions today:
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” Looking back, can you see how God used a difficult season to draw you closer to Him and His Word? What did you learn in that “school of affliction” that you couldn’t have learned any other way?
“You are good and do good.” Do you truly believe that God is good and does good, even when His ways don’t make sense to you? What current circumstance is challenging that belief? How might God’s Word help you trust His goodness in that situation?
“The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” What does your time and money reveal about what you truly value? If you genuinely believed God’s Word was more valuable than wealth, what would change in how you spend your days?