Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 5:1

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

1. my meditation ] The Heb. word, which occurs again only in Psa 39:3, may denote either the unspoken prayer of the heart (cp. the cognate verb in Psa 1:2); or the low, murmuring utterance of brooding sorrow. Cp. Isa 38:14. So Jerome, murmur meum.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

1 3. Introductory petitions for a favourable hearing.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

:Title

Upon Nehiloth – The title of Psa 4:1-8 is, upon Neginoth. As that refers to a musical instrument, so it is probable that this does, and that the idea here is that this psalm was intended particularly for the music-master that had special charge of this instrument, or who presided over those that played on it. Perhaps the idea is that this psalm was specially designed to be accompanied with this instrument. The word here, Nehiloth – n^echyloth, plural. n^echylah, singular – is supposed by Gesenius, Lexicon, to denote a flute, or pipe, as being perforated, from chalal, to bore. The word occurs only in this place. Very various opinions have been entertained of its meaning. See Hengstenberg, Com. The Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint understand it as meaning inheritance – the same as nachalah, and as being somehow designed to refer to the people of God as a heritage. Latin Vulgate: In finem pro ca, quae hereditatem consequitur, psalmus David. So the Septuagint – huper tes kleronomouses. So Luther, Fur das Erbe. What was the precise idea affixed to this it is not very easy to determine. Luther explains it, according to the title, this is the general idea of the psalm, that the author prays for the inheritance or heritage of God, desiring that the people of God may be faithful to him, and may always adhere to him. The true interpretation, however, is evidently to regard this as an instrument of music, and to consider the psalm as adapted to be sung with the instrument of music specified. Why it was adapted particularly to that instrument of music cannot now be determined. Horsley renders it upon the flutes. Compare Ugolin. Thesau. Ant. Sac.; tom. xxxii. pp. 158-170.

A Psalm of David – See introduction to Psa 3:1-8.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Give ear to my words, O Lord – We naturally incline the ear toward anyone when we wish to hear distinctly what he says, and we turn away the ear when we do not. The meaning here is, David prayed that God would be attentive to or would regard his prayer. This form of the petition is, that he would attend to his words – to what he was about to express as his desire. He intended to express only what he wished to be granted.

Consider my meditation – Understand; perceive, for so the word rendered consider properly means. He desired that he would regard the real import of what is here called his meditation; that is, he wished him not merely to attend to his words, but to the secret and unexpressed desires of the soul. The idea seems to be that while his words would be sincere and truthful, yet they could not express all his meaning. There were desires of the soul which no language could convey – deep, unuttered groanings (compare Rom 8:26-27), which could not be uttered in language. There is a difference, however, in rendering the word translated meditation. Most interpreters regard it as derived from hagah, to meditate (see the notes at Psa 1:2) – and as thus denoting thought, or meditation. Gesenius and some others regard it as derived from hagag, obsolete root – meaning to set on fire, to kindle; and hence, that it means here heat, fervour of the mind; and then, fervent cry, or prayer. See Rosenmuiller also in loc. DeWette concurs with Gesenius, and supposes that it should be rendered sigh or complaint. Prof. Alexander renders it thought. Horsley renders it, my sighing, but says he is in doubt whether it refers to an internal desire of the mind, in opposition to words in the former part of the verse, or to a prayer uttered sotto voce, like the private prayer usually said by every person before he takes his seat in the church – the internal motion of the mind toward God. It is not easy to determine the true meaning, but the probability is that it refers to an internal emotion – a fervent, ardent feeling – perhaps finding partial expression in sighs Rom 8:26, but which does not find expression in words, and which words could not convey. He prayed that God would attend to the whole desires of the soul – whether expressed or unexpressed.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Psa 5:1-12

Give ear to my words, O Lord.

The inward and outward sides of the Divine life

The Psalm falls into two main parts– Psa 5:1-7, and Psa 5:8-12. The inward comes first; for communion with God in the secret place of the Most High must precede all walking in His way, and all blessed experience of His protection, with the joy that springs from it. The Psalm is a prayerful meditation on the inexhaustible theme of the contrasted blessedness of the righteous, and misery of the sinner, as shown in the two great halves of life: the inward of communion, and the outward of action. A Psalmist who has grasped the idea that the true sacrifice is prayer, is not likely to have missed the cognate thought that the house of the Lord, of which he will presently speak, is something other than any material shrine. But to offer sacrifice is not all which he rejoices to resolve. He will keep watch; that can only mean that he will be on the outlook for the answer to his prayer, or, if we may retain the allusion to sacrifice, for the downward flash of the Divine fire, which tells his prayers acceptance. The confidence and resolve ground themselves on Gods holiness, through which the necessary condition of approach to Him comes to be purity. Gods holiness shuts out the impure. The Psalmists vocabulary is full of synonyms for sin, which witness to the profound consciousness of it that law and ritual had evoked in devout hearts. In Psa 5:7 the Psalmist comes back to the personal reference, contrasting his own access to God with the separation of evil-doers from His presence. But he does not assert that he has the right of entrance because he is pure. The second part may be taken as his prayer when in the temple, whether that be the outward sanctuary or no. The whole of the devout mans desires for himself are summed up in the prayer for guidance. He breaks into prayer which is also prophecy. We come into the sunshine again at the close of the Psalm, and hear the contrasted prayer, which thrills with gladness and hope. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Prayer to God

This Psalm hath two parts–

1. The prophet prayeth the Lord to hear his prayer; which thing the wicked cannot, or may not hope for.

2. He beseecheth the Lord to direct him, that the enemies might take no advantage of him; whose nature he describeth, praying God to overthrow them; comforting, on the other side, the godly with excellent promises. Verse 1 teacheth that Gods children many times use words in their prayers, many times not. So did Moses, and Anna the mother of Samuel. Gods children should strive to earnestness in prayer, and should pray unto none but to Him alone. Verse 3 teacheth that we should break our sleep in the morning, to the end we might pray unto the Lord. Seeing God cannot away with wickedness, His children should abhor it likewise. In Psa 5:6 are comprehended judgments against the ungodly, namely, against liars, cruel persons, and deceitful men. We may not appear before God in the trust of our own merits, which indeed we have not, but of His mercies only. Also that with reverence we should repair to the places of Gods service, and reverently also there behave ourselves. Unless God guide us, we shall go out of the way; the strength of our corrupted nature carrying us headlong thereto. Also we should pray for a holy life, and to this end, that the mouths of our enemies may be stopped from evil speech. Verse 9 is a lively description of the qualities of the ungodly: they are inconstant, they imagine mischief, they are given to cruelty and to flattery. It is lawful to pray against the enemies of the Church, that their counsels and desires may be scattered. The faithful may rejoice at the overthrow of Gods enemies. From Psa 5:12 we learn in what assuredness they are, whom the Lord defendeth; those who repose themselves upon the rock of His almighty protection cannot miscarry. (Thomas Wilcocks.)

Davids state of mind in relation to God and society

I. In relation to God. Here are revealed–

1. His beliefs of God. In His omniscience the Eternal knows our meditation. In Gods moral holiness, Gods being is the foundation, Gods will the standard, and Gods influence the fountain, of all moral excellence in the universe. In the administrative rectitude of God. The holy God must punish unrepenting sinners, wherever they are found. There is administrative justice in the universe which will righteously balance the affairs of humanity one day.

2. His feelings towards God. The feeling of personal interest. My King. He felt that the Guardian of the universe was in a high sense his; his Guardian, his Father, and his Friend. A feeling of earnest supplication. And the feeling of practical expectancy. David looked up expecting.

