Psalm 5 – A Morning Prayer
04/05/2020
Ps 5:1-12
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
This is an appeal, not an order, an humble request for an audience with the Great King. David intends to be understood ‘unto thee, and thee only, will I pray.” The devotion of the petitioner must be an absolute one. There must not be equivocation or false motives, for the One to Whom he prays knows all the intimate secrets of the heart. David asks only that his words be ‘heard’ and ‘considered.’ He allows for the sovereignty of God in which God always has grander purposes than ours. The truly earnest petitioner is willing that his prayers go unanswered so long as God hears and considers. The honest and sincere worshiper desires the honor and glory of God above all things, so he tempers his requests with the buffer that they may not be answered in the affirmative.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
The more I think on the subject the more I come to the opinion that the manna gathering in the wilderness is a picture of the prayer life of the saint, attempting to gather each morning sufficient grace for the tasks
of the day. The manna disappeared after the sun rose, so the Israelites were required to gather it in the cool early morning. Saints would do well to heed the example and prepare themselves in prayer while it is till dark and cool each day.
5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
The saint considers the alternative of living as he does, which would be living as a wicked man. He reminds himself of their absence of hope and the certainty of their destruction. This helps him with the temptation
to be molded into the mold of those around him.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
He renews his purpose to worship God in the manner approved and given by God and to be faithful in that. One cannot properly worship God while rejecting and refusing the worship system that He has given.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
These words remind me of the words of Jesus in the model prayer. ‘Lead me,’ in righteousness direct my heart and my steps. Direct mind and motive because I have enemies in my live who ware against that purpose. There are those who would draw me into wickedness. Their deceptive power is so great that unless You, Lord, lead me I will most assuredly fall. ‘Make my path straight.’ One’s ‘path’ in scripture is the allegory for his manner of life.
A crooked path is the life of the person given to iniquity. The straight way is the life of the faithful believer. Every true saint longs for the straight path. ‘It is narrow and hard,’ Jesus said, ‘and only a few find it.’ But no matter what the saint still longs for that path and grieves when he loses it.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
These enemies of David may or may not be human beings. Every saint has enemies, personal enemies, who fit this description. They are messengers of Hell, servants of Satan, spirits of the underworld. Every kind of deception and wickedness, every kind of flattery to human pride, are at their disposal. And they have the ability to invade the mind, deceive the saint, and lead him away from his purposes to serve God. ‘Destroy them, O God,” cries the saints. ‘Cast them out, remove them from my life,’ for only God can cast
out the spirits of hell.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. (KJV)
And he reminds himself of the certain blessing for those who truly trust in God. Their rejoicing is the by- product of His defense of them.
— April 5, 2020