558_His promises, a comfort in our affliction (Psalm 119:49-56)

Psalm 119:49-56 Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
51 The insolent utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
52 When I think of your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my sojourning.
55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.

Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who survived the Nazi concentration camps, once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” During the darkest days of her imprisonment, Corrie clung to the promises of God that she had hidden in her heart. Stripped of freedom, family, and security, she held on to the truth that God is faithful to His Word. She confessed, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”

Psalm 119:49–56 underpins this theme— in affliction, the promises of God sustain, comfort, and revive us. They are our unshakable foundation even when all else fails.

The psalmist begins:

“Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.” (Psalm 119:49–50)

The psalmist knows that God does not forget. But he pleads with God to remember, so that he himself may be assured of God’s faithfulness to his word. This is what we need to do when all hope seems lost. When our prayers seem unanswered, our suffering prolonged, the psalmist teaches us to turn our hearts toward God’s Word and say, “Lord, remember your promises — because they are my hope and my life.”

The Word of God is not a distant doctrine or abstract idea. The psalmist took God’s promises to his people as his own. For this is the essence of faith. God’s promises are not for a select few. They are not dependent on status, nationality, or privilege. The apostle Peter affirmed this, after God directed him to visit Cornelius the Gentile with the gospel. As Acts 10:34–35 says, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.” Any believer can claim God’s promises with confidence, for they are offered to all who put their trust in Him.

The psalmist’s comfort is not that affliction will be removed. God never promised us a life free of suffering. In fact, 2 Timothy 3:12 reminds us, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Not the absence of trials, but the presence of God in their midst – this is his pr0mise, as Isaiah 43:2 declares:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.”

The promise of His abiding presence drives away fear, doubt, and despair.

The psalmist continues,

“The insolent utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
When I think of your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.” (Psalm 119:51–52)

He faces ridicule and opposition from the arrogant, yet he remains steadfast. His strength is not in public approval, but God’s unchanging Word. The mockery of the proud leaves him unshaken, for God’s law is the sole unchanging reality for him.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “The grinning of the proud will not trouble us when we remember how the Lord dealt with their predecessors in bygone periods; He destroyed them at the deluge, He confounded them at Babel, He drowned them at the Red Sea, He drove them out of Canaan: He has in all ages bared His arm against the haughty, and broken them as potters’ vessels.”

When we see the wicked prosper or mock God, let us find comfort in remembering that God is just and His judgments are sure. He has always upheld righteousness and humbled the proud. The knowledge of His past faithfulness becomes the ground of our present peace, and our fervent prayer for their repentance.

For the psalmist’s heart is not hardened toward those who reject God’s law. He is grieved because they have forsaken the very truth that gives life. His indignation is not self-righteous, but sorrowful at the loss of those who turn their backs on the God of love and righteousness.

But for him, “Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my pilgrimage.” (Psalm 119:54)

God’s Word is a melody that carries him through life’s journey. This world is “the house of my pilgrimage,” through which he is only passing to his true home in the house of the Lord. Philippians 3:20–21 echoes this:

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.”

Along the path, we sing even in our difficulties, because our hope is sure. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:9 that we are called to inherit a blessing, and that even in the face of evil, we are to respond with blessing, “that you may obtain a blessing.”

The psalmist concludes:

“I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.
This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.” (Psalm 119:55–56)

The night of pain, confusion, and loneliness are seasons of remembrance – of the Lord, His character, His faithfulness, His promises. That remembrance gives him strength to obey and to persevere.

And for this servant of God, obedience is not a heavy yoke but a blessing, for it brings him freedom and peace. His heart is light because his confidence rests not in himself but in the One who has promised to be faithful.

True comfort in affliction is the assurance of God’s sustaining grace. It is strength infused into our souls by the promises of God. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

In every situation, God’s promises offer both guidance and endurance. James 5:13 directs us with heavenly wisdom: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” Prayer and praise are the twin responses of a heart anchored in God’s promises. In prayer, we draw near to the source of comfort; in praise, we declare our trust in His unfailing love.

So when affliction comes let us remember the Lord of comfort, and stake our souls on his faithfulness. His promises are not fragile words on a page; they are living assurances from the heart of a faithful Father. As we cling to them, they will sustain us and transform our affliction into a testimony of His grace.

Corrie ten Boom found comfort in a concentration camp because she knew her life was held by the hands of the faithful God. Even so, in our dark nights, let his word be the song of our hearts in the house of our pilgrimage. For in the morning, we shall rejoice to see our faith become sight, as every promise is fulfilled.

Let us, therefore, hold fast to His promises, for they are our life, our comfort, and our song, until the day dawns and we dwell forever with the Lord. God bless.