Psalm 5:11 – “You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.”
David wrote this Psalm as a prayer for protection from the wicked. He cried to God for help through his prayer. David prayed in the morning with sacrifice and waited on the Lord to hear God speak to his heart. David affirmed that God is righteous and does not listen to the prayers of people who boast, who are filled with arrogance, or who lie. God rejects the murderers and dishonest folk. David worshiped God in reverence as a humble person and therefore felt that God would welcome him with His never-failing love and mercy. He asked God to make his path straight in righteousness. He spoke of his enemies filled with sin and rebellion, and thus became God’s enemies too. David contrasted God’s enemies with people who believe in God and take refuge in Him. The latter have cause to rejoice; they sing for joy; God covers them with Himself as a shield, for warmth, and also provides them shelter. The people who love the name of the Lord, have joy; they triumph, and give God the glory because God blesses the righteous man with His favor as a shield.
The character of the righteous includes: faith and love. Joy is our privilege as believers. We know we have to pray for others, so when God destroys sinners, we completely rejoice. Those people laugh and weep ever after; we weep now, but shall rejoice eternally. The contrast is that they will howl and groan while we shout for joy. Once we taste and see that the Lord is good, nothing can hold back this joy we get as we spend time with God. The firm foundation of our happiness, with no strings or sorrows attached, only comes from God. We love God, and therefore delight in Him; we are stress free in our God. How do we get to this point of joy? We should not look to the world for joy, peace, or happiness, which can only be found in Jesus Christ. We can advance splendidly every day when we feed on God’s Word. We will then have music in our house, in our heart, and in Heaven, because the Lord is our strength, our song, and our salvation. What are the privileges of the righteous? Pure, satisfying, triumphant joy along with providence, grace, and defense with divine power. Grace will be with all who love Christ in sincerity. This Divine blessing comes down on us through Jesus Christ, the righteous or just One, similar to the blessing on Israel through David whom God protected and placed on the throne.
Christ is the righteous Savior, the King of Israel, the Fountain of blessing to all believers. Christ’s favor blesses and provides protection for His children and His Church. If we get so entangled in our life’s troubles we will miss and perhaps not even recognize God’s blessings in our life.
