Show Me In The Morning

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So many of the psalms are cries for help.  That, in itself, should tell us something.

God doesn't mind cries for help. And David was usually not shy about admitting his needs. God knows we can't.... Feel free to fill in the blanks with whatever it is that you can't do, or be, or feel.

I'm not sure if David composed Psalm 143 as a bedtime prayer. I imagine it that way because of verse 8: "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love." As he pours out his grief to God, not knowing what the next day may entail, he admits his need for mercy, for relief, for forgiveness, for protection, for encouragement, for a touch from the Lord Himself (vss. 1-6).

His desperation requires an immediate answer:

"Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit faints with longing. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you."

This is no sense of calculation, the kind of thing we so often engage it. There is no sense of the planning, the proposing, the deciding who he can get to do whatever it is he needs, the setting of tomorrow's agenda that he hopes will get him to the destination that he wants to arrive at. He clears his mind before he lays down his head.

No, David throws all the calculating, all the planning, all the proposing, all the decision-making on the Lord.

"Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble" (vss. 8-11).

As he lies down to sleep, he entrusts it all to the Lord. "Show me in the morning, Lord."

What gives him that confidence?

Notice the character qualities David assigns to God:

— faithfulness

He never fails.

— righteousness

He always does what is right.

— unfailing love

He love us passionately.

— goodness

He is a good God.

Herein lies a test of faith—one that we all have to take at the end of every day. When we really believe that God is Who He says He is, and will do what He says He will do, we can lay down all those insecurities, all those burdens, all those questions, and say with David:

"Show me in the morning, Lord."