What a great blessing we have in this promise! The guarantee of great peace… this sure hope, this present power is the love gift that God pours out on those who love His law… and by extension, those who love Him. For really this is what it comes down to. We cannot claim to love God while also hating His declaration of what is true, right and beautiful. Or to put it more foundationally - since God's law is a display of His character in simple to understand bits of truth, to hate His law is to hate His character… and you cannot simultaneously hate God's character and love Him. It just doesn't work. This give us some insight into why the world around us so very plainly in the throes of a dearth of peace, they hate God's law. Most would tell you that they love God, but that they have a problem with the strict and rigid declarations of His law… they will say that their God is a god of peace and love, that he wants everyone to be happy and that we (religious extremists) need to chill out and leave people alone, letting them find their own happiness. All of this comes in the midst of fear, anger, confusion, strife and anxiety. The truth is this, if we hate God's law, we hate Him and have no promise of real peace. Further, those who love God's law will stand firm and not stumble over anything… which begs the question, why then do I still stumble? The answer is the same. At any point that we love self and fleshly desires more than we love God and His law, we WILL stumble! This causes pain in our lives, compromises our peace and SHOULD drive us to repentance and back to our Father. These lapses are the evidence of the heart, but it is our responses to them which tells the rest of the story. Do we repent, re-aim and restart? Or do we defend, justify and continue in sin? The former promises peace and security, the latter promises judgment and pain. Beloved, turn always towards God, never away and find all the peace you could ever desire