Getting A Facelift, Not a Face Full (Psalm 119:22-24)

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The following post is a reflection on Psalm 119:22-24, which reads,

Take away from me scorn and contempt,
    for I have kept your testimonies.

Even though princes sit plotting against me,

    your servant will meditate on your statutes.

Your testimonies are my delight;

    they are my counselors. (ESV)

Since the psalms were the prayer vocabulary of Israel, this is a prayer that Jesus would have likely prayed, for he was faced with scorn and contempt on multiple occasions.

Have you noticed the faces of those who show scorn and contempt for others? They become ugly and distorted in the process of verbally vomiting their inner brokenness in an attempt to break others. 

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And frequently, when a person receives scorn and contempt, their own face falls into frowns of sadness, grimaces of pain, and may even become twisted in anger. How can we have a facelift in such circumstances? Remember Psalm 3:3-4,

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. 

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God is the one who lifts our head and our face in answer to our prayer. In Psalm 119, verse 22 is likely a lament—a prayer request—asking that God would turn away the scorn and contempt being directed at the psalmist. This request is made in the context of his recognition that he was merely sojourning here on earth; he was not home yet (v. 19). This is God’s world, and as sojourners, we need to follow his testimonies. 

In his commentary on Psalm 119, Michael Wilcock wrote,

God’s people have always needed to be reminded of this. Every day we walk familiar roads; This is our hometown, our home country, we say. Yes and no, says God. This is my world, and you are here as garîm, expatriates. ‘The land is mine, and you are but aliens and my tenants.’ [Lev. 25:23] That means you observe the laws and manners of your host country. We begin to see why the psalmist, a stranger on earth, cries, Do not hide your commands from me. He needs God's handbook for the duration of his residence in God's world.

What creates problems for him, and underlines his need of such a handbook, is the fact that though this really is God's world, there are plenty of people in it who do not behave as if it were (vv. 21-22). On all sides he sees the arrogant and the accursed, and their scorn and contempt for God's principles. He is bound to be affected, and fears being infected, by all this. He does not have to be abroad for rulers to slander him…[1]

I especially love his line about how we are to “observe the laws and manners of your host country.” While it is wise for us to do this at the human and international levels, few realize that this world doesn’t belong to independent people or even to nations; it belongs to the Lord God Almighty. Thankfully, the Lord and Creator is also our loving Heavenly Father!

However, it is also possible that this prayer could be more reflective than that. One of the dangers of law-keeping is that of judgmentalism directed towards those less spiritually mature. Do we need to ask God to take away the scorn and contempt that can rise in our hearts for those whom we consider offensively “other”? It is one thing to disagree with someone, but it is another to demonize and denounce them. Our 21^st-century culture is highly charged, so every spoken reaction, every written statement, every posted opinion, may either attract or repel in an amplified way.

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I know that when I look at the behavior of those who hate God and his word, and hear the vain ideas that they would want to enforce upon others, it is not hard to turn their scorn and contempt back on their own heads with an ample dose of laughter. However, that is not likely to win them over to the truth. Jesus said we would be mocked, just as he was. He also challenged his followers not to show scorn and contempt for others.[2] This can be very difficult. We are culturally conditioned to retaliate at some point. However, the psalmist shows us that there is a way that we can limit the risk of our slipping into a scornful, contemptuous attitude. 

Did you notice? Psalm 119 is the longest in the Bible, and nearly every verse points us to the answer we need. In the three verses at the center of this post, we see the psalmist engaging God’s Word in obedience, diligent thought, and heartfelt delight.

v. 22b …for I have kept your testimonies.

v.23b …your servant will meditate on your statutes.

v.24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

It is when we keep, meditate, and delight in the Word of God that we see the personality of God revealed, and it changes us for the better. It is not so much learning the words on the page as it is meeting the one who waits on the other side of the page, for they all speak of Jesus Christ (e.g., Luke 24:27; Acts 28:23; Romans 3:21-26). 

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Is there another testimony that I have committed myself to follow? Are there other ideas, values, and mission statements on which we focus our deepest thoughts? Have we allowed something, or someone, else to become our closest confidants, the ones who help to direct our lives, other than God’s Word? If so, then let this psalm be the light that patiently and persistently sets you back on the path.

Jesus can identify with us in our pain, for he endured terribly scornful mocking at the hands of Romans and Jews alike. He knew that his followers would also face the same treatment. In John 15:19-20, Jesus made this very clear to his followers.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Not only should we not be surprised when we are on the receiving end of hateful and false speech, but Jesus also reminds us that, far from being a soul-crushing defeat, such undeserved treatment is, in fact, a spiritual blessing!

“Blessed are you when others revile you

                                  and persecute you

      and utter all kinds of evil against you

                                              falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad,

          for your reward is great in heaven,

                       for so they persecuted

         the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:11-12)

Peter, who once thought of taking up a sword to defend the Lord against scorn and unjust arrest, finally came to understand the Lord’s way and wrote,

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

The one who meditates and delights in God’s testimonies will embody the qualities of verse 8 and receive the blessing of verse 9.

Let his words be our counselors! They do a better job than Botox!

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[1] Wilcock, Michael, The Message of the Psalms, 199.

[2] In Matthew 5:22-23, Jesus forbids his followers from even calling others derogatory names out of anger. Paul wrote in Eph. 4:29-32, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”