Verses 49-56

Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.

We ask God to remember the past because he has already spoken – we are not praying to a new God or a God who will answer for the first time!  He has given his hope before and earlier – and yet this is hope for us today.

My comfort in my suffering is this,

Your promise preserves my life.

Yes, he does, it does.  Jesus is the culmination of all God’s promises and he has brought us eternal life.  God’s promise preserved Jesus himself – and his promises to us will preserve our lives as long as is necessary: until, for example, the bibles are delivered, because we are all the fulfilment of God’s promise to someone somewhere!

The arrogant mock me without restraint,

but I do not turn from your law.

Make an offering of determination to God.  Sacrificing regular daily work, which takes continual effort, or determination to continue despite opposite.

I remember your ancient laws, O Lord,

and I find comfort in them.

The oldest laws – to multiply, to subdue the earth and steward it – as well as all those laws which are now ancient for us – they should bring us comfort.  It should be pleasant to be obedient.

Indignation grips me because of the wicked

who have forsaken your law.

A school that doesn’t hear God!  It makes me angry – and sad.

Your decrees are the theme of my song

wherever I lodge.

This is time well spent – but not singing them or singing about them is the real waste of our time.

In the night I remember your name, O Lord,

and I will keep your law.

Our memory is a tool for our growth and has its own patterns.  We remember God’s grace to us at strange times – sometimes in dreams or waking in the night.

This has been my practice

I will obey your precepts.

Awaking at night and remembering how God introduced himself to us can be a powerful way of establishing something within your spirit.