Psalm 5
June 18, 2023
preached by Abrm McQuarters
Download

Time of Reflection Quotations

“A lowly person is a teachable person, easily entreated and open to explanation. Many of our spirits are too arrogant: they can teach others but can never themselves be taught. Many possess a stubborn spirit: they stick to their opinions even if they realize they are wrong.”

~ Watchman Nee (1903-1972), Writer and native leader in the development of the Church in China

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good… Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is… You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and professor

“Love is the only fire that is hot enough to melt the iron obstinacy of a creature’s will.”

~ Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910), English minister

“A deep sense of sin, a humble willingness to be saved in God’s way, a teachable readiness to give up our own prejudices when a more excellent way is shown, these are the principal things.”

~ J. C. Ryle (1816-1900), writer, pastor and bishop of Liverpool

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Sermon Passage

Psalm 5 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

¹ Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
² Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
³ O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you[a] and watch.

⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
⁵ The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
⁶ You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

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.

⁹ For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰ Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
¹² For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.