Psalm 5 – Take refuge and be glad?

Seriously? Take refuge and be glad? Aren't we fighters? Can't we take care of ourselves? Why should we settle for just taking refuge instead of going on a counterattack?

	 	 	 	 	 	 Psalm 5 

For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David. 

	 Ps 5:1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, 
	 	 	 consider my sighing. 

	 Ps 5:2 Listen to my cry for help, 
	 	 	 my King and my God, 
	 	 	 for to you I pray. 

	 Ps 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; 
	 	 	 in the morning I lay my requests before you 
	 	 	 and wait in expectation. 

	 Ps 5:4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; 
	 	 	 with you the wicked cannot dwell. 

	 Ps 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; 
	 	 	 you hate all who do wrong. 

	 Ps 5:6 You destroy those who tell lies; 
	 	 	 bloodthirsty and deceitful men 
	 	 	 the LORD abhors. 

	 Ps 5:7 But I, by your great mercy, 
	 	 	 will come into your house; 
	        in reverence will I bow down 
	 	 	 toward your holy temple. 

	 Ps 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness 
	 	 	 because of my enemies—
	 	 	 make straight your way before me. 

	 Ps 5:9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; 
	 	 	 their heart is filled with destruction. 
	 	Their throat is an open grave; 
	 	 	 with their tongue they speak deceit. 

	 Ps 5:10 Declare them guilty, O God! 
	 	 	 Let their intrigues be their downfall. 
	 	 Banish them for their many sins, 
	 	 	 for they have rebelled against you. 

	 Ps 5:11 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. 

	 Ps 5:12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; 
	 	 	 you surround them with your favor as with a shield. 

Are we so weak that we need to take refuge?

Take refuge? Is that really the answer to life in this broken world? Take refuge on some deserted place where no one wants to go?

Shouldn't we fight back?

But let's get real. Fighting back ultimately results in coming up against someone stronger, meaner, willing and able to crush us.

And yet, is this really the solution? Go to some island like the one with that dead tree out in the middle of the water? Some miserable place where no one wants to go?

We'll soon see why answer is an unquestionable yes.

Take a close look at the image of that island. Yes, there's a dead tree. But there's also a bird. Approaching the island.

We'll get into what that means in a moment.

Here's some background on Psalm 5.

I have called this psalm “a prayer for coming to God’s house” because of verse 7: “But I, by your great mercy will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.” However, we must not think of it as restricted to a formal worship setting. This is actually a generic prayer showing how we must approach God, if we would be heard by him, and what we can expect of him when we do.  ¹Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 44). Baker Books.

Yes, take refuge in God

Let's look at a few verses from the psalm.

Ps 5:4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

Ps 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

Ps 5:6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.