3. His purpose in relation to God. He purposed early prayer; orderly prayer; there is a becoming order in worship.

II. In relation to society.

1. He regards all who are his enemies as enemies to God. See in Davids conduct the common mistake of bigots, and the persecuting spirit of bigots.

2. He regards all who were Gods friends as his own. Gods friends should be our friends, His people our people. (Homilist.)

The prayerful and unprayerful

I. The address and manner of prayer (1-3). Uttered words tell not all the heart meditates. These meditations are the groanings which cannot be uttered, but which the Spirit understands (Rom 8:26-27). As soon as we awake at early dawn let Us speak to God, direct, set in order, our prayer. We are not to pray without method; and having prayed, look out for the answer (Hab 2:1). We miss many answers, because we get tired of waiting on the Quays for the returning ships.

II. Contrasted characters (4-7). There are here severe expressions for the ungodly. They may not even sojourn with God, as a wayfaring man (2Jn 1:10). They speak leasing, an old English word for lying. Not in the spirit of boasting, but of humble gratitude does David turn to himself (1Co 15:10). Thy holy temple (Dan 6:10; 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3).

III. The prayer (8-12). We may appeal to Gods righteousness to vindicate His righteous ones. Because He is what He is, we may count on Him (2Ch 16:9). How terrible is the description of the ungodly (9), yet it is almost entirely concerned with the sins of the tongue. Wicked men are like sepulchres, fair without, corruption within, and exhaling pestilential vapours. Verse 11. Trust, and with it goes joy and love (Deu 33:23). (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

The oratory gate

This Psalm is a prayer. And while the subject matter is of great interest, the Psalm is peculiar in setting forth the characteristics of prayer in general.

A suggestion of the variety of prayer (Psa 5:1-2). Prayer is a provision for a universal need, and must therefore be capable of a large variety of adaptations. If a man is to pray without ceasing, he must pray under an endless variety of circumstances. That is prayer which is denoted by the word meditation; that which lies in the heart as unexpressed desire or aspiration; which indicates a state or habit of mind quite as much as an act. Meditation, says Gurnall, is prayer in bullion; prayer in the ore–soon melted and run into holy desires. The souls unexpressed aspiration is often more truly prayer than the well-rounded formula. Distinguish between the spirit and the habit of prayer. The spirit can be the result only of the life of God in the soul; the habit of prayer may be the result of education merely. Another variety of prayer is suggested by the word cry–the passionate outburst of a soul in distress, or dejection, or danger; throwing out a prayer like a strongly-shot dart, which gives to such prayer the name of ejaculatory. These darts may be shot to heaven without using the tongues bow. Such prayer as this links itself closely with meditation. Verse 2 directs thought to the appropriating power of prayer. God is addressed as my King, my God. Our Lords model of prayer strikes at all unselfishness in our petitions. But it does not exclude the personal element. Verse 3 points out the statedness and decency of prayer. It is well that prayer should be spontaneous; but also well that it should be properly regulated. A rich soil is a good thing; but its richness is no reason why its fruits and grasses should be allowed to grow up in confusion. The suggestion of decency in the act of prayer is furnished by the Word direct. The original word is used of arranging the wood and the sacrifice upon the altar day by day. Read, I will pray, setting forth my supplication in order. In this there is nothing to repress spontaneity or to fetter liberty. It merely teaches that prayer should be decorous and well pondered and marked by an intelligent purpose. We should do well to cover less ground in our prayers, and to ponder their details more carefully. Verse 3 gives another characteristic of prayer–expectancy. I will watch, or look up. He who has thoughtfully and reverently set forth his prayer before God, should expect the answer. We are to watch unto prayer–with reference to prayer. Someone has pithily said that the man who does not look after the prayers he has put up, is like the ostrich, which lays her eggs and looks not for her young. Verse 7 gives another characteristic–confidence. The Psalmist speaks as one who has a right to come into Gods house. It is his house because it is Gods. This confidence by no means excludes humble reverence. It is of free grace, of undeserved compassion, of abounding love, that I am permitted to come. And such an approach to God must involve the last element of prayer suggested by the Psalm–joy. On earth, the intercourse of love is often marred by danger; but he who talks with God in His own house, always communes in safety. Thus this Psalm is a great lesson on prayer. (Marvin R. Vincent, D. D.)

The poverty of speech in prayer

The power of language has been gradually enlarging for a great length of time, and I venture to say that the English language at the present time can express more, and is more subtle, flexible, and at the same time vigorous, than any of which we possess a record. So writes Richard Jefferies in one of his latest essays. But, notwithstanding all this, he recognises that we have still thoughts and feelings beyond expression. How many have said of the sea, he exclaims, it makes me feel something I cannot say. And how much more does this feeling possess us as we commune with Him who made the sea. Words fail to express the thoughts, and thoughts fail to fathom the truth.

Consider my meditation.—

The unspoken part of prayer

And not only must his tongue be listened to, his thought must be interpreted as well. He implores, Understand my meditation. This is the old Prayer Book rendering, and seems to come nearest the Hebrew (bin). A parallel passage is, Thou understandest my thought afar off; for there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. The petition Understand my meditation coming after Give ear unto my words is deeply suggestive. It implies that there was a voiceless meaning in his prayer which was not only more than he could express, but more than he himself could, even to himself, perfectly explain. In the profoundest prayer not only more is meant than meets the ear, but more is meant than the mind itself can quite decipher. And expansion in Rom 8:1-39 is very wonderful, very touching, and encouraging: We know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit. (B. Gregory, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

PSALM V

David continues instant in prayer, 1, 2;

makes early application to God, 3;

and shows the hatred which God bears to the workers of

iniquity, 4-6.

His determination to worship God, and to implore direction and

support, 7, 8.

He points out the wickedness of his enemies, 9,

and the destruction they may expect, 10;

and then shows the happiness of those who trust in the Lord,

11, 12.

NOTES ON PSALM V

This Psalm is inscribed to the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. As neginoth may signify all kinds of instruments struck with a plectrum, stringed instruments, those like the drum, cymbals, c. so nechiloth, from chal, to be hollow, to bore through, may signify any kind of wind instruments, such as the horn, trumpet, flute, c. See on the title to the preceding Psalm (Ps 4:1-8). The Septuagint have, , , “In favour of her who obtains the inheritance.” The Vulgate and Arabic have a similar reading. The word nechiloth they have derived from nachal, to inherit. This may either refer to the Israelites who obtained the inheritance of the promised land, or to the Church of Christ which obtains through him, by faith and prayer, the inheritance among the saints in light. This Psalm is, especially, for the whole Church of God.

