God’s Word for You
Psalm 5:1-6 I lay out my requests
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, November 12, 2022
5 For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
The flute is one of the oldest musical instruments (Genesis 4:17). Some very ancient examples have been found made from bird and animal bones, but later, reeds or hollowed wooden tubes with drilled holes gave a more standardized sound and quality. In the Scriptures, the flute is used for making merry (Job 21:12; Luke 7:32), for mourning (Job 30:31; Matthew 9:23), for the coronation of kings (1 Kings 1:39-40) and for making music in general (Isaiah 5:12; 1 Corinthians 14:7; Revelation 18:22). It was an instrument for worship (Isaiah 30:29) and connected with prophecy (1 Samuel 10:5).
This psalm of David, accompanied by flutes, is a prayer for God’s glory to reign supreme. It is an imprecatory prayer, which means that it invites God to judge and to punish his enemies, but the musician does not ask that this should be done for his sake. He only wants God’s will to be at work, and for the Lord to protect his people from their enemies.
1 Hear my words, O LORD, understand my whispering.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay out my requests before you, and wait.
David’s references to “morning” have led some people to think of this as a prayer for morning sacrifice, especially before the exile. There is also a curious turn of phrase in verse 3, where David says “I lay out my requests before you” using similar language to arranging the pieces of a sacrificial animal on the altar.
It is a privilege for believers to approach God in prayer whether this is in silence, or out loud, or in music, or as David says in verse 1, in whispering. He invites the faithful to come to him, speak to him, and to ask him for those things that we need. Jesus especially lays this out for us in the Lord’s Prayer with this outline:
* Address (Our Father…)
* Confess that God’s name is holy
* Ask God to gather his kingdom, to make believers
* Ask God to carry out his will and plan for the world
* Ask God for physical needs
* Ask for forgiveness
* Ask for deliverance from all temptation
* Ask for deliverance from evil
4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.
5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who strive for wickedness.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
The LORD abhors men of blood and deceit.
Having turned to God in prayer, David asks God to carry out his will, especially among the wicked. Their judgment is not for us to carry out or to dictate. Just as David left wicked Saul’s judgment for God to carry out, so also we should call on the Lord to judge those who turn away from him. There is quite a list of sins in these quick verses: sinful arrogance, striving for wickedness, lying, being bloodthirsty, deceit.
1, Sinful arrogance is another way of describing first commandment sins, putting oneself above God’s word and above God’s will.
2, Striving for wickedness is planning or plotting some wickedness ahead of time. It is a man carrying a weapon into a crowd, intent on using it even if no particular person is in his mind. It is covetousness in action.
3, If lying is not thought to be a sin against the eighth commandment (and it is), it is certainly a violation of Leviticus 19:11 “Do not lie,” and Paul’s words in Colossians 3:3, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.”
4, Being bloodthirsty is being out for blood, intent on killing, This is violation of the first, fourth, fifth commandments. The first, because God says “Revenge is mine” (Romans 12:19). The fourth, because the Lord has given punishment into the hands of the state and not to individuals or to mobs (Romans 13:3-4). The fifth, simply because it is murder, forbidden by the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:13).
5, Deceit violates the eighth commandment (Exodus 20:17), and the second when we drag the Lord’s name into the mud with our dishonesty (Exodus 20:7).
The Lord punishes these sins and all others, but David teaches us to leave such punishment in the Lord’s hands first, and in the hands of the state second and when it become necessary for the state to act. We give God glory and we show him our trust when we leave these things in his hands. This is also an incentive to lead a more godly life, since God punishes in eternity and he empowers the state to punish in this lifetime. We strive to lead a godly life (2 Timothy 3:12), a quiet life (1 Thessalonians 4:11), a life that tests the soul, and a life imitating the faith of those given to us as examples (Hebrews 13:7). In this way we will be examples for those who will come after us, and to show with our lives what trust in Christ means even when put to the test.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.