A Path Through Chapter 5 - Hear my cry and lead me

 

Psalm 5 For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David 1 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 favour as with a shield.

We all have enemies shows us that David's adversaries weren't just out to get him, but they were trying to get in his head too. Did the words 'God will not deliver him' cause him to sway? Did those words make him want to give up faith in God? Were they words which meant that he wasn't willing to stand any longer? We don't have to wait long for an answer. But, like I've written before and taught many a time when we read but it's time to jump for joy. The opposite is now being said, where David was feeling down and attacked he quickly turns his thoughts to the One who lifts his head. In these two verses we see that the God of David is a shield, lifter and the one who answers. He certainly had reason to put his trust in God.

Focussing on God is a great way to start a study, David says in verse 4 'You are not a God' let's worship together with 'You are God Alone by Phillips, Craig and Dean.

So we see at the beginning of our chapter that David is lamenting again. Is he a complainer or someone who is just down all the time? Is he sad constantly and moaning? Is that what lament is?   In a word, no.   Lament is grieving and expressing sorrow. It's a vital piece of our human emotion. Roughly 1/3 of all Psalms are laments, they are songs which help the writer and reader express emotion and remember what has happened. In very simplistic terms the writer begins with his heart revealing sadness and ends with his heart revealing gladness.

When my daughter Amy comes down the stairs she is ready for the day, she's awake, looking to play or watch TV and is often talkative. I on the other hand stumble down the stairs, have to be reminded what day it is, I slowly make my way to the kitchen to get a drink or I forgot why I went in there in the first place. Maybe you are a 'morning person'. If you are that's fine, for those of us who aren't we don't get it. We see in verse 3 that David is appealing to God in the morning. It's in the morning when he is giving his requests to God. Life usually looks better in the morning, after a good night's rest we are ready to tackle the day. As the Bible says joy comes in the morning, and whether you're a morning person or not having the fresh start of a new day is a real gift.

Let's pause, reflect and hear the Psalm in song, this is Psalm 5 as done by Sylvia Lange.

We already know that David had many enemies, not because he was a bad guy (he did make some poor choices) but likely because of his position. Kings are on the wanted list of those who seek power, David was the 'enemy' to many, although he was a friend of God's. In our chapter we find him talking to God about his enemies, coming before the Lord to see his enemies defeated.  It's clear from verses 4 and 5 that evil, arrogant and deceitful people can't be with the Lord. In fact the Bible says that God detests those who show these behaviours. These are strong words, doesn't the Bible talk over and over about the love of God?  Yes it does and the Bible also talks about the judgment of God and fact that God can't stand sin. He does love, to the enth degree, so much so that he is able and willing to judge. It sounds counterintuitive, but if I as a father don't discipline my girls while loving them, they are the ones who would find that wrongdoing is ok. They aren't evil, arrogant or deceitful like this chapter says but they do wrong. It's our role as parents to instil the understanding that there is right/wrong, and that there is punishment when wrong keeps on happening.  In the middle of the thoughts on evil doers we see that fascinating connector word... but.  The word but allows us into the thinking of the writer, and here we see that David realises that by the great love of God he can come into the house of God. He can dwell with God, even with his shortcomings and failures he can be reverent before the Lord in His holy temple. It's as though David snaps out of worry about his enemies to come back to the reality of who God is.  As we heard in the lyrics of our first song (have a listen if you skipped it)  He is Unchangeable, unshakable, unstoppable, that who God is.

Being lead is a comforting feeling. I remember a time in Bible College when we were on a trip abroad to North Africa. There was a long hike that we went on (long by my standards at least) this included following a path most of the way and also following the leader of the group. On that occasion I was not the leader, it was great to be able to follow for a bit. On this part of our trip I was the leader of our group. There were 50 or so of us up in the mountains on a camp and hiking trip for a couple of days. I had been nominated to lead this group, and if you know me at all you know I'm not a camper, hiker or orienteersman (word?)  In the middle of those days of leading the group and fielding non-stop questions and answers was the mountain trek. I was one of the group, I simply followed and took in the beautiful scenery. I still had to walk though, for 10 hours or so, a bit more than just around the corner! Following the lead of the Lord requires our willingness and dare I say it some effort too. He will provide a path, and as David prays in verse 8 for a straight path as that is safer and easier to follow. Like I said though no matter the path it still has to be traversed.

We have the opportunity to listen to the thoughts and perspectives on chapter 5 from Sue Trudinger. Let's hear the wisdom and provocation that she brings to our chapter.

We come to the end of the lament morning psalm. That means were going to end on a high note. David states that all those who take refuge in God are glad. It's about joy again, we finished chapter 4 with joy and once again the lament comes full circle. The great preacher and theologian Charles Spurgeon has some wonderful things to say about joy from these verses. Below I quote his teaching on these verses.

This is a permit, a precept, a prayer, and a promise. i. You have permission for joy. “You have here a ticket to the banquets of joy. You may be as happy as ever you like. You have divine permission to shout for joy.” (Spurgeon) ii. You have a precept, a command for joy: “Come, ye mournful ones, be glad. Ye discontented grumblers, come out of that dog-hole! Enter the palace of the King! Quit your dunghills; ascend your thrones.” (Spurgeon) iii. You should pray for joy, both in yourself and others – especially servants of the LORD. “If you lose your joy in your religion, you will be a poor worker: you cannot bear strong testimony, you cannot bear stern trial, you cannot lead a powerful life. In proportion as you maintain your joy, you will be strong in the Lord, and for the Lord.” (Spurgeon) iv. You have a promise for joy: “God promises joy and gladness to believers. Light is sown for them: the Lord will turn their night into day.” (Spurgeon)

When the day is long, when it's tough to carry on we can say 'Your Name' This is something that David wrote in verse 12, it's the name that we can sing. Here's 'Your Name' by Paul Baloche.

Lord, lead me, in the path of righteousness, in the path that is safe for myself and my family. Lead me Lord through the trial, tribulations and struggle of everyday. Lead me Lord when I'm unsure of where to go, when I'm afraid of when to go, when I'm unclear of how to go. Lord make the path straight, Amen.