seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 43:[a] 1 Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
a. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
Hey I found the blueletterbible.org site this morning. And it's not super long winded! I took excerpts.
Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! It's hard to deal with deceitful and unjust people, because they not only do wrong but they also know how to cover it up with deceit. In such a tough situation, the psalmist does the right thing - he cries out to God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul? The psalmist has hope of God's redemption, but it hasn't come yet. In the meantime, he will not "give in" to his feelings of depression and discouragement. Instead, he will challenge them and bring them before the Lord. He says to those "cast down" and "disquieted" feelings, "Hope in God. He will come through again, because He has before."
We see that at the end of the psalm none of the circumstances of the psalmist have changed - only his attitude, and what a difference that makes! "Not yet has the answer come. The darkness and the mystery are still about him, but the shining way is seen; and again the soul is forbidden to despair and hope is encouraged in God." (Morgan)
The help of my countenance: The psalmist knew his countenance needed help - and God was just the one to bring it. Many times our face needs help, and we turn away from God.
Some people can get so close to God... that He becomes their crutch. Any time they start to do something.... they pray about it.... it's worked before... God helped them before.... so He should step right up and throw a shoulder in on the cause "right away".
It's that "right away" thing humans have that just seems to get in the way.... God doesn't operate on "right away". He'll send an angel in advance so they can be there "right away" before a human is in real danger.
God likes to be a parent. A parent doesn't carry a kid all the time.... the kid has to get down and walk on their own once in a while or there would be no need for legs and feet. So.... like a kid who's parent has just set them down to walk... David has his hands up.... he's lifting his heels up and down to show God he wants him to pick him back up..... I can just see God... patting David on the head... and offering a hand for support.... but not responding "right now" to the "pick me up" plead. Every now and then we have to use our own legs and stand on our own two feet.... but we always know.... God knows how this turns out!
