Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the doers of iniquity;
Peace be upon Israel.
— Psalm 125:4-5
The next two verses show us more about who we are. First the psalmist says, “Do good, O Jehovah, to the good and those upright in their hearts” (v. 4). Within all of us there are two very different parts of our being. One part is “upright,” because it is from Him. We can use this verse to tell the Lord, “Lord, whatever is from You, whatever is divine, whatever is eternal within me, do good to that part. May that part of me grow and come out more.” Then the psalmist continues, “But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Jehovah will lead them off with the workers of iniquity” (v. 5a). This is a cry to the Lord. There is a second part of us that is crooked, that turns aside to crooked ways. When we see this we will say, “Lord, expose me more. All the things that are not so healthy, that are not upright, that are crooked in my heart, expose them more.”
We must remember that this psalm is one of consecration. The writer is a consecrated person. He knows that the Lord is trustworthy, so he is not afraid of being exposed. He would tell the Lord, “Lord, I trust You. Expose me more. Expose what is evil and terrible within me. Bring it to manifestation.”
When we are not fully given to the Lord we are always trying to hide ourselves. We often try to make ourselves appear good. But when we really touch the Lord, we would say to Him, “Lord, expose me more. Enlighten me more. Shine on me more. Let me know my self more. Expose all my shortcomings. Save me from appreciating myself.”
Why would we pray this way? So that we have a chance to repent. If we don’t trust the Lord we would never dare pray in this way. We would never dare ask the Lord to expose all our iniquities. It is only when we fully trust in the Lord that we can say, “Lord, I am ready. Whatever is of You and Your dispensing within me, bring it out. Whatever is upright within me, let it grow and develop. But Lord, whatever is evil within me, whatever turns to crooked ways, let it be manifested so that I can repent and deal with it.” This is the prayer of a consecrated person.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, pages 53-54.
Tomorrow: “Peace in the Church Life”