Psalm 5 (ESV)
Lead Me in Your Righteousness
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
Today we are reading Psalm 5. There is an annotation in the beginning that directs the choirmaster to use flutes. Don’t you wish you could hear the melody of this Psalm? As a musician myself, I would love to know how these Psalms were sung. If only someone had transcribed the music notes as well as the lyrics. This Psalm was written by David, and it is a prayer to God.
Starting in verse 1, David prays, “1 Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.”
David is making it clear that it is to God whom he is praying. That might seem like an obvious thing to us, but it is not always so clear. So many “prayers” are offered to God that are not actually directed to the Lord. People think they are praying when really they are merely talking to themselves. A lot of other people will meditate or “think good thoughts” in an attempt to connect with a higher power or to influence the universe in some way, but that is truly a futile effort. As Christians, we should be clear and intentional when we pray. While, indeed, we are instructed to “pray without ceasing” all throughout our day, we should also establish times of focused prayer. David has set aside time first thing in the morning to cry out to God. He tells the Lord, and by doing so, reminds himself, that God is his King. I think David uses the word king on purpose. David may be the king of Israel, but God is King of all. This declaration keeps David’s ego in its rightful place. He is humbling himself to the true King; the Lord of all.
He continues his prayer, and not just with words. Verse 3 tells us he says, “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
Depending on what translation of the Bible is being read, verse 3 can be interpreted many ways. For example, the NIV says, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Whereas the ESV translates this verse not as laying out requests or prayers and waiting for God’s answer, but as literally laying out a sacrifice. In Ellicott’s Commentary, he sides with the scholars who translate it as an actual sacrifice. He says, “The daily morning sacrifice sees the Psalmist in the Temple. The word ‘direct,’ or, better, prepare, is the same employed in Leviticus 1:8; Leviticus 1:12; Leviticus 6:12, of the priest laying out the wood for the sacrifice, or the parts of the offering itself and suggest that the author may himself have been a priest. The word ‘offering’ should be supplied, instead of ‘prayer.’”
After reading Ellicott’s commentary, it really made me think. First of all, I had to consider his use of the word “temple,” for David was not in the temple that we might imagine when we hear that word. David had set up a tent, for the temple would not be built until his son Solomon builds it. If you know Old Testament history, you know Moses had a tabernacle built where only the priests were allowed inside to sacrifice for the people. David set up a different tabernacle and eventually had the Ark of the Covenant moved to it. In this tabernacle, David himself made sacrifices for sins. 1 Chronicles 16:1-2 says, “And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.”
Working from the ESV translation, we see David not only starting his morning with prayer to God but also offering a sacrifice in the tent. Why does David prepare a sacrifice? It is because he knows he needs God’s forgiveness. David knows that in order for his prayer to be heard, he must first seek forgiveness. As Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Wanting God to hear him, David prepares a sacrifice for God and then he watches. Is he watching the fire burn up the sacrifice or watching the smoke? That makes sense, for he does not end his prayer there, watching and waiting for God’s answer. He continues his prayer and even explains why he has made a sacrifice. He says, picking up in verse 4, “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.”
David wants to be welcomed into God’s presence, and he knows, as the NIV translates this verse, “For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.” To be welcomed, David receives God’s cleansing forgiveness by offering a sacrifice. Now his sins are forgiven and he can stand in God’s presence.
We no longer need to offer burnt offerings to receive forgiveness, but we still need to seek daily forgiveness from the Lord. When we view ourselves in a rightful manner, seeing ourselves from God’s point of view, we realize that each day we need forgiveness. Jesus says in Matthew 5:48 that if we want to follow Him correctly, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Compared to God’s standard, we all fail to be perfect every day. While we are to strive to follow Him perfectly, we will fall short. That is exactly why God sent Jesus to die on the cross. He became the ultimate sacrificial lamb, giving Himself as an offering on our behalf. Now, instead of presenting a burnt offering for forgiveness of sin, 1 John 1:9 tells us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
After being forgiven, David knows he can humbly make his requests known to God. The rest of David’s prayer does not sound like a traditional prayer, which is one reason I think it is so helpful to study this Psalm. David continues to talk with the Lord, and we see him in verse 5 reminding the Lord that, “The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.”
David seems to be reviewing with the Lord the things he knows to be true. I don’t think it’s for God’s benefit. I don’t think David thinks God has forgotten these things, but rather that David wants to remind himself that God will not allow the proud to stand before Him, and that God hates the evil doers as much as David does. People were always trying to kill David and take his throne, maybe he’s reminding himself that the Lord is on his side. He wants to be on God’s side, for he continues to pray in verse 8, “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.”
Instead of himself taking vengeance against his enemies, David is crying out to the Lord to be the judge of them. David wants justice. I am sure he is tired of being plotted against, being lied to and manipulated by people who want to destroy him. He’s calling on God to help him by putting an end to them. Can you imagine a pastor praying this prayer on Sunday morning? So many churches in America are afraid to label anyone as evil and God is presented as never hating anyone, but it is not accurate for us to present God in that way. Like David says, the prideful are not welcomed into God’s presence and “the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” David knew that the only reason he was welcomed into God’s presence was because he had received forgiveness. It is still the same today. We are wrong to preach that all people will be saved. While we are all indeed sinners, and God wants all people to repent and be saved, only those of us who repent and receive Jesus as Lord will be saved. The truth is, the unrepentant will not be saved.
