I Went Astray, but Now

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I have kept thy word.” (Psalm 119:67)

There were two things I could count on from my father: First, if I were disobedient or misbehaving I could count on his chastisement. He loved me and chastened me. The second thing I could count on was total forgiveness. As soon as I had been corrected he never held my misbehavior over me as a threat. He was following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens…” (Hebrews 12:6) Not all afflictions are divine chastisement. That was a mistaken thought that Job’s friends had. They accused Job of all sorts of sin or else he would not be going through his affliction. But God can and often does send affliction as a chastisement when we go astray. He can use chastisement to get our attention.

The psalmist acknowledged that before he was afflicted he had gone astray, like a little boy sneaking off to the creek with his buddies and getting caught and chastised. “But now,” the psalmist said, “I have kept thy word.”