Psalm 5--Lead me in your righteousness

Bible

Psalm 5 ESV

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 1 Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7 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. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 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. 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. 11 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. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Introduction

This Psalm, like the first four Psalms that we’ve already explored, presents a contrast between the wicked and the righteous. It seems that the Psalmists are obsessed with this contrast. They can hardly say a word in praise of the righteous without fulminating against the wicked. This is very different to how our culture thinks about such things, with our terror of offending someone. Why would it be so important to the Holy Spirit to inspire such words?

Let me tell you a story.

Two years ago a young, Gold Coast woman was pursuing an exciting career. As in many careers, certain sacrifices were expected for advancement. Going out drinking is a pretty common expectation in many workplaces, and it certainly was in hers.

One night she went out and drank heavily with workmates. But afterwards, a guy a tiny bit further up the ladder than her invited her to go back to work with him, for some reason. Despite their workplace being very secure, they managed to talk their way in and ended up in the office of one of the big bosses.

Where he raped her.

She was found by security in the morning, alone and partially dressed. She declined to press charges, but the guilty guy was dismissed within days. For two years she kept quiet, trying to preserve some sense of dignity, trying to avoid the personal and professional fallout. This month she decided this needed to be made public, so she mounted a carefully constructed media campaign with her journalist boyrfriend and reported the crime to the police.

So far, this is a too-common sad tale of sexual harassment leading to assault. The difference is how the powerful people in this organisation behaved when this all went public. Instead of looking at how they could have treated this better, how they could have better balanced the desires of the victim with the need for justice, half of the higher-ups simply bayed for the blood of the big boss. They saw it, not as a tragedy, or even as an opportunity to improve security or culture, or whatever. Just as an opportunity to tear down their target, who actually had only the most tenuous relationship to the situation.

Why?

Well, obviously one answer is that I’m talking about the Federal Parliament, and the “higher ups” are politicians. But why do our politicians see every tragedy as a political opportunity to tear each other down?

It’s simple: they have forgotten, or they never understood, the horror of sin. The way that it destroys all that it touches. They think they can use sin as a tool. They are not alone in this, as the actions of the media demonstrate. But they are all terribly wrong.

Let’s turn to the text of Psalm 5.

Psalm 5’s contrasts

Psalm 5 alternates between passages explaining the actions and attitudes of the righteous, and those of the wicked. It has this structure:

vv. 1-3 - A righteous man approaches God in the morning to pray

vv. 4-6 Sinners (evil-doers, boasters, liars), by contrast, cannot stand in the presence of God

vv. 7-8 The righteous, however, can enter God’s house and journey His straight path with Him

vv. 9-10 In contrast, the words of the wicked are evil and self-destructive

vv. 11-12 And so the righteous share the joy of salvation (and God’s protection)

Are we comfortable with this contrast?

As modern Christians, we often struggle with the Psalms because of this stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked. We see the world as more grey. The gulf between the righteous and the wicked is not so great. The world is made up of sinners, some greater sinners than others, but all sinners. We are relieved when we discover someone’s dirty secrets because it demonstrates their humanity. But is that how the New Testament portrays the world? Is that Jesus’s worldview?

This week I encountered one of Paul’s many sin-lists. These are lists of all the wicked things human beings do which separate them from God. Let’s take a look at this one and see what it tells us about the New Testament’s perspective on the righteous and the wicked.

1 Timothy 1:8–11 ESV

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

Now, the first point to note is that the law doesn’t apply to the “just” but to the “lawless and disobedient, the ungodly and sinners, the unholy and profane.” What does Paul mean by this?

Romans 3:23–24 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

The “just” are those that have been justified by Christ’s death on the cross, who have accepted that gift of grace by faith. In contrast, everyone else false under the condemnation of the law. Hmm. Sounds like the New Testament is still presenting a stark contrast. But let’s keep going on this passage.

In verse 9 note the pairs of nouns that describe those who have not been justified by Christ: “lawless, ungodly, and profane” all refer to those who don’t know God, who live in ignorance, while “disobedient, sinners, and unholy” refer to those who know God and live against him. That would seem to include everyone, right? It reminds me of Romans 1:19:

Romans 1:19 ESV

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Genuine ignorance is impossible, because God has made his nature visible to everyone, and if they really cared about sin, they would seek him out.

