January 12, 2016
1 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation;
O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your dwelling places.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
I’m tempted to read that first verse and think of my own nation, which seems to battle more and more against the law of God. And there are certainly unjust and deceitful men (and women, let’s not leave out the ladies!) in authority in our nation. At times as our culture abandons God and tries to impose its own rules for life the righteous really are oppressed. The same story happens over and over in history.
But I think the psalmist here is equally concerned for his own heart. I need God’s truth to lead ME, not everyone else. I can’t even expect the world to follow him, just myself. I need his light and truth. I am the one that needs to go to God’s holy hill and his altar and praise him.
When our hearts are on him, our joy and hope return, and that enables us to live in his Kingdom regardless of what is going on in the ungodly world around us.