By Bunni Pounds

*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.

“Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.” (verses 1-3)

I am a morning person, so I know that those who are not may want to throw things at me as I teach through the first three verses of this Psalm. The idea of praying in the morning will come up again as we study the Psalms, so we might as well pull off the bandage now and feel the pain.

My perspective (which I really believe the Bible backs me up - LOL!) – is that mornings are divine. They are so quiet. There is no one bothering me. My mind is clear. I am refreshed - not tired for the most part.  I can engage in deep thoughts and not be disturbed by phone calls, emails, and social media (as I have just disciplined myself to NOT open those apps in the morning till after I have had this time). Again, I think mornings were created by God for us to meet with Him, and I love how the Psalmist discusses the morning here.  

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord: In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.”

For me that looks like three different expressions depending on the day:

• Walking 2 or 3 miles listening to an audio Bible passage and a teaching - breathing in the clear air and asking God questions about the passage and what it means for my life.

• Showing up at a prayer room in my city that opens at 6 am - standing, pacing, or sitting - talking to God, worshipping with the worship team, and meditating on scripture.

• Sitting in my living room - talking to God about my day, week, and month and studying a passage like this one for my own heart and for you. 

The word meditation in verse 1 means “groanings” in the Hebrew. We have a primary desire in us to be HEARD. There is a groan inside of us for someone to hear us and to really care about every word we say.

Sometimes my husband will be talking to me and I am only half listening -- as I am consumed with work or a writing project. During these times, I am not giving him my full attention when he is talking about the newest recipe he learned on YouTube – I hate to say that. I should be better. Pray for me!

This is not God - He is totally tuned in to every word we say. He is not like us humans, with short attention spans. 

This groan to be heard leads us to the only place where we truly be heard – prayer – communicating with the one true God. 

Prayer happens most naturally when we “look up” and see more clearly truth, the love of God, and His faithfulness.

Psalm 121 says:
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.”

Turning our eyes on the one who can provide help for us - humbles us, shows us our need, and gives us ultimate wisdom.

“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.” (verse 4)

If we really want to dwell with God - in His presence and walk with Him - evil and wickedness cannot abide in that place between the two of us.

When we see God in His holiness - we turn from sin.

Some people say that we must turn from sin to see Him - but believe me, the moment we see Him (if we are truly experiencing Him), we don’t want evil to stay within us.

“Nor shall evil dwell with You…”

Remember this song…

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”

Everything else grows dimmer when we are looking at Him. 

”But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.” (verses 7-8)

Can the fear of the Lord and mercy abide in the same place? Yes. Actually - mercy follows our reverence and fear of God. 

We come into His house in the middle of His mercy. That is all His doing – not ours. 

I love the picture of Him running after me, after my heart, and I am just turning and responding to that deep love. That love is overwhelming, and His mercy is so deep.

In the fear of the Lord is where true worship takes place and mercy is poured out over our lives. Reverence, honor, and awe overtake us as we experience that place of mercy in God. Seeing that God hears us, knows us intimately, understands all of our flaws; but yet covers us by His blood with His mercy - leads us to worship that we have never experienced before in His “holy temple.”

It is profound. It is raw and real.

Then the Lord leads us in His righteousness - in right standing with Him in the middle of our enemies. David is crying out to God to make him righteousness BECAUSE of his enemies. He doesn’t want to fall flat in front of the people or other kingdoms that hate him. He wants to overcome. There is a zeal for the name of the Lord – the Lord’s reputation - in that cry. David doesn’t want to be embarrassed as a follower of God, and he doesn’t want God to be embarrassed. 

That is a powerful prayer that we can all learn from.

I want to be a follower who cares about how God is perceived on the earth. How can I protect His reputation? That is my heart cry – to live in front of the world FOR HIM.

Let’s move forward to the final promise in this Psalm.

“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.” (verse 11)

What a promise for all of us – that if we put our trust in God – he will cause us to be “joyful” in Him. True joy is not based on our circumstances or what we possess in material possessions. We have seen in statistics that the more “stuff” people obtain – it does not lead to the result they’re searching for – ultimate joy. That is only found in one place.  

Knowing God as our defender and our provider of joy frees us to live simpler and more fulfilled lives. 

“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in you; Let them ever shout for joy, because you defend them; Let those also who love your name. Be joyful in you.” (verse 11)

This is our promise this week – we are righteous and surrounded by Him in JOY. Then it continues with every more goodness…

“For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.” (verse 12)

When we let go and let God take over – He is fully able to present us before Him as righteous and holy and “faultless” – not because of our works, but because of His finished work on the cross. 

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” – Jude 1:24

Selah – Pause and think about it. 

Join us Monday mornings for our WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY

Watch the video or listen to the audio recording of our Psalm 5 study HERE

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