Psalms 119:49

My Notes

What Does Psalms 119:49 Mean?

"Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope." The PLEA for God to REMEMBER His own word: 'You GAVE me a word. That word CAUSED me to hope. Now REMEMBER the word you gave.' The prayer holds God to His own promise. The appeal is: you started this hope. You caused it. The word was YOURS. Now REMEMBER it — fulfill it, honor it, follow through on what you said.

The phrase "remember the word unto thy servant" (zekhor davar le'avdekha — remember the word to your servant) asks God to RECALL what He SAID: the word was SPOKEN (or given, or promised) and the psalmist asks God to bring it back to mind. The 'remember' isn't suggesting God FORGOT. It's asking God to ACT on what He knows — to translate the remembered word into the remembered action. The remembering is the fulfilling.

The phrase "upon which thou hast caused me to hope" (asher yichaltani — upon which you caused me to wait/hope) makes God the CAUSE of the hope: 'YOU caused me to hope.' The hope isn't self-generated. It was PRODUCED by God's word. God spoke. The word created hope. Now the hope is WAITING — yachal, the patient, sometimes agonized, expectation that the word will be fulfilled. The hope-creation was divine. The hope-maintenance is human. The fulfillment-request goes back to the DIVINE.

The prayer's LOGIC is irresistible: YOU gave the word. YOUR word created the hope. The hope is now ALIVE in me because of YOUR word. If you don't fulfill the word, the hope YOU created dies. The responsibility for follow-through belongs to the One who started the process.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What word from God caused your hope — and what 'remember' prayer are you praying?
• 2.What does 'YOU caused me to hope' teach about God's responsibility for the hopes His word creates?
• 3.How does 'remember' (act on what you know) describe the prayer for the gap between word and reality to close?
• 4.What promise are you holding God to — and does the hope still live?

Devotional

YOU gave the word. YOUR word made me hope. Now REMEMBER the word YOU gave. The prayer's logic is airtight: God is responsible for the WORD. God is responsible for the HOPE the word created. God is responsible for the FULFILLMENT the hope requires. The entire chain — word → hope → fulfillment — begins with God and must be completed by God.

The 'CAUSED ME TO HOPE' is the key phrase: the hope isn't the psalmist's invention. It's God's CREATION. God spoke a word. The word PRODUCED hope. The hope is GOD'S product, living in the psalmist's heart. And now the product needs its PRODUCER to follow through. The hope that God caused needs the fulfillment that God provides.

The 'REMEMBER' is the prayer for ACTIONnot information: God doesn't need to be REMINDED (He's omniscient). He needs to ACT on what He already knows. The 'remember' is the request for the gap between the WORD and the REALITY to close. The word was spoken. The reality hasn't arrived. The 'remember' asks for the arrival.

The appeal through SERVANT identity ('thy servant') adds the relational dimension: the word was given to a SERVANT — someone in the service of the word-giver. The servant received a promise from the master. The servant's hope depends on the master's word. The master's word created the servant's expectation. The master's follow-through determines the servant's faith.

What word has God given you that CAUSED your hope — and what 'remember' prayer are you praying for the fulfillment?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture