Background:
• This is a Psalm of David
Passage Summary:
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Psalms 5:1-2: Here we find a plea for God’s presence and activity in the midst of affliction, a plea that appeals to the care, compassion, and love of God
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Psalm 5:3: 5:3a – This is a personal affirmation that God does indeed hear David // 5:3b – “prepare a sacrifice” and “watch”: The faithful and expectant prayer is a “sacrifice” of worship to God; The one who has faith in the faithfulness of God waits and watches with expectancy for her deliverance
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Psalms 5:4-6: These verses describe the righteousness of God, and they appeal to the justice of God in the face of evil
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Psalms 5:7-8: These Psalms display the confidence of the righteous before God, a confidence which is always predicated on the “steadfast love” of God // In contrast to the wicked who persecute him, David prays that God would lead him down the path of righteousness
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Psalms 5:9-10: This is a prayer for retributive justice
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Psalms 5:11-12: 5:11 – David hopes and prays that those who seek the Lord would
experience his joy, care, and protection // The Psalm ends with an affirmation that God does indeed bless those who seek after his righteousness
Discussion Questions:
1. How important do you think it is to recognize the care and compassion of God when you pray? 2. What is the basis of our “expectancy” when we pray? What do you think is the difference between a healthy and unhealthy expectancy in prayer? 3. As Christians who are centered on the cross of Christ, how do you think we should balance justice and mercy in our prayer lives? 4. Based on the full witness of Scripture, do you think God hates evil people or evil habits, characteristics, and actions? 5. When you pray in the midst of difficulty, are you able to find confidence in God that is rooted in his love for you? 6. How can focusing on doing what is right in God’s eyes help us in times of persecution and hostility? 7. Do you believe that God is “on your side” when you face different afflictions from unrighteous people? Do you believe that, at the end of the day, your righteousness (though not without sin) will be blessed by God?
Cheat Sheet:
(1) subjective answer // (2) the faithfulness of God and his provisions throughout our lives; healthy expectancy: believing that God will ultimately provide for you in his timing and his way; unhealthy expectancy: believing that God will provide for you in your timing and your way // (3) we pray for both—not just for justice or vengeance [Jesus commanded us to “love our enemies” and to “pray for those who persecute us”]; there is a time for justice and there is a time for mercy, but James declares that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13) // (4) Jesus
commands his followers to love their enemies because God loves his enemies; God hates ungodly character not ungodly people // (5) subjective answer // (6) It centers us on what God thinks about us rather than what others think about us, and it gives us confidence that we are in the righteousness of God even when others might hate us // (7) subjective answers