What is the first thing you do in the morning after waking up? Many people hop out of bed, take a quick shower, hurriedly get dressed, and rush off to work. This routine is often the same with Christians, starting the day in a hurry, rushing through the hours, and unfortunately God is given the leftovers of the day. This is a poor pattern that can quickly fall into a bad habit, and can leave one open to the attacks and temptations of our spiritual enemy, the devil and his minions. David learned this, as we will see in our psalm for this last week before Advent.
Psalm 5 opens like many of David’s other psalms open, and that is with a prayer for the Lord to hear him when he cries out to Him for help (vs. 1-3). David states very plainly in these early verses his promise to Yahweh that he will come to Him in prayer every morning. Why is this important? For a believer, this is especially important. If you ask any Christian who has a good habit of praying in the morning, that their day goes much better than on a day when they miss that time in communion with the Lord. Prayer in the morning equips us in our battle with the devil, which every believer will face to varying degrees each day.
Prayer in the morning also gives us the opportunity to bring our troubles, concerns, and worries to the Lord before we head out into our day, rather than carrying them around ourselves. Instead of fretting over the concerns of the new day, we should allow God’s peace to flow into us. Morning prayer sets the tone for the day that follows. If the morning begins with worry, that will only increase as the day moves along. But if we start the day with Jesus, we will more likely remain in His peace as the day continues.
As David continues in this prayer psalm, he reminds himself and the readers that Yahweh is a holy God (vs. 4-7). Unlike some of the pagan gods, He does not take part in wickedness. As a matter of fact, there is no evil in His presence at all. God is opposed to all those who work iniquity, are liars, take life, and are dishonest and deceitful. Likewise, David does not want to have anything to do with these people, just as no true believer would, either. We are not perfect, though, and depend on God’s mercy and forgiveness when we fall (vs. 7). However, such wickedness should never be a habit or lifestyle.
David knew that the unbelievers were watching his life, looking for him to slip, and so he prayed that God would lead him and make His ways plain for him to follow (vs. 8). The unsaved world is carefully watching Christians, just waiting for us to fall into some sin. That should be a special motive for walking carefully before God. If we walk carelessly, the world will soon see it, and that will bring shame on Jesus. Great damage will be done to the cause of Christ, and His Name maligned. We should be sure we are not putting a stumbling block before people. There are already enough of those.
As our psalm continues, we are reminded that Christians should be a joyful people (vs. 11). One reason we can rejoice is that God defends us against our enemies. He is covering us so that we can survive anything and everything if we just trust in God and hold steadfast to His Word. He will cover us and bring us into a place in Him where the evil one can’t touch us.
Joy is not an emotion. It is a supernatural expression given to us by the Holy Spirit indwelling us. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that depends on circumstances. Joy is a deep and abiding sense of contentment that provides a foundation for our lives in Jesus Christ. David knew he could have joy in his life in spite of all the many trials and tribulations he went through. We will never find joy by seeking self-centered excitement and pleasures. True joy results when we give ourselves to God, knowing He holds our future in His hands.
In closing, David knew that the Lord would bless him and all believers, surrounding them with His favor (vs. 12). God’s favor isn’t like a dream vacation. Instead, it is life-saving protection. In the middle of our life-long grind and certain death, He gives us a Lifesaver in the Lord Jesus Christ, who covers us with righteousness. We can trust Him, knowing that He saves, and preserves us.
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