[CF Devotionals] 2005-05-27 - The Morning Prayer

Psalm 5, Part 3

  1. A plea to be heard: "Now Hear This!" This Psalm is referred to as a morning prayer because of verse three. It represents the reflections of the author, as he urgently approaches the Lord with his concerns. His prayer is an act of sacrifice, as Spurgeon notes, speaking of the word:

    "It is the word that is used for the laying in order of the wood and the pieces of the victim upon the altar, and it is used also for the putting of the shewbread upon the table. It means just this: "I will arrange my prayer before thee;' I will lay it out upon the altar in the morning, just as the priest lays out the morning sacrifice." 3

    The petitioner presents all that distresses him to the only one who can truly respond, the one who is both His God and His King. The Lord is the one with all authority to deal with the burdens of His people. It is worth noting, that underlying the prayer is the truth that God only hears the prayers of those who are His own, desiring to be obedient to His will.

    The author has the confidence God hears not only the words of his mouth, but also the sighing of his heart, the inarticulate expressions that are not even understood by the one making them.

    "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints, in accordance with God's will" (Romans 8:26-27).

    Finally it should be noted, not only does the petitioner go before the Lord in confidence; he also demonstrates trust, by waiting on the Lord for the answer to His prayers. We often pray this way, when we recognize that God already has our answer, and all we have to do is wait to see it worked out.

    Conversely, as Alexander Maclaren notes "Many a prayer is offered, and no eyes afterwards turned to Heaven to watch for the answer, and perhaps some answers sent are like water spilled on the ground, for want of such observance." 4

    3 Spurgeon, C. H., The Treasury of David, Vol. 1, MacDonald Publishing Co., p.46.
    4 Maclaren, Alexander, The Psalms, A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901, p. 41.

Comments or Questions?
Geoff

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