“I Will Look Up” (Ps 5)

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. (vs1-3)

The Lord has given us clear instruction that He is holy. Therefore, the Psalmist will seek Him early to get the strength of righteousness, because God hates all workers of iniquity and evil shall not dwell with Him. He says, “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 You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You (vs3-4).” If God weren't a Judge, if He didn't reward and punish based upon righteousness, then we wouldn't care about our behavior before Him. But, His holiness compels us to get OBEDIENCE from Him, early in the morning, so that we can be blessed by Him eternally. Bless God, we have access to the Holy One, we can be made holy, and we'll thereby be spared and rewarded, rather than punished in the end.

First, we have access to God. He says, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my musings. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You will will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord”(vs1-3). He hates WICKEDNESS, and the wicked, even us, couldn't approach, except for the blood of Christ and the mercies of God. He says, “The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy” (vs5-7). We have access through the Body that was broken for us, and having right to approach God by the forgiveness of sins, we come boldly, not only to be accepted, but also to be changed to live acceptably. He said, “In fear of you I will worship toward Your holy temple” (vs7). We don't allow the past to keep us away. We grab hold of Christ's work for us, receive it, and thereby draw near to the Father for spiritual strength to do His will.

Secondly, we come because we have no choice. He says, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face” (vs8). He alone can improve us and keep us from sin. It is empty to hope in man, look to ourselves, or pretend that no holiness is not needed. We deal honestly with Him by going to Him, saying, “Lord, You are holy. Help me be holy, so I can be blessed”. The wicked will be punished, and we agree with Him by requesting cleansing for ourselves. He says, “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You” (vs9-10). We wisely bow to God's judgments and differentiate ourselves by prayer.

Finally, if you are lost, don't despair. The Psalmist says again, “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” (vs11). The God that hears sinners,now, by the prayers of the righteous, influences you to His direction. He's unfolded His character, so that you and I might be saved, “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield” (vs12). He's revealed His hatred, so that we can receive His love. He is holy, but through the Lord Jesus, He receives sinners. He hates evil, but through prayer, He gives us the godliness that we need. Behold the character of God in Christ, and SURRENDER.