PRAYER OF PROTECTION
TEXT: Psalm 5:1-12
Psalm 5:1-12 KJV To the Principal Musician over Nehilot, Psalm of David. Hear my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hear the voice of my cry, my King and my God, because I will pray to you. You will hear my voice in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will address my prayer to you, and I will look up. For you are not a God who delights in evil, nor will evil dwell with you. Fools will not be before your eyes; you will hate all who do iniquity. You will destroy those who speak lies: The LORD will abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will enter your house because of the multitude of your mercy, and in your fear I will worship towards your holy temple. Guide me, O LORD, in your justice because of my enemies; make your way straight before my face. Because there is no fidelity in his mouth; the interior of him is very evil; open grave is his throat; They flatter with their tongues. Destroy them, O God; let them fall by their own advice; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; because they have rebelled against you. But rejoice all those who trust in you, always shout for joy, because you defend them; May those who love your name also rejoice in you. For you, Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield.
I. INTRODUCTION—THE PSALMS SPEAK TO US TODAY
-The Psalms were written over a period of around 900-1000 years. The oldest psalm was written around 1410 BC. C. and the last one was written around 430-500 a. c.
-The oldest psalm is Psalm 90 which describes the wanderings of Israel in the desert while Moses watched everything that happened during that time. It is marked by descriptions of Israel’s severe trials during her pilgrimages. There is a taste of living life through gritted teeth and having to put up with things that are not necessarily enjoyable but required. It is something like going through life, as one commentator put it in his study of the Psalms.
-The last psalm, Psalm 126, is believed to have been written during the time of Israel…s captivity to the Babylonians when they returned to Jerusalem from their exile. He is one who is overjoyed to see the Lord open doors of opportunity for them.
-All the Psalms mark our own path as saints of God. Whether you’re up or down, flying high or fighting, you can find a psalm that relates to where you are in life. They help us in our worship of the Lord and we are given some instructions in the New Testament on how they contribute to our walk with God:
• Sung as devotions—Eph. 5:19; Colossians 3:16
• Prayed earnestly—Acts 4:25-26
• Preached evangelistically: Acts 2:25-28, 31, 34-35; 13:33-35
• Taught expository: Luke 24:44; ROM. 3:10-14, 18; 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 4:8; heb. 1:5
-In fact, it would be safe to say that when we look at the book of Psalms there is an evident God-centered approach to moving our hearts toward the Lord.
II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO PSALM 5
-Sometimes there are no clear marks in the superscripts about what the setting of the psalm is. Psalm 5 has a heading but it doesn’t give us any real historical clues as to what is happening in David’s life.
-Some believe that this is another psalm dealing with David’s flight from his son Absalom. That is obtained from the designations of the times of these psalms.
• Psalm 3: morning prayer written the morning after David fled Jerusalem under cover of night. They marched during the day and finally collapsed at night and it was written the next morning.
• Psalm 4: An evening prayer written after David had crossed Jabbok and continued north from Absalom. He would move to the mountainous terrain and hope to find some allies among the hill tribes. That night he recognized what God had done for him.
• Psalm 5—A morning prayer that was written the next day. He was going to face his enemies that day and he was a little unsure how things would turn out.
-Although David notes the greatness of God and the power of prayer, the title gives a bit of a clue as to what was going on in David’s heart. It is a psalm written to be accompanied by a ‘nehiloth.’ This is a flute-like instrument that was normally used to play songs that conveyed a heaviness of spirit.
-What David says. . . “I have written a song that someone else will have to sing.” I don’t have the energy to play my harp and it would be better if someone else sang it for me.
-Everyone would have to admit that there are times when songs escape from our hearts, adoration seeps from the soul and a heaviness plays in the mind due to the circumstances in which we find ourselves immersed.
– Psalm 5 is a time of prayer where David is standing. he face to face with God and is speaking to him. He does it three times, but while he is in his prayer meeting, a couple of times he alternately looks at the wicked. As his prayer turns from God to the wicked, there are some contrasts that he comes to understand. You can be encouraged in prayer when you are willing to see God compared to the wicked.
-This type of prayer helps man to see the justice and purity of God and the darkness of evil men who are trying to further their cause of evil.
PC Craigie—This prayer is not only for protection from evil people, but also for protection from becoming like them.
