"Come close to God, and God will come close to you..." - James 4:8

Read: Psalm 5

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 

Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

It’s important to note how King David recognizes God as King to highlight his dependence on God’s authority. He prayed this prayer in the morning, not only with words, but also groanings (Romans 8:23) as he sought rest from those who accused him. In verse 7, David makes his declaration of faith that he will enter the Lord’s house and will bow in reverence before the God who can put down his enemies. David differentiates the voice of God from the voice of the accuser and points out the importance of taking his enemies to God first instead of taking matters into his own hands.  David had the authority and the army to destroy his enemies, and he still acknowledged his need for God to fight on his behalf. He ends this beautiful psalm with a request for God to spread His protection over those who take refuge (Psalm 91:1-2) and love God’s name. David declared God would cover the righteous with favor as a shield against his enemies, and so can we. 

Prayer 

Father encourages us to bring our needs to you early in the day and recognize our dependence on you as our refuge. Help me walk in righteousness today and not give opportunity for the Enemy to discourage me. Lord, I want to hear your voice and walk under the shadow of your wings and delight in your presence. May your voice drown out any other that would distract me. Lead me in your righteousness and cover me with your favor.