“Then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.” Psalm 119.42
In the previous verse, the inspired poet expressed his need for the steadfast love of God, his only source of salvation. The loyal love and salvation of God is the cause for his hope, the cause for his assurance. One effect of that cause is that he has an answer for the one who taunts him. He has an answer for the unbeliever, the skeptic, the one who rejects God and salvation.
Not only does he have an answer; he also has confidence. Why? Because he trusts in the Word of God. He has received salvation according to the sure promise of God. That same promise, that same display of God’s steadfast love, gives him confidence in the Word of God and its power to answer the skeptic.
As believers, we have no need to devise clever strategies or craft witty answers for the unbeliever. We have the sure promise and Word of God. In God there is salvation according to his Word. This is our answer for those who taunt or revile us, those who reject the salvation we profess and possess. May we cling confidently to the Word of God and proclaim it boldly to a dying world.
When you give an answer to those who reject the Lord, where is your confidence? In what ways does your testimony reflect a deep confidence in the steadfast love and perfect Word of God?
Lord, we praise you for giving us the only answer we’ll ever need for the skeptic. May we rest confidently in your Word and proclaim it boldly to our friends, family, neighbors—those who desperately need salvation. Amen.