Psalm 5:4” You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;”
[Praise be to you, Yahweh, for you are holy and wholly good: you hate evil, you abhor wickedness, you are repulsed by sinfulness and will punish it.
It is wonderful that You, O Lord, are the opposite of evil, being pure, pristine, kind, loving, gracious, righteous, forgiving, merciful and positive. You do no evil, wish no evil, promote no evil. You are good through and through.]
“with you the wicked cannot dwell.”
[In your holy presence, in your blinding, shining light of purity, the wicked are excluded, unable to stand before you. This is a marvelous truth, because it means that in the new Heaven and the new earth there will be no wickedness!
Even in this world, those who choose to remain wicked– rejecting your offer of forgiveness in Jesus and cleansing from sin, receiving the righteousness of Christ–cannot live with you. They cannot be in your family, they cannot dwell in your light, they cannot live in your joy because they choose not to do so. “Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19,20).
I praise you, God, that with you there is righteousness and justice to deal with the problem of evil and eliminate it. You offer your righteousness to all who will come; we desperately need your forgiveness which brings the righteousness of Christ into our lives.]
Psalm 5:5 “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”
[The proud, trusting in themselves, in their own power, wisdom, work and worth, think they can make it on their own. They think they know better than you and reject your counsel, your wisdom, your way (Lord show me when I have such an attitude so I may quickly repent!). They cannot enter your sanctuary and in the end they will be cast out because, in their pride, they have rejected your Son and chosen to get justice (what they deserve) over receiving mercy and grace (the opposite of what they deserve).
Praise be to you, Lord God, for you take no pleasure in evil, but have great joy in forgiving, cleansing, adopting and loving those who come to you through the blood of Jesus! May our wonder at your great and gracious heart ever grow and deepen, leading us to new depths of surrender and heights of worship.]
