Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 119:67

"Before I was afflicted I went astray; But now I observe thy word." — Psalms 119:67 (ASV)

Before I was afflicted — The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate read, “Before I was humbled.” The Hebrew word has the general sense of being afflicted and may refer to any kind of trial.

I went astray — The Hebrew word means to wander, to err, to do wrong, or to transgress (Numbers 15:28; Job 12:16). It means here that he forgot his duty, that he fell into sin, that he departed from what was right, that he embraced erroneous views, and that he lived in neglect of his soul, of duty, and of God.

Prosperity had not led him to fulfill his duty, to seek salvation, or to trust in God. This was, in his case, the experience of his life, as it is for thousands of others. Therefore, affliction often becomes so necessary to check us when we are going astray, and so useful in recalling us to the ways of duty and truth.

But now have I kept your word. Since I was afflicted, the effect has been to recall me from my wanderings and to turn me to paths of duty and holiness. This is an effect often—very often—experienced; this is language that can be used by many a child of God.

Of those who are the children of God, it may be said that they are always benefited sooner or later by afflictions. It may not be at the time of the affliction , but the ultimate effect is in all cases to benefit them.

Some error is corrected, some evil habit is changed, some mode of life inconsistent with religion is forsaken, pride is humbled, the heart is enlivened in duty, habits of prayer are resumed or formed, the affections are fixed on a better world, and the soul is made more gentle, calm, humble, spiritual, and pure.

Afflictions are among the most precious means of grace. They are entirely under the direction of God and may be endlessly varied and adapted to the case of every individual.

God knows every heart and the best way to reach any heart.

He can reach the heart in ten thousand ways: by sickness, by disappointment, by loss of property, by bereavement, by blighted hopes, by the ingratitude of others, by the unkindness of professed friends and the malice of enemies, by domestic troubles, or by the misconduct of children—perhaps the most severe of all human ills and the hardest to bear.

Through such trials, God can break and crush the heart, making it ready for the entrance of truth, just as the farmer breaks and pulverizes the soil with the plow and the harrow, preparing it to receive the seed.

Compare the notes at Isaiah 28:24-29.

Among those things for which good people have most occasion for thankfulness are afflictions.

When we lie down on the bed of death, look over our lives and God's dealings with us, and as the glories of heaven are about to open to us, we will feel that among the greatest mercies of God are those dealings of His holy hand.

These dealings, though trying at the time, kept us from going astray or recalled us when we had wandered from Him.

We will then feel that in our life, now closing, there has not been one trial too much.