Psalm 119:118 | “You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.”

The psalmist declares a sober truth. Those who reject the Lord’s word are, in the end, rejected by the Lord himself. The verb translated “go astray” is shagah. It carries the sense of wandering, straying, even staggering off course. This is not a momentary stumble, but a willful departure from the path God has clearly set. The verb translated “spurn” is from the Hebrew selah, meaning to treat as worthless, to scatter, to throw away. It speaks of rejection with finality. The psalmist exposes the false confidence of the rebellious. Their “cunning is in vain.” They may appear clever, persuasive, or spiritually inventive, but their schemes will not endure. In the end, they will be exposed for what they truly are. Spurgeon speaks with force. “Men who err from the right road invent pretty excuses with which to deceive themselves and others, and so quiet their consciences and maintain their credits; but their mask of falsehood is too transparent. God treads down falsehoods; they are only fit to be spurned by his feet, and crushed into the dust. How horrified must those be who have spent all their lives in contriving a confectionery religion, and then see it all trodden upon by God as a sham which he cannot endure!” God does not only observe error. He judges it. Only those who cling humbly to his word will walk securely before him.