Psalm 119:41-48 | Waw
Psalm 119:41-48 | Waw
Milt Reynolds | Last updated: June 6, 2022
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. - Psalm 119:41–48, ESV
The First Promise
All of God's Word may be considered to be a promise of savation and steadfast love from God.
But where is found in the Holy Bible the earliest, specific promise of God?
Is the promise first seen when God created Adam and Eve?
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:28, ESV
Is the marking of Cain a promise of God's love?
“If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. - Genesis 4:15, ESV
Is the favor found by Noah a promise of love and life?
I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. - Genesis 6:17–18, ESV
In each of these very early promises is seen God's mercy and grace, choosing to view sinners as forgiven, worthy of life and love.
In these early promises we see glimpses of the greatest Grace: Jesus Christ, the One sacrificed to clothe our naked sin, the One marked by crucifixion, the Ark in which God saves and loves sinners who run to God for steadfast love and salvation.
A Wide Place
Lord, I don't feel your love today. I feel drained, distracted...I have plenty of tasks, chores and projects that need my attention, but I've no feelings of peace and love. So, the prayer and sentiment of Waw resonates with me today: "Let your steadfast love come to me, Lord. I have your promise, written down...I'm relying upon what you've told me. Let it come, Lord!"
There is much that taunts me: my sore knees, congested sinus, discomfort in social events and groups, reluctance to be around people...
"A wide place" appeals to me, as a place in which I could feel boldly unashamed, filled with delight, eager to speak to others, glad in the company of others.
Proverbs describes a place in which "your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble". That sounds like a "wide place"!
The Hebrew word for "wide place" is pronounced raw-KHAWB:
WIDE PLACE: raw-KHAWB, roomy, in any or every direction - from raw-KHAB, to broaden
God promised that he would bring Moses and his people to a good and "wide" land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).
The Word of God itself is described as exceedingly "wide" (Psalm 119:96).
The goodness and greatness of God's protection is figuratively described as a "wide" place of rivers and streams, where no enemy could attack (Isaiah 33:21).
O Lord, may your Spirit enliven my emotions today as I steep my heart and mind in the wide places of your Word!
Walking in a Wide Place
My Creator's love is my salvation...his promises my only, certain hope in life.
There is much which taunts me now: my own weakness and dreariness, the world's advertising and news alerts, religious fights, political fights, environmental and economical fights..they all taunt against hope, saying that triumph over others will bring me salvation, that I am my own god, that appearance and influence will be my rescue.
For Waw, God's saving love was a future hope, a certainty of the future.
For me, God's saving love has already happened.
Christ's death was God's love for me, a single day in the past when God's love was poured out in fulfillment of his centuries-old promise of salvation.
Yet the taunting voices say, "No, it didn't happen, nothing of the sort happened. All we have is now. All we have is our own selves."
Am I walking in a wide place, without shame, filled with delight and love for my Creator's words of love?
My own flesh and emotions are the loudest voices against hope today.
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