39 - Turn away my reproach
which I fear:
for thy judgments are good.
"Many would sooner bear burning at the stake than the trial of cruel mockings."
~Charles Spurgeon
Is there one among us who has fully committed all to Jesus Christ and not received mocking or slander or criticism or persecution on some level? I think not.
Whether it be from family or from friends, from co-workers or from an organization or national government, it is the business of Satan to bring reproach to any child of God. And although we know that in our head, it is much harder to bear it in our heart and in our body.
David knew that. He begged God to remove it.
Jesus knew that. He begged God to remove it. "Father, let this cup pass from me..."
You know that. And this passage is granting you permission to ask that it be removed.
Our humanity would love to pray that prayer with a selfish motive--one that would desire revenge, or retribution, or a public display of justice to the enemy. And here is what is so hard for us to understand: it's not about us!
We are not the ones being maligned, mocked, and scorned--it is Him.
Because of this, we must not pray this prayer from our own lips and our own heart. We must pray this prayer from His word, from His heart.
Psalm 119:39 gives us permission and the words to pray.
It also establishes our motive.
"We mourn when we are slandered;
because the shame is cast rather upon our religion than ourselves.
If men would be content to attribute evil to us, we might bear it.
Our sorrow is they cast a slur upon the word and character of God."
~Charles Spurgeon
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