November 7
Reading: Psalm 5
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
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.
3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 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.
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.
11 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.
12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Like Psalm 3, this is another morning prayer. It is a good one to start the day. It begins with three requests for pretty much the same thing. David wants God to listen to him. Can you see this in verses 1-2? David sums it up at the end of verse 2, “I’m praying to You!” Have you ever felt like that with God? I want to make sure He’s listening.
Then in verse 3 we discover David’s great confidence that God is listening. It is like he’s giving God his request, an order! It is like he’s writing down a list for God to do for him and David is going to be watching all day to see if and when God does it. That is boldness in prayer.
Consider verses 4-6. What is David saying about God?
What is David saying about himself in verse 8?
What is he asking of God in verse 9?
This prayer concludes with a powerful contrast:
vss. 9-10 David’s foes that he wants God to hold guilty.
vss. 11-12 Those who take refuge in God that David wants God to shelter and bless.
What is the difference between these two different kinds of people?
How is the Lord depicted in verse 11?
Why is this prayer a good prayer for you to pray in the morning?