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Suffering, Surrender and God’s Sovereignty: an example for us
Psalm 6:8-10
Psalm 6:8 “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.”
[Here is a statement of pure faith—nothing has changed, there is no sign of an answer, yet David, after looking to God in prayer, is ready to trust, to act on unseen Truth and believe in the faithfulness of his heavenly Father.]
Psalm 6:9 “The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.”
[He is certain, sure, convinced of God’s faithfulness and mercy, so he can state with trust that Jehovah has heard him and will answer. He looks to the character of God, the heart of his Lord, and is sure of an answer in the right time and right way. “I will call upon the Lord in the day of trouble, for he will answer me” (Psa. 86:7). ]
Psalm 6:10 “All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”
[David ends his psalm with the statement of conviction and confidence. He does not have any visible sign of help yet, but he is sure of the outcome because he knows the living God who can and does act in power.
Praise be to you, Lord, for your great and wonderful character, full of unfailing love, unfailing wisdom, unfailing grace, unfailing help. You see all that is going on in our hearts, you know all our troubles, you hear all our prayers and you always answer in wisdom, power and grace.
We praise and thank you for your wonderful provision out of your glorious riches, your endless grace and your loving heart. May we live today in the light of these truths, bringing honor to you through our trust and confidence in you. Amen.]
Psalm 6:5-7

Psalm 6:1-4
Psalm 6:1 “O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”
[Our guilt is so great and your corresponding wrath is so mighty, we would be crushed in an instant if you disciplined us in your full anger. I praise you, O Jehovah, that while you are the holy, sinless, pure God who hates sin, yet you love sinners and have provided us a means of shelter, a way to escape your righteous wrath through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Praise be to you for your gracious, kind and forgiving heart, and for your mercy triumphing over justice. You, Lord Jesus, took the punishment and anger we deserved, and you, heavenly Father were willing to pour your righteous wrath on Him rather than us, opening the way for us into your Kingdom, into your family, into full forgiveness.]
Psalm 6:2 “Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?”
[You have made body, soul and spirit so intertwined that the anguish of one strongly affects the others. Praise you, Lord, that your healing touch in one area also brings healing to the others. You are the answer to our anguish, you are the healer of our hurts, the cure to all that troubles us.
You are merciful in our need and we can turn to you, knowing that our salvation comes from you, you only are our Rock, our Salvation and our high Tower. Our soul finds rest in you alone, and when our soul is at rest, so is the whole of our being.]
Psalm 6:4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”
[You in your wonderful wisdom bring us through dark valleys where all seems to go wrong, where we are overwhelmed with failure and anguish, where we must walk by faith. And in this torment, we can appeal to your unfailing love—which is the only ground of approach to you, for we in ourselves do not deserve to even think of speaking to you; naturally we have no access. But you opened the way with your love, your everlasting, unfailing agape love.
You, Lord God, are great in grace, lavish in love, marvelous in mercy, mighty in forgiveness. We bow before you in awe, surrender to you in thankfulness, accepting your grace, putting on your full armor, and then rise up to walk with you into this day, shining in the light of your love, bringing hope and truth and grace to all we meet. Glorify yourself in us, through us, in spite of us, Lord.]
Psalm 5:12

Psalm 5:11

Psalm 5:9-10
Psalm 5:9 “Not a word from their [my enemies] mouth can be trusted;”
[Satan is the father of lies: his native language is deception, so nothing he says can be trusted. Just look at how he dealt with Eve in Genesis 3. Every statement was a twisting of truth either by insinuation (“Did God really say….?”), by outright contradiction (“You will not surely die….”) or by accusation of God (…for God knows that when you eat…you will be like God….”). Not one word from Satan or his forces is reliable.]
“their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.”
[In our enemies there is no life or light or love, all is rebellion against what is true, right and good. The words and thoughts of Satan and his hordes are destructive, debilitating and demonic. Yet we somehow naturally believe the lies of the devil, like, “If you do this, you will be happier than in denying yourself for God,” and “Don’t miss this one, you’ll never have another chance to indulge yourself like this.”
We are drawn like moths to the flame, to the illusion of comfort and power, excitement and fulfillment. But we end up getting burned and having, as the Psalmist says, a mouth full of gravel, broken teeth and ongoing pain. Such is the result of listening to advice from the kingdom of darkness.]
Give us wisdom and insight, Lord, so that we might discern willfully reject the lies of the enemy and walk instead in the light of Truth and Righteousness and Grace, so that your Spirit can have full reign in our lives, bringing you ever more glory.
Psalm 5:10 “Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”
[You are the One who must deal with my enemies, O Lord, whether they be demons or people being used by the devil. And praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have vanquished them through your incarnation where you were weak and vulnerable as a man.
You have defeated them through obedience, humility, meekness and self-denial. In doing so, you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into your Kingdom of Light
What a wonder, what a joy, what security, safety, purpose and freedom–freedom from the evil of the enemy, the lies of Lucifer, the seduction of self and the rot of rebellion! Help us to rest in your protection today by walking in obedience and praise.]
Psalm 5:8
Psalm 5:8 “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make straight your way before me.”
[Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are my Shepherd, who faithfully, consistently, without fail, leads me. Praise you that you guide me in your righteousness, meaning that you never lead me to make a mistake or a wrong turn, never cause me to get lost. If I do go wrong, it’s my own decision to not follow you.
In your leadership you are sinless and pure, your motives are good, your purposes are positive, your plans are constructive, your decisions are right, your help is powerful. You are the One to be trusted.
And I do desperately need your leadership, because I am the opposite of these qualities: I am small, ignorant and sinful; I have mixed motives, have no control over the future and do not know what is best.
Plus I am faced with powerful spiritual enemies who desire to bring me down. As it says in Psalm 62: 2,3, “How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place….”
The devil and his demons want to defeat God’s plans by destroying my spiritual life, my witness, my marriage, my family, my future. Alone I am helpless against them, lost before the battle begins.
But you, Lord Jesus, are the mighty Victor. You have conquered Satan and his forces, and I must flee to you for protection: “My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge” (Ps. 62:7).
You, Lord, equip me, empower me, employ me in your grace and might against the forces of evil, and in your armor and strength I can “resist the devil and he will flee” from me. (James 4).
Help me follow you as you lead, Lord Jesus, to be strong in you and the power of your might, to keep on and use your full armor through each day. Help me to fight the right enemy with the right weapons so that I may join you in what you are doing, and that you may be honored in my life today.
Psalm 5:6-7

Psalm 5:4-5
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.]