Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
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What a beautiful picture of love.
Earlier in this Psalm, David describes how the Lord views him as the apple of his eye. David is God's prized possession, the thing for which God's heart beats and longs for. God comforts him and hides him in his presence as a mother does with her young.
But the men around David are trying to pry him from that place. They tempt him with things and an earthly lifestyle.
So many people in this world get wooed away from the Lord by earthly things. We get distracted by stuff. We fill our "wombs with treasure." We are satisfied with friends and family. We long to be successful and well-off enough to leave a nice inheritance for our posterity. While none of these things are inherently evil, I believe they rob us of the complete satisfaction that can be found in Christ.
David exhibits this satisfaction in the last line of this Psalm. Nothing else matters to David except seeing the face of God. He longs for this moment. Every time he opens his eyes he longs to see the face of the Lord, and every day makes him want that more.
When was the last time you desired God that much? When was the last time you sought him to that degree? If you're like me, you've lost a little of that love. You do not reciprocate the feeling of being the apple of God's eye.
Let us return to our first love and desire him above all things. He alone can satisfy.
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