Psalms 119:21

Psalms 119:21, “Psa 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.”

This verse is about the sin of pride. The first thing we should notice that is about pride here in this verse is that the proud are cursed. It’s not good to be cursed. To be cursed is the opposite of to be blessed. To be blessed means God is going to do good things for you and to you. To be cursed means God is going to judge you and punish you.

The best example of what it means to be cursed is Jesus Himself. Galatians 3:13, “Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” How was Jesus cursed? Jesus cursed because He hung on a Cross. A cross is a tree. It’s made of wood. And when Jesus hung on that cross He took upon himself the sins of the world. You’re cursed if the judgment of God is upon you. And the judgment of God did fall upon Him who knew no sin.

Therefore we can conclude to be cursed means to have the judgment and the wrath of God fall upon you.

Psalms 119:21, “Psa 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.”

Now let’s look at what it means to be proud. What is pride? When we hear the word pride in a non biblical sense we probably think of phrases such as, “take pride in your work,” or, “have pride for your country.” When the Bible talks about pride it never has anything good to say. In this secular usage the word pride means to think well of But when the Bible uses the word pride it means pride is thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think. How many people are guilty of this? Why everyone is. After all here is the proper attitude.

The proper attitude is to realize you are just a sinner, just a failure and all you have is the grace of God through Jesus. You have no claim to goodness or good works or righteous deeds no reason to be prideful about your own character. You are not better, you are not more spiritual than anyone else. Everyone in humanity is in the same boat; we have all sinned and come shot of the glory of God. If you can understand this truth then it will keep you from becoming prideful.

Psalms 119:21, “Psa 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.”

The word that is here translated proud could also be translated presumptuous. Prideful people are people that presume something. They presume that because of something they did or because of some circumstance of their life that that makes them accepted in the eyes of God and that makes them better than other people. What are some things that people become prideful over? How much money they have, or you could say their station and social status in the world. How about their education. Many many people easily become prideful over how educated they are. How about physical prowess. They are many people God has gifted with great athletic abilities. Sometimes people become prideful over such things.

Now people that are involved in organized religion are often very prideful people as well. They can become prideful over the strangest things such as for example how regularly they attend church, or how well they know the bible and quote bible verses. Pride is one of those sins that creeps into a persons mind very easily and can go unnoticed by that person.

Proverbs 13:10 says, “Pro 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” Only by pride cometh contention or strife, conflict, debate, arguments, oppositions of people one against another. Why do human beings oppose one another so much? Because of pride. Humility has a lot to do with following the will of God in what you do and in what you say and in what you think. A person who is busy serving the Lord is not going to be busy opposing other human beings but rather is going to be busy serving them by bringing them the truth both in their words and their actions.

Psalms 119:21, “Psa 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.”

Have you ever tried to rebuke someone who is prideful? I have and I can tell you it never goes well. Rebuke a prideful person and he will only hate you and will only respond in anger towards your rebuke. The thing about Pride is that it has a lot to do with the human self will. You can’t make another person do anything. It’s like trying to push against a tree. It’s not going to budge.

Notice what Psalms 119:21 says, Thou hast rebuked the proud. God rebukes the proud. Make sure that you trust in God, that you leave it in God’s hands. Don’t try to do yourself the things that only God can do. When it comes to rebuking the proud you might as well take a feather and try to knock down a brick wall. Therefore let God do the rebuking. God is all powerful. God knows how to take the clay and to reshape it according to His will.

Psalms 119:21, “Psa 119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.”

Now notice the last part of verse 21, which do err from thy commandments.” To err means to stray away. Pride will result in you straying away from following the word of God. After all a prideful person will think they have the answers therefore they don’t need God. Mark it down you can guarantee that a lost person is a prideful person. Are they trusting in Jesus? No. Do they see there need for God to guide them in everything that they do, No? Now of course even a believer can become prideful.

It’s possible to become prideful in what you think you know about God and about the Bible. Maybe it is a fact that you understand more about the Bible than anyone else you have ever met. Maybe you have been walking with the Lord longer than most people. But that doesn’t mean you don’t still need to rely upon the grace of God as much as you did when you were first saved.

In talking about pride there is a great verse in Psalms 10:4 which says, “Psa 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” God is not in all His thoughts. Why then anytime I have a thought in my mind that God is not involved in it could very well be possible that I am being prideful.

The proud are cursed. They err from the commandments. Don’t make the mistake the devil made. The devil fell because of pride. Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Remember you are just a sinner. It is God that is righteous.

Psalms 119:22, “Psa 119:22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.” Now t his is an interesting verse. The first thing that should be realized about this verse is that it is not talking about or teaching salvation. The Bible is very clear that salvation is not by works but by faith in Christ. What this verse is talking about is the practical side of things.

