Trust and Hope

From the salvation of Ps 119:41, we come to the trust of verse 42. Now notice something…in verse 41 he asks God to bring him salvation according to His promises and in verse 42 the Psalmist, who has been rescued, knows he will be able to answer those who taunt him.

He realized that following God’s word would bring persecution…why are we so shocked when it comes. I love Acts 4 where Peter and John are warned to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, they are released and then the church prays for boldness. They said, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…”. God filled that place with the Spirit and they continued to speak with great boldness.

We want persecution gone, but they knew it was coming so they asked for boldness in the midst of it. That’s the spirit of our verse…I trust in your Word, and my experience of you will give all the answer to their taunts that they will need. The way we live our lives speaks to the world…does our experience of God speak to the world around us? I love what a slave martyr said, “I cannot dispute for Christ, but I can burn for Him.” A holy life, lived trusting His promises, will give an answer to those who taunt. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t study and give an answer for the hope we have, but we must stand in His promises.

In verse 43 we find, “And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.” Here we find not just trust, but hope. His confidence is found in God’s Word and He wants it in his mouth…it won’t be in our mouth unless it is in our mind, our heart, and our thoughts!

I love the picture above, (especially the one I didn’t have to defame for his protection), it is one of the Chinese students I taught the last time I was there. He knew that his faith and vocation would bring much persecution, but still he came to learn and study the Bible. One night I heard a harmonica playing and followed the sound…I found him, kneeling, and playing music as he worshiped. He trusted his God and had great hope in His promises. Do we?