Psalm 5 (part 1): Purposeful Prayer (Psalm 5:1-8)

Psalm 5 shows us how David came to God in the morning (v3) to receive the wisdom, strength and protection he needed for the day, especially because there are many enemies conspiring against him - the word for enemies in v8 means those 'who lie in wait.' The setting might be during the time that many were conspiring against him to remove him as king and replace him by Absalom. Psalm 5 provides a model for purposeful prayer (v1-3,7-8,10-12), as well as giving a clear contrast between the righteous under God's covenant love (v1-3, 7-8, 11-12) and the wicked under God's wrath (v4-6, 9-10). David understands that prayer is the expression of the inner thoughts (meditation) of his heart, so he opens his heart to God and invites Him to look into his heart to see his genuine commitment to God and desire to see his prayer answered (v1). David is purposeful in coming to the Lord and focusing on Him: "to You I will pray." In particular, he addresses the Lord as "my King and my God" - focusing on both His awesome majesty (transcendence) and gracious presence (covenant nearness). Moreover, he presents his prayer with urgency, determined that God will hear him (v2). In v3, he emphasises twice his commitment to come to God in the morning, which confirms the importance of morning devotions, to dedicate the day to God and to receive His grace for the day (Mark 1:35, Lam 3:22-23). The he describes what we should do before and after our prayer to God. Before we make our petitions, we should 'direct it to God.' the word 'direct' literally means 'to prepare' and 'to set in order' (Psalm 23:5). It means to arrange our prayer before God, to plead our case (a lawyer prepares his arguments before presenting them to the judge). We should first know the basis of our petitions from God's revelation of Himself in Scripture and on His covenant-promises to us, and then present our case to God. Doing this will increase our faith that we are praying according to God's will and that He will hear us (1John 5:11-12). We see many examples of this in Scripture. After praying, we should 'look up' to God with expectation, to watch to see what God will say or do (Habakkuk 2:1). As he draws closer to God, he becomes more aware of God's holiness and man's sinfulness. David sees God's wrath upon all sinners and His unrelenting opposition to them, and he sees their ultimate end in final judgment if they do not repent (v4-6, Psalm 73:17-18). By contrast, in v7, David, as an example of a righteous believer in covenant with God (see also v11-12), is one who comes into God's Presence (House), (1) trusting in God's abundant covenant love (mercy - chesed), not in his own righteousness, and (2) worshipping Him in reverential fear (submitting himself to God's authority), looking up to God in His holy Temple (in Heaven - Psalm 2:4,6, 3:4), just as we are to pray: "our Father who art in Heaven." David exemplifies a saving faith of trust in God as his Saviour and submission to God as his Lord. Having first come into His Presence in praise and worship (v7), David is now in position to ask for and receive God's leadership and guidance for his life: "Lead me, O Lord, in Your (way of) righteousness" (v8a). This was especially necessary "because of my enemies" (v8b) who were plotting against him. Likewise, satan's kingdom is setting traps for us to fall into, so every morning we need to pray: "Lord, do not lead me into temptation (the traps of the enemy), but deliver me from evil." David knew only God could protect him from the traps of sin, satan and his enemies. He also asks God to give him wisdom by revealing to him the way that he should walk, and that He would remove all hinderances, so that he might make speedy progress in fulfilling God's will: "Make Your way straight before my face" (v8c).