His Names Sake

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HIS NAME'S SAKE

Ps 143

143:1 A psalm of David.

O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. 2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. 3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. 4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. 5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. 12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

NIV

Once again David is in that mode of feeling down and out stuck in a cave hiding from his enemies. Most of his prayer is a request for help, but there are some other very interesting statements he makes as well. He asked not to be brought into judgment for no one living is righteous before God. How true that is, we are all sinners who are saved by grace. There is not one of us who has any righteousness or right standing before God unless we are in Christ. Although Christ was in the loins of David, David did not have the same concept of being in Jesus as we do. Along with his dismay over his situation he reaffirms his commitment to the Lord. David remembers the days of long ago and he meditates on all the works of the Lord and how much he did for him. Then he spreads out his hands to the Lord and expresses how much he thirsts for him. This should be our life. When we are having any difficulties, any problems we need to mediate on the Lord and remember all the things he has done and how his hand has been at work in our life. When it seems he is silent, he is not. We are the ones not hearing, not listening, being so concerned about ourselves with worry and being anxious over our situation. Those are the times we need to lift our hands, spread out our hands to the Lord and thirst for him. David says that his spirit fails, so he asks the Lord to come quickly. He feels as though he is so low, his spirit is failing so much he is headed down into a pit. That sounds almost like despair and depression. Yet we know there is nowhere we can go the Lord is not there. No matter how we feel, God is there. If we are dismayed, he is there. If our spirit is in despair, failing, he is there. If we sink into a depressed state, he is there. It is in the morning his word is there to lift us up. Each morning his word brings his unfailing love to us and we lift our souls up to him. We can hide ourselves in him. He is our refuge, our rock, our ever present help in time of trouble. There are times when our life seemed to be a series of hills and valleys, highs and lows. But David asks the Lord to teach him to do his will. This is the key to walking on level ground. It gets rid of those highs and lows, the mountain top experiences followed by that deep valley of despair. God sets our feet on solid ground, he makes our path straight and level when we are about seeking his will and doing that which he reveals to us. Steady as she goes, is our motto. This is where we learn contentment. It is when we lift our hands to the Lord, when we lift our soul to the Lord, being in his everlasting arms, in the palm of his right hand. However, we also know it is not all about us, but we do all this, are where we are because it is for his name's sake. We are the representation of our Lord to the world. Our lives reflect him. It is for his name 's sake we lift our hands, our soul onto him. All that he does for us, all the work of his hand in our lives is for his name's sake.