When this verse says reproach and contempt its talking about disgrace and shame. One thing you will hear very little of from the world especially from Hollywood is the great shame that is found in sin. Oh there is great shame in sin sometimes the shame of a person’s sins can burden that person down and hinder their ability to even function in life. Sometimes the shame of sin results in people becoming angry and aggressive against Christians and against the truth because instead of coming to Jesus to have that shame wiped away they try to wipe it away by silencing the voice of truth.

This is the reason the homosexual community of the world is often so belligerent and antagonistic against those in the Christian community who speak out against their vile immoral lifestyles. There is great shame in sexual immorality especially in homosexuality. This great shame hangs over the heads of those immoral people and because of their unrepentance results in them being so antagonistic against the truth. But there is only one way to wipe away the shame of sin and that is through the blood of Jesus.

Now in many ways this verse is a very practical verse Psalms 119:22, “Psa 119:22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.” Its always best to do what is right. If you do what is right then you will spare yourself a lot of reproach and contempt you will spare yourself a lot of shame in life.

Now sometimes Christians are shamed for the name of Jesus. But that is a different kind of shame. The shame of the cross is not really a shame at all but is badge of honour that a Christian has the privilege of wearing as they follow in the footprints of Jesus.

Psalms 119:23-24, “Psa 119:23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Psa 119:24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.”

These verses are talking about the great amount of wisdom that there is to gain through the word of God. Wisdom crieth in the streets the Bible says. Some people learn from experience through trial and error, through the school of hard knocks. But the truth is you can save yourself a lot of grief in life by simply reading the Bible, learning what it has to say, and then following it. The Bible is filled with all practical wisdom about life. Everything you need to know about life in a spiritual sense and in a practical sense is in the Bible. Study it, read it, listen to it, adhere to it and you can be as wise as King Solomon was.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

Consider the wisdom of this verse which is saying to work hard and enjoy the fruits of your labour

Or consider the wisdom of these verses in Proverbs 5:3-5 which says, “Pro 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: Pro 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Pro 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”

Just think of how many young men and young women have destroyed their own lives or have learned the hard way because they did not read these verses and did not have the discernment to avoid the trap set for them by some immoral person who was out to get them.

O, yes, the Bible is full of wisdom. If you want wisdom then read the Bible and follow its teachings.

Psalms 119:25 says, “Psa 119:25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.”

This verse is talking about the temporariness of human life. I suppose it makes sense that after talking about the great wisdom that the Bible contains we could come to a verse about the temporaness of human life and also the fact that God gives eternal life.

Death isn’t exactly a positive topic for most people. People for the most part do not like to think about and dwell upon death. But there is a lot of practical wisdom to understanding the temporariness of human life. Life is an opportunity but it is a limited opportunity. You are not going to live forever. In fact you don’t know how long you are going to live. At best you will live to be about 100 years old but then again you might die tomorrow in a car accident. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.

Now a Christian has the comfort of knowing that they will live on this earth until they have fulfilled God’s purpose for them. But most people just don’t put a lot of thought into the fact they are going to die one day. Sure they know it but they do not really think about it or live their lives accordingly.

What I mean is this, if you really understand the nature of human life and the temporariness of its opportunity and the importance of you one of the things you will think about is what happens after you die.

Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

You’re going to die one day and when you do you will have to stand before God and give an account of what you have done with the opportunities of life that God has given you. You will be judged. And so you have a choice you can be judged according to your own works or be judged according to the work of Christ on the cross.

If people would think about this truth, if they would face this truth, if they would gravely consider this truth, that the day of their death is approaching and the day of their accountability to God is coming then perhaps they would reconsider their need to turn from their sins to Jesus for salvation.

It’s an important topic. The Bible talks about it many times. Even in the book of Psalms the Bible mentions many times the temporariness of human life on this earth. Jesus himself said in Luke 9:25, “Luk 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”

Psalms 119:25 says, “Psa 119:25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.”

My soul cleaveth unto the dust. God made man from the dust of the earth. And when a man dies his body returns to dust.

Quicken thou me according to Thy Word. The word quicken means to be made alive. Romans 10:17 says, “Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

God uses His word to speak to our hearts to reveal to us our need to turn from our sins to Jesus Christ. The very moment that you pray to Jesus and ask Him to save you from your sins then you become alive spiritual, you become quickened. You then have eternal life.

Remember this life is temporary. Everyone dies. And after death we must stand before the great judge of all the earth to be judged. If you trust in Jesus then you will have Jesus’ righteousness freely imputed unto you and when you are judged God will see the righteousness of Christ. If you trust in your own works then you will have to answer for all the sins that you have committed in your life time and the only judgment that can be justly given is eternal torment in the lake of fire.

It is so important to understand that your own works cannot save you. There is no good deed you can do, there is no ceremonial religious act that can save you only faith in Christ can save.

What a wonderful blessing it is to know and to understand that Jesus paid the debt for your sins and that through His blood there is forgiveness and cleansing and eternal life. If you have never trust in Jesus then please do so today. Pray to Jesus right now, ask Jesus into your heart, and He will save you from your sins. He will give you spiritual life and you can enter into the eternal love of God.

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