Our hope from God's word
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” ( Psalm 119:49 ) The saints of God have always faced something of a two-pronged challenge to their hope. First, those “that will live godly” and love His laws will “suffer persecution” ( 2 Timothy 3:12 ) and, secondly, will be troubled by the “prosperity of the wicked” ( Psalm 73:3 ). The pressure of the first and the perplexity of the second often test our expectations. But the Word of God provides “comfort in my affliction” ( Psalm 119:50 ). Jeremiah, often called the “weeping prophet,” found that the “word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” simply because he embraced with unshakeable confidence the fact that he was “called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” ( Jeremiah 15:16 ). When David asked, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” ( Psalm 42:5 , 11), his answer—in spite of the troubles of the hour—was his certain knowledge that he “shall yet praise him.” We may recoil in holy anger when t...