But let’s look at the actual sins. Let’s see if we’re comfortable with all of these as sins. It includes those who disrespect their parents (do we really think this is a sin?), murderers (all comfortable with that, right?), sexually immoral (by which Paul means any sexual intercourse outside marriage; any, that means hooking up as teenagers, adultery, one-night stands, sleeping together before marriage—do we think all that’s a sin?), men who practice homosexuality (well, our culture is very uncomfortable recognising this as a sin), enslavers (we think it’s a sin, but Christians in the confederate states of the USA some time ago didn’t think so), liars (we say this is a sin, but do we really mean it?), perjurers (yeah, well, this is even illegal), etc.

So just from this single list, we can find ourselves quite ambivalent about what is and is not sin.

But God isn’t ambivalent. Each of these sins is consistently condemned throughout Scripture (yes, including enslavers).

Why it’s important to recognise sin

Now, if sin is so slippery, so hard to define or agree on, why is it so important to the Psalmists? Are they just mired in their ancient prejudices?

Remember how the structure of Psalm 5 contrasts the righteous and wicked: what is the key difference between the two in this Psalm? [wait for answer]

The difference is that the righteous can enter the house of God, but the wicked cannot. That is not a new observation, see:

Psalm 1:5–6 ESV

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Some say the New Testament preaches a different message. But does it?

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

At the very end of the New Testament we find the destination of us all, the long prophesied “day of the LORD.” And we find the final end of those who reject Christ’s sacrifice is the same as it has always been—death.

So the New Testament does still have this stark difference between the righteous and the wicked. But you know there is a difference. You know that the worldview presented by Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and so on is different somehow. But how?

That difference, of course, is that we know that righteousness does not come from within our own selves, but rather from Christ living in us. We are not considered just because of our behaviour, but because Christ has justified us. In Galatians Paul explains:

Galatians 2:19–21 ESV

19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

This idea is, of course, core to our faith. But it is so counter-intuitive, so counter-cultural, that we must keep on preaching it to ourselves!

Now--and this is where things get a bit surprising--this isn’t just a New Testament idea!

Psalm 5:7–8 ESV

7 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. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

We find the same idea right here, in the middle of Psalm 5! David was already aware that it was “through the abundance of God’s steadfast love” not through his own righteousness, that he was allowed to enter the house of God.

David may not have been aware of Jesus’ sacrifice, but, through the sacrifices of the Law, and his awareness of his own sin, he was aware of his need for Jesus. And he was aware that he needed God’s help to continue living a righteous life: “make your way straight before me.” (That, by the way, is what we receive from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.)

So you see that the Psalmist’s stark contrast between the righteous and wicked is not a contrast between people who have never sinned and people who have. Rather it is a contrast between people who seek to enter into God’s presence in humble obedience and faith, and those who arrogantly reject God and do whatever they want with their own and their neighbours’ lives.

Conclusion

Psalm 5:8 ESV

8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

As we finish, I just want to focus on that beautiful prayer in the middle of the Psalm: “make your way straight before me.”

There are three things we need to understand about that prayer, as we pray it each day:

We need to pray it daily because of our enemies, as the Psalmist says. They will try to trip us, to place obstructions in our path. We live in a world that is hostile to our obedience to God, and we must never forget that!

We are following God’s way, not ours. The prayer is not, “make my way straight before me,” but “make your way straight before me.” Obedience means giving up any plans we have apart from God. At the moment my niece Rebecca and daughter Atalia are struggling a little to understand how to live together harmoniously. Living in the same dwelling requires some measure of sacrifice, of giving up our own plans (even if it’s a simple as giving up our plan to only clean the toilet once a term). But obedience to God involves giving up all of our individual plans. Everything, absolutely everything must be laid on the table before God. Nothing is excluded. That’s why we need to pray this prayer every morning. Remember verse 3, “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”

Finally, we must remember the horror of following our own way. That is why the Psalmists, and the New Testament authors, keep reminding us of our sin. If we forget how destructive and filthy sin is, then we’ll be tempted to either indulge in it, or use it as a tool. Every so often I watch Dashcam Crashcam videos on Youtube. I find that the Australian ones, which show Australians doing stupidly or carelessly dangerous things in their cars, remind me of the dangers of automotive sinning: lack of concentration, speeding, etc. The Psalms and Paul’s sin-lists are like Lifecam Crashcam compilations, and we should take heed.

So, let’s pray, in the words of David:

Psalm 5:11–12 ESV

11 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. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Amen.