Latimer Minster have recently launched a new devotional series on the books of Psalms. For the next 6 months we will be taking a Psalm a day and reflecting on it. My first reflection, on Psalm 5, is below.
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Psalm 5: Protection in the Midst of Danger
There are two things that strike me as I read the second half of this Psalm. Firstly, David isn’t afraid to ask God for protection for his own responsibility. The nation of Israel had many enemies. As king, it was David’s job to protect the nation. The presence of conflict was never far from David and he grew to know God as the provider of his own, and his family’s protection.
This is rooted in David’s unswerving confidence in God’s assured love. In verse 7 we see that it’s by God’s ‘great love’ that David petitions God. This love is a divinely protected, confident favour towards David and it is the same resolute love Jesus offers his hearers in each of the Beatitudes. It’s a blessed, steadfast assurance and it’s strong enough to stand on.
David knew both the reality and source of the danger that faced him, and even more importantly, the source of his strength he would need to take his charge and confront that danger. He was fighting the battle that needed to be fought and he was fighting it the way it needed to be fought.