Hear My Cry, O Lord – Psalm 5

Hear My Cry, O Lord - Psalm 5

INTRODUCTION:

“Through Sorrow’s Gate”
Garnett Ann Shultz

Through sorrow’s gate, life’s goodness comes,
The sympathy and strength,
For only those who suffer here
Can reach the greatest length,
For eyes that never knew a tear
Could hold no tenderness,
Into the depths of storm and strife
We know God’s blessedness.

’Tis only conflict, sad despair,
A heart that aches with loss,
The wounds that were so hard to bear,
The very hardest cost,
Without an anguish of our own
Could we extend our hand,
To ever know another’s grief
Or hope to understand.

’Tis storm and conflict makes us strong,
Renews our faith in God,
How much we learn from life’s dark days,
The weary paths we trod,
So many hurts are ever there
As we would watch and wait,
And yet our faith is richest when
We walk through sorrow’s gate.

Jesus Christ teaches us that there are certain truths that we need to know and accept. The word for that is “doctrine.” There are also certain behaviors we must do as Christians, as parents, children, employees, friends, and in the church, in our worship. There are also certain behaviors that are sinful and we all need to know those behaviors and stay away from those behaviors.

But often you and I are hurting and we simply need to know that God cares and God listens to our prayers. Whenever you are hurting and you question whether God does care, I simply encourage you to read the psalms. The book of psalms, I believe, was given to us by God to remind us that even good people, faithful people like King David, make sinful mistakes, experience pain and frustrations in life, and God listens to and answers prayers.

I study through six psalms every year in my sermons. This morning is the first psalm of 2019, Psalm 5. Because this psalm is a prayer (some psalms are songs), I would encourage you to pray this psalm some time in your prayer life.

Let’s study Psalm 5…

THE CRY TO GOD TO LISTEN - 5:1-3:

“To my words” is first in the sentence, to emphasize David wants God to listen to him. There are seven commands David addresses to God as we study this psalm. Two are in verse 1: “Give ear” and “Consider.” This word “consider” could also be translated
“understand.” David is groaning, or moaning, and he wants God to give him His “ear,” to really listen and concentrate on what David is saying, and to understand what David is wanting to say.

The third command addressed to God is in verse 2: “Heed” or “Listen attentively” or “be fully alert” to the sound of my cry for help.

David addresses God in prayer because David recognizes that God is “King” and “God,” but even more than that, David recognizes God as “his” King and “his” God. David takes a relationship with God personally. Please observe that David says the reason he prays to God is because God is his King and his God.

Verse 4, David speaks to God, in words that sound like commands, and says, “Jehovah, in the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning, I will arrange before you and I will watch.”

Most things simply look better in the morning. David suggests that God will hear his prayer “in the morning” and “in the morning,” David will watch, anticipating God answering his prayer.

When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, we recognize that we have help in our prayers. In Romans 8, the apostle Paul mentions that both the Holy Spirit (v. 26-27) and Jesus Himself (v. 34) help us in our prayers. When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, we understand that we not only have a Divine King but we have an Incarnate Divine King. Our King Jesus is God-in-the-flesh so we know that Jesus understands what is troubling us and what is a burden on our hearts and minds. Jesus experienced the whole range of emotions that we experience so we have a Divine King who hears our prayers and knows what we are feeling
(Heb. 2:17-18). When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, like David, let us anticipate God answering those prayers. We know that God might not answer those prayers as we want Him to, but we also know that God will answer those prayers as His love compels Him to, which is far, far better (James 4:15).

REFLECTIONS ON THE NATURE OF GOD - 5:4-7:

David spends more time, in this passage, speaking about those “negative” aspects of the nature of God than the “positive” aspects.

First, David writes that God is not a god who takes pleasure in wickedness (v. 4). Evil simply does not dwell in Jehovah God.

Many people in our world are trying to decide what kind of God they want to serve. Of course, any God that is not consistent with reality is not the true God. In the same way, the biblical portrait of God is the only portrait of God which is consistent with reality. We all hate evil. Everyone hates evil. We may not all agree on what “evil” is but we all hate evil. God hates evil. God does not take any pleasure in wickedness and nothing evil dwells within the nature of God. God is pure holiness, unmixed holiness.

Because of God’s nature, David knows that when God answers David’s prayer, it will be a good answer. It will not be a wicked answer. There cannot be any evil in God’s answer to David’s prayer.

Second, as an application of that nature of God, David recognizes that God will not tolerate the “boastful” to stand with honor and dignity in the presence of God (v. 5). God absolutely cannot tolerate prideful human beings. No one has a right to boast except God
alone because no one can accomplish anything without someone else to help them in some way, if only to say that everyone depends on God to provide the strength, talents, even the air we breathe in order to accomplish anything. Because of the holy nature of God and because God loves man, He hates sin. God hates all those who engage in sin because sin keeps them from enjoying God’s holy presence.

V. 6 mentions three specific groups of people whom God cannot tolerate: those who lie (speak falsehood), those who kill innocent blood, and those who are guilty of deceit. Notice the intensity of the dislike God has for these individuals. David uses the verb “abhor.” That is, perhaps a stronger word than “dislike.” God hates, God abhors those who: lie, kill innocents, and deceive.

To “lie” means to tell something that is not true. To “deceive” is to tell something that is true or, at least, partially true in order to get someone to believe something that is not true. The reference to “men of bloodshed” always refers to people who kill the innocent.

In contrast to these wicked and evil individuals, David throws himself at the mercy of Jehovah God. “I myself,” David prays, “by your abundant kindness…” This is a reference to the love of God, the loyalty of God, the grace of God, the endurance of God, which David recognizes is abundant.

