God Send Your Light Amid The Darkness (Psalm 43)
The context of this psalm is much the same as last weeks. In fact, a lot of people believe Psalm 43 is part 2 of that. But it is different. It is a different prayer with similar notes. It is a prayer that we would do well to take to heart.
This morning I spoke about the, so called, “Respect for Marriage Act”. It changes the definition of marriage in America with the force of law. We all know that they did not really change the definition of marriage, but have fooled themselves into thinking they have done so. It is a change that also indicates the dark days that we live in.
We can also think on a more local level with this. Here in Conway, the school board recently voted to regulate restroom usage. Biological males are to use the restroom that accords with their biological gender. And they also banned pornographic books from being in circulation at the school. All of this led to protests at a school board meeting where three people were arrested. And I don’t think these folks are showing any signs of stopping.
This brings sorrow to our hearts. It is difficult to not be downcast when the world seems to be burning around us. What are we to do? Ours is an era of darkness and praise God we have help in knowing how to pray amid that darkness.
The psalmist is dwelling in a land of godlessness. He is away from the land of God’s people and feels alone amid all the darkness. And, to some extent, I think we can all relate to this struggle. And what he prays for, we should pray for as well. God, give me your favor and truth as you show the world I’m on the side of righteousness.
Show The World I’m On The Side Of Righteousness (Psalm 43:1-2)
We begin this psalm with a prayer for vindication. To be vindicated is to be shown to be on the side of righteousness. He is seen by those around him as being on the wrong side of things. And has enemies on every side. Everyone around him seems to be standing against him. So, he longs for the Lord to show everyone that he has been on the side of righteousness all along.
I think we can all appreciate the next verse, for it sums up how a lot of us feel when things get tough. He prays to the Lord who is His protector, but he does not feel as if he has been protected of late. He feels rejected, alone, and even feels that God has left him in this desolate place and simply can’t understand why things are as they are. These godless days have been long, and they are really wearing on him. And his thoughts are growing dark.
We also long for the day of vindication. We pray for it and look for it to come. But we know a little more about that time than he did. And for that, I am thankful.
There is coming a day when Christ Jesus will judge the world in righteousness. And on that day, it will be revealed that the Christians were the people that were on His side. There will be a sifting and there will be a winnowing and on that day God’s people will be vindicated.
President Obama made the phrase, “on the right side of history” popular. He didn’t understand that the people that would be on the right side of history were the people that were on the right side of God’s Word. Even though it looks as if darkness is prevailing right now, it will not always be that way and we long for the day in which we are vindicated. And we live trusting that it will occur.
God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect life on our behalf an died on the cross as the punishment for sin. Three days later he rose from the grave and He did al this to accomplish our right standing with God. He did this to bring us to Himself. And when He did this, He placed us on the winning side of history.
Don’t watch the news and get so depressed that you can’t function. Don’t let it put you in a terrible mood. Don’t think that things are never going to get better. We live in hope understanding that we are on the side of history that wins. We are on the side of history that will be vindicated.
Be With Me And Lead Me In Truth (Psalm 43:3-4)
The psalmist prays here for light and truth to be sent to lead him and guide him. Light and truth are personified messengers that will lead him to the altar.
Last week we saw that the psalmist desperately longed to worship again with God’s people. We will see the same thing in the last verse this week. And it is God’s light and truth that he prays for to get him there.
So, what are the light and truth that the psalmist is praying for?
The light is God’s favor. It might be called “the light of God’s countenance”. And we see this idea in Psalm 31:16 and Numbers 6:25. It is the blessing of God’s presence and favor in a life. The truth is God’s Word or Law. And we would probably say that he means by this the illumination of God’s Spirit in the Word.
Now, I want you to consider that he is in the middle of a lost world amid great darkness when he asks for God’s favor and the illumination of the Spirit of God to teach Him God’s Word. Give us that and we have so, so much. Give to us God’s presence and a right understanding of the Word and we have everything. I find this very interesting. He didn’t pray for some huge experience. He didn’t pray for some radical moment. He prayed for God’s favor and God’s Word.
God’s favor and God’s Word will lead us to where we need to be, in the worship of the Lord with exceeding joy, forever.
God has graciously given to us His Spirit and His Word to guide us in this life. It is to our peril that we ignore these glorious gifts of God’s grace or belittle them.
I am amazed at how little we think of such a thing. In God’s Word we have been given everything we need to live a life of godliness.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV)
Why do we act as if things are in ruin? Why do we act as if the Lord has left us desperate and hopeless?
I will admit, we are hopeless without the Lord. But the Lord has given to us salvation in His Son, He has brought us to Himself. The Lord has given to us His Spirit, who illuminates the word that God has also given to us. And the Word of God gives to us everything we need to know to make us “wise for salvation”, to be taught, to be reproved, to be corrected, to be trained in righteousness.
Learn the Word. Teach the Word to your children. Hear the Word preached. Meditate over the Word. Conform your life to the Word. It should be as life to you. For without God’s favor and God’s Word illuminated by the Holy Spirit, we would never make it through this life. But with hose things we have everything we need to take on the struggles of this life.
And when things are seeming to fall apart around you, pick up the Word, and read the Word.
Preach God’s Grace To Yourself (Psalm 43:5)
This is the same refrain as last week. He has forgotten things that he desperately needed to know and remember. He is cast down and the turmoil seeks to pull him under. He forgot God’s love and grace toward Him.
He forgot and we often forget too. And when we do, we must preach to ourselves.
His hope is in the Lord, and again He tells Himself that He will one day praise the Lord amid God’s people. He reminds Himself that God is His salvation an that God is with Him. These are all things that we need to remember and be reminded of time and time again.
We forget. I know that I said this last week, but you may have forgotten that as well. We forget God’s love, grace, and mercy toward us. And it is something that, while we are walking in the middle of all this darkness, we will need to remind ourselves.
And so, I mention that passage of Scripture that I have recited from behind this pulpit so many times before.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)
This is truth that we must keep in front of us. It is truth that we have to preach to ourselves.
When illness is just overwhelming your family, you must preach it to yourself God’s grace toward you.
When the school board meetings go awry, you must preach to yourself God’s grace toward you.
When there is death in the family and the sorrow seeks to overtake you, you must preach to yourself God’s grace toward you.
When the country decides to make incredibly immoral laws, you must preach to yourself God’s grace toward you.
We are not overwhelmed with the wickedness of this world. God is gracious to us, even when it is not incredibly obvious.
Conclusion
I know that the news is depressing. I sense it as well. I also know that things have been incredibly hard for a lot of us right now. But we know the end of the story and are adopted children of the King who brings about the end of that story. And so we can walk in hope amid this dark and sinful land.
R. Dwain Minor