III. A PRAYER OF PROTECTION
-As we go through this psalm, we can never underestimate the prayer of a saint of God! If there is something I want to emphasize to you, it is that! We have to surrender each of our burdens, worries, fears and plans to the Lord in prayer. He can hear us and will go out of his way to help us!
A. Psalm 5:1-7—The Lord Who Hears
Psalm 5:1-7 KJV To the Principal Musician over Nehilot: Psalm of David. Hear my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hear the voice of my cry, my King and my God, because I will pray to you. You will hear my voice in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will address my prayer to you, and I will look up. For you are not a God who delights in evil, nor will evil dwell with you. Fools will not be before your eyes; you will hate all who do iniquity. You will destroy those who speak lies: The LORD will abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will enter your house in the multitude of your mercy, and in your fear I will worship towards your holy temple.
-When you pray, God listens! There was a sense of urgency in David’s prayer here. Look at three words that give this away:
• give ear—v. 1
• Consider—v. 1
• Listen—v. two
-David was not just on his knees and going through a prayer routine. There was something urgent and difficult about his situation. He had some passion in his prayer. That is exactly like Elijah described in James 5:17-18, who noted that he had been a man of “like passions” who prayed “earnestly that it would not rain.” This is preceded by James saying that “the fervent and effective prayer of the righteous can do much!”
-I think there is a spirit for which we should pray. When I say “spirit” I mean the human aspect of our hearts. There must be some preparation that goes into our approach to God. I dare say that none of us would walk into an interview for a slot in an academic program, a job interview or a discussion with someone we consider important and has no preparation. To do such a thing would mean that we lack awareness of what we are doing.
-Therefore, we must come to the Lord with the same preparation. There are attitudes that mark our prayers. Often in the Bible we see the predominance of those who will kneel in prayer. But even beyond kneeling there are attitudes and spirits that accompany those prayers.
Luke 22:41 KJV And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
-Just as the Lord knelt in prayer, we can have that same way of preparation in our prayer.
• Kneel reverently as Solomon did at the dedication of the Temple: 2 Chron. 6:13
• Kneel continuously as Daniel did three times a day: Dan. 6:10
• Kneel in worship as the psalmists urge Jehovah our Maker—Ps. 95:6
• Kneel in submission as the Lord did in the Garden of Gethsemane—Luke 22:41
• Kneel earnestly as the leper did when seeking healing—Mark 1:40
• Kneel to forgive as Stephen did when he prayed for his murderers—Acts 7:60
• Kneel in intercession as Peter did when he prayed for Tabitha—Acts 9:40
• Kneel faithfully like Paul when he prayed for the church in Ephesus—Acts 20:36
• Kneel with confidence like Paul when he recognized God in his greatness: Eph. 3:14
-There is also a sense of persistence that is demonstrated because in Psalm 5:3, David says, “in the morning” twice. There was a persistence that said: “My prayer will continue all morning until I can feel that you are listening, considering and listening to my prayer.”
-But it still doesn’t stop with that because David hints that there’s also a sense of expectation that he has. . . “I’ll look up!” He says to the Lord: “To you I direct my prayer but I also look up in faith.”
-That is the key to answered prayer, “look up to the Lord in faith.” The devil doesn’t want us to include that little detail in our prayer. He may be fine with us praying, but he doesn’t want us to wait for the Lord to figure it out.
– Then, David looks away and looks away from the Lord. for a little to the wicked in 5:4-6.
“Just review for a moment where we’ve been the last few weeks.” Each of the previous four psalms has spoken of the wicked:
• Psalm 1—The way of the wicked.
• Psalm 2—The rebellion of the wicked—particularly the kings and rulers of the earth.
• Psalm 3—The attack of the wicked.
• Psalm 4—The slanderous tongues of the wicked.
-Now it takes a darker turn and David writes that the Lord will not hear the prayer of the wicked and take no pleasure in them:
Psalms 5:4-6 KJV For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with you. The boastful will not be before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; Jehovah hates the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
-This world is so confused about who God listens to. They seem to think that everything will be fine after death, but this is not what the Scriptures advocate or teach. In fact, these verses teach us that the sinner who has no foot (will not stand v. 5) also has no future (you will destroy them v. 6).
-In this second part of his sentence, David reviews the types of wrongdoers…