Psalm 119:75 NKJV
75
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
Afflicted by Faithfulness, Trained by Righteousness
My Notes
David was persuaded that—even in hardship—the Lord’s hand remained good. His affliction, no matter how prolonged or painful, served a divine purpose. It wasn’t random suffering—it was the loving discipline of a God intent on shaping His servant.
David’s trust and submission are remarkable. He saw correction not as condemnation, but as covenant faithfulness. God wasn’t indifferent, like Eli with his sons in 1 Samuel. He was a Father who rebukes in love, who disciplines so that sin might be purged and the heart refined. When we recognize this and, like David, confess and embrace it, we grow in grace and are taught the righteousness of God.
Through attention to God’s Word, David gained a holy perspective. Even in trial, he could affirm the righteousness of the Lord’s judgments. They are wise, consistent, and purposefully aimed at our good—so that we might share in God’s holiness and not be swept away with the world.
Proverbs 3:11–12 affirms this:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” — Proverbs 3:11–12 (NKJV)
And the writer of Hebrews echoes this truth—perhaps even with Psalm 119:75 in mind:
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons… For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, But He for our profit, That we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems joyful for the present, but painful; Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness To those who have been trained by it.” — Hebrews 12:7–11 (NKJV)
David’s testimony encourages us not to resist discipline, but to embrace it with understanding. Affliction, when received in faith, becomes a classroom of holiness. In God’s faithful correction, we are not cast off—we are claimed, refined, and lovingly guided into righteousness.
David expresses profound conviction regarding God’s judgments, affirming they are inherently right, particularly in the context of personal affliction. Despite the hardships endured, he recognizes these trials as acts of divine faithfulness aimed at his spiritual growth and moral correction. The commentaries below highlight the themes of God’s justice and love, illustrating that afflictions arise not from malice but from a desire for the afflicted’s ultimate welfare. David’s assurance in God’s righteous governance encourages believers to trust in divine purpose, even amid suffering.
Note: Psalm 119 is an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; each of the 22 sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter. Today, we’re looking at verse 75, which is in the 10th section, which is called “י YOD”. According to the hebrews4christians.com website, the letter י YOD is the 10th letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of ten. The pictograph for י YOD looks like an arm or a hand. י YOD is the most frequently occurring letter in the Scriptures as well as the smallest of the letters
The website https://www.abarim-publications.com/Hebrew_Alphabet_Meaning.html defines the meaning of the letter YOD יד as:
After one of two regular words for hand (for the other, see the 11th letter). The noun יד (yad) denotes the hand, typically not as outstretched, but rather as holding something or being a fist. The word is synonymous with power or might; to fall in one’s hands. It’s typical that the alphabet’s smallest letter came to mean power, but perhaps its shape reminded of a little fist. Asa postfix, this letter י (yod) forms a possessive, and as prefix, it creates a third person singular imperfect.
“In this section, each verse begins with the Hebrew letter Jot, or i, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, called in Mat 5:18, jot; one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.”—Albert Barnes.
……..Bill
Commentaries:
Albert Barnes
I know, O Lord – I feel assured; I entertain no doubt on the subject. This was the conviction of the mind of the psalmist in affliction. Mysterious as the trial may have been, hard as it may have been to bear, long as it may have been continued, and varied as may have been the forms of the trial, yet he had no doubt that it was all right; that it was for the best purposes; and that it was in strict accordance with what was best.
That thy judgments – This does not here refer to the laws of God, but to the divine dealings; to those afflictions which came in the way of judgments, or which might be regarded as expressive of the divine view of his conduct and life.
Are right – Margin, as in Hebrew, “righteousness.” They were in accordance with what was right; they were so strictly just that they might be called righteousness itself. This implied the utmost confidence in God, the most absolute submission to his will.
And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me – In faithfulness to my soul; in faithfulness to my own best interest. It was not arbitrary; it was not from malice; it was not that the affliction had come by chance; it was because God loved his soul and sought his welfare. It was because God saw that there was some good reason why it should be done; that there was some evil to be checked; some improper conduct to be corrected; some lesson which he would be the better for learning; some happy influence on his life here, and on his happiness in heaven, which would be more than a compensation for all that he would suffer.
______________________________________________________
Charles Spurgeon
“I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right.” He who would learn most must be thankful for what he already knows, and be willing to confess it to the glory of God. The Psalmist had been sorely tried, but he had continued to hope in God under his trial, and now he avows his conviction that he had been justly and wisely chastened. This he not only thought but knew, so that he was positive about it, and spoke without a moment’s hesitation. Saints are sure about the rightness of their troubles, even when they cannot see the intent of them. It made the godly glad to hear David say this,
“And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.” Because love required severity, therefore the Lord exercised it. It was not because God was unfaithful that the believer found himself in a sore strait, but for just the opposite reason: it was the faithfulness of God to his covenant which brought the chosen one under the rod. It might not be needful that others should be tried just then, but it was necessary to the Psalmist, and therefore the Lord did not withhold the blessing. Our heavenly Father is no Eli: he will not suffer his children to sin without rebuke; his love is too intense for that. The man who makes the confession of this verse is already progressing in the school of grace and is learning the commandments. This third verse of the section corresponds to the third of Teth (Psa 119:67), and in a degree to several other verses which make the thirds in their octaves.