Verse 1. Give ear to my words] This is properly a morning hymn, as the preceding was an evening hymn. We have seen from the conclusion of the last Psalm that David was very happy, and lay down and slept in the peace and love of his God. When he opens his eyes on the following morning, he not only remembers but feels the happiness of which he spoke and with his first recollections he meditates on the goodness and mercy of God, and the glorious state of salvation into which he had been brought. He calls on God to give ear to his words; probably words of God’s promises which he had been pleading.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

i.e. My prayer, as the words foregoing and following show; which he calls his

meditation, to note that it was not a lip prayer only, but that it proceeded from and was accompanied with the deepest thoughts and most fervent affections of his soul.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. meditationmoanings of thathalf-uttered form to which deep feeling gives risegroanings, as inRom 8:26; Rom 8:27.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Give ear to my words, O Lord,…. Meaning not his words in common conversation, but in prayer; the words which came out of his mouth, and were audibly expressed by him at the throne of grace, and design vocal prayer; and so stand distinguished from the meditation of his heart, sacred ejaculations, or mental prayer; see Ps 54:2; and words in prayer to God ought to be few, at least not repeated, Ec 5:2; and these should be a man’s own words, as were the psalmist’s; not what were suggested by another, or written in a book before him, but what were of his own composing and putting together, under the direction of the Spirit of God; who put words into his mouth, and furnished him both with words and matter, and which he freely uttered before the Lord: and this is the “parrhesia”, boldness, freedom of speech, which the Scriptures speak of, Heb 4:16; and the saints are allowed to use in prayer before God; when they may pour out their souls unto him, and freely tell him all their mind, as the psalmist now did; to which he entreats the Lord to “give ear”; not that God has a corporeal ear as man has, but he that made the ear has the power of hearing: this is an anthropopathy, and is spoken after the manner of men; such as are of kind and benevolent dispositions do not turn away, but stop and hear what a poor miserable object has to say to them, to whom they listen and return an answer; and so this phrase is expressive of the kind regard God has to the prayers of the destitute, which he does not despise but delight in; and of his bowing and inclining his ear, or of the strict and close attention he gives to them; and of the full and suitable answer he returns, in his own time and way; and is what the psalmist most earnestly entreats. He adds,

consider my meditation; the prayer he had meditated: for meditation is requisite to prayer, and should go before it; which is necessary in order to pray with the understanding; nor should men utter anything rashly and hastily before the Lord: it may design mental prayer, in distinction from vocal prayer, signified by his words before, such as that of Moses at the Red sea, and of Hannah before Eli, Ex 14:15 1Sa 1:13. The word also signifies inward mourning, and groans; the root from whence this is derived to mourn, and is so rendered in

Isa 38:14; where Hezekiah compares his prayers to the chattering of a crane and swallow, and the mourning of a dove; and are the same with the unutterable groanings with which the Spirit of God sometimes makes intercession for the saints, Ro 8:26; and which are not hid from God, Ps 38:9; but are well known to him: he understands the language of a sigh or groan; and so the words may be rendered “understand my moan” c.

c “murmur meum”, Vatablus, Gejerus; “gemitum meum”, Cocceius, Hammond; “gemitus et suspiria mea”, Michaelis.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(Heb.: 5:2-4) The introit: Prayer to be heard. The thoughts are simple but the language is carefully chosen. is the plur. of ( ), one of the words peculiar to the poetic prophetical style. The denominative (like audire = aus, dare) belongs more to poetry than prose. (like ) or (like ) occurs only in two Psalms , viz., here and Psa 34:4. It is derived from = (vid., Psa 1:2) and signifies that which is spoken meditatively, here praying in rapt devotion. Beginning thus the prayer gradually rises to a vox clamoris . from , to be distinguished from (inf. Pi.) Psa 28:2; Psa 31:23, is one word with the Aram. , Aethiop. (to call). On used of intent listening, vid., Psa 10:17. The invocation , when it is a king who utters it, is all the more significant. David, and in general the theocratic king, is only the representative of the Invisible One, whom he with all Israel adores as his King. Prayer to Him is his first work as he begins the day. In the morning, (as in Psa 65:8 for , Psa 88:13), shalt Thou hear my cry, is equivalent to my cry which goes forth with the early morn. Hupfeld considers the mention of the morning as only a “poetical expression” and when getting rid of the meaning prima luce, he also gets rid of the beautiful and obvious reference to the daily sacrifice. The verb is the word used of laying the wood in order for the sacrifice, Lev 1:7, and the pieces of the sacrifice, Lev 1:8, Lev 1:12; Lev 6:5, of putting the sacred lamps in order, Exo 27:21; Lev 24:3., and of setting the shew-bread in order, Exo 40:23; Lev 24:8. The laying of the wood in order for the morning offering of a lamb (Lev 6:5 [Lev 6:12], cf. Num 28:4) was one of the first duties of the priest, as soon as the day began to dawn; the lamb was slain before sun-rise and when the sun appeared above the horizon laid piece by piece upon the altar. The morning prayer is compared to this morning sacrifice. This is in its way also a sacrifice. The object which David has in his mind in connection with is . As the priests, with the early morning, lay the wood and pieces of the sacrifices of the Tamd upon the altar, so he brings his prayer before God as a spiritual sacrifice and looks out for an answer ( speculari as in Hab 2:1), perhaps as the priest looks out for fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, or looks to the smoke to see that it rises up straight towards heaven.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Prayer for Guidance and Protection.

To the chief musician upon Nehiloth. A psalm of David.

      1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.   2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.   3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.   4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.   5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.   6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

      The title of this psalm has nothing in it peculiar but that it is said to be upon Nehiloth, a word nowhere else used. It is conjectured (and it is but a conjecture) that is signifies wind–instruments, with which this psalm was sung, as Neginoth was supposed to signify the stringed–instruments. In these verses David had an eye to God,

      I. As a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, and yet is still as ready to hear prayer as ever. Observe how David here styles him: O Lord (Psa 5:1; Psa 5:3), Jehovah, a self-existent, self-sufficient, Being, whom we are bound to adore, and, “my King and my God (v. 2), whom I have avouched for my God, to whom I have sworn allegiance, and under whose protection I have put myself as my King.” We believe that the God we pray to is a King, and a God. King of kings and God of gods; but that is not enough: the most commanding encouraging principle of prayer, and the most powerful or prevailing plea in prayer, is to look upon him as our King and our God, to whom we lie under peculiar obligations and from whom we have peculiar expectations. Now observe,

      1. What David here prays for, which may encourage our faith and hopes in all our addresses to God. If we pray fervently, and in faith, we have reason to hope, (1.) That God will take cognizance of our case, the representation we make of it and the requests we make upon it; for so he prays here: Give ear to my words, O Lord! Though God is in heaven, he has an ear open to his people’s prayers, and it is not heavy, that he cannot hear. Men perhaps will not or cannot hear us; our enemies are so haughty that they will not, our friends at such a distance that they cannot; but God, though high, though in heaven, can, and will. (2.) That he will take it into his wise and compassionate consideration, and will not slight it, or turn it off with a cursory answer; for so he prays: Consider my meditation. David’s prayers were not his words only, but his meditations; as meditation is the best preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation. Meditation and prayer should go together, Ps. xix. 14. It is when we thus consider our prayers, and then only, that we may expect that God will consider them, and take that to his heart which comes from ours. (3.) That he will, in due time, return a gracious answer of peace; for so he prays (v. 2): Hearken to the voice of my cry. His prayer was a cry; it was the voice of his cry, which denotes fervency of affection and importunity of expression; and such effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much and do wonders.

