I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your Name; the upright shall live in your presence.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your Name; the upright shall live in your presence.
✙ Ps. 140:12-13 ✙
Psalm 140 ends with the same theme that I read throughout much of Psalm 139, and that is God's presence. Whereas Psalm 139 is more of an affirmation of God's abiding presence, Psalm 140 speaks of it more as a promise.
And this is a wonderful promise in the context of this psalm that seems to me to speak too much of cruelty. The final verses lift my eyes from the evil surrounding me to the goodness of God. Decency may now appear to be overwhelmed by the violence of the greedy, but the promise of God is greater: the upright shall live in God's presence.
And this is a wonderful promise in the context of this psalm that seems to me to speak too much of cruelty. The final verses lift my eyes from the evil surrounding me to the goodness of God. Decency may now appear to be overwhelmed by the violence of the greedy, but the promise of God is greater: the upright shall live in God's presence.
I thank you, Lord, that you defend the cause of those who have none but you. May I join them in your presence, that I, too, may be part of your eternal kingdom, in the Name of the One who taught me to pray for it...