______________________________________________________
Enduring Word
Your judgments are right…in faithfulness You have afflicted me: His attention upon God’s word has given the psalmist a wise and godly perspective even in seasons of suffering. He can proclaim the rightness of God’s judgments even when he is afflicted.
i. It is one thing to say, “God has the right to do with me as He pleases.” It is a greater thing to say that His judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
ii. This was the place Job eventually came to through his long and desperate struggle through the Book of Job. He came to know that the judgments of the LORD were right, and even understood God’s faithfulness in affliction. Eli, David, and the Shunammite mother had similar moments of understanding.
· Job could say in his affliction, Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21).
· Eli could say in his affliction, It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him (1 Samuel 3:18).
· David could say in his affliction, Let him alone, and let him curse, for so the LORD has ordered him (2 Samuel 16:11).
· The Shunammite mother could say in her affliction, It is well (2 Kings 4:26).
______________________________________________________
John Gill
I know, O Lord, that thy judgments [are] right,…. His word, the doctrines and precepts of it, they are all consistent with the holiness and righteousness of God; and so are his judgments on wicked men, they are righteous, just, and true: God is righteous in all his ways, there is no unrighteousness in any dispensation of his; and such are his corrections of his own people, and which seem to be chiefly intended here and are so called, because they are done in judgment, with moderation and gentleness, in wisdom, and to answer the best purposes; and they are all right, for the good and profit of the people of God, that they may be partakers of his holiness, and not be condemned with the world: this the psalmist knew by experience and owned and acknowledged;
and [that] thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me; in faithfulness to himself, his covenant, and promise; that upon forsaking his law, and not walking in his statutes, he would visit sin with a rod, and transgressions with stripes, though he would not take away his lovingkindness; and in faithfulness to David, for his spiritual and eternal good, in great sincerity, heartily, cordially, with real affection and love: his rebukes were faithful; the chastisement was not above measure or desert, nor above strength to bear it; see Psalm 89:30.
______________________________________________________
Matthew Henry
1. That his sin was justly corrected: I know, O Lord! that thy judgments are right, are righteousness itself. However, God is pleased to afflict us, he does us no wrong, nor can we charge him with any iniquity, but most acknowledge that it is less than we have deserved. We know that God is holy in his nature and wise and just in all the acts of his government, and therefore we cannot but know, in the general, that his judgments are right, though, in some particular instances, there may be difficulties which we cannot easily resolve.
2. That God’s promise was graciously performed. The former may silence us under our afflictions, and forbid us to repine, but this may satisfy us, and enable us to rejoice; for afflictions are in the covenant, and therefore they are not only not meant for our hurt, but they are really intended for our good: “In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me, pursuant to the great design of my salvation.” It is easier to own, in general, that God’s judgments are right, than to own it when it comes to be our own case; but David subscribes to it with application, “Even my afflictions are just and kind.”
______________________________________________________
Miscellaneous Comments
What, David? What do you know?—“I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.”
Fond as I may yet be of other speculations, I would rather, much rather, possess the knowledge of this man in this text, than have the largest acquaintance with the whole circle of the sciences, as it is proudly called… I am apprehensive that, in the first clause, the Psalmist speaks, in general: of the ordinances, appointments, providence, and judgments of God; and the assertion is, he doth know that they are right, that they are equitable, that they are wise, that they are fair, and that they are not to be found fault with; and that though men, through folly, bring themselves into distress, and then their hearts fret against God. He was blessed with a superior understanding. He expects nothing: “I know that all thy judgments are right.” Then, in the latter part of the text, he makes the matter personal. It might be said, it is an easy thing for you so to think when you see the revolutions of kingdoms, the tottering of thrones, the distresses of some mortals, and the pains of others, that they are all right. “Yes,” saith he, “but I have the same persuasion about all my own sorrows; I do know that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.”
—From a Sermon by John Martin, 1817.
“Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.” When a father disowns and banishes a child, he corrects him no more. So God may let one whom he intends to destroy go unchastened, but never one with whom he is in covenant.
—William S. Plumer.
______________________________________________________
Cross-References
Hebrews 12:10 (KJV)
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Deuteronomy 32:4 (KJV)
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect:
For all his ways are judgment:
A God of truth and without iniquity,
Just and right is he.
Revelation 3:19 (KJV)
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Job 34:23 (KJV)
23 For he will not lay upon man more than right;
That he should enter into judgment with God.
______________________________________________________
Closing Thoughts
The verses below are from Proverbs 2, the headings in bold and underlined are from my notes as a reminder to read the word, pray, seek, find, and then to understand what the Lord is showing me. I pray that others will find this as useful to them as it has been to me.
Listen to the Word
2
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
Pray
3
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
Seek
4
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Find
5
Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
Understand
9
Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
י YOD : Confidence in the Creator and His Word.
73
Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74
Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
75
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76
Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
77
Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.
78
Let the proud be ashamed,
For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
79
Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
80
Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
That I may not be ashamed.
- Exploring the Beauty of Psalms: Insights and Commentaries
- Monthly Breakdown of Our Blog Content
- Psalms Commentary: Faith and Inspiration
Leave a Reply