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Psalm 5 – Praying through the Bible #169 – A Morning Prayer of Changing Emotions
My morning prayer: “Dear Lord, thank you for two layers of covers (it is winter), a bathroom close to my bed (I am getting old), and a hand to hold while I sleep” (I am still very much in love). You might be thinking this prayer’s contents are first mundane, then TMI, and finally sweet. The point is I was being honest with God, and with you. That describes the Psalms, honest; and Psalm 5 is a honest morning prayer.
This plea to the Divine reveals David’s morning emotions: “Listen to my words, LORD; consider my sighing. Pay attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to You. At daybreak, LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You….” (5.1-3). Maybe David tossed and turned all night. Maybe he woke up several times to pray. Whatever is going on, David wakes up praying. Have you been there?
False gods received pleasure in a person’s wickedness. Worshippers imitated their false gods. We become like what we worship. Yahweh is different: “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with You. The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers” (5.4-5). David is either projecting his wrong attitude upon God; or it reveals the wrongness of a favorite platitude of today: “God hates sin; not the sinner.” We are to follow His example, so that saying continues. But God hates “all evildoers” (5.5). Biblical “hate” is not always an emotional expression; sometimes it expresses action. “Hate” means to not choose. Even if displaying emotion, God is able to hate and love simultaneously. He is that advanced emotionally. Despite, and maybe because of hate, God loves the sinner enough for Jesus to die for him.
What makes David different from those God hates is, “But I enter Your house by the abundance of Your faithful love; I bow down toward Your holy temple in reverential awe of You” (5.8). This is not the same prideful display as the Tax Collector and Sinner (Lk.18:9-14). David is not bragging on himself; he knows he enters God’s presence because of God’s covenantal love.
David continues his morning prayer: “LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my adversaries; make Your way straight before me. For there is nothing reliable in what they say; destruction is within them; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongues” (5.8-9). There are many reasons we need divine help when dealing with spiritual enemies. One is it is pridefully easy to fall prey to their smooth talk. Our enemies mean us harm by tripping us through our own pride of life.
This prayer concludes, “But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever” (5.11). Because of God we can begin a prayer sighing, and end in rejoicing.
Prayer Challenge: Pray until your emotional response changes from self to God.
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