David does not pray for these people who are attacking him to repent, but instead calls on God to judge them. In this instance, instead of only following David’s example, I think we should be careful to follow the example that Christ Jesus gives to us in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This is why we should read the entirety of the Bible. We see that while the unrepentant prideful, evil, bloodthirsty, deceitful people will be judged and justice will be served, we should pray for them to repent and come to Jesus before it is too late for them to do so. For if they repent, they too can experience the abundant mercy and grace of Jesus the same way we do.
David goes on to pray for three different benefits given to those who follow God. Starting in verse 11, he says, “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.”
David was not experiencing a life free from enemies’ pursuit. He had been hunted and attacked. He had fought Goliath and many armies. How can he confidently speak of joy, protection, and favor? In the middle of turmoil, can believers ask for and receive joy, protection, and favor?
Let’s look at these three things. The first is joy. David includes all Christians in this prayer: let all who take refuge in You rejoice and sing for joy. But we can also take this prayer and apply it to ourselves individually. Did you know that in the middle of problems or sorrow, we can ask God to cause us to rejoice and sing for joy? In fact, we are directed to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” as Philippians 4:3 instructs. We, of all people, always have a reason for joy. David says, “let them ever sing for joy,” because, for the Christian, we always have a reason for joy, even when being attacked by enemies. Even during great sorrow, we can still find joy if we want it. All we must do is take refuge in the fact that God is with us. When we remember that truth, doesn’t that supersede everything else? We who find refuge in God can always rejoice.
Now truly, this is something that is easier said than done. It has to be experienced to fully comprehend it, and we can only learn it during times of trouble or when experiencing deep sorrow. When I went through a miscarriage, the Holy Spirit helped me realize during the grief that I had a choice I alone could make for myself. What was my response going to be? Would I let the grief overwhelm me, or would I choose to take refuge in God and find a reason to rejoice? Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” That is only true if we want it to be true. We all have a choice. Do we let the darkness or sorrow overwhelm us and we sink? Or do we reach out to God and grab hold of joy? We can ask the Lord to help us take refuge in Him so that we can rejoice and sing for joy. While there is a time for grief, we see this promise in scripture: for the believer, sorrow is temporary, joy is eternal. The believer can always rejoice, for God’s promises stand outside of circumstances.
The second prayer request is for God to “spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.” David is praying for protection and again, it includes all Christians, but we can also personally pray for it. He is asking God for protection so that the people may exult God. This is not only a prayer for safety, but a prayer for peace. If God protects us and delivers us from harm, then we will be at peace, and we can exult Him for keeping us safe.
I’ve heard sermons and read articles that have said that Christians should not pray for safety. These people say that God might want to bring us trouble so we will grow and be refined by the fire, so to speak. First of all, if God wants to bring us through a certain trial, our prayer for safety will not impede His will to refine us. Second, we see many prayers for protection all throughout the Old Testament. Just one example is Psalm 16:1 (NIV) which simply says, “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.” It is good and right to continue to pray the prayers we read in the Old Testament. We know from Scripture that Jesus certainly did.
Examples of Bible verses in the New Testament are a little different. As 2 Timothy 3:12 warns, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Yet, as 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” So we see that while we will suffer trials, we should still pray for protection from these trials. We should still pray for the Lord to help us and protect us. If He does protect us, then we should exult Him for His help. Just as if we find ourselves living in peace and quiet, we should exult the Lord for His goodness and blessings.
The third request is, because “you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” This prayer is worded as a statement, but it is a prayer for God to continue to cover the righteous with favor. Strong’s Concordance defines this word, “tsaddiq,” translated as righteous as: “just, lawful, righteous man.” That means we believers who are following God may pray for God to give us favor, too.
If favor is defined as approval, support, or liking for someone or something, how can God cover someone with favor, as with a shield? Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers points out that the Hebrew word for shield in this passage is tsinnah, and it is a “long large shield fit for a giant, which could protect the whole body.”
I had to think about this for a while, but if we knew we had God’s favor, I think that would fill us with confidence. If you believed God approved of you, liked you, and supported you, wouldn’t it feel like He’s clearing a path for you with a giant shield? Imagine feeling as though God was leading the way, protecting you with a giant shield. Wouldn’t that give you confidence?
The truth is, for the believer, we don’t need to imagine this and wish it were true. It is true. If we are in right standing with God, having received forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and are obeying the Lord’s commands, then we, too, are counted among the righteous. We can rejoice, have peace and exult the Lord, confidently trusting in God because we know He is going before us, leading the way.
Like David experienced, the way is not always easy. It will not be without troubles or sorrow. But the destination is set. Like we read in John 10:28, when Jesus says about believers, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” The Lord is a shield for the righteous. He will clear the path so we can make it to our goal of eternal life with Him.
Let us indeed rejoice in all situations, pray for God’s protection so we can exult Him for His help, and confidently follow Him as He leads the way with His shield of favor.
Pray: Heavenly Father, help us to take refuge in You so that we may rejoice in all seasons. Help us to always sing for joy at what You have done for us. Please spread Your protection over us, so we may exult You for Your great help. Please forgive us of our sin, and help us by Your Holy Spirit to walk upright, so we may be counted among the righteous and You give us Your favor. Please go before us, leading us with Your shield, until we dwell with You forever in Your Kingdom. We love You and praise Your name, and in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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