PSALM FORTY THREE

WHEN LOVE SHINES IN!

   This psalm contains three distinct requests:-
O God, judge me and plead my cause;
O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man;
O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them bring  
  me to Thy Holy Hill.
   Only God knows us as we really are. He judges, truly and impartially and 
not by outward appearances. God looks on the heart and judges what He sees 
there. In the same train of thought the psalmist cries, "Plead my cause!" The 
Lord God is our advocate. He cares for us; He loves us; He pleads for us. The 
enemies of God's people are so cruel, so cunning and so powerful, that it is 
a miracle that they are not wiped out. Often the believer is faced with 
deceit and he cannot retaliate as a citizen of this world, fighting deceit 
with deceit. So he enlists the aid of God, who knows the heart of every man 
and sees the deceitfulness of the wicked. If ever we are cruel to one of 
God's children, we are doing the enemy's work. The psalmist's primary request 
is to be sure of the advocacy of God Almighty.
   Then he cries, "Deliver me!" A special deliverance is involved. It is 
deliverance from the deceitful and unjust man. The wicked will never learn 
that they cannot win by deceiving the righteous. The believer is like a sheep 
among the wolves in this world. Yet he has the protection of the Almighty 
God. The world may regard the simple believer as naive, but he has the wisdom 
of the Eternal at his disposal. Men may make a mock at simple faith, yet 
after nearly 2,000 years, simple faith still works, whilst they who mocked it 
in the past lie mouldering in their graves. God is not deceived. He knows 
every man for what he is. The believer has a reference bureau to which he can 
turn for help when deception begins to operate.
   Finally the psalmist prays, "Send light and truth!" A special deliverance 
is involved. Light and Truth deliver from darkness and deceit. How much light 
does it take to dispel darkness? Just one small match struck in the darkest 
place can overcome the darkness. We discover light and truth in God's 
faithfulness and equity. The leading of God is ever to His House. His holy 
hill and His tabernacle are the place of joy. In fact the psalmist says that 
God is his exceeding joy.
   Darkness makes us afraid. Lack of truth makes us ignorant. Lack of song 
makes us miserable. That was our condition before the Love of God shined into 
our hearts. But now, the darkness has rolled away. The truth has made us 
free, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.



----------------------------------------------------
file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-043.txt
.