Like the sun that rises and shines, dispelling night's darkness and bringing morning's light, so too the Lord rises up (v. 2) and shines forth (v. 1). In Psalm 94, the stands up to bring justice, and shines forth to bring his blessings. He brings justice upon the wicked, who take advantage of, and treat as disposable, and even kill the most vulnerable in society: the widows, orphans, and immigrants (v. 6). The wicked even create laws to justify their behavior (v. 20), rather than submitting to God's perfect laws of love. The wicked solely look out for themselves and live for themselves, so that they don't care when good people and innocent people are hurt (in fact, they scheme against others for their own benefit (v. 21)). The Lord, however, is the complete opposite: his love is unfailing (v. 18), he consoles the anxious (v. 19), and he delivers others from death (v. 17). He is a fortress, a rock, and a refuge to all who are in need (v. 22).
O Lord, as we pray this psalm, we lament the brokenness of the world we live, where the weak are exploited (v. 6), the innocent are not immune from harm (v. 21), injustice is systemic (v. 20), and we are confronted far too often with the tragedy of death (v. 6). We pray, rise up and shine forth like the sun, and banish the darkness of our sin-blackened world, that the earth might be filled with your glory, and might reflect your holiness, righteousness, justice, and love.
We pray, help us in the situations where we are being wronged.
We pray, help those in our society who are the most vulnerable and are being exploited the most. Grant us to share in your gracious, loving heart, that we might be part of your plan to show love and favor to those who are in need. May our love and service create meaningful relationships and friendships with those in need, and may their lives and our own be changed for the better by sharing one another's burdens.
Lord, for those who are callously seeking their own good, even at the expense of others, we pray: open their eyes so that they might see the light of your truth, the light of your love. Help us to forgive those who have wronged us, because our bitterness, hate, and vengeance will not make this world the place of peace we earnestly desire. Deliver them from darkness and let them delight in your love. Humbly, Lord, we must confess that at times we too fall in this category where we care more for ourselves than others, where we sin by what we do and say and what we don't do and don't say. Deliver us and guide us that we might also walk in your love.
We thank you, Lord, that you are always there for us; our rock, our refuge, our Lord and our God, now and forever. Amen.
