Boldness in Truth
In Hebrew, the letter Waw (ו) has a unique challenge. Imagine trying to write poetry in English where every line had to begin with the letter 'X' – that's the kind of constraint the psalmist faced. It's the sixth letter of their alphabet, and barely any Hebrew words even start with it. Most of the time, it's just used as a conjunction meaning "and." Just "and." That's it.
But what the psalmist does in Psalm 119:41-48 is remarkable. He takes this limitation – this letter that hardly begins any words – and transforms it into an act of holy defiance. Line after line, he starts with "and." It's as if he's standing before everyone trying to silence his witness for God, and with each line he declares, "AND this! AND this! AND this!" Each conjunction becomes a declaration of faithfulness.
Look at our world today. We face a culture that demands we conform to its version of truth. It's in our newsfeeds, our workplaces, our schools – everywhere pushing us to accept that truth is whatever you want it to be. That you can define your own reality. That right and wrong shift like sand. And what do most Christians do? We get quiet. We shrink back. We hide.
But not the psalmist. He's taking this simple word – "and" – and turning it into a weapon of bold witness. Each "and" becomes another link in a chain of commitment to God's truth.
Picture a ship in the middle of a massive storm. The waves of cultural pressure crash against it, the winds of popular opinion howl, and the rain of criticism pounds down. What keeps that ship from being tossed to wherever the storm takes it? Not its own strength, but its anchor. That's exactly what Psalm 119:41-48 shows us. It's teaching us how to anchor ourselves in God's truth even when everything around us is chaos and contrary.
The love of God is the fuel for boldness. (41-43)
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your rules.
Boldness is what we’re going to be talking about today. Boldness doesn’t start with grit. It doesn’t start with a specific personality type—extrovert or introvert. It doesn’t start with the spiritual gift of evangelism. You know what it starts with? It starts with love. Not just any love—God’s love.
The psalmist starts with a plea: “Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise.” (41) Why? Because without God’s love, there is no boldness. Without knowing—deep in your bones—that God loves you, you’ll always be looking for validation somewhere else. You will care more about what they think instead of living out of what He thinks.
This is partly why so many Christians struggle to stand firm. They may believe in God intellectually, but their hearts still crave worldly approval. They want to be bold, but deep down, they fear what people will think. And fear will always keep you silent. But here’s what happens when you truly understand God’s love: you stop living for the approval of others because you already have the approval of the One who matters most. When love is the driving factor, fear is no factor.
Think of a parent standing outside a burning building and their child is in danger. Do they need someone to convince them to act boldly? Do they need to psych their self up? No – their love for their child automatically generates courage, even at the risk of much personal harm. This is what the psalmist understands about God’s love. When he writes, “Let your steadfast love [hesed] come to me, O Lord,” he’s not making a polite request. He’s crying out for the very thing that will transform him from cowering in fear to confessing with boldness.
The psalmist is being taunted here. He’s facing opposition. And yet, he says, “Then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.” (42) In our day, when sharing your faith can cost you your job, when affirming biblical marriage and sexuality can label you a bigot, when teaching your children God’s ways can get you reported to authorities – we need this kind of love-fueled boldness more than ever. When you’re secure in God’s love, you don’t have to defend yourself—you simply stand firm on who He is and what He has said.
The psalmist doesn’t just express confidence—he also prays, “Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.” (43) That’s the prayer we need to pray every single day. “God, don’t let me forget. Don’t let me get distracted. Don’t let sin ruin my witness. Don’t let the pressure of the world compromise my convictions. Don’t let me put my confidence in anything but Your love and Your Word.” In a world where truth is increasingly relative and morality is increasingly fluid, we need this prayer more than ever. When social media algorithms promote false narratives, when educational systems indoctrinate rather than educate, when entertainment celebrates and normalizes sin – we need God’s truth to remain firmly in our minds, in our heart, and let it come out of our mouths. We need to follow in obedience what God says.
Obedience is liberation, not restriction. (44-45)
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
45 and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
The super bowl is tonight, and my favorite thing about the super bowl is the commercials. One of my favorite commercials of all time, I don’t know why, is a Little Caesar’s commercial. It’s when “hot and ready” pizza was new, and a guy just walks up and orders without any limitations or wait, and he goes “There’s no rules!” as he starts quickly taking his shirt off. From the back of the store you hear someone yell, “Put your shirt back on!” Then the guy, while putting his shirt back on, yells, “There’s one rule!” And that’s it. That’s the commercial.