      2. What David here promises, as the condition on his part to be performed, fulfilled, and kept, that he might obtain this gracious acceptance; this may guide and govern us in our addresses to God, that we may present them aright, for we ask, and have not, if we ask amiss. Four things David here promises, and so must we:– (1.) That he will pray, that he will make conscience of praying, and make a business of it: Unto thee will I pray. “Others live without prayer, but I will pray.” Kings on their own thrones (so David was) must be beggars at God’s throne. “Others pray to strange gods, and expect relief from them, but to thee, to thee only, will I pray.” The assurances God has given us of his readiness to hear prayer should confirm our resolution to live and die praying. (2.) That he will pray in the morning. His praying voice shall be heard then, and then shall his prayer be directed; that shall be the date of his letters to heaven, not that only (“Morning, and evening, and at noon, will I pray, nay, seven times a day, will I praise thee”), but that certainly. Morning prayer is our duty; we are the fittest for prayer when we are in the most fresh, and lively, and composed frame, got clear of the slumbers of the night, revived by them, and not yet filled with the business of the day. We have then most need of prayer, considering the dangers and temptations of the day to which we are exposed, and against which we are concerned; by faith and prayer, to fetch in fresh supplies of grace. (3.) That he will have his eye single and his heart intent in the duty: I will direct my prayer, as a marksman directs his arrow to the white; with such a fixedness and steadiness of mind should we address ourselves to God. Or as we direct a letter to a friend at such a place so must we direct our prayers to God as our Father in heaven; and let us always send them by the Lord Jesus, the great Mediator, and then they will be sure not to miscarry. All our prayers must be directed to God; his honour and glory must be aimed at as our highest end in all our prayers. Let our first petition be, Hallowed, glorified, by thy name, and then we may be sure of the same gracious answer to it that was given to Christ himself: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again. (4.) That he will patiently wait for an answer of peace: “I will look up, will look after my prayers, and hear what God the Lord will speak (Psa 85:8; Hab 2:1), that, if he grant what I asked, I may be thankful–if he deny, I may be patient–if he defer, I may continue to pray and wait and may not faint.” We must look up, or look out, as he that has shot an arrow looks to see how near it has come to the mark. We lose much of the comfort of our prayers for want of observing the returns of them. Thus praying, thus waiting, as the lame man looked stedfastly on Peter and John (Acts iii. 4), we may expect that God will give ear to our words and consider them, and to him we may refer ourselves, as David here, who does not pray, “Lord, do this, or the other, for me;” but, “Hearken to me, consider my case, and do in it as seemeth good unto thee.”

      II. As a sin-hating God, v. 4-6. David takes notice of this, 1. As a warning to himself, and all other praying people, to remember that, as the God with whom we have to do is gracious and merciful, so he is pure and holy; though he is ready to hear prayer, yet, if we regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear our prayers, Ps. lxvi. 18. 2. As an encouragement to his prayers against his enemies; they were wicked men, and therefore enemies to God, and such as he had not pleasure in. See here. (1.) The holiness of God’s nature. When he says, Thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, he means, “Thou art a God that hates it, as directly contrary to thy infinite purity and rectitude, and holy will.” Though the workers of iniquity prosper, let none thence infer that God has pleasure in wickedness, no, not in that by which men pretend to honour him, as those do that hate their brethren, and cast them out, and say, Let the Lord be glorified. God has no pleasure in wickedness, though covered with a cloak of religion. Let those therefore who delight in sin know that God has no delight in them; nor let any say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God is not the author of sin, neither shall evil dwell with him, that is, it shall not always be countenanced and suffered to prosper. Dr. Hammond thinks this refers to that law of Moses which would not permit strangers, who persisted in their idolatry, to dwell in the land of Israel. (2.) The justice of his government. The foolish shall not stand in his sight, that is, shall not be smiled upon by him, nor admitted to attend upon him, nor shall they be acquitted in the judgment of the great day. The workers of iniquity are very foolish. Sin is folly, and sinners are the greatest of all fools; not fools of God’s making (those are to be pitied), for he hates nothing that he has made, but fools of their own making, and those he hates. Wicked people hate God; justly therefore are they hated of him, and it will be their endless misery and ruin. “Those whom thou hatest thou shalt destroy;” particularly two sorts of sinners, who are here marked for destruction:– [1.] Those that are fools, that speak leasing or lying, and that are deceitful. There is a particular emphasis laid on these sinners (Rev. xxi. 8), All liars, and (Ps. xxii. 15), Whosoever loves and makes a lie; nothing is more contrary than this, and therefore nothing more hateful to the God of truth. [2.] Those that are cruel: Thou wilt abhor the bloody man; for inhumanity is no less contrary, no less hateful, to the God of mercy, whom mercy pleases. Liars and murderers are in a particular manner said to resemble the devil and to be his children, and therefore it may well be expected that God should abhor them. These were the characters of David’s enemies; and such as these are still the enemies of Christ and his church, men perfectly lost to all virtue and honour; and the worse they are the surer we may be of their ruin in due time.

      In singing these verses, and praying them over, we must engage and stir up ourselves to the duty of prayer, and encourage ourselves in it, because we shall not seek the Lord in vain; and must express our detestation of sin, and our awful expectation of that day of Christ’s appearing which will be the day of the perdition of ungodly men.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Psalms 5

A MORNING PRAYER

Verses 1-12:

The Righteous Are The Lord’s Inheritance

(To the chief musician upon nehiloth, a Psalm of David)

Verse 1 calls upon the Lord to give ear to the earnest words of David’s sighings and groanings for Divine help, a desire he hardly had words to express; Even as expressed by Paul, Rom 8:26-27; He cried aloud for the Lord to take notice in a responsive way, to the yearnings of his meditation, in silent praying also, Psa 17:1; Psa 54:2; 1Pe 3:12.

Verse 2 further appeals to the Lord to hearken or “attend to,” respond to the voice of his loud earnest cry for help, a more emotional appeal than “my words,” and “my meditation.” He appealed to the Lord as “my king” and “my God,” in contrast with unbelieving kings of heathen peoples. God, who was represented with covenant Israel must aid David lest His theocracy in and covenant with Israel should be shamed, was the basis of David’s cry to the Lord, Psa 44:4; Psa 47:6-7; Psa 74:12; Isa 33:22. “For unto thee will I pray,” thee only, was David’s pledge, a desired resolve, Psa 65:2; Col 3:17.

Verse 3 expresses David’s faith in and resolve to pray to the living, sustaining, prayer-hearing, and prayer-assuring Jehovah in the morning, for guidance and strength for the day, one day at a time. Such was the desire of our Lord for His disciples, as expressed, Mat 6:11; Luk 18:1. See also Psa 30:5; Psa 59:16; Psa 88:13; Psa 130:6; David’s first morning oblation was a lifting up or directing of his voice in prayer to the Lord for speedy help to begin his day, Psa 143:7-8. The two other time periods of prayer were “evening and noon,” Psa 55:17.

Verse 4 declares that Jehovah God is not a God that holds pleasure in wickedness, such as practiced by his enemies, v.8-10. He added further that no evil dwelt, sojourned, or resided with the Lord, who sanctioned no wrong. Nor would he allow such in His tabernacle, as certified Psa 15:1; Psa 61:4. He who would fellowship or commune with God must be holy, as He is holy, as expressed 1Pe 1:16.

Verse 5 adds that the foolish or “boasting one” shall not stand “in thy sight,” or with sanction before the eyes of the Lord. The idea is that those who are boastful and high-minded are creatures of folly and sin in general, offensive to God, in such an .attitude, 2Co 11:1; 2Co 11:21; Psa 14:1; Psa 73:3. It is added further that the Lord continually hates “all workers of iniquity,” or vanity, those who “blab” evil talk, Hab 1:13.

Verse 6 asserts that the Lord will destroy those who speak leasing or speak lies. He will abhor the bloody, cruel, and vicious man, the man of blood and deceit, sending sure judgment upon him, as expressed Rev 2:2; Rev 21:8.

