Sunday Scripture

 It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is another post in what will be an ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 5.  I will be SOAPing only verses 1-3.

S= "Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
"Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for unto Thee will I pray.
"My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up."  (Psalm 5:1-3)

O= The biblical heading for Psalm 5 is "To the Chief Musician upon Nehiloth,  A psalm of David."  The ESV heads it this way: "To the Choirmaster for the Flutes".  C.I. Scofield, in the Scofield Study Bible, titles this psalm "A prayer for guidance."

Cross-reference for "Give ear to my words" (v.1) -- "Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness."  (Psalm 4:1a)

Cross-reference for "meditation" ([ESV= "groaning"] v.1) -- "My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned; then spoke I with my tongue."  (Psalm 39:3)

William MacDonald explains, "At the outset [David] asks God to hear not only his words but consider his meditation as well.  It is a valid request.  The Holy Spirit can interpret our meditations just as easily as the words we speak."

Cross-reference for "King" (v.2) -- "Yea, the sparrow has found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God."  (Psalm 84:3)

Concerning the phrase "my King and my God", Charles Spurgeon wrote: "Observe carefully these little pronouns, my King and my God.  Here is a grand argument why God should answer prayer -- because He is our King and our God."

Cross-reference for "unto Thee" (v.2) -- "O Thou who hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come."  (Psalm 65:2)

"Observe the order and force of the words "my cry", "the voice of my prayer", and also "give ear", "consider", and "hearken".  These expressions all evince the urgency and energy of David's feelings and petitions."  -- Martin Luther

Cross-references for "in the morning" (v.3) -- "But unto Thee have I cried, O LORD, and in the morning shall my prayer come before Thee."  (Psalm 88:13)

"I anticipated the dawning of the morning, and cried; I hoped in thy word."  (Psalm 119:147)

"My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning."  (Psalm 130:6)

Cross-reference for "morning" (v.3) -- "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I  pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice."  (Psalm 55:17)

Cross-reference for "look up" [ESV "watch"] (v.3) -- "I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved."  (Habakkuk 2:1)

Concerning the phrase "direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up", Spurgeon wrote, "I will put my prayer upon the bow, I will direct it towards heaven, and then, when I have shot up my arrow, I will look up to see where it has gone."

William Gurnall wrote, "An unbelieving heart shoots at random, and never minds where his arrow lights, or what comes of his praying; but faith fills the soul with expectation."

Spurgeon summarizes the last two clauses: "1) Prayer directed; 2) Answers expected."

A= Martin Luther said that the words and phrases "give ear", "consider", "hearken", and "my cry" are forceful and urgent.  They do carry that sense of energy and urgency.  This shows me that it's okay to cry out to God with fervor.  

The terms "my king" and "my God" emphasize that God is a personal God who cares about the concerns of each and every one of His children.  Therefore I can confidently bring my concerns to Him.  The idea of directed, specific prayer is also seen here, as is looking up to watch and see how God will answer. 

I can find a wonderful example here for my own prayer life.  Pray at the beginning of the day; pray specifically, personally, and fervently, waiting expectantly to see what God will do in answer to my prayers.

P=  "Lord, I do thank and praise You for the verses from this psalm that show me David's heart for prayer.  These verses show me some wonderful principles for my own prayer life.  My early morning time with You is a priority for me, as it was for David.  I pray that You will help me to continue to pray specifically, fervently, personally, and expectantly as I watch for Your answer.  I praise You for the privilege of prayer, in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: David woke up with God on his mind.  He made it a priority for God to hear his voice in the morning.  This means he prayed out loud at the beginning of his day.

Does God hear your voice in the morning?  If not, how can you rearrange your priorities to make time for prayer in the morning?

My response: Yes, God does hear my voice in the morning.  For many years I have seen my time with God as my first priority for any day.  Now, with my husband retired, we are both able to spend our early morning hours praying, along with reading and studying God's Word.  

Another thing I have felt led to do over time is to make the choice not to spend any time on the internet until I've spent good quality time in the Bible.  I've learned that it's far more important to listen to God's Word first before I get input from any other source.  I could even adjust this boundary to include my prayer time, but at this point I do check my email and messages following my Bible study time so I can pray for any important requests I may have received overnight.

And there is our simple study of Psalm 5:1-3.  I hope it was a blessing to someone!