Before the Day Finds Its Voice
Read: Psalm 5
Before many people rise from bed, a stream of voices is already waiting. Messages, news, work, advertisements, opinions, and private anxieties can begin speaking before the day has properly started. Psalm 5 begins the day differently. David brings his voice before God in the morning, deliberately laying out his prayer and then watching expectantly (Psalm 5:1-3). He addresses God as “my King and my God,” language that places the coming day under a higher authority than whatever demands are about to arrive. Morning prayer here is more than a quiet habit. David is placing himself, his trouble, and the voices surrounding him before the King who will judge them all.
The prayer then turns to God’s holiness. Wickedness cannot dwell with him, the boastful cannot stand before him, and falsehood and violence oppose his character (Psalm 5:4-6). Those statements can sound severe until the alternative is considered. A god who remained indifferent to deceit, cruelty, and bloodshed could never be a refuge for people harmed by them. David’s confidence rests partly in the fact that God really does distinguish good from evil. Yet David does not claim entrance into God’s presence because he belongs to a naturally superior class of people. “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house” (Psalm 5:7). He comes by covenant mercy and bows in reverence. The same man who asks God to judge evil knows that his own access to God rests upon steadfast love. That makes the request at the center of the psalm especially significant. David asks, “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before me” (Psalm 5:8). He certainly wants protection, but protection is not his only concern. He wants to walk rightly while surrounded by people who do not. Their speech reveals the corruption within them. Their mouths contain no truth, their inward parts are destructive, their throats are open graves, and their tongues flatter (Psalm 5:9). Paul later quotes this imagery in Romans 3:13 while describing the universal reach of human sin. That use prevents a Christian from reading Psalm 5 merely as a description of bad people somewhere else. The deceit David fears from enemies belongs to the same fallen human condition from which every believer needs rescue. Asking God to make his way straight therefore includes asking him to guard the worshiper from becoming like the evil he opposes.
The final movement widens from David’s personal trouble to everyone who takes refuge in God. He asks for judgment against rebellion, then prays that those who trust the Lord may rejoice, sing for joy, and live beneath his protection (Psalm 5:10-11). The image at the end is tender after the psalm’s severe language about evil. The Lord blesses the righteous and surrounds him with favor “as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). God’s holiness and God’s shelter belong together. The King who refuses to make peace with evil is also the refuge of those who come to him for mercy.
Psalm 5 gives a pattern for the beginning of a Christian’s day. Prayer can begin long before the competing voices say what deserves fear, anger, attention, or allegiance. The believer can lay plans and threats before God while also asking him to straighten the path ahead. Some mornings will contain genuine opposition and difficult decisions. Others will be more ordinary. Either way, the prayer remains fitting. One can ask God to protect his people from evil and, at the same time, to keep evil from taking root in them. The day begins well when it begins beneath the character and care of the King.
Lord, hear my voice in the morning. Make your way straight before me, guard my words and steps, and shelter me beneath your favor. Amen.