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 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.

Like many of the psalms that will be covered, this one has a tremendous emphasis on the pathways of righteousness and destruction. This thematic teaching of the psalms is represented by Christ’s narrow and wide paths (Matt 7:13-14).

From the opening verse the positional distress of David is known. His petition is for the Lord’s attention and favor upon his “meditations” (also translated “groaning”) and cries (v. 1-2). It can be easily read-over that to God alone he prays. Though this is expected in a religious culture, how many are faithful to this practice? In the morning, David’s first thoughts reach out in an effort for faithfulness to God. His heart’s bent is on pleasing God through sacrifice.

But these requests are not simply the passions of David’s heart. They are an alignment with the character and nature of God. David’s request is valid because God takes no part in wickedness (v. 4) and will not stand evil people (v. 5). It is God’s desire to destroy these whom afflict David (v. 6).

David’s passionate plea reaches a midway point with the reflection upon his blessed condition. Not because of anything he has done but because of the nature and character of the Lord’s “steadfast love” (v. 7).