Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord,
you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait
expectantly.
For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.
But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me. Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.
Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5)
For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.
But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me. Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.
Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5)
The
first paragraph is a psalm that I love to sing, though the song is in outdated
language. I used to sing it all the time. Recently, not so much but that’s
mostly because I haven’t been singing except when others pick the music. Dad
doesn’t like music because all he hears is noise. I’m thinking I may have to find
a way to make an adjustment in this area.
I can relate to the psalmist here. There are a lot of people I would really like to just go away. Some of them undoubtedly think they mean well, but they don’t really understand the situation. “Here’s the solution” they say, but they don’t have to pay for it. “You have power of attorney, take control” they say, but they don’t have to fight with him because he doesn’t cooperate. The answers are simple and easy for them. They don’t have to break any promises. They don’t have to face the situation day after day. They aren’t arm-chair quarter backs. They are arm-chair coaches and team owners.
But in this psalm there is a reminder of one of the promises I hold on to most tightly. The psalms sings, “Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way s straight before me.” God has led me through deep waters before. He will lead me again. His way is right and righteousness in spite of what the experts say. He will provide the means in spite of what the experts say. I’m not saying I won’t listen to the experts, but I am tempted to start saying, “Are you going to pay for your solution?” It’s always easy to solve a problem with someone else’s resources.
In the meanwhile, I need to remember that His word is trustworthy. He speaks from knowledge. They speak what they’ve heard. Their words, in comparison to His, cannot be trusted. Their hearts – well-meaning though they may wish to be – are filled with malice compared to His. With their tongues they tell lies, lies that they fully believe to be true because they are speaking only what they know, and what they know is only part of what is true. And they have lied to me. “You need help, you need a break” they say. They have given me hope for help from three different agencies, and every one of them is worthless, at least at this point. Hospice is for those who are terminal within the next six months. Palliative care means you go to them and they keep track of his stats so that they can identify when he can finally be sent to Hospice. Home Health steps it up one level by coming to you to record the same stats, and they’ll help with bathing and communicating with the doctors, and those things are useful, but none of them will give him (and therefore me) any real time. It’s all a big lie for which they can ask Medicare for lots of money.
But God will protect so that I may rejoice in Him. I just need to pay more attention to the signs that He has surrounded me with favor as with a shield.
I can relate to the psalmist here. There are a lot of people I would really like to just go away. Some of them undoubtedly think they mean well, but they don’t really understand the situation. “Here’s the solution” they say, but they don’t have to pay for it. “You have power of attorney, take control” they say, but they don’t have to fight with him because he doesn’t cooperate. The answers are simple and easy for them. They don’t have to break any promises. They don’t have to face the situation day after day. They aren’t arm-chair quarter backs. They are arm-chair coaches and team owners.
But in this psalm there is a reminder of one of the promises I hold on to most tightly. The psalms sings, “Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way s straight before me.” God has led me through deep waters before. He will lead me again. His way is right and righteousness in spite of what the experts say. He will provide the means in spite of what the experts say. I’m not saying I won’t listen to the experts, but I am tempted to start saying, “Are you going to pay for your solution?” It’s always easy to solve a problem with someone else’s resources.
In the meanwhile, I need to remember that His word is trustworthy. He speaks from knowledge. They speak what they’ve heard. Their words, in comparison to His, cannot be trusted. Their hearts – well-meaning though they may wish to be – are filled with malice compared to His. With their tongues they tell lies, lies that they fully believe to be true because they are speaking only what they know, and what they know is only part of what is true. And they have lied to me. “You need help, you need a break” they say. They have given me hope for help from three different agencies, and every one of them is worthless, at least at this point. Hospice is for those who are terminal within the next six months. Palliative care means you go to them and they keep track of his stats so that they can identify when he can finally be sent to Hospice. Home Health steps it up one level by coming to you to record the same stats, and they’ll help with bathing and communicating with the doctors, and those things are useful, but none of them will give him (and therefore me) any real time. It’s all a big lie for which they can ask Medicare for lots of money.
But God will protect so that I may rejoice in Him. I just need to pay more attention to the signs that He has surrounded me with favor as with a shield.
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