SHOW THYSELF
“O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.” Psalm 94:1
The writer of the Psalms cried out for God to “shew thyself.” He needed the Lord to work, to demonstrate His power in a mighty way. The remainder of the Psalm lets us know that the wicked were triumphing, and the workers of iniquity were destroying God’s people. The writer knew better than to think that he was sufficient to handle his attackers. He was trusting the Lord to intervene. He wanted God to manifest Himself, supporting the cause of those who were right and opposing the work of the wicked.
Twice in our Scripture, we see the phrase, “God, to whom vengeance belongeth.” It is God that takes care of punishing wrong doers and getting revenge on His enemies. He is the perfect and holy Judge and will mete out justice, just as He gives mercy. SHOW THYSELF is certainly a legitimate prayer for us as well. We need for God to show Himself in our day and in our circumstances. The wicked speak and act as though God does not know or even exist. Our natural tendency is to try to straighten out those who stand against the truth or those who oppose the work of God with their words and deeds. What we really need is for God to show Himself and manifest His power and His position.
We can know with assurance that God will show Himself. One day, He will reveal Himself as the eternal Judge and will honor the godly and chasten the wicked. The last verse of Psalm 94 says, “And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness, yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off” (23). In that day, there will be no doubt about who and what is right. However, we can also believe that God wants to show Himself mighty in our present day.
We need for God to work in a powerful way. Satan is definitely working his will in many lives. Our communities need revival, our churches need revival; and in reality, we all need revival. We need for God to stretch forth His strong right arm and do a great work. We can be sure that God wants to manifest His power and grace in an unusual way. May this be our prayer, “SHOW THYSELF. SHOW THYSELF strong in our homes and families. SHOW THYSELF mighty in our churches. SHOW THYSELF capable in our individual lives.”