Verse 7 vows that David will approach and enter the Lord’s house, surrounded by the care of the multitude of His mercies, as also expressed by Jeremiah, La 3:22, 23. He also pledged that in reverential fear he would worship or bow dawn toward the temple of Jehovah, in contrast with the worship of idols in the profane temples, Psa 115:4-9. See also his acknowledgment of the Lord’s favor and mercies, Psa 66:13; Psa 69:13; Psa 69:16; and of his fear, Psa 130:4; Eze 16:62-63; Ecc 12:13-14. The Lord’s dwelling place was in Zion or Jerusalem, Psa 27:4.

Verse 8 continues David’s cry for the Lord Jehovah to lead and guide him in His righteousness or righteous ways, because of David’s enemies who sought to destroy him, who lay in wait, to way-lay him by the roadside, Psa 27:11; Jer 5:26; Hos 13:7; Luk 11:54. He asked that the Lord cause His ways to be strait or unobstructed before him for the day, Isa 40:3.

Verse 9 charges that no faithfulness or trustworthiness could be found in the mouth or testimony of his enemies, Psa 62:4. Their “inward parts,” their heart, as distinguished from their mouth, is said to be very wicked, even deceitfully so, as also asserted by Jer 17:9. He added that their throat exited as an open sepulcher that belched forth impious language from a putrid heart. The wicked are charged with flattery of tongue, as they made treacherous, malignant, and deceitful speeches, to destroy their believing victims; Such is the sinful nature of all in unbelief, without restraint, Rom 3:10-17; Psa 140:3.

Verse 10 Is an appeal from David for the Lord to “destroy them,” his continual enemies, and enemies of God. He asked the Lord to cause them to fall by their own deceitful counsels, to judge and punish them with a just penalty for their guilt, as prescribed in the Law, Psa 34:21. For these were not mere enemies of David as God’s anointed king of Israel but also enemies of God Himself. David’s calling down God’s judgment upon them is what is known as an imprecatory prayer, for God to hasten their appointed judgment, as also expressed Ezr 7:9-10; Jud 1:4; Psa 7:9-12.

Verse 11 appeals to the Lord to permit all those who put their trust in Him to rejoice, even cause for them to shout for joy, because of His defense of them, along with His defense of David, as expressed Psa 34:7; Psa 107:2. He asks that the Lord let those who loved His name “His dignity and authority,” be joyful in Him, rejoicing always, Php_4:4; 1Th 5:16.

Verse 12 witnesses that the Lord Jehovah will bless the righteous, showing him favor, encircling him in every storm and battle of life, even as a soldier is protected by a shield, Heb 13:5-6; Eph 6:10-16.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

I presume not positively to determine whether David, in this psalm, bewails the wrongs which he suffered from his enemies at some particular time, or whether he complains generally of the various persecutions with which, for a long time, he was harassed under Saul. Some of the Jewish commentators apply the psalm even to Absalom; because, by the bloody and deceitful man, they think Doeg and Ahithophel are pointed out. To me, however, it appears more probable, that when David, after the death of Saul, had got peaceable possession of the kingdoms he committed to writing the prayers which he had meditated in his afflictions and dangers. But to come to the words:— First, he expresses one thing in three different ways; and this repetition denotes the strength of his affection, and his long perseverance in prayer. For he was not so fond of many words as to employ different forms of expression, which had no meaning; but being deeply engaged in prayer, he represented, by these various expressions, the variety of his complaints. (66) It therefore signifies, that he prayed neither coldly nor only in few words; but that, according as the vehemence of his grief urged him, he was earnest in bewailing his calamities before God; and that since it did not immediately appear what would be their issue, he persevered in repeating the same complaints. Again, he does not expressly state what he desires to ask from God: (67) but there is a greater force in this kind of suppression, than if he had spoken distinctly. By not uttering the desires of his heart, he shows more emphatically that his inward feelings, which he brought with him before God, were such that language was insufficient to express them. Again, the word cry, which signifies a loud and sonorous utterance of the voice, serves to mark the earnestness of his desire. David did not cry out as it were into the ears of one who was deaf; but the vehemence of his grief and his inward anguish, burst forth into this cry. The verb הגה hagah, from which the noun הגיג, hagig, speech, which the prophet here uses, is derived, means both to speak distinctly, and to whisper or to mutter. But the second sense seems better suited to this passage. (68) After David has said in general, that God hears his words, he seems, immediately after, for the purpose of being more specific, to divide them into two kinds, calling the one obscure or indistinct moanings, and the other loud crying. (69) By the first he means a confused muttering, such as is described in the Song of Hezekiah, when sorrow hindered him from speaking distinctly, and making his voice to be heard. “Like a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove,” (Isa 38:14.) (70) If, then, at any time we are either backward to pray, or our devout affections begin to lose their fervor, we must here seek for arguments to quicken and urge us forward. And as by calling God his King and his God, he intended to stir up himself to entertain more lively and favorable hopes with respect to the issue of his afflictions, let us learn to apply these titles to a similar use, namely, for the purpose of making ourselves more familiar with God. At the close, he testifies that he does not sullenly gnaw the bit, as unbelievers are accustomed to do; but directs his groaning to God: for they who, disregarding God, either fret inwardly or utter their complaints to men, are not worthy of being regarded by him. Some translate the last clause thus, When I pray to thee; but to me it seems rather to be the reason which David assigns for what he had said immediately before, and that his purpose is, to encourage himself to trust in God, by assuming this as a general principle that whoever call upon God in their calamities never meet with a repulse from him.

(66) “ Il a aussi represente et exprime ses gemissemens qui estoyent en grand nombre et de beaucoup de sortes.” — Fr.

(67) “ Ce qu’il vent requerir a Dieu.” — Fr.

(68) Bishop Horne beautifully renders the word, “dove-like mournings,” and Bishop Horsley, “sighing.” “The word,” says Hammond, “regularly signifies sighing or cry, not a loud, sonorous voice, but such as complaints are made in.”

(69) “ Il semble que puis apres, pour mieux specifier, it en met deux sortes appelant les unes Complaintes obscures, et les autres Cri.” — Fr.

(70) “ Quand la douleur l’empesche de parler distinctement et faire entendre sa voix.” — Fr.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

HOUNDED; YET HAPPY!

Psalms 3-5

IN continuing our studies today upon the Book of Psalms, we invite your attention to Psalms 3-5 inclusive; and after a careful perusal of them, you will be ready to accept as a title for this exposition, Hounded; yet Happy.

There is little debate that the third Psalm at least, was written at the time of Absaloms rebellion, and voiced at once the distress and disgust, and yet the divinely inspired faith of the Psalmist. Whether the Psalms 4, 5 have an immediate historical relation to Psalms 3 is a question not easy of settlement; but that there is a spiritual and even a logical order here, no one, who carefully peruses them, will dispute.

I take them up then, in their order and choose to discuss them under, The Kings Opponents, The Kings Protection, and The Kings Praises.

THE KINGS OPPONENTS

They are a multitude in number. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. This exclamation is best interpreted in the light of 2Sa 15:12, And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom. The multitude of a mans enemies tell us much about his character. It may mean that he is a Herod, and hated by the thousands of mothers whose innocent ones he has slain; it may be that he is a Nero, despised by the tens of thousands who have suffered from his tyranny; it may be that he is a Lenine, whose selfish, ruthless hand has turned well nigh a whole nation against him; and, it may mean exactly the opposite.

