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⁴¹ Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
    your salvation according to your promise;
⁴² then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.
⁴³ And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
    for my hope is in your rules.
⁴⁴ I will keep your law continually,
    forever and ever,
⁴⁵ and I shall walk in a wide place,
    for I have sought your precepts.
⁴⁶ I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
    and shall not be put to shame,
⁴⁷ for I find my delight in your commandments,
    which I love.
⁴⁸ I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
    and I will meditate on your statutes

It doesn’t come across in our translations but there is something breathless and urgent about this section. Every sentence begins with the word “and” in the Hebrew, as if the Psalmist is desperate to get out what he wants to say. He is passionate about wanting the word of God. He piles one thing on top of the next to show what he is looking for as he comes to it. 

What the Psalmist expects is peace and rescue, and he expects to find it in the Scriptures. This section removes any sense that he just wants to obey God’s word outwardly. No - he knows that as he hears, he remains close to the Lord, which is the only place of peace and safety for him. 

Every verse in this Psalm has a word for the word of God, and in verse 41 it is “promise”. As we hear God in his word we hear his covenant promises. They are sure and certain, and they should produce in us faith and longing for the salvation contained within them. Although others won’t believe, we rest in what the Lord has said (vs 42). It is our hope - a certain fact rather than just a possibility because we know who has made those promises. He never changes. His word is rooted in his character. 

When we believe those promises and act on what he says it brings freedom for us. People may say to us “why would you want to restrict your life to what the Bible says?” But we know that obeying God is how life is meant to be lived. Far from restricting our lives, it is like walking in a wide place (vs 45), bringing freedom and delight.

God’s word also brings us peace and freedom when we face difficult situations. Paul was bound to the word of God as he preached before all kinds of people in Acts. He had his physical freedom restrained because of it. But even when he was in prison in Philippi he sang because he knew what Jesus had done for him. That’s a vivid picture of what the Psalmist talks about in verses 46 and 47.

The Psalmist almost talks as if he worships the commandments in verse 48. But it is because God is so closely bound to his word. He wants to hear, meditate and obey them because he loves God and wants His steadfast love love to come to him (vs 41). 

There may be many things we worry about in our lives and our world. The answer isn’t to dwell on our worries but to immerse ourselves in God’s word. Because he is our rock and our redeemer. He has bound himself to us by his covenant. In Christ, we are his and he is ours. Freedom and safety is found nowhere else.