Offered in the morning at the temple, this prayer was probably uttered at the time of the regular morning sacrifice. Beset by false accusers who seek to destroy his standing in the community (w. 6, 8-9), the psalmist prays to his heavenly King (st. 1) in the assurance that God abhors those who lie and do evil (st. 2). In singing this psalm, we join the psalmist in asking God to lead us in right ways (st. 3), to call accusers to account for their malicious attacks (st. 4), and to protect all the godly who take refuge in the LORD-to their joy and God's praise (st. 5). Marie]. (Tuinstra) Post (b. Jenison, MI, 1919; d. Grand Rapids, MI, 1990) versified this psalm in 1983 for the Psalter Hymnal.
Psalter Hymnal Handbook
The believer’s urgent prayer rises first thing in the morning (stanza 1) as an expression of the fact that “Jesus Christ rules over all. To follow this Lord is to serve him wherever we are without fitting in, light in darkness, salt in a spoiling world” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 43).