David has been guilty of murder and adultery. But David recognizes that the only way he can come into the holy presence of God and the only reason why God would condescend to hear David’s prayer is because of the grace, the lovingkindness of God. No one deserves to be in the presence of God. No one. It is only by the lovingkindness of God that you and I can hope to be in the presence of God.

Here, David is thinking about going into God’s presence, in God’s “house,” which is a reference to God’s temple, God’s “holy” temple (lit., the “temple of God’s holiness.”). It is there, in worship to Jehovah God, that David will bow in reverence to God. Actually, the last part of this verse is a simple phrase, translated literally: “At the temple of your holiness, I will fear you.” Please understand that David is not talking about “fear” in the sense that we generally use fear. He’s talking about having the reverence that is expected when you go into the presence of God.

When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, we know that we pray to a God who is holy (Isa 6:3) and there is no evil in Him. It is entirely, absolutely, 100% impossible for God to do an evil, wicked thing. That gives our prayers hope and strength. When God answers our prayers, He will answer them correctly, consistent with His holy nature and, He’ll answer our prayers out of His abundant lovingkindness. God is love (1 John 4:8) and that is the treasure chest out of which God will provide for our needs. Also, when we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, let us recognize that we need to go to worship with the church and pray in worship with the church. Corporate prayer of Christians is also very powerful; that’s why talking to each other about our needs is so very important (James 5:16).

THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS - 5:8-10:

In v. 8, David addresses Jehovah God again and now, David is asking for guidance. Not guidance in making specific decisions but guidance in the overall aim of glorifying God by living a righteous life. “Lead me,” David prays, “in your righteousness” because of my foes / enemies.” In some way, David’s enemies were a danger to David living a righteous life. Could it be that you and I have people in our lives who keep us from living a righteous life?

V. 8 has the fifth command as well: “Make your way straight before me.” “Make straight” also means “make level.” David wants to know clearly what he needs to do in order to serve Jehovah God righteously and faithfully. It is just like when you and I pray and ask God to show us the way clearly, the way we should go. That’s David’s prayer here.

In contrast to what God says, which is always true, always reliable, always trustworthy, what man has to say might be false, unreliable, and untrustworthy. V. 9 - Because in their mouth (the mouth of the enemy) something that is sure, reliable, trustworthy. Relative to his enemies, David says they are corrupt all the way through - they are entirely corrupt: “their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave.” They “eat up” or “consume” anything that is good. And they are duplicitous, deceitful. “They flatter with their tongue.”

You just have to be careful whom you trust when it comes to making the right decisions. Are your friends and family telling you what God wants you to know or are they telling you want they want you to do?

In v. 10, David calls on God to hold his enemies accountable, hold them guilty, David asks God to make the enemies receive the benefits of their own evil, wicked, sinful behavior: “by their own devices let them fall.” May they get what is coming to them. That’s what David means in the next verse when he says, “in the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out.”

Why? Because David’s enemies are God’s enemies. These people are “rebellious” against Jehovah God. We should make sure God’s enemies are our enemies. In other words, we need to be for what God is for and be against what God is against. The problem is that rather than making God’s enemies our enemies, too often we think that if someone is our enemy, then they must (obviously!) be God’s enemies also. But that’s not necessarily true. The only way to be sure is to be careful to be only against what God is against. That way, we will only be against those who are rebelling against God.

When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, let us recognize that prayer is only one part of our communication with God. It is us talking to God but we also have to listen to God and then do what He says. It is the height of arrogance to think that God should answer our prayers and do what we ask Him to do but all along, we are ignoring the Bible, ignoring what God has to say to us, and refusing to live the righteous life God calls us to live. Answered prayer, of course, is not a quid pro quo - a Latin, legal term that means to give something in order to get something. We don’t live right so that God will answer our prayers the way we desire. No. We’re not putting God into a box so that, in some way, He is forced to answer our prayers the way we desire. But, just like we studied last week, our obedience to God shows we trust Him so that when He does answer our prayers, everything falls into place.

GOD AS A REFUGE AND SHIELD - 5:11-12:

The psalm began with David asking God to give ear to David’s words. God is inherently good and holy. God will guide David in the paths of righteousness.

Because of that, David calls on his people, friends, and family, to take refuge in God and be glad to take refuge in God (v. 11). Notice the words in the text that have to do with joy and happiness. May those who take refuge in God “be glad.” David says that they should forever sing for joy, because they take refuge in Jehovah God. God will “shelter” them so that those who love His name may “exult,” rejoice, in Him.

Take joy in God being your refuge, your shelter, from the problems of this world.

Why is it that we can take joy in God being our refuge? David says in v. 12 - “For it is” God “who blesses the righteous man.” “It is You,” Jehovah God (the Hebrew is emphatic)… How can man be righteous? By following God’s path of righteousness (v. 8). The righteous man is the one who follows and practices God’s righteousness and he is the one whom God will surround with a shield. God will protect him from the Devil’s schemes, if he’ll walk with God.

When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, when we are walking through sorrow’s gate, we recognize that Jesus is our refuge. He is our shield. He is our shelter through the storm. His promise is that He will see us through (Rom. 8:37). And once we come through that sorrow’s gate, we are glad we stayed faithful to God. We sing for joy. We exult in Him. When we pray the thoughts of this paragraph, we recognize that God “blesses the righteous man.”

Take home message: When you are hurting, remember: God is your King and your God. There is no evil in God’s nature. He is abundant in steadfast love. He will guide you in righteousness. He is your refuge and your shield. It will be alright in the end.