Psalm 5

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
² Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
³ My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

⁴ For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
⁵ The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶ You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷ But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹ For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰ Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹ But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
¹² For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Spurgeon: When the dew is on the grass, let grace drop upon the soul. Let us give to God the mornings of our days and the morning of our lives.

            Mornings have always been a great time for me.  As a mother, you learn to get up early with your children.  Spend time with God, even if it is only 15 minutes.  The dishes can wait 15 minutes.  The floors can wait 15 minutes.  Breakfast, for the most part, can wait 15 minutes.  I usually try to read and pray right after I get out of the shower.  I not only feel refreshed and awake, but my children have learned to leave me alone when I tell them I am taking a shower.  It only takes me a few minutes to shower and get ready.  I try to spend just as much time in God’s word and in prayer as well.  The time is well spent when spent with God.  This year I have decided to be more diligent in keeping a prayer journal.

             Prayer is that one sure way to come to God. Not just simple, “God bless us” prayers.  We cry out in prayer.  As mothers we know all about crying. We know the cries of our babies.  We know the cry of labor. We know the cries of post partum depression.  We cry out in prayer in every circumstance.  Whether it is pain or joy, God is a God who listens to our cries. Verse three says “My voice You shall hear.” God hears us.  He is not up in heaven vaguely listening to the myriad of prayers being offered. He hears with understanding.

            We come to Him with meditation.  Meditation is that thing that causes us to repeat in our minds over and over a truth (or sometimes a lie).  Mothers know about worry.  We know what it is like to think on a matter over and over.  We have something “on the back burner” of our minds almost constantly.  We can turn our worry into trust by meditating on God’s Word.  Repeating truths (Scripture) in our mind over and over again allows us to dwell in God’s truth.  We can experience joy and peace though our circumstances may not change.  Not by changing our attitudes, but our eyes.  Verse three says “And I will look up.”  Look to God and find a truth about God that you can meditate on.      

            While our eyes are focuses on God the natural response is that of worship.  We can worship because of God’s great mercy.  Yet, that mercy does not allow us to be cavalier, but allows us to worship in fear as well.  God is a holy God.  Although mercy pours down on His children like a flood, He is still to be reverenced and feared.   

Martin Luther: Hope and fear, which are as it were, those two springs…the one form above, the other from beneath. Fear comes from beholding the threats and fearful judgments of God; as a being a God in whose sight no one is clean, everyone is a sinner, everyone is damnable. But hope comes from beholding the promises, and the all-sweet mercies of God;…Between these two, as between the upper and nether millstone, we must always be grounded and kept, that we never turn either to the right hand or to the left. For this turning is the state peculiar to hypocrites, who are exercised with the two contrary things, security and presumption.

 

            The wicked, evil, boastful, and liars are all separated from God.  They provide no faithfulness to God and are in complete rebellion against Him.  May this be a warning to us, to examine our hearts completely to see if any wickedness lies dormant.  Destruction is the only thing waiting for those that do not follow God.  May it be a cause for witness for us as well.  We must warn those around us to seek God, love God, and serve God.  Only in God can salvation be found.  When we know that complete destruction awaits those that disregard God, may it cause us to spread the gospel even further.

            Look at verses eleven: "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You." If your trust is in God, rejoice.  If you love God and all that He is, be joyful!  God will bless those that love and worship Him.  His favor is like a shield.  It protects us.  We can trust that when our eyes are focused, meditating, and crying out to God our Father, He is listening, He protects, and we can rejoice.