Many are the adversities of the righteous, but Jehovah delivereth him out of them all
The verse sets two facts side by side. The godly life is full of trouble. And no trouble is beyond rescue. Commentators ask three questions here. Why so many afflictions? What does "out of them all" promise? And why does the next line, about unbroken bones, point to the cross?
Affliction Is Not the Exception
The psalm has just described a path of life and good for the one who fears the Lord.
Still, though there is a path of "life" and "good" for the godly, it is always true that, in an evil world, the righteous will suffer. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," but in their afflictions they will have the watchful care of the Lord. He delivers; He keeps His people from harm... So, learning the grace of the Lord while going through afflictions, the soul may well say, "I will bless the LORD at all times."
Two Sources of the Trouble
Where do the afflictions come from? One writer traces them to two roots.
True, there is affliction in fact, and much of it. But these come from one of two roots. Either they are the necessary chastenings of love, because even the "righteous" are righteous so unevenly. Or they are the results of what the world is in its opposition to God, and they will prove to be gain in the day of account. All this will be clear then, and we should grasp it now.
Deliverance on His Terms
"Out of them all" is a promise about the outcome, not the timetable.
That is the principle. He delivers in His own way, in due time, because He has His eye so upon His people.
This means deliverance can arrive by a door we would never have chosen. One writer points to Paul. He expected the Lord to rescue him from every evil deed — and then died in prison.
In God's wise government He allows the afflictions of the righteous to be many. But His goodness toward them is fully equal to the need, and He delivers them out of them all. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:18, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed." That deliverance did not mean he would not suffer. In fact, the evil work of Satan led to Paul's execution in prison, and by that very means God delivered him.
Kept Even in Death
The next line says God keeps all his bones. That pushes the promise past the grave. One commentator traces its exact fulfilment in Christ.
When we think of recompense, it is true that even the righteous suffer. Their afflictions are many. But the principle already given applies to them also, and in the end God does not forget who they are: deliverance out of all awaits them. Suppose they even die. The LORD guards their bones and does not let them be broken. That is an example of perfect care, and it appeared in its fullest form in the case of the Lord, under circumstances that mark Him out as the Righteous One in the absolute sense. No one could claim such care in the same sense as He. So for Him it became a prophecy that had to be fulfilled (John 19:36), fulfilled to the letter. To others it applies, one would say, in the spirit of it.
A Verse to Say Back to God
Paul reminded Timothy of the persecutions he had lived through. He was not listing his hardships. He was borrowing the psalmist's second half.
If he recounts his sufferings in his service and testimony, it is only to magnify the Lord's faithfulness. For he adds, "yet from them all the Lord rescued me." There might have been persecutions. But like the psalmist he had to say, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and he could also join in the testimony, "But the LORD delivers him out of them all."
Summary
- Many — Being righteous does not thin the trouble out. In an evil world the godly suffer, and Scripture states it without softening.
- Why — The afflictions are either the chastenings of love, or the world's hostility to God. Both will prove to be gain in the day of account.
- All — Deliverance covers every one of them, but comes in His own way and at His own time, because His eye is on His people.
- Even death — Paul's execution was the very means of his rescue. God's care reached its fullest form in Christ: not one of His bones was broken. For others the promise holds in spirit.
- So say it — Paul turned this verse into testimony, listing his sufferings only to magnify the Lord's faithfulness. That is the verse's intended use: blessing the Lord at all times.