It is often a man of such character and accomplishment as to become the envy of his equals, the fear of his inferiors, and the abhorrence of the fickle rabble. In fact, a multitude of enemies is commonly a compliment. The conduct of the meanest man collides with the interest of the comparative few; his evil temper may exasperate a dozen of his intimates, and his utter selfishness may try the patience of his comparatively few friends and acquaintances, while his sins may disgust or even injure a considerable company; but, after all, selfishness tends to isolate, and sin to circumscribe, and the meanest of living men create, comparatively speaking, few opponents.

Not so with the truly great man of God! From the days of David, past those of Davids greater Son, till now, the multitudes have risen against such men. Take a William Jennings Bryan as an illustration! Hosts of Republicans hated him, because, as a Democrat, he was compelled to be their political opponent; tens of thousands of Democrats hated him because, as a righteous man, he would not tolerate dirty political tactics, or approve unrighteous Democratic politicians. His loyalty to Gods Word arrayed against him all nationalists and skeptics. His Prohibition views arrayed against him every liquor-seller and liquor-lover of all the earth; while such institutions as the gambling hell, the bagnio, the low pool room, the places of prize fights, the godless dance halls, the conscienceless doctor and the professional, but putrid druggist, all institutions and individuals that profit through the unholy liquor traffic(and their name is legion,) they hated him, and they rose against him, and their number and influence was sufficient to keep him from the White House. But, with the possible exception of the honest difference of political opinion, the whole putrid crowd paid compliment to the man by rising against him, and their very opposition was a testimony to his character, and the positive proof of the greatness of his influence.

Little men are never hated by a multitude; large men rarely escape the enmity of the many! Little men go through the world and pick individual quarrels, but it takes men of might, men of power, men of profound convictions and of equal ability to stir society against themselves and to array armies in opposition. Christ once said, Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you. That is a woe from which the truly great soul is sure to be exempt. We have articles written on The War in the Churches and multiplied discussions on the controversy between Fundamentalists and Modernists.

In the truest sense the War in the Churches is the rise of the multitude against one Man, and that is the Man Christ. As David must have been astonished to learn that his own son Absalom had turned rebel, and as the Kings amazement increases upon hearing that Ahithophel had forsaken him and become the consort of his rebellious son, and as his soul must have been filled with loathing when later he had to look on the face of Shimei, and hear his name defamed by the unholy lips of that apostate, so great Davids greater SonJesus, the Christ, must feel today as one friend after another deserts Him, and joining the rebel ranks of Rationalism and Unitarianism, discredits His claims to Kingship, deny His inheritance, deride His promises, as mistaken pretentions and seek to tear down the very throne to which He is heir; some of them even mocking Him to the extent of saying, There is no help for him in God, that the day of His pretentions is past and that all His claims to Deity are in collapse and that God never could regard Him, and never will, and never can exalt Him to the worlds supremacy, seeing that He sleeps in Judahs dust, a perished pretender. How often the Psalmist, in voicing himself, by anticipation voices Gods Son at the same time. It was the Psalmist who cried My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? And yet, he was voicing the language of the Son, when on Calvarys tree, darkness clothed Him, and despair possessed Him.

As a result of the opposition of his multitude of enemies, scoffers said, There is no help for him in God; but, take a step further in study.

The enemies are as impotent as plenteous. Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about (Psa 3:3-6). That is the declaration of faith. That is the defiant answer to every rebel against Gods Son, the King of His appointment, the Son of His love. What matters it if a multitude do rise against one? If God be for us, who can be against us The enemy may be a multitude, but what are they against the legions of angels subject to the call of His Son, and equally ready for the defense of His saints?

Turning back a single page, we recall the prophetic words, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Who shall stand against the King? Who, or what, shall hurt the subject of Gods grace? Listen to the exultant boast of Paul,

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us,

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

True faith in God knows no fear. When the Broadcloth mob were thundering before William Lloyd Garrisons office in Boston, crying, Hang him! some godly women, gathered in an adjoining room for the purpose of praying for abolition of the slave traffic, turned their petitions to God for Mr. Garrison and for themselves, and among them one said, Oh, Lord, there be many to molest, but none can make us afraid. That was the voice of faith!

Listen to the Psalmist, O Lord, Thou art a shield for me?who then shall hurt him? My glory who then can shame him? The lifter up of mine headwho then can dethrone him? I cried unto the Lord with my voice, He heard me out of His Holy hillwho then can stand against him? I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. Who then can disturb him? and I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round aboutwho then can cower or conquer him?

Enemies drive the believer to the Divine protection. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; Thy blessing is upon Thy people. SelahRestthat is the meaning of the word, as if he wound up this confident assertion with This is my hope, and I am not disturbed.

Marvelous are the works of faith. Turn now, if you will, to the Book of Jonah; read that story again, and all rationalistic critics to the contrary notwithstanding, believe it; and you will find that there are no conditions under which Gods power fails, or Gods protection is foolishly trusted. The prophet of God is in the belly of a fish at the bottom of the deep. If ever circumstances were such as to destroy the last vestige of hope, even from on High, Jonah was so situated. But, instead of despairing, he reminded himself of this passage of Scripture, and believed it, and wound up his eloquent prayer with the exact quotation from the Psalmist, Salvation is of the Lord; and the Scriptures had the same effect upon that fish that they have upon the suckers of skepticism to this day; they made him sick and he vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. The shark of Modern Skepticism would swallow up every true prophet in the land, if it could, but let it be understood always and forever, that the man who knows the Scriptures and in the language of faith, pleads them before God, will never be kept down by that shark of skepticism, nor perish in the belly of the same. God will lift up the heads of all such men; God will leave their souls undisturbed; God will smite the cheek-bone of their enemies; and prove again and again that salvation belongeth unto Him, and that His blessing is upon His own.

Turn then to the next chapter, the fourth, and study

THE KINGS PROTECTOR

He is the One that heareth prayer. Listen to David, Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! Learn from David how to repair your own spiritual losses by reminding yourself of past favors, Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. Learn from David how to face present difficulties, buoyed by past victories, O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself, and the Lord will hear when I call unto Him (Psa 3:2-3). And learn also from David how a personal holy life makes the prayer of faith more easily possible. I stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah (Psa 3:4) rest. Yea, rest in the Lord! That is the result of prayer, if it be voiced in faith, believing.

It is a great thing to come to the point where you can rest in the Lord; no matter what the circumstances, how imminent the dangers, how dreadful the threatened evil, there is a faith that can conquer them all. Let me give you an illustration of it. The great Dr. Guthrie, the famous preacher, became conscious one morning that he ought to visit an aged and helpless woman of his flock, whose daughter, a bread-winner, was away from home all day, working in a flax-mill, leaving the paralytic mother entirely alone. He could not understand the impulse, but it was sufficiently strong so that he started on his long journey. On the way there he met a friend with whom he had important business, but as they stopped to talk it over, Guthrie suddenly broke off, saying, I do not know why I do it, but I must hasten to see this old woman, and by fairly running, he felt he had regained all the time he lost in the conversation. Reaching the house, he knocked but once, and knowing her utter helplessness, opened the door. Walking in, he found that the fire had toppled along the hearth and rolling across the same, had set the room aflame, and the helpless paralytic mother lay within a few feet of the red-tongued destroyer. Her face was calm and her eyes were lifted to Heaven, and when Dr. Guthrie had extinguished the fire and turned to her, she said, with a smile, I asked the Lord to send some one; and I knew He would do it. That is prayer making its appeal to a competent Protector. The God of David was the God of the Scotch mother.

