Psalm 5
September 14, 2003
Dear Friends,
Hymn 2 in the new Christadelphian hymnbook is taken from the first few verses in Psalm 5.
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation, my King and My God,
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, my King and my God.
For unto Thee will I pray. (Hymn 2)
The tune for the hymn was written by our dear sister in Christ, Marie McCrone. Sis. Marie fell asleep in Christ on Sunday morning just two days prior to her 76th birthday. In her memory, we will dedicate this week’s thought to a closer look at Psalm 5 which she celebrated in song.
I used to think that Psalm 5 was a hymn that sung in the morning. I could imagine this being sung at the time of the morning sacrifice. The third verse would leads us to think this. “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” On further review, however, I do not think that this is not a psalm of the morning, but a psalm in hope of seeing morning light. It is psalm of hope and despair in the night.
The word “meditation” in the first verse is perhaps misleading here. According to Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s commentary, the word means “moanings of that half uttered form to which deep feeling gives rise.” It seems the most natural to me that this issue which is causing David to groan and mutter has kept him awake all night tossing and turning. The phrase “shalt thou hear in the morning” indicates that morning has not arrived and is still a little ways off. All of the different versions I consulted gave this same idea that morning was still future. We get the feeling that David is so emotionally involved in this issue (Absalom’s rebellion?) that he just wants to survive the night.
If you have ever been so upset over something that you just could not sleep, you know the emotional state that is being described. You can hear the confidence David has in God’s righteousness – “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” At the same time, you know that this is not an issue that is resolved as evidenced in the first verses. David still is operating in hope of deliverance, not in the finality of deliverance. He wants God to take him in the right direction. David pleads “Lead me, Adonai, in your righteousness because of those lying in wait for me; make your way straight before me.” (v. 9 – Complete Jewish Bible) Surely we can all relate to the frustration of a pressing, emotional issue where we just want God to give us a clear sign of what He wants us to do. We want God to make the solution a straight shot, not a meandering, toilsome path.
As the dark night draws to a close and the bleary-eyed king looks to the new day, we can almost feel his delight in his God. We can also see the joy of our resurrected sister as the dawn of the Great Day of Judgment comes on this earth. “But let those who take refuge in you rejoice, let them forever shout for joy! Shelter them; and they will be glad, those who love your name. For you, Adonai, bless the righteous; your surround them with favor like a shield.” (CJB)
Have a great week!
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