The main thrust of this stanza is that God provides comfort during times of suffering. In this passage, that comfort comes in the form of song. Take a look at this passage for yourself in Psalm 119:53-56:

When you are in the midst of suffering, your first response probably isn’t to sing. But Scripture makes the connection between the two more than once. God’s Word tells us that to sing when we face suffering, while not the logical choice we might turn to, is the choice we should turn to. The reason, perhaps, is that we can be more aware of God’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we sing.

The most prominent example of this perhaps is the account of Paul and Silas in prison, in Acts 16. The two were in Philippi, and had been severely beaten after driving a demon out of a slave girl. Paul and Silas were stripped and beaten, and then thrown into jail. Around midnight, they were singing and praying, drawing comfort from God for themselves, but also for the other prisoners who were listening to them. An earthquake occurred, and the prison doors were opened, leading to the salvation of the jailer before the night was over.

The fact that Paul and Silas were singing in the middle of the night, in the face of extreme suffering, mirrors Psalm 119 closely. The context of this whole stanza is focused on the persecution of the wicked upon the author, and the suffering he experiences as a result. But in verse 55, he remembers the name of the Lord “in the night,” just like Paul and Silas did.

Stanza seven, along with the stanzas immediately before and after it, carry a singular focus to them, understanding who God is by a careful study of his Word. In these verses, the particular focus is that of God’s comfort during times of suffering. You can see it in Psalm 119:49-52:

The idea of comfort is prevalent in this passage, with the word “comfort” being mentioned twice, in verses 50 and 52, and the phrase “you have given me hope,” which also conveys the idea of comfort, found in verse 51.

It’s interesting to note that while the whole stanza is focused on the psalmist’s need for comfort, his only prayer in this passage is one for hope. He seems to immediately understand that the comfort that God can bring is only to be found in the hope that God offers. The comfort he seeks is not a specific request for his suffering to be removed; it is more of a request to be reassured that God’s promises never fail.

That’s an interesting perspective that we need to keep in mind in the present day. We often ask for God to remove those things which cause pain and suffering, and to be sure, he does do that, but it is more in line with Scripture to seek God’s presence and reassurance during such times than to seek to have them removed from our lives. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting that we seek out suffering, I’m only suggesting that our views of it may be limited and flawed.

In the first half of this stanza, we saw the psalmist speak of his experiences of God’s love. In the second half, we will see what his response must be. Take a look at it for yourself in Psalm 119:45-48:

The writer of Psalm 119 describes the outpouring of God’s love and the salvation that is linked to it in the first verses of this strophe, and concludes that there must be a response on his part, and ours. Those two responses must be as genuine from our hearts as his love and saving grace are for us. What really stands out about this though is that God’s love and salvation result in practical, tangible responses. These are things we must do in response to his love and salvation. Not because that earns us any point, but because we love in return.

These two practical responses are obedience to God’s Word, and sharing his love with those around us, or evangelism.

The next three strophes of Psalm 119 are centered around finding God in his Word. We will spend several weeks looking at these verse, beginning with the first half of the stanza “waw,” in verses 41-44. You can see it here:

The first of these three stanzas is all about God’s love, and the psalmist starts right off with that thought in verse 41. He will also end with that thought in verses 47 and 48, which we will look at next week.

What may be surprising to some readers is that this is the first time the psalmist has addressed God’s love in Psalm 119. What many consider to be the greatest of all of God’s attributes has been largely ignored to this point. Now, however, he jumps right in and speaks of the unfailing nature of that love.

This is also the first mention of God’s salvation in Psalm 119. To be sure, the author has implied it a few times, but here he specifically speaks of God’s promise to save.

Those two concepts go hand in hand however, so it is not surprising that they appear together here. God’s salvation of mankind, of you and me, is entirely dependent upon his love for mankind, and for you and me. The evidence of his love for us is that he saves us, and perhaps it is best stated in 1 John 3:16: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”