God’s Gracious Will for Us | Psalm 5:7–8
7 But I, through the abundance of your
steadfast love,
will enter
your house.
I will bow
down toward your holy temple
in the fear
of you.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of
my enemies;
make your
way straight before me.
David suddenly turns right, away from his enemies to
himself. The KJV and NASB translate his
words, “But as for me.” David sees a
strong contrast between himself and other sinners, even though he had lied and
killed many men. This is because he
places his confidence in the Lord, knowing “that the Lord has set apart the
godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him” (4:3).
The chesed, steadfast
love of the Lord puts David where he is.
That’s why David enters the house of the Lord with fear or reverence,
for he knew he had no right outside of the grace of God to be there. If any of us are to come to the Lord, it is
not just with God’s goodness, but His overflowing graciousness toward us.
In Christ, we don’t need to come to a physical temple to
meet the Lord. Paul asks of corporate
church, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells
in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). According to 1
Peter 2:5, “[Y]ou yourselves like living stones are being built up as a
spiritual house.” When we meet in local
churches, we get a glimpse of the true temple of God of which all believers are
a part.
If we’re part of the
temple and the Spirit indwells us, we have
the guidance we need. Sometimes, we’re
tempted to seek more knowledge and information than is necessary because of the
fear of man. We have the Spirit-inspired
Word of God, and it is enough. Psalm
119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to
your word.” We use it as “a lamp to my
feet and a light to my path” (v. 105) so that the darkness of those around us
won’t obscure the way. Prayerfully
search the pages of Scripture and find what’s right and wrong, and then begin training
the powers of your discernment in it (Hb 5:14).