The world has sold us a lie. It says that freedom means no rules, no limits, no authority. If you want to be truly free, you have to throw off every restraint and follow your own desires. “There’s no rules!” Do what makes you happy. Chase what feels good. Decide for yourself what is right and wrong. Look at any modern movie or TV show – the “hero” is often the one who breaks all the rules, who “follows their heart” regardless of the consequences. Our culture celebrates this as liberation. But that kind of freedom isn’t really freedom at all—it’s slavery in disguise.
Think of a train on its tracks. Remove those tracks, and you haven’t liberated the train – you’ve rendered it useless. Those tracks, which might look like restrictions, are actually the very means of the train’s freedom to fulfill its purpose. Or think of a fish in the ocean – take it out of the water, and you haven’t freed it – you’ve killed it. This is what the psalmist understands when he says in verses 44-45, “I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place.” That phrase, “walk in a wide place,” is powerful. Really chew on that. He’s saying God’s Word doesn’t trap me—it frees me. It doesn’t make life smaller—it opens it up. The world says that God’s laws are chains. The psalmist says they’re wings.
We just talked about how love fuels boldness. Here’s another thing that fuels boldness: truth. When you know something is true and right, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. If you are a veterinarian and someone says, “I love chocolate and I think it would be cruel for me to not let my dog enjoy chocolate as well.” You wouldn’t say, “You do you!” No, you know chocolate can kill a dog. It doesn’t matter what the other person thinks when you know the truth. I’ve used this analogy often when discussing this, but imagine a person sincerely believes if they flap their arms fast enough and jump off a high place they will fly. And you know the truth, that they can’t fly no matter how hard they try. If they are on top of a building about to jump, the truth you know compels boldness to come out from you. Because you know the sincerity of their belief doesn’t matter. The truth of their belief does. If they jump, they will sincerely go “splat!” So in boldness you try to convince them or tackle them. Knowing truth compels boldness.
And think about it. When people live according to their own desires, where does it actually lead? People chase happiness, but they end up empty. They follow their hearts, but they find themselves more lost than before. They throw off moral restraint, thinking they’ll finally be free, only to discover they’ve been dragged into addictions, bitterness, and regret. We see this played out dramatically in our current cultural moment – people chase “freedom” from biological reality, only to find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of surgeries and hormones. They pursue “freedom” from moral constraints, only to become enslaved to their impulses and becoming addicted to the alcohol or drugs they were free to take. They seek “freedom” from truth, only to find themselves lost in a maze of confusion and destruction.
Sin never delivers on its promises. It’s always a bait-and-switch. It offers freedom but leads to bondage. It promises joy but leaves you broken. It tells you to follow your feelings, then mocks you when your feelings betray you. Look at the devastation in our society – broken families, shattered identities, an ever-rising mental health crises – all because so many have believed the lie that freedom means living without God’s boundaries.
But when the psalmist seeks God’s precepts, he doesn’t feel confined—he feels alive. When you live in submission to God’s Word, you are finally living as you were meant to live. That’s why Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) So, we’ve seen that both love and truth fuel boldness. One primary factor of boldness is this: you must speak it. (Introverts attack!)
When God’s Word fills your heart, it will overflow from your mouth. (46)
46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
and shall not be put to shame,
Silence is never an option. If you believe in something deeply, you will talk about it. You don’t have to force it, it just happens. Imagine a coffee cup. You can’t splash coffee out of an empty cup, no matter how hard you try. But what if the cup is full? Just bump it slightly, and coffee spills everywhere. This is what the psalmist understands about boldness. A new parent can’t stop talking about their baby. A football fan doesn’t hesitate to bring up their team. A person in love naturally speaks about the one who has captured their heart. What we love, we declare.
So why are so many Christians silent? The psalmist says, “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame.” (46) He’s not just talking about sharing truth in safe spaces. He’s not just talking about speaking up when it’s easy. He’s saying, I will proclaim God’s Word even in the presence of the most powerful people on earth. Even when it could cost me everything. Even when others bow to fear, I will speak of God.
