“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.” Psalm 5:7
Devotion:
We live in a day when, on paper at least, unity is a value. We want to see everyone as equal and as together in some sense. And that is what makes Psalm 5 a challenge for us. In Psalm 5, David paints a major contrast between himself and others. That is why the first word of Psalm 5:7 is “But.” After telling us about the evil and wicked people that God hates, David turns to talk about himself. So on the surface, this might seem arrogant.
But what keeps us from reading it this way? Initially, it can seem like what David is contrasting is his attitude toward God versus those who are evil. And while there is a sense in which this is true, David is actually pointing us to something more fundamental than his attitude toward God. David points us to God’s love for him. That is the real difference—David has experienced God’s love and grace.
Right in the middle of his statement about entering God’s house, David adds, “through the abundance of your steadfast love.” David is praying to God, but he is teaching us that the real contrast is not so much about our love for God, but rather it is about God’s love for us. David is appealing to God that he belongs to Him, but he is also humble enough to acknowledge that the only reason he goes into God’s house and is able to enter into God’s temple is because of the grace of God.
So when we are thinking about the world around us, it is true that there is a great antithesis between people. Everyone is either for God or against God, walking in God’s ways or despising God’s ways. But the fundamental distinction between these groups is based upon the grace of God flowing out from the love of God. This means that our morality is not our hope, our devotion is not our hope, and our love for God is not even our hope. Our hope is God’s love for us—His abundant and steadfast love. The great contrast in life is whether we have come to God through Jesus Christ, and that means that Christ–the concrete embodiment of God’s love and grace–deserves all the praise.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for Your love. It is our only hope. We want to see a difference in our lives compared to those who don’t know You, but we want to always embrace that distinction humbly because we know that it is all of Your doing.
We come into Your presence only through Jesus. Without Him, we know that we would have no access to You. So how can we express our gratitude enough?
Fill us with Your love. Show us how to lean upon the abundance of it when life is hard. Draw us towards a life of faithfulness to You as we respond to Your faithfulness to us. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray. Amen.
