1. Today’s Sermon: Psalms 5: “Prayer For Protection From The Wicked” by Pastor Jim Bomkamp

2. We last studied Psalm 3-4: 1. The circumstance of the writing of Psalm 3 was the insurrection of David’s son Absalom, who conspired to win the nation to himself to rule, causing David to have to flee Israel for his life. 2. Psalm 3 revealed how King David faced adversity and the perspective of faith and trust in God that he maintained, and that in spite of overwhelming circumstances that were coming against him. 3. We saw that David revealed in Psalm 4 the importance of obeying the Lord and giving Him worshipful reverence, even in the midst of the greatest of suffering and distress.

3. Background for Psalm 5: 1. The Psalm is also noted to have been written by King David. 2. In this Psalm, we see David crying out to the Lord for help and how he orders his prayer to the Lord. We will talk about effective prayer. 3. David begins by asking the Lord to give ear to his words and consider his meditation. In the first Psalm we saw that the righteous man is one who meditates on God’s word night and day. 4. We will talk about the benefits in our lives of meditating before the Lord.

4. Psalm 5:1: Listen to my words and consider my meditation

5. Scriptures that teach meditation: 1. Psalm 119:118. Psalm 39:3 2. Philippians 4:8-99. Psalm 49:10 3. Joshua 1:810. Psalm 49:3 4. Psalm 1:211. Isaiah 30:15 5. Psalm 4:412. Hebrews 10:16 6. Psalm 19:1413. 1 Peter 1:13 7. Psalm 19:4

6. The cow illustration for meditation:

8. John MacArthur has written about the importance of Biblical meditation in the preaching ministry

9. There have been lots of studies that show that relaxation and focusing your thoughts have tremendous healing properties.

10. Psalms 5:2: Heed the sound of my cry for help as I prays to the Lord

11. Psalms 5:3: I will spend time with the Lord in the mornings and bring my prayers

12. Psalms 5:4-6: King David reminds the Lord about how He feels about the wicked

13. Psalms 5:7: King David knew that he did not enter God’s house because of his own righteousness

14. Psalms 5:8: King David asks the Lord to lead him in His righteousness

15. Psalms 5:9: King David speaks of the depravity of those who do not know the Lord,

16. Psalms 5:10: King David tells the Lord to hold his enemies guilty

17. Psalms 5:11-12: King David requests of the Lord on behalf of all those who take refuge in Him

18. CONCLUSIONS: I am making a New Year’s resolution to be mindful and thoughtful of the Lord, my life, and other’s lives. In other words I am resolving to meditate upon the Lord and His word this year. I would like to ask you to make the same resolution with me…

19. One Small Step