Lesson 343 - Junior

Memory Verse

"In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" (Psalm 5:3).

Notes

 

Morning Worship

Before you left your room this morning did you think to pray? Did you remember to read some verses of Scripture from the Bible, too? Or was there family worship in your home this morning? The morning is a good time in which to worship the Lord, before going to school, and before your work or your play begins. Often one's busy day of duties crowds out the opportunity to talk to God and to let God speak to the heart. In another place David wrote, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray" [PS:55:17]).

Looking Up

David said: "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" [PS:5:3]). By "look up" perhaps David meant that by faith he caught a glimpse of God's face and could learn His will. "I will guide thee with mine eye" are the words of the Lord written by David in [PS:32:8].

Did your mother or father ever express displeasure with you by just looking at you and saying not a word? Or, on the other hand, did they show their approval of your acts or deeds by a pleased look in their eye? When you look up to God you will know whether He is pleased with your life.

How happy is your father when you do as he says and live the life of a good boy or girl! If your father is a Christian he wants his children to be good and obedient. How much he hates wickedness, sin, and deceit when found in the life of one of his children! David said that God hates those that work iniquity; He still loves their soul and wants all men to repent of their sins and be saved, but He hates their evil ways and will surely destroy the body and soul of sinners who do not repent. "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" [MAT:10:28]).

David had a heart and a conscience clean and free from all guilt and condemnation. That was why he could look up into the face of God just as a child who knows he has not been disobedient, has not told untruths, nor spoken unkind and hurtful words to others, can look right into the face of his parents without being ashamed or afraid of punishment.

Flattering Tongues

Other subjects of David's prayer were hypocrisy and flattery. God hates those things as also did David, and every real Christian who lives and walks with God hates them, too, and will not be guilty of such terrible sins. People who say one thing and mean something else are hypocrites. If a flatterer comes around and speaks "sweet words" to you and then turns and talks "bitter words" about you to someone else, he is not a genuine friend, and certainly not a Christian. David said such a one has a throat just like an open sepulchre. A sepulchre is a place for burying the dead and must be covered or closed to prevent its giving off very unpleasant and corrupt odours. So people who are flatterers and hypocrites had better put their hand over their mouth or keep it closed.

Let us be honest and truthful, and not be found guilty of practicing deceit and hypocrisy. If we always speak the truth from our heart it may sometimes hurt another, but God's Word tells us, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" [PRO:27:6]). That does not mean that we should go around always hurting people's feelings; but the Lord will help us to have wisdom and use tact in speaking so that there is no cause for offence to others, and yet no need for hypocrisy.

Safely Kept

If Christian boys and girls will remember to pray in the morning and lift their heart to God through the day, God will keep them. They will be able to live without committing sin and without breaking one of God's commandments. "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile" [1PE:3:10]).

David's morning prayer was that God might lead him. How happy David was because his trust was in God! He could shout for joy, as can all God's children because of the loving protection of the Lord. The righteous are actually shielded from harm and defended by God Himself. Would you not rather have His shield of defence surrounding you than any earthly power or force? 

Questions

 

1. What honourable title did David give the Lord?

2. What time of day did David say he would pray?

3. Why did David ask the Lord to lead him?

4. What did David say of flatterers?

5. With what did he compare the throat of a flatterer?

6. What did David say concerning those who trust in the Lord?

7. Why is the morning a good time for us to pray?

8. How often did Daniel pray?