Psalm 5

Psalm 5 (NKJV)

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.

2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.

3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.

5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.

11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

God does not take pleasure in wickedness or evil, and He can’t accept sin in His presence because He is holy.  Yet God has graciously provided a way for sinners to be able to stand in His sight, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But God will judge those who rebel and reject His Son; they will be pronounced guilty one day.

By contrast, those who love His name and trust in Christ will be saved. We can rejoice because God blesses the righteous (those who are in a right standing with Him).  We can be joyful because He surrounds us with His favor as a shield.