Rise up, Lord, in Your anger. lift Yourself up against the fury of my enemies, and awaken for me. You have appointed justice.
The words “Rise up” and “awake” are poetic pleas for God to intervene openly. David does not think that the Lord is literally asleep or inactive, but asks that His righteousness become visible in a situation where evil seems to rule freely. God’s wrath is not human, uncontrolled anger, but His holy and righteous response to injustice. The phrase “You have established justice” shows that David entrusts his case to God as the Lawgiver and Judge of righteousness. He does not ask for arbitrary revenge, but for the justice that God Himself has established. The believer also can pray that the Lord would stop violence, expose lies, and defend the oppressed. Yet that prayer must be free from personal hatred. We entrust judgment to God, because only He fully knows hearts and circumstances. His judgment is never late, even though to our eyes it sometimes seems long awaited.