Thursday, June 6, 2013

Blogging the Bible: Psalm 5



                Liars gonna die; righteous gonna live.  There you have it, the entirety of Psalm 5.  It’s really fairly straightforward and simple. 
Okay, maybe it’s not quite that simple, but that’s about what David is going for here.  He does start by mentioning his prayers each morning and asks God to “listen to my cry for help” (Psalm 5:2).  Each morning David “lay[s] my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3).  When David wrote this psalm he had some problems; namely, evil people who were lying and practicing deceit.  David’s plea is quite understandable.  In verse 10 he pleads, “Declare them guilty, O God!  Let their intrigues be their downfall.  Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”
Of course, if you know the story of David, you know he had his own issues with lying and deceiving others.  He wasn’t exactly honest with his friend Uriah.  So, how does David then get to live?  He goes to God’s house, but only by God’s mercy.  “[I]n reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple” (Psalm 5:7).  For those who believe in Christ, this is not a problem.  Yes, we are all sinners.  But, as David understood, there is mercy in God’s character.  Those of us who humbly approach his throne and seek his mercy can find it.  If you don’t humbly seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, as is apparently the case with David’s enemies, well, then you just might suffer for your lies and deceit.

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