Psalm 119:49-56

Psalm 119:49-56

Remember

I.                    Proper perspective in life only comes from remembering God’s promises, so we must seek hope, comfort, and life in knowing that God works on our behalf (Vv. 49-51)

a.       The psalmist begins by calling on God to remember His word and promises to His servant. He’s not insinuating that God has forgotten what He said, but He’s calling out to God to notice his plight and act on His Word for his behalf. God grants us the grace to understand His promises, and also the grace to faithfully believe in them, to forfeit our own way, and desire to go His way. By His grace we’re able to hope in Him and His Word even when all else seems hopeless, and find hope in His certain promises even when we don’t understand why everything is going the way it is, or how our worldly circumstances will work out. When our hope is in Someone larger than all we know and see, we are able to find comfort in Him even in great difficulty, and renewed life in even the most challenging circumstances. God grants us this hope, comfort, and reviving strength through His Word, which reveals who He is and how He promises act on our behalf. We must continually seek to grow in understanding of His Word, and seek His grace to trust more faithfully in Him. We will be continually challenged by the world around us and the people who arrogantly believe they know more and better than God, but as their hope, comfort, and strength continually let them down, we must remain obedient to continually seek out God in His Word for His hope, comfort, reviving, and strengthening, which never disappoint. Trials, adverse circumstances, and difficulty are a part of life in a broken world, when we trust faithfully in God and His promises, and seek to grow in understanding and trust in Him, we won’t be overwhelmed by the world or it’s people, but will be continually renewed, strengthened, comforted, and encouraged in the reality that God is faithful to work on behalf of His people, and His work always prevails. God fulfills all His promises in Christ. When we trust in Christ, we won’t be overcome by life’s difficulties, but will strengthened to new hope and life through them in Him.                                        (Vv. 49-51; Gen. 8:1; 19:29; 30:22-24; 1 Sam. 1:19; Ps. 51:12; Isa. 43:25-44:5; Jer. 31:31-34; Dan. 9:1-10:1; Mark 9:17-27; John 6:26-40; 14:27; 16:33; Rom. 5:1-5; 8:18, 28; 2 Cor. 1:3-5; Heb. 8:12; 10:17; Jas. 1:2-8)

II.                 Proper perspective in life only comes from remembering God’s promises, so God’s unchanging nature and word must be the song of our lives and the object of our desire no matter our circumstances (Vv. 52-56)

a.   The psalmist grows in hope, comfort, and strength as God enables him to grow in understanding of who He is and trust in Him through meditating on His Word. Meditating continually on God’s unchanging nature, character, and promises produces comfort and greater ability to properly respond to the world and the people in it, no matter our circumstances. God’s unchanging Word was faithfully recorded by His appointed servants and taught diligently and faithfully from generation to generation, but just as is the case today, there were those stood opposed to His Word, refused to live according to it, and derided those who did. The psalmist didn’t respond in anger, but in “burning indignation” towards them. If we have a true love and obedient devotion to God’s Word, we’ll grow continually to obey and love God devotedly, and our righteous anger towards the people and things which rob God of His rightful glory, will be paired with love for the image of God in those people, and move us to anguish over their disobedience. Anger produces sin, but anguish produces action motivated by love on behalf of God and those who reject Him. Anguish over sin in ourselves and others, moves us to pray, be more deeply devoted to God’s Word, and more confident in Him, even in the face of life’s difficult circumstances and people. We grow to realize that we’re strangers here on earth on a pilgrimage through this world to our real eternal home. The love God shed in our hearts through Christ is grown stronger through His Word, places a song in our hearts that sustains us to rejoice in even in trials, and is heard through our lives by the dark world around us and used to bring light and life. As we continually seek God through His Word, we grow to know Him more personally and intimately, seek Him first in all things, and realize and testify to the blessing and sustenance of living obediently to His perfect and unchanging Word in a sin broken and uncertain world.  (Vv. 52-56; Deut. 4:1-14; 6:4-12; 31:24-29; Jer. 29; 4-13; Ps. 5:11-12; 7:17; 9:1-10; 18:49; 29:1-2; 42:1-8; 44:5-8; 54:1; 116:3-7, 13, 17; 118:10-12; Prov. 18:10; Matt. 26:30; Acts 16:22-34; 17:16-17; Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:25-27; 5:15-21; Phil 4:6-8; Col. 1:9-18; 3:16; 2 Cor. 4:1-12; 2 Tim. 2:1-3; Jas. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:1-2; 2:9-12; 2 Pet. 1:2-11; 1 John 1:7-11; 5:1-5)