Mensa Otabil - Lead Me In Your Righteousness
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We are in Psalm number five, and we’re looking at verses seven and eight. But as for me, I will enter your house in the multitude of your mercy; in fear of you, I will worship toward your Holy Temple. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before my face. In verses four and five, which we’ve already considered, David spoke about those who cannot enter the presence of God-those who can’t come into God’s presence. Now he talks about how he comes into the presence of the Lord, and that’s very important. If some people cannot enter the presence of God, the workers of iniquity cannot come, and those who are boastful and proud cannot come before the Lord; then who can come before the Lord?
David tells us the confidence with which he enters God’s presence, and he recognizes that he cannot enter God’s presence because of his own deeds. He can only enter God’s presence because of God’s mercy. He says, «I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy.» So David is saying that that’s the only thing that qualifies him to come to you, O Lord-the multitude of your mercy. But if you read the scripture, you’ll find that David knew how to worship God; he knew how to praise God; he knew how to make the right sacrifices. He made big sacrifices, big offerings to God, but none of that mattered much.
David is telling us that you can give big offerings, you can worship, you can go to church all the time, you can pray all the time, you can do all the things that outwardly seem pious, but none of that qualifies you to come into God’s presence. What qualifies you to come into God’s presence is God’s own mercy. He draws us into his presence with his mercy and grace. David says he would also come because he fears God, because he reverences God, honors God, and holds God in high esteem. This is the attitude of David’s heart when he’s coming into God’s presence-that the mercy of God draws him, and he enters very carefully, being respectful of God’s presence. He does not dishonor the presence of God.
So because of God’s abundant mercy, we also come into the presence of God-not because of our own skills, efforts, achievements, or righteousness, but we come on the basis of God’s mercy. Then David prays for guidance in the presence of the Lord, saying, " Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies.» If you’re David and surrounded by many enemies, you would need the guidance of the Lord. You need God to guide you and help you. While the wicked cannot stand before the presence of the Lord, David enters God’s presence literally asking God to hold his hand, order his steps, and lead him.
Then he says, «Lord, make your way straight before me.» In other words, let me see your paths clearly. I don’t want to be confused about what I should do-should I do this or should I not do that? So how do we see God’s path straight? Well, we see it in the Bible; it’s there in black and white most of the time. God says, «Don’t do this; don’t do that.» Most of the will of God is so clear on a surface level that you can see it. But God’s Holy Spirit also helps us to make God’s way clear, so we must not outsource the reading of the word of God and dependence on the Holy Spirit to somebody else. Don’t let your pastor do that for you; you must learn to do it yourself-to study the word of God and to listen to the Holy Spirit. That’s how God makes his way straight before us.
Like David, we can also come into the presence of the Lord through his mercy, and we can come into the presence of the Lord because we have a heart of reverence towards God. We can trust the Lord to help us, to guide us, to order our steps, and to lead us the way we should go. I pray that you would learn to always come into God’s presence, confident in his grace and his mercy that receives you and gives you audience in his presence. Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, your mercy has drawn me into your presence. Hold my hands, order my steps, lead me in your righteousness. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»