He is also the One that drives away darkness. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us (Psa 4:6). What a petition! Lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us. Darkness is one of the gruesome enemies of this life. I speak not of the blackness of night in which men fall into pits, or under the cover of which murderers do their work; in fact, I speak not of physical darkness at all, and that wasnt the Psalmists thought; but darkness, mental, and darkness, spiritual! What protection can we have against these? They are the great enemies of human existence! The mental anguish of Minneapolis, who will measure this morning? Oh, the multitude of minds, well known to God today, that are clouded, befogged, troubled, despairing; and the multitude of souls that have no hope, wrapped in a starless night! Whence shall these look for help?

David tells us, There will be many who will say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us. It is like the cry of the man, lost in the depths of the wilderness, and enclosed by night, with hissing serpents, crawling at his feet, and howling wolves and hyenas snapping at his heels, and yet knowing full well that the very moment the sun rises in the East these serpents will crawl away, and hide themselves from before his face, and every howling hyena and man-eater of every sort, will skulk to holes where darkness reigns,their natural habitat. It is as if the soul cried, even more terribly beset, Let the day break; Let the light of Thy countenance fall on us and instantly our enemies are abashed, and we are safe! Margaret Sangster writes:

Sometimes we are almost discouraged,

The way is so cumbered and steep;

Sometimes, though were spent with the sowing,

There cometh no harvest to reap,

And we faint on the road and we falter,

As our faith and our courage are gone,

Till a voice, as we kneel at the altar,

Commands us: Take heart and go on.

It is the sound of His voice; it is the shining of His facethese are the end of darkness, and the triumph even against death itself.

Edward Payson, one of the most eminent and devout of the New England ministers of more than a century ago, said, as he neared the other world, It has often been remarked that people who have been into the other world cannot come back to tell us what they have seen; but I am so near the eternal world that I can see almost as clearly as if I were there; and I see enough to satisfy myself at least of the truth of the doctrines which I have preached. I do not know that I should feel at all surer had I been really there. Hitherto I have perceived God as a fixed star, bright indeed, but often intercepted by clouds; but now He is coming nearer and nearer, and spreads into a sun so vast and glorious that the sight is too dazzling for flesh and blood to sustain!

It was a kindred thought that the old pilot expressed, who after he had plowed the seas for many years, was dying. Suddenly he lifted himself upon his arms and cried, I see a light! They thought he was in delirium, and by imagination saw the harbor approaching. Is it the light of Montauk?

No; I see a light! Is it the Hatteras light?

No; I see a light! Is it the Brighton light?

No; it is the light of Heaven! It is His shining face!

Let the anchor slip. I am in the harbor!

I am at Home! Oh, the light of Gods countenance, that is safety! Gods presence is perfect safety. The Psalmist cries, Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety (Psa 4:7-8).

Finally,

THE KINGS PRAISE

Psalms 5

They open the gates of the day, Godward. Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up (Psa 5:1-3). The custom then, of morning prayers is ancient indeed, and its passing is one of the pathetic things of the twentieth century. Bishop Burnett, writing many, many years ago, said of a much earlier time, When a person came early to the door of his neighbor and desired to speak with the master of the house, it was as common a thing then for the servant to tell him, My master is at prayer, as it is now for the servant to say, My master is not up yet! The morning watch has gone, save in exceptional instances, and with it, the deep spiritual life that made our stalwart fathers and our holy mothers.

It is my candid conviction that modern rationalism would have been made a thousandfold more difficult had the family altar been retained. The boy who goes out of a house where the Scriptures have seldom been read in his presence, to college, is not likely to be so informed concerning them that he can withstand the criticism of them; and the boy who goes out of his house, where the father and mother are church-members, but where the day is never begun at the family altar and devout prayers are seldom spoken in the childs presence, is not likely to believe that the faith of parents is a precious possession, a valuable mental, spiritual and moral asset.

I do not know when this custom of beginning the day with prayer began. Alas, that I should have lived to see the time when it is so nearly ended. Alas, that so few of you, my people, are able to say, In the morning O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. And possibly one reason why we pray less is in the sentence that follows. We know, as David said, that He is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with Him. We know that the foolish shall not stand in His sight; that He hates all workers of iniquity; that He shall destroy them that speak leasing; that He abhors the bloody and deceitful man. When a man comes to the point where he cannot pray, and where he does not want to pray, the explanation is at hand. Sin hath intervened and the soul is suffering; and God is gone. If any of us be in that state this morning, why not join the Psalmist in determining,

I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy; and in Thy fear will 1 worship toward Thy holy temple.

Lead me, O Lord, in Thy righteousness, because of mine enemies; make Thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

Destroy Thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against Thee (Psa 5:7-10).

In other words,

Turn the private closet and the temple of God into trysting places of prayer. Go back to that bedside place on which you once bent the knee and bend it again; and come with Gods people into the sanctuary and speak with them, and if you cannot speak, in the hushed silence of that same house, follow, and in your own soul, second the Amen meaningly, to what the leader shall say. Pray, even though the words of prayer burn your tongue, and bring your spirit under condemnation, and compel strong groaning and tears. The man who smote his breast and cried, God be merciful to me, a sinner, was not repudiated because such he was; but, in the very conviction, he was cleansing himself, and coming into Divine favor.

Do not imagine you can dispense with the closet prayer without sustaining a great spiritual loss; and do not imagine that you can quit the House of God and the assembly of the saints, without coming into spiritual bankruptcy. No man ever lived who knew temptations greater than David endured, and whose sins were more difficult of cleansing, and whose losses more hard to recover, and yet his victories are recorded, and by the pen of inspiration, he is forever set up as a man after Gods own heart, made such, beyond question, by penitent prayer, by the fixed place of private devotion, and by the established custom of worship in the house of God.

This Psalm terminates in songs of praise and joy. David becomes a sort of choir director. Listen to his orders, Let all those that put their trust in Thee, rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them. Let them also that love Thy Name be joyful in Thee. For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield (Psa 5:11-12).

There are young people ignorant of the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and inexperienced in soul-emotions, who imagine the Christian life a joyless one. Not so; the happiest man who walks this earth is the man whose heart is in the house of the Lord, and whose feet are in the path that shineth more and more unto the perfect day; he is the happy man. Joy and rejoicing are his daily portion. Yea, God giveth to him songs in the night; and those songs do not depend upon whether the moon and the stars are out, and the zephers of summer move among the leaves, and all nature seems glad. Not at all; such men can scarcely be so situated that joy and rejoicing are not their portion. Turn up to the sixteenth chapter of the Book of the Acts, and look upon two men, Paul and Silas, arrested last evening,-dragged before rulers, charged with being trouble-breeders, teachers of unlawful customs, and at the word of magistrates, their clothes are torn from them and they are commanded to be beaten and many stripes have been laid upon the uncovered flesh, and blood has trickled to their heels; held now by stocks, and they by additional iron bars, for they are fastened in the inner prison.

Listen! What is that we hear? It is midnight, and down in that dank cell no light shines, and yet Paul and Silas are singing praises unto God, and so sweet and eloquent are their voices, and so radiant and happy their souls, that other prisoners stir in their wretched cots and listen. How strange for the suffering to sing! Not strange! Their souls were free. Sin had no clammy hold upon their spirits, and Satan no charges that he could successfully push against them, and they knew it. They knew that God was their God, and Christ was their heritage by prospect and promise, and that Heaven with all its glories, was their eventual home, and they were happy. The saved man is the joyful man, the singing man!

