Psalm 43
The concluding verse (v5) is the same verse as Psalm 42:
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God. (ESV)
It would seem to me that this Psalm is a continuation of the previous. However, David is challenging God in this Psalm. He obviously feels like he is being attacked by ungodly people and the Lord is not raising up to rebuke these people in a timely fashion. What I am challenged by is the Lord’s timing. Was David not at peace with the Lord and not being patient, waiting for the Lord to do all good things? Surely he knew that the Lord would provide! Why, then, was he impatient here? Was this written when Saul was planning on killing David? Was this in regards to Absalom and his movement to become king and remove David from the throne? Either way, David had already been through enough to realize that God loved him and would provide. The only thing I can personally conclude: David was a man, just like me. I can’t seem to wait for anything. If I don’t get an immediate answer, I tend to move on instead of being patient and listening. What doesn’t make sense is why I am not patient… why I don’t wait for the Lord to guide me. My sinful nature takes over and I lose myself to stupidity. If I rely on God and trust that He will provide for me, I am good. It reminds me of the verse:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13 ESV)
How true and how wonderful! The Lord will not test me beyond what I am capable. To put this in practice, I need to prayerfully talk to the Lord and be patient. I don’t need to look for my answers in five minutes — while they may come that quick, it isn’t required.
The other interesting thing in this verse is the parallelism between himself and all of Israel. There are some that believe this Psalm would prophesy the woes and cries of the Israelites as they were enslaved by the Babylonians. While I didn’t personally see that immediately, I can see the connections and perspective. More important, to me, is the fact that David was very clear — he asked the Lord for direction. He wanted the Lord to send out His light so that he could follow Him down the right path. I need to practice this more often. David knew to rely on God — I need to do the same.
Impact verse (v3):
Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!