Psalm 119:41-48 (ESV) – Section Six – Hebrew – WAW
‘Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.
I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.’
When I introduced this psalm a few days ago, I listed the different words or phrase used to describe the Word of God, and I included in that list the word ‘promise(s)’, which appears 9 times. In this psalm it is found in the phrase, ‘Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise . . .’ In the next verse the psalmist says, ‘Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth’. There is a sense in when the word promise is linked to God it is also attached to his Word, and the two verses remind us that God’s Word is truth, therefore he will be faithful toward all that he has promised. His Word is his oath, what he promises he will keep. On this occasion it is ‘your salvation according to your promise.’ All that God has spoken and promised concerning salvation he will keep, this should give to us wonderful assurance, once God has forgiven us, he will never lay the charge of that sin that has been forgiven against us again, he will never uncover the sin that has been blotted out, the sin that has been washed by the precious blood of his Son is gone!
The promises of God are wonderful, a song we used to sing goes something like this, ‘Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse and every line, all are blessings of his love divine, every promise in the book is mine.’ I wonder how often we are living like spiritual paupers when God has made so much available for us, every promise, every spiritual blessing, is available to us as we learn to trust him more. I am not talking here of the prosperity and health that the faith movement promote, a name it and claim it culture that in reality is a personal demand to God to do what I want rather than what he wills for me, I am talking of everything that falls within the sphere of that which we need as God’s children, not what we want or may think we have a right to demand from God. God knows what we need, he has an abundant supply ready to meet that need, as we read in Philippians 4:19-20 ‘And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.’ But I believe there is a requirement to be met before we can see the needs being met, and it is that we live according to his Word, we live as encouraged by Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:1 ‘Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.’