“Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!” Psalm 119.116
The life of obedience is a faithful testimony to the promises of God. In the previous verse, the poet demanded that evildoers depart from him, that he might obey the commands of the Lord. Here, he begs for the Lord to uphold him, that he might live in accordance with those commands.
He also asks the Lord to guard him from shame, specifically shame in his hope. His words have faithfully and repeatedly proclaimed that his hope is in the Lord and the word of the Lord. Here, he longs for his God to defend his life, that this proclamation not be in vain, not be put to shame. He longs for the word of the Lord to be proved true in his life, in his testimony.
He has proclaimed the hope found in God’s word, and he wants his life to serve as proof of that hope. We who find hope in the Lord and his word should share this longing. We should long that our lives would give faithful testimony to the hope we have from God.
How have you acknowledged your dependence on the Lord to defend your life and your testimony? In what ways does your life reveal the hope you have in God?
Heavenly Father, you are our defense. There is no hope apart from you, apart from the grace you’ve revealed in your word. Help us, O Lord, to be firmly grounded in this hope. Protect us, that we would not be put to shame in our hope. Amen.