S42P6 – Confessions of Psalm 119: God’s word is faithful
Psa. 119:137-138
Righteous are You, O Lord, and upright are Your judgments. You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness and in great faithfulness.
In this world, truth is relative. What is reality to me can be different from what is reality to you. This, of course, is a flawed standard. What the world sees as relative truth is simply not reality. What people are looking for is secure knowledge and wisdom. No one wants to think that what they believe is simply not so. What people desire to find, whether they admit it or not, is a truth that no one can refute. At a base level, we are searching for an objective reality that we can trust even if we do not claim to be doing so. This is precisely what God offers. He offers promises and testimonies and words of truth that are founded in faithfulness and trustworthiness. What God presents to us is a solid and unshakable foundation in his everlasting word.
In the verses to follow, the Psalmist speaks of God’s promises being thoroughly tested. I believe what he is saying is simply that God has done what He has said he would do. I do not believe that the Psalmist has actively tested the promises of his Lord, but he has seen those promises come true. In his plight in this chapter, he is being hunted down like a dog. The natural man of course would have been fearful of losing his life and wondering when his salvation would come. In fact, the remainder of this chapter shows the writings of a man feeling just this at certain times. In the midst of that, he is still alive and writing. The Psalmist sees that, no matter what comes his way and no matter how bleak the situation appears, God has kept him. He is living what we might see as a terrible experience, but in that state he is learning of the faithfulness of God’s word.
One of the most dangerous words we can keep in our vocabulary is the word “but.” We use this often when questioning whether what we know of God is actually true. God says He will always provide, but I have no food and no money. God says He will never leave me or forsake me, but I do not hear any answer to my prayers. God says that I am to live life abundantly, but I seem to only exist in oppression and tragedy. When we say these things we are expressing our doubt in what is true. But knowing that God’s word is faithful and trustworthy, we can stop those sentences halfway through. We need only confess what God’s word says and believe that it will be so. Father, thank You that your promises are not only comforting but are trustworthy, and that we can rely on them fully.