Shalom,
Because of God's faithful love, we received redemption and forgiveness of sins and are made qualified to worship and praise as well as glorify Him. Also, His name guarantees us victory after victory over all problems.
Before studying Psalm 5, let’s learn about its author, King David. There are three important points in his life, namely:
- When he was a teenager, David shepherded his father’s few sheep at the risk of his life, facing any lions or bears that wanted to pounce on the flock (1 Sam. 17:28,34-35).
Jesus, the Lamb of God, has sacrificed His life to save sinners from the clutches of Satan.
- David kept God's honor and dignity by fighting Goliath regardless of his own life. He was responsible for maintaining the image of God and winning the battle in the name of the Lord Almighty (1 Sam. 17:45).
having been saved and chosen to be priests and kings, we must be able to protect God's good name against the enemy, Satan, with his deceit.
- David became God's anointed king. It can be seen that his responsibilities were progressing significantly. Victory and defeat depended on him in shepherding God's chosen and sanctified people.
That's why in his prayer, David poured out his plea to God, "Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation" (Ps. 5:1).
As king, David had to be ready at all times to deal with the problems of the people who came to him asking for justice. What was his attitude towards God when he prayed? “Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it toYou and I will look up" (vv. 2-3).
Despite his position as king, David came to God with humility, courtesy and sincerity. By calling God, “my King and my God”, it evidently showed that he positioned himself not as a king, but merely a sinful ordinary person deserved of death punishment.
It should be noted that David had committed a very big sin and deserved to be put to death because he had taken the wife from his soldier and killed her husband using someone else's hands, but then, he regretted it when rebuked by the Prophet Nathan (2 Sam. 12).
Application: We should realize that we are not worthy to appear before the throne of God with our sinful state. But by His faithful love, He had shed His blood of forgiveness to make us His belonging. That's why, let's come before God with humility to receive favor from Him.
How did King David begin his morning prayer? "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You and I will look up" (v. 3).
David started the dynamics of his daily life with morning prayer, not offering the slaughtered sheep but thanksgiving.
In addition to his thanksgiving, David said, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (vv. 4-6).
To keep the kingdom of Israel and God's name upheld, David reminded that there should be no wickedness, evildoers, liars, bloodshed and deceivers because all of these became the reasons for the devil to tear apart the kingdom of Israel. It is conceivable that if these evil qualities had existed in David's close aides in his reign, his kingdom would have surely been destroyed.
David foresaw the need to maintain the image of his kingdom against his enemies’ mockeries because he had seen how Goliath mocked God’s armies. He knew his little nation was surrounded by great nations full of wickedness and evil. That's why he prayed and asked God to hear him as he cried out for help.
Introspection: What do we pray for? Material things only? As we come to the Lord, have we emptied ourselves and prepared our hearts and minds for Him as exemplified by Jesus, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7)?
How to keep God's name in our daily life? By eliminating all ungodliness, insults, lies or "dramas" made up to cover up the truth. If we realize that we have life because of God’s grace, all our actions will be marked with sincerity, not wickedness and evil that gives the devil the opportunity to destroy someone's personality and even destroy God's church. Be alert, the existence of "foreign fire" in the heart causes our faith to be stagnant, showing no progression.
Application: We know life is full of struggles, but let's keep practicing in worship so that our faith grows. Never celebrate a victory just because you are already in a comfort zone! Don't let the Covid virus stop our diligence in worshipping Him because the devil always tries to use any opportunities to make us lazy to come to church! He also sows the seeds of lies through unbiblical sermons to please the ears of listeners.
King David's prayer gives us comfort as he said, “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield” a righteous man. David also had a long process to be God's anointed king. Becoming a righteous person who obtains a shield also takes a process. The Bible records that the troubles of the righteous are many, but the Lord delivers them from all of them (Ps. 34:19). Isn't it true that the more earnest we worship, serve and bring offerings to God, the more problems we face? But remember, God will always help and save us.
David fought hard against his enemies since he was herding sheep until he became a victorious king. Likewise, we should keep our faith strong to be victorious over the currently slumped world. We must not give up easily by allowing hypocrisy, pride, deceit and hatred to overcome us. Bring all the problems that caused us to fail in work or service before God and tell Him honestly. If we encounter failure, read the Word of Life that is like a river that regenerates our faith.
Remember, our lives now are the atoning work of Christ. Therefore, let’s focus our attention and be assured that we belong to God; so we have no right to our lives anymore. For that, always start our day by worshipping Him to remind ourselves that we have life only because of His atoning blood on Calvary. God also listens to all the pleas that we confess honestly. Beware, those who are wicked and evil will bear their guilt and they will fall by their own schemes (v. 10).
Question: What is the benefit of us being arrogant, boastful and doing hypocrisy? Isn't all this self- defeating?
God sets His eyes on the righteous and casts out those who rebel against Him. He is close to sincere people. Indeed, for the improvement of life, a rebuke is needed as experienced by David, who was rebuked by the Prophet Nathan. David did not argue but regretted his actions. Without a rebuke, we feel our life is right already. Illustration: To become a champion in a match requires hard training and perseverance to improve the skills needed although physical exercises often cause pains. When an athlete loses, the coach will surely evaluate the causes. Likewise, our faith is often tested by illness, failure in business, marriage and relationships, etc. Therefore, we must always be vigilant when comfort (blessing) comes because greed for money may also come behind the blessing.
David said, “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. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.” (vv. 7- 9)
David was allowed to come into the house of the Lord because he had removed all bitterness against his enemies.
Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask God to forgive us as we also forgive those who have wronged us (Matt. 5:12). Our hearts are cleansed of slander, unrighteous ridicule etc. by the spotless blood of the Lamb of God. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation (Phil. 2:15).
David further said, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.”
To straigthen the bumpy road, a repairing process is needed. As Covid-19 is relenting, we must not assume the game is over and we won. Rather, let’s begin to serve God again while being wary of the enemies’ deceitfulness and wicked heart. Remember, words that are not of God do not determine life and death! For example: Don’t be deceived into believing the popular superstition that a house located at a T-junction brings misfortune to its residents. The speaker bears the testimony that it is not true because he himself lives in such house, yet God has abundantly blessed his family.
To become one heart, one faith and one teaching takes a process that takes time, energy, thoughts, courage. Such is the case with exalting the blood of Christ and keeping the dignity of His resurrection. When someone makes fun of us, we do not need to retaliate, but talk to them in a friendly manner. Don’t listen to the rebels’ vain words because we have nothing to do with them! Instead, we should proclaim the name of Jesus through the testimony of our lives so that people see the distinguished life of the righteous who have His shield of protection. Amen.