Hear my cry for help, my King and my God,

 for to you I pray.

 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

 in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;

 with you, evil people are not welcome.

 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.

You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies.

The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

 But I, by your great love,

    can come into your house; in reverence I bow down

    toward your holy temple.

 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—

    make your way straight before me.

 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;

    their heart is filled with malice.

Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

 Declare them guilty, O God!

    Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them, 

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;

 you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

There is power in bringing our deepest longings and prayers to God, even when things get ugly. Praise God that we don’t have to clean up our situations and prayers before bringing them to Him! It makes me nervous to ask for such heavy judgment on even those who would wrong me, but the beautiful part is that by establishing God as the King, it is not myself enacting this wrath on others, but instead giving Him the authority and ability to work out the right outcome in every situation. Even when I am wronged, betrayed, or lied about, instead of taking matters into my own hands, I have the ability to bring my anger and hurt to the God and King of all justice, who not only hates these things, but stoops down to protect my heart and cover me with His name and protection. 

Just as David models here, we establish first and foremost that HE alone is the King. As with human kings, there are expectations that the people have of his leadership and there are obligations that must be fulfilled to him, as well. This King, however, is not a despot and not focused on power. He is perfect in all His ways. He is merciful, focused on the people’s relationship with Him, committed to justice towards all.

Thank You, my King and my God, for Your gift of defending me and not casting me out of your presence when I am angry or hurt. Thank You for defending me and leading me out of condemnation and into Your great love. I give You all authority and permission to step into even messy situations in my life and work out Your plans in them.