David was a man of prayer and devotion in the morning (Psalms 5:3, 55:18, 59:16-17; 88:14; 92:3).  He did not let his circumstances dictate his schedule with God.  I’ll admit, I’m more rested in the morning and can focus better on the things of the Lord.  Sometimes, all that has happened in a day puts me in a fog and it is hard to concentrate and hear from the Lord at night because I am mentally and physically exhausted. Before I meet with anyone else, I have an appointment to keep each morning with the Lord.  It is in the quiet, unhurried, stillness of the morning that I can do as David did and “plead my case and watch expectantly” (v. 3).  I dare not call or text anyone else in the wee hours of the morning out of respect, but I can call on the Lord because He never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4).  David knew when he would pray, but he also knew Who he would pray to – the Lord, the King, and the God (vv. 1-3).  He was not summoning an invisible and evasive force called the “big guy in the sky” or pointlessly hoping phrases like “if you have time” or “if you’re listening” will get the Lord of the Universe’s attention.  He was confident in his communion with God!

In verses 4-6, David described the holiness of God by how He hated wickedness and evil (v. 4), those who boast in and do evil (v. 5), along with liars and violent and treacherous people (v. 6).  While God is gracious and sent His Son Jesus to die for the sins of the world (1 John 2:1-2), God hates sin.  Why does He hate sin so much?  Isaiah 59:2 tells us plainly, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”  Sin separates us from God!  He knows the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  We, too, should hate sin because we are “sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not “belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5) and are “a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9).  We should “hate evil and love good” (Amos 5:15). We must hate what He hates and love what He loves (Proverbs 6:16-17).  Isaiah 5:20 warns us, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

David declared he was not like those in verses 4-6 by describing how he enters God house in love and bows down in reverential awe (v. 7).  Worship has a way of illuminating the holiness and truth of God as well our sin.  That’s why we must worship often!  This isn’t just the morning personal devotional time of Psalm 5:1-3.  David spoke of going into the house and temple of the Lord.  We must worship alone and with God’s people consistently.  David talked to the Lord about his adversaries in verses 8-10.  These may be the armies of his son Absalom who were trying to kill him.  Instead of taking matters into his own hands, David turned his enemies over to the Lord.  While this imprecatory Psalm may seem harsh, as though David is a careless revenge seeker and God is a ruthless tyrant, we must remember these are rebels against the Lord (Psalm 5:10) and even Jeremiah (Jer. 15:15), John the Baptist (John 3:36), and Jesus (Matthew 23:13-39) spoke this way about those who refused to repent and obey the Lord.  God loves the world (John 3:16) and is slow to anger by giving time for people to repent of their sins (2 Peter 3:9).  But He is holy and will punish sin.  Psalm 145:20 says, “The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”

David ended this Psalm by moving away from himself and his problems to pray for others. When we get with the Lord and give Him our problems, we will remember others who also need to receive all the promises of safety and joy (v. 11), and blessing and favor (v. 12).  Make time each morning to get with the Lord and watch everything about your life change!

Questions:

1.  Do you have a consistent time with the Lord in the morning?

2.  What distractions or barriers keep you from spending time in the morning with God?

3.  Have you given your enemies and problems over to the Lord or are you plotting how to handle it yourself?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to seek you in the morning so my day will be focused on You.  Help me to hate sin because of my love for You.  I do not want to become comfortable with sin, but see it the way You do.  I know you will take care of those who do evil.  Give me the joy, safety, blessing, and favor found in You.  Amen.

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stephenrharrison

Stephen and his wife Haley have called Arkansas home all of their lives. Stephen has served in several ministry roles over the last 25 years and as a lead pastor for the last 8 years. Stephen attended Williams Baptist College and earned a BA in Biblical Studies from Ouachita Baptist University, an MA, MDiv, and DMin in Christian Leadership and Pastoral Ministries from Liberty University. When not pastoring, Stephen enjoys running, cycling, reading, writing, camping, fishing, and spending time with his family.