Jesus added, ‘For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. Matthew 6.24
Do we ever feel our lives are compromised by competing pressures? Perhaps at work or in the family we know something is wrong but the pressure of loyalty tempts us to compromise.
In Psalm 5 David makes clear there is no middle ground. ‘For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.’v4
So how do we delight in Godly righteousness? David presents us with a model that starts as we rise in the morning as we greet our Lord and prepare to make the day our sacrifice of worship. v3 We are confident to approach Him because of his, ‘steadfast love.’v7 We conduct ourselves with reverence, aware of his presence in the knowledge that this straightens our lives onto a righteous path.
Why would we choose this way of life if it can bring about rejection, ridicule and opposition? Simply because it brings with it rejoicing and joy and God’s protection. v11 David concludes with, ‘For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favour as with a shield.’ It is not only our body that needs a shield, it is our spiritual heart as well.
Let’s praise our God each new morning.