Psalm 119.46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,
It is a bold David we meet in this words. But it is not wishful thinking he expresses. Before he was king, he was both bold and preached the word of God to King Ashish and Saul. After becoming king, he continued to speak to kings about God's testimony and law. He did not hide what he believed in and whom had his loyalty.
Psalm 119.45 and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.
When David has stated that he will always, at every moment, follow the law of God, he continues in this verse with a prayer to walk in an open landscape. I was born and raised in Jæren, at the south western coast of Norway, and I love open landscapes. At Jæren I can breathe freely. I am not created for trong fjords or valleys or deep forests. I have to have a view, preferably see water, to thrive. Tronge landscape depress me because I feel I'm trapped. For this reason, I have asked many times to get out into a wide and open place so that I can live and breathe freely.
Psalm 119.44 I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,
In trusting that God answers and shows his faithful love, David comes with a bold promise. "I will always keep your law!" These are strong words, but it is a attitude that the Lord reewards. David will forever live in accordance with the law of the Lord.
Psalm 119:43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.
Here, David begs God not to take the word of truth out of his mouth. The Word of Truth is about God's faithful love and saving grace. If the Lord had not saved him, it would have meant that this word had been ripped out from his mouth, because it would no longer be true. The good thing is that God saves in accordance with His good and true word which is the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Psalm 119,42 Then I can answer the scoffers, for I trust in your word.
This prayer is a close follow-up to what he asked for in the previous verse. There, David prayed that God's faithful love and his good salvation should come to him, as God had promised him. Now he tells God what he will do when he experiences God's mercy and works of grace.
Waw is the Hebrew letter that the next eight verses start with. Very few Hebrew words start with this letter, but it is often used as a conjunction as "and". The theme of this section is trust in God.
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Psalm 119.41Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise;
Again David prays to Jehovah, the Lord, the Eternal I Am. He prays for two things, mercy and salvation. They are in some ways synonymous words in this context, because they are all about the same. When God shows mercy, we share in His salvation.
Psalm 119,40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
David has just talked about the scorn and disgrace he gets because he stuck to God's word. With that in mind, I think what he says is very strong: "I long for your precepts!" That is a powerful statement that we need to look more closely at.
Psalm 119.39 Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
David prays for grace to be spared from the mockery and shame that comes from sticking to God's good laws. He is like us and obviously doesn't like to be looked down upon. He wants, as we all do, to be respected for who he is and for what he believes in. Unfortunately, he knows from bitter experience, that he is not always respected when he speaks the word of God.
Psalm 119,38 Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.
This prayer shows us that David had learned to recdeive the Word of God. There was no longer any talk of commandments, laws or regulations. He has received the word to him into his heart. He has heard God through the Scriptures. He has read and meditated on God's Word in such a way that he has heard God's voice through what he has read and meditated on. We see that from what he says: "Your promise to your servant." God's word has become personal to him. This is one of the most important lessons we can learn, learning to hear from God as we read the Bible.
Psalm 119,37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
Our eyes are important. Our eyes are the door to the soul. What we see creates thoughts and can awaken all kinds of desires within us. We are strongly influenced by what we see. Unfortunately, we are not always as aware of this and look at things we should not have looked at. In our culture, we are bombarded with pictures of young and old that we could benefit being spared from. We are exposed to nudity and worse in many media. Pornography is easily accessible and captures many in its devastating web.