Theological Commentary: Click Here
There is a
common thread running through all three of the psalms for today’s reading. God is our refuge against the unrighteousness
in the world. God is the one to whom we should be turning. We turn to Him when we want to be
righteous. We turn to Him when we want
an escape from the unrighteousness around us.
He is the rock upon which our own repentance and turning is built.
In Psalm 6,
we get the cry of a person who recognizes their own plight. The psalmist knows that they are sinful. They are even languishing in the consequences
of their sinfulness! Yet the psalmist
longs for something better. The psalmist
wants to be healed. The psalmist wants a
time when evil is cast away and only righteousness abounds. This is why the psalmist turns to God.
In Psalm 4 we
have a similar scenario, except that the sin is external. Psalm 4 is written from the perspective of
one who has turned to God and knows the joy of restoration. This person is encouraging the people around
him to make the same choice. The
psalmist knows that if an entire community could turn to God and dwell in His
ways, then we would not have to experience anguish from each other’s sin, too!
This leads
us to Psalm 5. This is a psalm of
reflection. The point of this psalm is
to lift up God and what He does for us. It
also tells us the characteristics that God desires in us. God does not delight in evil. He does not appreciate boastfulness. He despises liars and people who are
bloodthirsty.
For me,
though, the true point of this psalm is to where the psalmist looks for
righteousness. The psalmist is clear
that we only enter relationship with God through His steadfast love. It is God’s righteousness and God’s ways that
will make a difference in our life. When
we are looking to change our life and live in righteousness, we must lean upon God
and embrace His ways, leaving behind our own human self-centeredness.
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