A reason
why the Psalms are so very popular
is that many
people find their
own experiences reflected in them.
Many of these Psalms were sung, and directed by a choirmaster, and in this case, also accompanied by flutes. I remind you again
that singing the Word is one of the most wonderful tools for our collective worship of God. It is also a great
aid to scripture memorization.
So, what is this Psalm all about ?
1.
It is a Prayer.
“Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my
groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.” (vv. 1 -2).
Firstly, this Psalm teaches us something about the biblical forms in which prayer may be expressed. David speaks here of
(i)
my words
(ii)
my groaning
(iii)
my cry.
These are
all forms of prayer. Sometimes prayer is
words - an outpouring of our souls
in words, such as we find here .
At other times prayer is simply wordless
groaning (Ex 6:5; Rom 8:26)
or crying (see
examples in Ex 3:7,9;8:12; 14:10;15:25;
17:4 etc). Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 did
both. She prayed to the Lord in words (1 Sam 1:10,11) and then she prayed in her heart with groans (1 Sam 1:12-13). In both forms she poured out her soul before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:15)
Secondly, note that David’s prayer
is extremely forceful and
demanding and bold, and yet not arrogant! This is a prayer of holy
boldness. Such prayer is based upon a good knowledge of the character
of God and of the promises of His Word. David knows the God to whom he
prays: “my King and my God, for to you do I pray“.
Thirdly, note the timing of this prayer: V.3 “O LORD, in
the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a
sacrifice for you (lit. “ I arrange or
set in order“ – and the object
must be inferred from the context. Hence
another translation: “I direct my
prayer to you”) … and watch”. He comes to His King and God with his sacrifice of prayer in the morning. According to
C.H. Spurgeon, “an hour in the morning is worth two in the
evening“[1].
Prayer
takes concentration and alertness. The morning is best for this.
Fourthly, observe
that we find here a form of
prayer which is rarely used and heard in
our churches. This is a prayer of
holy confidence, of certain
persuasion and therefore of strong argumentation. In this respect I want to quote something that C.H. Spurgeon had said in a
sermon (entitled “Order and Argument in
Prayer” - preached on the Lord’s Day, July 5th 1866 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle):
“The best prayers I have ever heard in our
prayer meetings have been those which have been fullest of argument. Sometimes
my soul has been fairly melted down where I have listened to the brethren who
have come before God feeling the mercy to be really needed, and that they must
have it, for they first pleaded with God to give it for this reason, and then
for a second, and then for a third and then for a fourth and a fifth until they
have awakened the fervency of the entire assembly [2].
We hardly
hear passionate prayer like this in our churches, and I remind you that this form of prayer is one that we should desire to
see among us! This is an uncommon boldness in prayer which I ask
that God might restore it to us in these days! I know from the testimony of Scripture that God is pleased to answer strong, believing and urgent prayer.
So, why is
this kind of prayer so scarce among Evangelical Christians in our day?
(i) Because we think that it sounds too much like the modern ‘name
it and claim it’ brand of
Christianity, by which healings
and prosperity are demanded
from heaven. We are intensely suspicious of anything that is loud and demanding. However, we must be careful not to engage in
knee jerk reactions, and thus to lose a biblical boldness in prayer. There
is a holy boldness with which we may come to God (see James 5:13-18) and by which we may expect great things from
God.
(ii) Because we have little intimate
acquaintance with God and His Word (the promises of God). Therefore we lack
confidence in speaking to God. We are
not sure what to say , or what to ask. We need the confidence expressed in 1 John 5:14. This confidence is well expressed
in what follows in Psalm
5:4 etc.
2.
It is a prayer undergirded by theological convictions.
Why
did David begin with this urgent
plea in the first 3 verses? Because his life was always threatened by
enemies without and within. If it was not
an external threat from the enemies of Israel, it was a
threat from within i.e.
those that hated him from the house of Saul, and sadly, even members of
his own family. (e.g. Absalom). There is nothing that strengthens
our prayer life as much as needing to
depend upon God for survival. So, David’s theology of prayer was formed in two ways:
(i)
Through
his objective knowledge of the Word of
God,
(ii)
and through the subjective experience of the truth of God’s Word.
