According to the text, psalm five is a morning prayer recited by the
congregation in a collective and individual form in the temple during the first
sacrifice of the day. Expectations were then that God revealed spiritual
insight to the Godly whenever they spent solemn time in His presence as a
group.
Divided into five parts, the psalmist alternates between a petition to God, a
description of the behavior of his enemies and a realization of how the
Almighty will respond to this situation. The theme continues to be that of the
previous poems. The Godly and the unGodly live at odds with each other,
the latter oppressing the former with a deadly intent. The unGodly are
powerful, and the Godly are weak. And unless God mediates, the powerful
always will swallow up the powerless.
Our concern in this meditation is with the first strophe, where the psalmist
utters a deep, desperate cry for the ear of the Lord. While the writer is
absolutely certain that the God of Israel is most alert to the needs of His
people, he is aware that the Lord expects His subjects to articulate clearly
and specifically their requests. In this poem, although the pleading words of
the poet will be specific, the writer’s intense groaning before the Almighty
anticipates the urgency of a response from God concerning what he is
about to relate.
How God would answer the poet’s prayer, the writer’s does not say directly.
Indirectly, however, we may safely surmise what the psalmist is saying. He
affirms without a doubt and expects that the Lord will hear him during the
morning meeting.
The Lesson
Many lessons may be derived from our short text and the rest of the psalm. I
just want to pose three questions to the reader, which I have posed to many
others through time and I ask of myself, as well. The questions require
private, honest answers from the reader to one-self.
1. What happens when you spend time with God in the morning?
2. How do you know that God hears your prayers in the morning?
3. What can you do to improve the quality of your interaction with God?
The answer to the first question is very much the same from most every
one. Spending time with God in the early hours of the morning before
rushing into the routine of the day has been of an invaluable preparation to
undertake the journey. For them, these are not occasions for presenting
lists of requests to God for His help or to present the Most High a list of
grievances about people and circumstances. Rather, these occasions have
given believers opportunities to thank the Lord for His continuous blessings
on them and theirs. It is also a quiet time when the Godly have experienced
the love of God embracing them. It is a time of meditation on the course of
their lives with a soft request to God to guide them to be the best they can
be and do the best they can do at work and in their relations with family,
friends and others.
The answers I have gotten to the second question have been mostly
declarations of faith in God motivated and guided by the witness of the
prophets, Jesus, the disciples and the experience of millions of believers
during the almost 2,000 years of Christianity. These declarations also
resulted from personal experiences, where the Lord intervened on behalf of
the individuals interviewed. In all instances, the respondents felt guided by
the invisible presence in their lives of the Almighty. This, in turn reinforced
their certainty of being heard by God.
Does God answer every prayer in a favorable manner as we understand
this to be? He does not. Every believer, beginning with Abram on to the
present will positively answer no to this question. Examples abound. Let me
mention one that impressed me immensely and has been of most value to
me in about forty years of ministry. As a young impressive possible
candidate to the ministry, I heard a young pastor visiting my home church
illustrate this point with a personal anecdote about his infant daughter. The
little girl had gotten very ill. He and his wife took the baby to the hospital.
The pastor, his wife, relatives and friends prayed intensively for the baby to
recover her health. With copious tears running down his cheeks, the pastor
said to have agonized before the Lord all night, just to see their daughter
die in the early hours of the morning.
I have seen similar scenarios repeatedly during my own ministry. It is
important to recognize that though the human body is strong while healthy,
sooner or later it will be invaded by potent foreign organisms causing its
destruction. Also, accidents do happen in proportion to the density of
population. Highly populated areas have far more accidents that lesser
inhabited locations. And there are natural calamities occurring each day
throughout the earth causing havoc and destruction.
The final question always brings a rich response about all that can be done
to improve the quality of the interaction. Some considerations are: engaging
in an individual, systematic study of Scriptures, the reading of the life and
work of early Christians, joining Bible study programs, becoming members
of prayer and study groups, participating in mission work and so forth.
I am sure that as you develop the habit of rising early in the morning to
spend time with God, you will experience similar feelings, and your life will be
enriched by the presence of God in your life.
Prayer:
Dear God Creator and Sustainer of the universe, our Creator and Master,
you have made possible for us to relate in love with you. We seek to further
expand this relationship. Reveal to us the way to do it. Mold our character in
such a way that this intent may be attainable. Amen.
RELATIONS OF GOD AND THE GODLY
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Give ear to my words, O LORD;
give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you I pray.
Psalm 5:1-3.
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