Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept
your testimonies. Psalms 119:22
The first question
to ask has to do with the scorn and contempt that the psalmist is facing.
Whence? Who is dealing with him in this way and why? I think that the best
choice is to say that our friend is facing problems because of those around him
who don't share his zeal for God. He is working at being as righteous as he can
and they don't like that. He is too religious for them and so they react with
scorn and contempt.
Jesus warns us about
this.
It
is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his
master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more
will they malign those of his household. Matthew 10:25
We are once again
dealing with a basic aspect of life in this fallen world. It's the wicked
against the righteous.
So, the psalmist
appeals to God to deal with this, to take it all away. Is that a good prayer?
Well, it must be okay, at least in some situations. After all, here it is in
the Bible on the lips of one of the righteous. However, it needs to be said
that it would be a very poor prayer if the one making the request is simply
interested in a comfortable life, a life without these problems that come with
working at holy living. But clearly, that isn't what the psalmist is thinking.
And we know that because of the second part of this prayer. 'for I have kept
your testimonies.' No, this isn't one of those who want to skate through life
painlessly and on into heaven. This is someone who is working on submitting to
the will of God. And what he wants is to be able to continue to do that.
Now, note that first
little word of the second part of his prayer: 'for'. Such a little word and
yet, such an important word. The psalmist is giving what he thinks is a good
reason for God to grant his request in the first part of the prayer. God should
take those things away because our friend is working at obedience.
He could have
pointed to many other good reasons why God should act. He could have referred
to God's love for His saints or one of His many promises. But instead, he
points to his own faithfulness in obeying. In this way, the psalmist is
actually appealing to the covenant that he has with his God. 'I will be your
God and you will be My people.'
It's as if he were
saying, 'I've been working at keeping my covenant promise to live as one of
Your people, and now I'm looking to You to keep Your covenant promise to be my
God. Rescue me from my oppressors.'
That's quite a good
basis for his request and a very good reason for God to act.
Will God grant this
prayer? Of course He will. But that may have to wait a while. It just may be
that the time when all those who trouble us because of our zeal for Jesus will
be removed from us will be in the age to come. It will certainly happen then. Might
it happen now, also? It could, but we should not demand that. Remember those
words of Jesus that I quoted above.