Psalms 89:32

32 - I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music.

Psalms 89:32 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 89:32

Then will I visit their transgression with the rod
That is, of men; as in ( 2 Samuel 7:14 ) , the Lord making use of men to chastise his people by, as he did of the neighbouring nations of the Jews, when they sinned against him; and so the Targum interprets it here,

``I will visit their transgressions by the hands of the tribes of the ungodly;''

or with such afflictions as are common to men, ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 ) , in a kind, humane, moderate way, in measure, in judgment, and not in wrath and hot displeasure; or in such like manner as a man chastises his children, which is in love, ( Deuteronomy 8:5 )

and their iniquity with stripes;
such as diseases of body, loss of relations, crosses and disappointments in the world; not with the stripes of divine vengeance, of vindictive justice, such as Christ, the surety of his people, endured for them; but with the scourges of a father, ( Isaiah 53:8 ) ( Hebrews 12:6 ) .

Psalms 89:32 In-Context

30 If his children refuse to do what I tell them, if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
31 If they spit on the directions I give them and tear up the rules I post for them
32 - I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music.
33 But I'll never throw them out, never abandon or disown them.
34 Do you think I'd withdraw my holy promise? or take back words I'd already spoken?
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.