For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.
Hear my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.
But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
towards your holy temple.Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies –
make your way straight before me.
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.
Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.
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.Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
(Ps. 5:1-12 NIV)
you surround them with your favour as with a shield.
This is a morning Psalm. When we wake and think of the day ahead the reality of life, the news and events that we anticipate facing frustrates the joy that we have in the Lord. Fear arises in our hearts as we contemplate the harshness of life. Before we move into the day we lift our voices in lament and we cry out to the Lord. The prayer brings us into the presence of God with a deep awareness that our God is King. God is King over all of life’s circumstances. The turning point of the Psalm is in verses 7 and 8. We bring our lament, our cry, our requests before the Lord and wait expectantly. Wicked, evil and arrogant people will not be welcome. Those who do wrong, those who tell lies and those who are bloodthirsty and deceitful are detested by God. That discourages us because to what degree are those things evident in me? I can enter God’s presence only because of God’s great love. With a sense of awe and reverence I bow my head. Only by grace can we enter, only by grace can we stand. In God’s presence I am reassured by God’s righteousness. Because in righteousness God will bring judgement on the wicked and in righteousness God will cause me to be glad and let me sing for joy forever. God brings me under the protection of His wing and from this secure place I learn to love God’s name and rejoice in God my Saviour. In love God makes me righteous, declares me righteous and the shield of God’s favour surround me and hems me in on every side.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!
(1 John 3:1)
Prayer
Lord God secure me under the shadow of your wing. I see the sin in others who do not know your name and realise the great favour that You have shown me in Christ. I bow humbly and with reverence in your presence, and I rejoice in God my Saviour. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.