Psalm 5

One of the things which bugs me about Psalm 5 is at quick glance it seems to say that God always protects the good and destroys the bad. Obviously this cannot be the case. Even Job and his friends knew that godliness didn't necessarily come with material wealth and power. So we must look a bit deeper to see what's going on.

The crux of this piece is found in verse seven. After talking about how God and the wicked people are so different and that God won't have anything to do with the unrighteous, David doesn't do what you might expect. Instead of claiming to be righteous as the opposite of those the Lord abhors, David writes, "But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house..." (emphasis mine). David knows that he isn't a righteous man, but comes to God only by His mercy. Boice compares this to the parable told by Jesus of the Pharisee praying that he isn't a sinner "like that tax collector" and the tax collector humbly beating on his breast and praying "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner."

Boice also points out that David's first verses show him to be praying urgently, persistently and expectantly. Probably, but that really doesn't strike me, even after repeated reading. He seems merely to be praying honestly, hoping for an answer.

Does God abhor the wicked or simply their deeds? Granted this psalm ranges a little into the impreccatory category, but I think David is talking about those people who have no inclination toward God whatsoever. If I were a Calvinist, I'd say they were "unelect"! Still the language causes me a little difficulty as God is a forgiving God. I simply think in this psalm, David opted not to unpack all the theological implications.