Meditation on Psalm 5

"In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly...I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple," (Ps 5:3,7).

First thing in the morning, getting up early even, is a wonderful time to delight in God.  I enjoy getting somewhere quiet so that I can relish the words of His Scriptures and meditate on Him and His character as His stories unfold.  Abram believed God's promise for an heir and then numerous descendants, and despite Abram's many flaws, God credited that belief to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6).  To think on God's goodness is to mentally explore the perfections of the Almighty played out in Scripture.  God credited righteousness to Abram based on his faith.  He believed God so he acted accordingly, eventually impregnating his aged wife and bearing the promised son, Isaac.  This is but one passage, and the passage on which I meditated this morning.  My whole day is greatly affected by being with God, reading about Him, listening to Him, and talking to Him. 

"Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield," (Ps 5:12).

God enabled Abram and 318 servants to defeat a four-king army that had laid waste to an entire land.  Then, God kept Abram from becoming allied with the king of Sodom, a friendship that led to the death of Lot's wife, and nearly the death of his entire lineage.  Truly, God was a shield to Abram, and moreover delivered on his promise to make Abram into a great nation through Isaac, Jacob, and the Israelites.  More, through the line of Judah, and of David, God brought the Christ, His Son, to rescue mankind and create an eternal nation over which He will directly rule forever in His eternal kingdom.  So, the man God declared righteous because of his faith in God was certainly blessed by God as God surrounded him with His favor as with a shield.  As king, David, who wrote Psalm 5, may have pondered over Genesis and God's faithfulness to the man of faith, Abram.

Today, I am so grateful that God shows me grace.  He carried me from death to life when He moved my heart to receive humbly and warmly the gift of salvation through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus for my sins.  He carries me daily to become more like Jesus as the Holy Spirit enables me to put off my sin and put on righteous living consistent with one indwelt by God.  He will carry me all the way home to live with Him forever enjoying the rule of King Jesus and the Eternal Father.  God, thank You for the scope of your grace, and for the kind beauty of attributing righteousness to those of us you enable to fully trust in You and in Your promises.  Grow my faith in you today, and be a shield to me and my family.  Bless my girls with ears to hear and eyes to see Your goodness principally in Jesus Christ.