Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study # 27 - Hope in God's Word (Part II)

In our previous post we began looking at the six places found in Psalm 119 where the Hebrew word "yahal" is used in reference to the believer's hope in God's Word.   There we saw in verse 43 of this Psalm that the believer's confidence in God's Word leads to a bold confession of its truth.  Then in verse 49 we noted that God's Word gives the believer a cause to hope because it is a source of comfort and quickening in times of suffering. This is indeed a sustaining promise from God Himself to His people, a promise that may be confidently claimed in prayer because we have God's Word on it, and God is always true to His Word!  The best prayers are always scriptural prayers. We can plead the promises of God without a single doubt of their veracity, for God's Word is Truth.  Matthew Henry wrote: "The enemies thought to defeat the promises God had made to David, but he was sure it was out of their power; they were inviolably true, and would be infallibly performed" (emphasis mine).  And so we find the Psalmist constantly pleading the promises of God's Word and then confidently trusting God to make good on them:  "I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word" (Psalm 119:147).  The Psalmist could confidently cry out to the Lord because of His trust that what God has said is true, both now and forever:  "Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever" (vs.151,152).  "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (vs.160).  We may safely trust in the truth of God's everlasting and infallible Word.  But we must also note that God's promises, though certain, are not always fulfilled in the ways we may hope for nor at the time we would prefer. We must pray with confidence but then we must wait on God in patient expectation for His timing and His will to be done:  "My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me? For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes" (Psalm 119:81-83).  Here we are taught the lesson of continuance in our hope in God's Word, despite the prolonging of its fulfillment.  The Psalmist described himself in terms of severe distress as his waiting upon God was tested by a seemingly endless delay in God's response.  His weariness of soul and incessant longing made him feel like a leather bottle or wine skin being dried out over a slow, smoking fire!  This unpleasant waiting however was not without purpose.  God always has a benevolent and wise reason for delaying His answers to our prayers.  According to some, wine skin "bottles" were dried out in this way in order to toughen and harden them so that they would become more useful and durable.  Others explain that it was the contents of the bag that was being modified by the smokey fire in order to mellow and ripen the wine.  If this is the true figure in view, then the lesson is that while the outward man was being physically tried the inward man was being made stronger and spiritually refined.  "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (II Cor. 4:16).  Sometimes the greatest lessons are learned in our times of waiting upon God, but only if we spend that time continuing to trust in God and in His Word.  Delitzsch observed that "It is in the school of affliction that one first learns rightly to estimate the worth of (God's) word, and comes to feel its power."  It is also in these times that we learn to plead the promises of His Word.  C.H. Spurgeon said: "Mighty prayer has often been produced by mighty trial."  And so the Psalmist found God and His Word to be a source of spiritual strength and a place of spiritual refuge:  "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word" (Psalm 119:114).  Adam Clarke referred to God's Word in this passage as the believer's "asylum".  A hiding place protects from danger, while a shield protects in danger.  God's Word provides solace in times of retreat and imparts strength in times of battle.  But the final passage we shall consider in this Psalm that deals with the believer's hope in God's Word speaks not of its comfort to us, but of its encouragement to others who observe this hope in our lives:  "They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word" (Psalm 119:74).  Our hope in God's Word may have a powerful impact upon those who observe us.  This is at least a part of our testimony as believers to the difference that God's grace has made in our lives.  When others see that God's Word is our hope, even in times of trial, they will be encouraged to place their hope in Him as well.  Delitzsch comments:  He prays "that he may be a consolatory example to the God-fearing - that all who fear God may see in him with joy an example of the way in which trust in the word of God is rewarded."  We simply never know who may be watching us and what influence for good or bad we may have upon those around us.  But this should be a constant concern to the Christian.  Please take a moment to look up and read these verses, all of which deal with the influence of a godly life:  Psalm 34:2,3; 35:27; 69:30-32; 107:41,42.  May our hope in God's Word be always confident and faithfully consistent so that it may provide a convincing testimony to those around us.