Psalm 94:16-19 - September 26, 2009

Ps 94:16-19 "Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? 17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. 18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. 19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." NIV

Can you hear the echo of the cries of those who need your help? This psalm is such an echo! The psalmist is crying out for help against the wicked with a sense of desperation as if to say “can anyone hear me?” “Don’t you know that I am in need?” “Won’t you please do something?” “Can’t you please help me?” This passage is the cry of hearts that are all around us and it leads us to consider our responsibility in the face of wickedness, injustice and need. What will we do about the pain that is all around? Will we pass by like the first three people in the story of the Good Samaritan or will we hear the cry and see the need? Will we get involved and become the source of deliverance for the ones within our reach?
Verse sixteen is a call to action even as it a prayer for help. A well known minister in Brooklyn, NY has lived by the motto “the need is the call!” When we live surrounded by need the heart of God requires us to get involved. Even as we accept the limitation that says we will never be able to help everyone it is our responsibility to reach out where we can. For certain it matters to the one that is waiting for YOU to act!
The second facet of this passage is a call to the true source of help. Throughout the pages of scripture a consistent pattern emerges of the Lord rising up to deliver and help, the Lord being the minister of divine justice that brings hope in desperate situations. When the nation of Israel cried out to the Lord He always raised up a deliverer. Consider Moses, Gideon, Sampson and more; people who answered the call and received the help of heaven to meet the needs of men in time of great struggle or oppression. Men turn their face to towards God for help and God turns His heart towards men for action!
The psalmist depicts so clearly the emotional pain and anguish that touch the heart in times of crisis; images of slipping feet, the silence of death, great anxieties within. For each of these feelings of pressure the psalmist points to one clear and consistent remedy; the Lord’s help, the support of His love, and the joy of His consolations! How deep is the work of God’s Spirit to give our hearts strength when we call out to Him? Man may fail to hear the God’s call to help us, but at all times and in all things God is there. In every situation God is faithful to touch the need within us and give us strength to face the day! Jesus points us to a daily walk of confidence in God as He speaks to His disciples in Mt. 6:28-34 and calls us to seek God and His kingdom as our priority with the promise that our needs will be met as we walk in a trusting relationship with Him. Comfort for the soul, provision for every need and the conviction of God working in the midst of every situation to prepare the way for you! This is the goodness of God at work. Rest in Him and seek His face!