It makes me think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Remember what they said before king Nebuchadnezzar?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
This is where real boldness takes shape. It’s not just believing the right things—it’s being so full of truth that you can’t keep it in. Look at the apostles in Acts. They weren’t naturally bold men. Before Pentecost, they ran when things got hard. They denied Christ. They hid. But after they were filled with the Spirit and the Word of God, they could not be silenced. When the authorities told them to stop speaking about Jesus, they replied, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) They weren’t forcing boldness—it was simply the overflow of their hearts.
You won’t be bold for truth if your heart is cold toward truth. (47-48)
47 for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Did you catch that? Twice in two verses, he says “I love Your Word.” It’s not just duty for him—it’s delight. He doesn’t just obey Scripture because he has to. He treasures it because he wants to. He doesn’t see God’s commands as a burden but as life itself. That’s the secret to boldness.
Think about the things you love. You can spend hours discussing your favorite books, your hobbies, your sports teams. When someone criticizes something you truly love, you don’t remain silent – you naturally speak up to defend it. Why? Because what fills your heart overflows from your mouth. The psalmist knows that if he is going to stand firm, he must be completely consumed by God’s truth. That’s why he lifts his hands toward it. That’s why he meditates on it. He wants it to sink so deeply into his soul that it defines who he is.
If our hearts are divided between God’s truth and the world’s opinions, we won’t speak with clarity and courage when challenged. This is why Psalm 1 says of the blessed man, that “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) His confidence doesn’t come from himself—it comes from being deeply rooted in God’s truth. The more he loves it, the more it shapes him. And the more it shapes him, the bolder he becomes.
I absolutely love how H.B. Charles visualizes this for us. He says the expression isn’t about prayer or praise, but it’s about dependance upon God:
“When police apprehend a suspect, their first command is, “Hands in the air!” Likewise, when a little child can walk no further, he stands in front of his mother and lifts his hands. Without a word, the child’s uplifted hands declare, “I need you to pick me up!” The psalmist lifted his hands to symbolize his surrender to God and his dependence upon God.”[1]
Boldness is a byproduct of being immersed in Truth.
Everything we’ve discussed flows from one central truth: the gospel itself. Think about what Jesus had to say about truth. He said in John 8:32, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Well what is that truth? Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The content of truth is Jesus Himself. And it’s not subjective and up for interpretation. He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE life. NO ONE comes to Father except through Jesus.
The psalmist could be bold because he was anchored in God’s love. We can be even bolder because we’ve seen that love displayed in full on the cross. When Jesus stood before Pilate, He didn’t waver. And Pilate even asked the question, “What is truth?” while He was looking the true Truth in the face. When Jesus faced the cross, in boldness, He didn’t back down. Why? Because He loved us more than He feared suffering.
If the Son of God loved you enough to die for you, what can the world’s rejection really do? If your sins are covered by Christ’s blood, why fear human judgment? If you’re already accepted by the Father through the Son, why chase cultural approval?
Psalm 119:41-48 gives us a blueprint for a bold life:
Secure yourself in God’s love – Let His steadfast love fuel your courage.
Embrace His Word as the path to real freedom – Don’t believe the world’s lies about liberation.
Speak up for truth when the opportunity comes – Let your heart overflow with what you love.
Love His Word so deeply that it transforms you from the inside out – Let meditation lead to declaration.
Boldness isn’t about personality. It’s not about being naturally outspoken. It’s not something you force yourself into when the moment arises. Boldness is the overflow of a heart completely immersed in truth. The world doesn’t need more halfhearted believers. It doesn’t need more Christians who claim truth but live in fear. It needs men and women whose hearts burn with love for God’s Word—who are so full of truth that they can’t help but speak it.
So where do you need to start today? Do you need to pray for confidence in God’s love? Do you need to shift your perspective on obedience? Do you need to stop being silent and start speaking truth? Do you need to rekindle your love for Scripture?
The world desperately needs to hear God’s truth. Not delivered with arrogance or anger, but flowing from hearts so full of God’s love and God’s Word that we can’t help but speak. May we be those believers – anchored in truth, fueled by love, transformed by the gospel, and bold for the glory of God.
[1] https://hbcharlesjr.com/resource-library/sermon-outlines/becoming-a-faithful-witness-psalm-11941-48
