Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,
your salvation according to your promise;

Psalm 119:41 ESV

With this verse, we enter into the sixth stanza of the Psalm 119 in which each verse begins with the Hebrew letter Waw. The overall structure of the stanza sees the psalmist petitioning the LORD in verses 41-43 and then resolving to walk in God’s Word in verses 44-48. Our present verse begins the opening petition.

We should notice that the second line of this verse modifies and clarifies the first. The psalmist begins by calling upon the LORD to place His steadfast love upon him, and then salvation is presented as essentially a synonym of God’s steadfast love. Of course, God’s unfailing love and His salvation are not synonymous, but they are so closely bound that it makes sense for the psalmist to include them side-by-side. Indeed, our salvation is predicated upon God’s steadfast love. If His love for us is not fully anchored and sure, how could we ever have hope that He will deliver us from the raging waters of our sin?

Notice also that our salvation (and God’s steadfast love) only comes to us according to God’s promise. As we noted in verse 38, God’s promise here in Psalm 119 is another title the psalmist gives to the Scriptures, and it is a fitting one since all of the LORD’s promises are rooted in His Word. Indeed, our assurance of salvation and of God’s steadfast love comes only through God’s promise in the Scriptures. We must trust that what God has spoken to us is true. We must trust that He is faithful, even when we are not (2 Timothy 2:13). Our salvation resolutely anchored to God’s promise; thus, our salvation, which is by grace, is received only through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We have no works good enough to bring with us in pleading salvation; we only have the assurance that God’s love for us is steadfast. Let our faith, therefore, be rooted alone in the goodness of our God to save.