Psalm 5

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; a psalm of David.

Listen to what I say, Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint!

2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my King and my God,

for I am praying to you!

3 Lord, in the morning you will hear me;

in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer.

4 Certainly you are not a God who approves of evil;

evil people cannot dwell with you.

5 Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence;

you hate all who behave wickedly.

6 You destroy liars;

the Lord despises violent and deceitful people.

7 But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house;

I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.

8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness

because of those who wait to ambush me,

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me.

9 For they do not speak the truth;

their stomachs are like the place of destruction,

their throats like an open grave,

their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.

10 Condemn them, O God!

May their own schemes be their downfall.

Drive them away because of their many acts of insurrection,

for they have rebelled against you.

11 But may all who take shelter in you be happy.

May they continually shout for joy.

Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice.

12 Certainly you reward the godly, Lord.

Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.

Like the previous Psalms, I struggle with the modern applicability to my life of these passages. When we face harm or evil being done to us, is it right for us to call the perpetrators “evil people”?

In teachings I’ve heard throughout my life, I’ve heard passages like this used to create an us vs them mentality between “God’s people” and “evil people”. What if this Psalm was only really relevant in the particular situation David was in? I just think maybe we need to be more cautious in thinking every passage of the Bible should be applicable to my life and my situation in the current time.

I believe in evil. However, I think very few people are evil down in the depths of their soul. The vast majority of people are victims of being entrapped in systems that perpetuate evil. If we do not wake up and recognize the evil in different parts of our society and culture, we become unwitting accomplices in doing evil.

The us vs them mentality also often serves as justification for Christians to isolate and segregate ourselves from the rest of society. I just think that’s in complete opposition to Jesus’ ministry and how he was so often amongst regular people, especially the most marginalized in society.