Psalm 5: Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. 4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; 6 you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest. 7 But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. 8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me. 9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies. 10 Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
TODAY’S THREE PEARLS
- In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly – v.3: David directed his petitions to God at the crack of dawn with fresh spirits, when God’s mercy was freshly renewed (Lam. 3:22-23). The morning sacrifice of prayer is the first-fruits of our time; our first train of thoughts, fitting for the One who has bequeathed us with the gift of a new day and new opportunities. It is said that the manna that fell from heaven was only fresh in the morning and grew stale as the sun came out. We also note that David prayed in confidence, he expected an answer. As he went about his day, he looked out with spiritual insight for God’s feedback. By praying we depend on God, if we don’t expect, we are renouncing our confidence. Our level of expectation corresponds to our level of faith.
- Lead me in righteousness because of my enemies…Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you – v. 8-10: In the psalms, David cursed his enemies. With Christ, we have a new covenant, which does not give us the right to curse those who offend us like David did. We pray for them, we bless them, we do good to them, we feed them, we leave God to take care of their transgressions against us. And He often does in His own time, His vengeance is found to be sweeter than anything we can ever concoct on our own. You may well find yourself eventually praying for Him to have mercy on said enemy.
- You surround them with your favor as a shield – v.12: A shield is a broad defence for the whole body. It is a large piece of armor that can be moved in any direction to deflect attacks to the body. David says God’s favor is a shield and we are privileged to now know from Apostle Paul (Eph. 6:16) that our faith is also a shield. Our faith, God’s favor, two layers of spiritual armor fusing to form an impenetrable fortress against the darts of the wicked. We must then ask ourselves whenever we feel that sinking feeling of fear, which one of these two elements is missing – our faith or God’s favor?
Ref: Treasury of David
Exercise: Get your own inspiration from Psalm 5! Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you something new. Read the psalm again. Expect to be drawn to a word, sentence or verse. Reflect on it, ask the Spirit to explain it to you……
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 