In
prayer David like you and I always
wrestled with these twin realities:
(i)
wickedness
(evil)
(ii)
righteousness
imputed to the believer by God
And concerning these, David’s
theology is clearly expressed in prayer:
Concerning the wicked (evil) David
reminds himself in prayer:
“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (vv.4-6). He saw them as people unable to stand in the presence of God. His was a holy presence, a just presence, a sin-hating presence, a fearful presence, and that is how David looked on them. Furthermore , concerning the wicked, David has this to say (v.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.
“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (vv.4-6). He saw them as people unable to stand in the presence of God. His was a holy presence, a just presence, a sin-hating presence, a fearful presence, and that is how David looked on them. Furthermore , concerning the wicked, David has this to say (v.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.
He reminds
himself of the fact that the wicked possess no real truth (true truth); their destiny is self- destructive; their
speech deceptive and lying. Before we admire the world in
which we live and which we love so often more than the God who made us, let us remind ourselves of,
(i) What God thinks
of this world (vv.4-6)
(ii) What the
reality and destiny of such
people is. The most difficult aspect of David’s prayer concerning the wicked is v.
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.” This is called “imprecatory prayer“[3]. Imprecatory
prayers are prayers that curse the enemies of God in no
uncertain terms. This is not as a result of
David feeling threatened or assaulted
himself ; He is praying this
because he is zealous for his
God. These rebellious people are
continually insulting the
God who made them. Such
people have ultimately no one
left to appeal for them, because they
have insulted the Only One who
can save them. Him they have rejected. They ultimately get what they
desire and deserve.
Concerning the righteous, David was encouraged by the
love He had received from God:
(vv. 7 - 8a):
“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. Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.”
David knew God’s “steadfast (covenantal) love“; he knew the “fear of the Lord”; He knew the “righteousness of God” (imputed to him) that would cause him to triumph over His enemy. The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer drives out the fear and intimidation of the world of enemies within and without (the world, the flesh and the devil).
“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. Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.”
David knew God’s “steadfast (covenantal) love“; he knew the “fear of the Lord”; He knew the “righteousness of God” (imputed to him) that would cause him to triumph over His enemy. The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer drives out the fear and intimidation of the world of enemies within and without (the world, the flesh and the devil).
In
this regard the house of God (regular
public worship) had a major role to play in David’s life. (v.7b): “…I will enter your house, I will bow down
toward your holy temple in the fear of
you”.
The result of a heart set free is “joy” (vv.
11,12): “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. For you
bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover
him with favour as with a shield.”
When Martin Luther was summoned to the papal court at Worms in Germany, one of the cardinals mocked him. “ Where would you find shelter when all the world was gathered against you, if your patron, the Frederik, Elector of Saxony, should desert you?” Luther said, “I’ll be safe under the shield of heaven.” And so we will be, for greater is He that protects us than all the forces that oppose us.
When Martin Luther was summoned to the papal court at Worms in Germany, one of the cardinals mocked him. “ Where would you find shelter when all the world was gathered against you, if your patron, the Frederik, Elector of Saxony, should desert you?” Luther said, “I’ll be safe under the shield of heaven.” And so we will be, for greater is He that protects us than all the forces that oppose us.
IN SUMMARY
This is prayer. This is the theology of David’s prayer. And it is rooted in David’s practical experience of God’s steadfast love. It is not an unsure “I wonder if God…”. David knows Him to whom he directs His prayer. He knows God’s views on the wicked and the righteous.
And
therefore verses 1-3, the introductory bold prayer
which I have described to you, is
based on theological certainties. May we learn to pray like this!
To
that end we must make it our goal
to get to know God theologically and experientially.
That will certainly embolden and strengthen our prayer life.
That will certainly embolden and strengthen our prayer life.
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