Title Psalm 5:1-12
In this text, we meet a man who earnestly prays to God to hear his prayer. The first three verses of the text show how earnest his prayers are. In verse 1 he says, “Listen to me, O LORD, and consider my heart.” The first half says, “Listen to me, O LORD,” but the second half says, “Consider my heart.” The word "heart" here refers to the groaning or groaning that bursts out from the inside out of words that can't be expressed in words. It is almost a cry of prayer. That is why verse 2 says, “Hear my cry, O my God, and I pray to you.” Verse 3 also says, “In the morning, O LORD, you will hear my voice.” In this way, we can see that his prayer is an earnest prayer that is a mixture of words and sighs. He was also in so much pain that he couldn't sleep properly, so he got up early in the morning and knelt down to God. Verse 3 alludes to it: "In the morning, O LORD, you will hear my voice; in the morning I will pray and look to you."
Then what was it that compelled him to pray so earnestly? In verse 8, “O LORD, because of my enemies…” we can see from the fact that it was because of the crowds who were against him and tried to harm him. In verses 5-6, “the arrogant shall not stand in Your sight. You hate all evildoers/ You will destroy liars. The Lord hates bloodthirsty and deceivers.” I think it was a written word.
They are arrogant in the first place. When the Psalms refer to the "arrogant", they mainly refer to those who do not fear God and do not obey God's Word. Because they do not fear God and do not obey God's word, they cannot stand in the sight of the Lord. Also, because they do not fear God and do not obey God's word, they do all kinds of evil. That's what verse 5 says, "The arrogant shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all evildoers."
Verse 6 also shows that they are people who love to lie and deceive others into bleeding. In particular, it seems that they harmed and harassed this psalmist with false and evil words. Verse 9 reveals it: "There is no faithfulness in their mouths, and their hearts are exceedingly wicked; their throats are like open graves, and their tongues flatter." From this point of view, we can see that this psalmist is telling God of his amazing and injustice feelings because he has suffered such ridiculous accusations and slander.
A slander that is completely false and so unfairly slander is truly unbearable. Such slander is usually worse than murder. We can fully understand why this psalmist could not sleep well and had to kneel to God early in the morning and offer an earnest prayer mixed with words and sighs. At the end of verse 9, it is noteworthy that “they flatter with their tongue”. The psalmist's enemies give us a glimpse of how he slandered and maligned him in a far more cunning way than openly lying and speaking vile in front of him. In verse 9, the first half of verse 9 says, “They are not faithful in their mouths, and their hearts are very wicked.” What they say in front of them is different from what they say when they turn around and it is hard to believe. It shows that they are not.
If this psalmist is the target of those wicked people flattering with their tongues, they can flatter him with all sorts of pleasant words, and then turn around and contemplate and slander him with all sorts of harsh words and lies to others. This is far worse than speaking out loud in front of you, and it makes people feel betrayed, embarrassed and outraged. There will be nothing more bitter than being hit with an ax in the back by someone you trusted. Besides, if the person who slashes an ax on my back and puts a dagger in my waist is a colleague or disciple who should be closer than anyone else, the sorrow and pain would be indescribable.
The slander and strife suffered by this psalmist are not alone. It's often around us today, and it's something we might face ourselves. However, through today's psalmist's prayer and his prayerful faith, we must realize that God is giving us valuable lessons who may be in the same situation. What can we learn from this psalmist?
The first is the faith of trying to solve the extreme anger and resentment through prayer and entrusting the solution to God. In verses 1-3 of the text, he calls on God in every verse. In verse 1, “O LORD”, in verse 2, “My King and my God,” and in verse 3, “Jehovah” is crying out. He only said to God, "Listen to me, and consider my heart, ... Hear my cry, I pray to You, ... In the morning You will hear my voice; In the morning I pray to You, Barari," he shouts.
Verse 7 also gives us a very precious picture of the psalmist's faith. He says, "But by the abundance of Your love I will enter Your house, and in the fear of You I will worship toward the temple." He did not run out into the streets with his injustice and bitterness and run towards people to seek revenge or grievances or explanations, but rather held on to the fear of God and headed to the temple to worship. That is, we try to solve all problems with faith.
And we should note that this psalmist considers it a grace of God that he has such faith. His confession is that it is only because of God's abundant love that he has the heart to solve such an unbearable problem through faith. "But by the abundance of Your love I will enter Your house, and in the fear of You I will worship toward the temple." This is a wonderful grace, great faith, and boundless blessing.
The second is his trust in God. It is because he has a fundamentally unshakable trust in God's wisdom, love, and justice that he is able to cling to God alone. Verses 4-6 sing of his trust: "You are not a God who delights in iniquity, and evil cannot dwell with you, and the scornful shall not stand before you. You hate all evildoers/ and liars. He will destroy them; the Lord hates the bloodthirsty and the deceitful."
Verse 12 expresses his trust by saying: "You bless the righteous, O LORD, and with grace as a shield you will guard him." Trust that God will bless the righteous and escort him with grace like a shield. So he finally sings in verse 11: "But all who take refuge in you will rejoice and shout for ever for your protection; those who love your name will rejoice in you." It is to flee and rejoice and rejoice in God, who will bless the righteous and protect him with grace like a shield in any situation.
At the end of verse 3, he said, “I will pray and hope in the Lord.” But when he says, “I hope,” he means not only to pray, but also to trust and trust that what we prayed will come true, and to wait for the will of God with joy and peace of mind.
Finally, we must also be able to listen to the warnings God gives to the wicked through this Psalm 5. Verse 4 says that God is not a god who delights in iniquity, and that evil cannot dwell with the Lord. In verse 10, it is said that God condemns them and leads them into their own schemes. This should not happen in our Saemoonan Community. No one should fall into their own schemes while slandering others with an open tomb-like throat and flattering tongue.
Even if there are such people, we should not become just like them by responding in the same way because we are outraged and resentful because of their accusation. The more we do so, the more we must walk the righteous, straight path of God. So I hope that the psalmist's prayer in verse 8 will soon become our prayer: "Guide me, O LORD, in your justice through my enemies, and make your way straight before my eyes."
And the prayer of verses 7 and 11-12 should be our faith and our song of praise: "But by the abundance of Your love I will enter Your house, and in the fear of You I will worship toward Your temple... Let all men rejoice and shout for ever because of your protection; and those who love your name will rejoice in you.
"Flee and rejoice in the Lord", this should be our conclusion today as the attitude of faith that we will take whenever, wherever, whatever happens. Psalm 31:19-24 sings of God's blessing and grace toward those who take refuge in Him, saying: "How great is the grace you have stored up for those who fear you, the grace that you have bestowed before men for those who take refuge in you. You will hide them in Your secret place, from the counsel of men; You will hide them in secret tabernacles, from strife. Praise the Lord, for he has shown me his wonderful love in a fortified city. I have lost it, but when I cried out to you, you heard my supplication. Love the LORD, all you saints, for the LORD protects the faithful, and he rewards those who walk proudly. Be strong and courageous, you who hope in the LORD. do it"
Repeat the last verse: "Be strong and courageous, you who hope in the Lord." To repay evil for evil is to lose to evil. Only faith that takes refuge in God, is strong and courageous in Him, and can rejoice and rejoice in Him is the strength and wisdom that overcomes all evil.