"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."
Psalm 119:165
Part 2
Yesterday:
“Great peace.”
Great “shalom,” God’s peace.
“Have they which love thy law.”
Those who love and know God’s Word have God’s peace.
“And nothing shall offend them.” (a)
Today:
“And nothing shall offend them.” (b)
This word “offend” is often misunderstood. It means, “a stumbling, means or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block”[1] (BDB). Believers understand this word to mean, trip up another believer so that they fall, fall into sin, and maybe even fall away from the truth. Jesus said this is very serious.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
If anyone had a right to hold a grudge and be offended, wasn’t it David? In these eight short verses (Schin, Psalm 119:161-168), he has been persecuted by princes without reason (v. 161), men who should have known better! David had done them no wrong.
“Princes are appointed to protect the innocent and avenge the oppressed, and it is a shame when they themselves become the assailants of the righteous” (Spurgeon).
Did these men “offend” David? Even when he was under attack by these men, he kept his eye on the Word of God, “but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.”
Evidently, David also has been lied to, and about (v. 163). And still, his thoughts were on God’s law that he loved. One who loves the Word of God will hate lying! And the one who loves lying hates the Word! The two cannot be in the same proximity. God’s Word is pure truth, a lie is a falsehood, and these two are incompatible.
If anyone had a reason for an offense by those who mistreated him, it was David. And yet, he refuses to be offended, he will not be a victim. The more their bombardment against him, the more he clings to and fellowships with God and His Word.
Believers, if we are ever tempted to nurse a grudge, we need to remember what the Holy Spirit has said in these words.
“And nothing shall offend them.”
Quote: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
[1] Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.