Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
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.
Psalm 43 is one with which we all can all identify in the these days of violence and hatred. It is a psalm of mourning conveying deep sadness and depression. This Psalmist is in the midst of some deep trouble caused by harsh events and circumstances akin to our own. He conveys the feeling of spiritual thirst as he thinks he is enduring spiritual drought, thirsting for the Lord who he thinks is far from him.
We have all been there. The troubles of life pour over us and we feel swept away, out of control and lost. There seems no respite from them. Sometimes they are caused by the natural forces of the weather and the earth, sometimes by the sins of others, but, more often, they are caused by our own sins. Then we may be aware that we are being disciplined and shaped by God. Yet we still call out to Him wondering what is going on, why He does not answer our prayers, why He does not help us, why He does not relieve our pain and despair. We think that the people in the world seem to prosper, to live without a care while we who worship the Lord are overcome by tribulation and sorrow.
But therein lies our hope: though we are tossed about we are still in the merciful hands of a loving Father who will not fail to come to save us. The people who do not have faith in Jesus will fail to understand. They will endure tribulations as we do yet without hope. Yet as our suffering is designed by God to conform us into the image of Christ Jesus, the suffering of those without faith is designed by God to bring them to Him. We pray that they would hear the word of God and submit to His will. This is the only way to find peace and joy without end.