Psalm 5 - Day 5



For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

1 Listen to my words, LORD, 
   

consider my lament. 


2 Hear my cry for help, 
   

my King and my God, 
   

3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; 
   

in the morning I lay my requests before you 
   

and wait expectantly. 


4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; 
   

with you, evil people are not welcome. 


5 The arrogant cannot stand 
   

in your presence. 
You hate all who do wrong; 
 

6 you destroy those who tell lies. 
The bloodthirsty and deceitful 
   

you, LORD, detest. 


7 But I, by your great love, 
   

can come into your house; 
in reverence I bow down 
   

toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness 
   

because of my enemies— 
   

make your way straight before me.

 
9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; 
   

their heart is filled with malice. 
Their throat is an open grave; 
   

with their tongues they tell lies. 


10 Declare them guilty, O God! 
   

Let their intrigues be their downfall. 
Banish them for their many sins, 
   

for they have rebelled against you. 


11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; 
   

let them ever sing for joy. 
Spread your protection over them, 
   

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; 
   

you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

for to you I pray.

THE MESSAGE

^1-3 Listen, God! 

Please, 

pay attention! 

Can you make sense of these ramblings, 

my groans and cries? King-God, 

I need your help.
   Every morning
      you'll hear me at it again.
   Every morning
      I lay out the pieces of my life
      on your altar
      and watch for fire to descend.

 ^4-6 You don't socialize with Wicked,
      or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
   Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
      you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
   God destroys Lie-Speaker;
      Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

 ^7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
      it's incredible!
   I enter your house; here I am,
      prostrate in your inner sanctum,
   Waiting for directions
      to get me safely through enemy lines.

 ^9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
      their lungs breathe out poison gas.
   Their throats are gaping graves,
      their tongues slick as mudslides.
   Pile on the guilt, God!
      Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
   Kick them out! They've had their chance.

 ^11-12 But you'll welcome us with open arms
      when we run for cover to you.
   Let the party last all night!
      Stand guard over our celebration.
   You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
      for decking us out in delight.

I should probably mention all the verses I've been reading are NIV. But for this one, I needed some extra help interpreting the meanings. I turned to The Message version. The Message tends to take things to the next level as far as wording goes. It pulls thoughts and meaning out of places you might not have come to before.

I am so blessed that God accepts ME! 

Verse 7 - Message; And here I am, your invited guest- it's incredible!

Even though I sin and do things that do not make Him happy at times, I'm welcomed into His house because I am His! I have been forgiven of my sins and He truly does want me in His house.  That also doesn't mean that just because I'm forgiven, I get a free pass card to sin as much as I want and then turn around and say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me again." That's not what His forgiveness is about. He is not a stepping stone to manipulate.

Verse 12 - Message; You are famous God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight. God is famous! Have you ever thought of that? What do we consider famous here on earth? Wikipedia says to be famous is to be a celebrity and a celebrity is a person who has a prominent profile in the media and is easily recognized. Man, it doesn't take much for people to become famous now days though. Reality TV, dating someone, or even making wrong choices can make someone famous. And then we have young children looking up to these people as role models. How do we turn their attention to God? What do we need to do to help them want God to be their role model?

The verses that speak of the wicked and what they are like and what they do is hard for me to respond to. I know people like this but once again, I'm not here to judge/condemn them. All I can do is pray for them to find God's way so they can enjoy and worship The Great I AM! God is ready to forgive them of theirs sins too if they come to know Him and accept Him into their lives. This is just the first step though. They need to long to be more like Him and follow His ways. Can you image what this world would be like if everyone followed Christ? It would be heaven!