Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.
Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your Name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.
For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.
Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your Name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.
✙ Ps. 5:8-12 ✙
I often give those who vex me the power to confuse me. Where once I knew right from wrong, if I am angry or hurt or intentionally misled, my moral compass starts to malfunction, and the path of God appears to be overgrown or to be going in the wrong direction. And so Psalm 5:8 makes perfect sense. I don't want to seem paranoid or spiteful; I may not want to acknowledge enemies or mention them in prayers. But what might make me seem narrow-minded or unhealthy in others' eyes might be the very thing I need to admit to God. I probably need the strength of God to get over my feelings of persecution and to once again regain the joy of God.
Bless me with the shield of your protection, Lord, that I can quit worrying about the direction others are headed and follow your will alone. In the Name of Christ, who taught me to pray: Our Father...
