Just faithful witness. Psalm 119.46
Psalm 119.41-48 (5)
Pray Psalm 119.46, 47.
I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
Sing Psalm 119.46, 47.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
I will speak Your Word to kings, and I will not be ashamed.
In Your Word my glad heart sings, as Your truth I have proclaimed.
In Your Law will I delight, which I love with all my might.
Read Psalm 119.41-48; meditate on verse 46.
Preparation
1. What would the psalmist not fear?
2. How would he feel about doing that?
Meditation
Sharing your faith with others can be a little scary. We’re not sure we can say it just right. Are they really interested? Will they think I’m trying to “cram my religion down their throats”? Will they get angry, or break friends with me? And so on.
If the prospect of testifying about Jesus with a friend, family member, or acquaintance can be a little scary, imagine being called before the highest court of the land to declare and defend your faith? With a very aggressive and accusatory prosecutor determined to show you to be a fraud and leave you withered with shame!
There’s a proven way to fortify your witness. One that will give you courage for every opportunity to testify about the Lord and His Kingdom, and which, as you live it, will prevent you from ever being shamed by the enemy of our soul. The psalmist understood that proven way: Walk in the liberty of God’s Law, seek His precepts and statutes for every situation (v. 45), and open your mouth to speak at every opportunity (v. 46), confident that He will give you the words you need (Lk. 12.11, 12).
I remember once early in my ministry, I was sitting in my office, working on something, when Jim Kennedy stuck his head in the door and said, “You know, T. M., the more you evangelize, the more you evangelize.” Then he left. He was exactly right. Each time we speak about God, His Law, the salvation we have in Jesus, the joy we find in reading and studying His Word, and our confidence that there is no other name given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved – the more we talk about such matters, the more we will do so at every opportunity.
And we will neither fear nor be ashamed.
Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed” (Ps. 119.46).
Indeed, not being ashamed of speaking God’s Law is the psalmist’s boast. And it should be ours as well.
Because Jesus did not take kindly to the thought of His followers and disciples being ashamed of Him. He expressed it by saying, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mk. 8.38).
Being one of those people is not advisable.
Happily, here is who we can be through the power of the Holy Spirit:
“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed;
let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed,
let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause” (Ps. 25.1-3).
Spoiler alert. Psalm 119 deals with this same topic in verses 80 and 116:
“Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.”
“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope.”
It is clear the psalmist knows that the courage he has, and the courage he seeks to always have, is found in God’s Word. There is no other place on earth to find it, read about it, pray it through, and live it out. Even before kings. Wherever we are, whomever we are with.
As Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom. 1.16).
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore
do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” (2 Tim. 1.7-9).
And that is why we are not ashamed and are not afraid. He called us before time began to go bravely into our own Personal Mission Field to clearly speak God’s testimonies to those who are there. Waiting.
For reflection
1. Why would anyone ever be afraid or ashamed to tell the Gospel? How can we avoid that?
2. Where does the courage come from to share boldly about your faith in Christ? What can you do to make sure you’ll have that courage when you need it?
3. How can Christians encourage one another to be more consistent in their witness for the Lord?
We must never be ashamed or afraid to own our religion. The more delight we take in the service of God, the nearer we come to perfection. Not only consent to his law as good, but take pleasure in it as good for us. Let me put forth all the strength I have, to do it. Something of this mind of Christ is in every true disciple. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 119.41-48
Pray Psalm 119.43-45.
Pray that God will give you boldness for this day, to walk His pathway and testify of His greatness and love.
Sing Psalm 119.43-45.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Lord, take not Your Word from me, for I trust it day by day.
I will walk in liberty as Your precepts I obey.
I shall keep Your truth, O Lord, for I hope in all Your Word.
T. M. and Susie Moore
You can listen to a summary of last week’s Scriptorium study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for last Sunday. You can download any or all the studies in this series on Psalm 119 by clicking here.
What is the Law of God and how should we learn and obey it? Two books can help. The Law of God arranges the statutes and precepts of God’s Law under their appropriate number of the Ten Commandments. This book is an excellent tool for meditating on God’s Law and thinking about its application in our time. The Ground for Christian Ethics, on the other hand, explains why the Law matters and how we are to use it. You can order free copies of each of these here and here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.
