God’s Word for You
Psalm 119:51 The arrogant mock
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, March 16, 2024
51 The arrogant mock me without restraint,
but I do not fall away from your law.
The supreme example of the Christian standing sinless before mockers is in the passion of Christ. He foresaw that this was coming, and said about himself, “He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, treat him shamefully, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again” (Luke 18:32-33). And David had prophesied: “I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They sneer. They shake their heads” (Psalm 22:6-7). In this verse, the arrogant mock the speaker “without restraint.”
The act of mocking the faithful is brought on from several different causes; each one of them sinful. Some become high-minded and abandon the truth. Some have forgotten about the Lord because they think that their own success and prosperity is something that they deserve (Deuteronomy 8:12-14). Some simply covet what the Lord’s servant has, whether land, wealth, property, or position, or even coveting his wife or her husband (Job 15:24-25). Some are convinced that their knowledge or reason is superior, and oppress anyone who clings to God’s word (Psalm 31:18). Some, for no apparent reason at all, simply glory in themselves or find pleasure in behaving badly (Proverbs 10:23). But while some of these are sins against the first table of the law, and others are sins against the second table, they are all sins.
The wicked cannot restrain themselves when they sin. “Evil desire is wild and hard to tame. It is terrifying and completely destroys men by its wildness.” Solomon says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18). This says the same thing as our verse here in the Great Psalm. The meaning is that when people have no idea what the Word of God says or means, they make up their own wisdom, their own reason, and their own laws. They don’t care about the will of God, and they either find wisdom in their own elevated opinions or in the general consensus of the group. When the group is godly, this approaches the truth. But when the group is ungodly, and when the group even hates God and talks openly about hating God, then there is nothing to hold them back. They will run the easy path of the devil. But the godly believer does not fall away from God’s word. “Law” here means the whole word of God, both law and gospel, the history of God’s plan, the will of God, the warnings and judgments of God, and the good news of what God has done to rescue us from our sins.
The believer may complain, “Too long have I lived among those who hate peace” (Psalm 120:6), but we are also assured that the Lord surrounds his people like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem (Psalm 125:2). Let the wicked mock and jeer. “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest” (Proverbs 26:2). We ask our Father in heaven to shield us from whatever might give us pain, and to let the rest of the words of the wicked slide away from us like the rain that runs harmlessly down the sides of the tabernacle. The wise man keeps himself under control. We pray, “Remember me, O God, and do not forsake those who love you.” And we should remember to give thanks to God in all circumstances. For whatever happens to us, Christ Jesus is with us and will preserve us to the very end.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.