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

INTRODUCTION

A morning prayer of David, appealing to God as his king, against whose sovereignty his own enemies were really in rebellion.Kay. This psalm must have been composed at Jerusalem, since David had access to the house of God (see Psa. 5:7); probably a short time before the open revolt of Absalom, when the king was aware of the machinations of conspirators under a bloodthirsty and treacherous chief (Psa. 5:6). Like Psalms 3, it is a morning song (Psa. 5:6).Speakers Commentary.

MORNING PRAYER

(Psa. 5:1-4.)

We are taught here some great truths concerning prayer.

I. True prayer is personal

My words, My meditation, My cry, My King, My God. David was a king, yet was he his own chaplain. We must pray for ourselves. A parents prayer, a ministers prayer, will not do for us. No one can become deputy for us before the throne of grace. And in prayer we must realise our personal relation to God. He is My Father, My King, My God.

II. True prayer is profound and passionate.

1. It begins with words. Give ear to my words. Many have an idea that words are not necessary to prayer, that the finest prayer does without words. When Curran asked Grattan if he ever prayed; No, said Grattan, but I have aspirations all the day long. There is a subtle danger here. True prayer cannot indeed fully express itself, but it will labour to do so. If our sense of need is real and intense, we shall speak out in broken, burning words. Robert Hall, in his private devotions prayed aloud, lest his prayers should become vapid and wandering. If there is no audible, verbal prayer, the aspirations will become ever more shadowy and vague. None of Gods children are possessed with a dumb devil.Spurgeon.

2. True prayer deepens into sighs. O Lord, consider my sighs. Understand my sighing.Horsley. Meditationmoanings of that half-uttered form to which deep feeling gives risegroanings, as Rom. 8:26-27.Jamieson. If language could express all we feel, ours could hardly be a true prayer; language breaks off into groanings.

3. True prayer rises into cries. Hearken unto the voice of my cry. It rises into a cry, and a cry has a voice which pierces heaven. Prevailing prayer comes from the profound of the bosom and is heard in the high places of the firmament.

III. True prayer is resolute.

For unto Thee will I pray. There is a holy boldness here. God, as the King of His people, could not deny them His protection, and they asked no other. For to Thee, and Thee only, will I pray. As if he had said, it is in this capacity that I invoke Thee, and I therefore must be heard.Alexander.

IV. True prayer is obedient.

Psa. 5:3. In the morning will I set in order for Thee, and will look out.Kay. David speaks of himself, figuratively, as a ministering priest, setting in order the altar wood and the morning sacrifice. Now the Levite acted according to the law of God in presenting the sacrifices, and they were accepted only as they were so offered. In prayer we must recognise the word and will of God. Prayer is not, as some suppose, a wild, arbitrary, lawless overriding of Divine law; but, on the contrary, it profoundly consults the mind of God; it regulates its petitions by the revealed will of God, and seeks to conform all life to the purpose and plan of God.

V. True prayer is expectant.

And will look up, or look out. Look out expectantly for the thing prayed for.Kay. Alexander says: The image presented is that of one looking from a wall or tower in anxious expectation of approaching succour. Horsley says: I will watch for Theei.e., watch for some usual signal of Gods favour, some appearance in the flame of the sacrifice, or a ray of the Shekinah issuing from the sanctuary. Let us look for answers to our prayers. When a man has lodged his prayers with God he may look up, he ought to look up, and God will not disappoint him.

Let us then each morning thus draw nigh unto God. We cannot tell what a day shall bring forth, but if we greet the morning sun with prayer, we shall see the setting sun with praise.

THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE WICKED

(Psa. 5:4-6.)

It is a relationship of direct and passionate antagonism. Observe the gradations of the text.

I. God has no pleasure in wickedness.

Psa. 5:4. The Psalmist seems to say, There are such gods in other nations, gods delighting in blood and lust; but Thou dost not delight in iniquity. The gods of Greece and Rome found pleasure in licentiousness; but, however Christianity may be a civilised heathenism, it sets before us Deity in another light than that.

More:

II. God does not tolerate wickedness.

Neither shall evil dwell with Thee. Many would teach us that God does tolerate evilthat He employs it to perfect man, to develop the universe. No; He cannot dwell with it, cannot tolerate it. Remember this in the Church. History relates that Redwald, King of East Anglia, built a church, at one end of which was an altar for the sacrifice of the mass, and at the other end an altar for sacrifice to the old British idols. How frequently the Church is in danger of making analogous compromises, allowing certain evils to exist within its borders for the sake of gold, or popularity, or peace. It must not be, or God will not dwell with us. And we must remember this in our personal life. Rest assured, Christ will not live in the parlour of our hearts if we entertain the devil in the cellar of our thoughts.Spurgeon. God does not tolerate wickedness. It is no part of His pleasure, no part of His policy, that evil should be found in the human heart or in the world.

III. God hates wickedness.

Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity (Psa. 5:5-6). The Lord abhors the wicked. He will destroy them. It is unspeakably repugnant to Him. God perfectly hateth wickedness and wicked persons. God hateth sin worse than He doth the devil; for He hateth the devil for sins sake, and not sin for the devils sake.Trapp.

We see here the condemnation of whatever speaks lightly or tolerantly of sin. Of the philosophy which doesthe philosophy which pleads for evil as necessary to effect Gods purposes; as one of our poets speaks of the devil

Existing for some good,
By us not understood.

Of the morality which doesthe morality which regards sin as an inconvenience or impolicy, rather than as damnable in its essence. Of the Christianity which doesAntinomianism; Roman Catholicism, with its division of sin into venial and mortal; and that general Christian experience which has no burning hatred to evil.

In our personal life, in the Church, in all departments of worldly action, we must look upon foulness with horror, or with horror God will look upon us Ye that love the Lord hate evil.

THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE SAINTS

(Psa. 5:7-12.)

Throughout the psalm there breathes a strong feeling that God is pledged by His very character as a righteous God to defend and bless the righteous.Perowne.

I. God is their Shepherd.

Lead me, O Lord, &c. As a shepherd leads his flock. Make Thy way straight, &c. Do not let me choose my own way, but Thine; and do Thou make Thy way level and manifest before me.Wordsworth. Is God your Shepherd? Are you following obediently in His way? Then you need fear no pit or wolf.

II. God is their Shield.

In the 12th verse the Psalmist recognises that God is a shield. In the 9th and 10th verses we see the greatness of the Psalmists peril. His enemies are profoundly depraved. Their inward part is an abyss. They are altogether corrupt. And yet his enemies are most plausible. They flatter with their tongue. I have my doubts whether flattery be the thing meant by the Hebrew words. Is it not rather that the persons in question, by plausible arguments and an ensnaring eloquence, contrived to set a fair appearance upon mischievous maxims and pernicious practices? Libertines, in all ages, have not wanted excuses for their riot and debaucheries. The idolaters of antiquity contrived to give an air of mysterious sanctity to the idlest fables and the foulest rites; and the philosophical atheists of modern times throw an air of wisdom over the most absurd doctrines and the most wicked principles. Thus the words of the wicked are fair while their practices are abominable, and they promise well with the worst intentions.Horsley. The enemies of the Psalmist were vicious and guileful, and he felt the need and blessedness of Gods shield. So the opposition which the saints have to overcome is similar to that encountered by David. Corrupt and plausiblesuch is the world, such the devil, such the flesh. God is our Shield, let us press close to its shelter!

III. God is their Song.

Psa. 5:11-12. Enemies throng, but the saints can sing.

1. It is the privilege of the saint to rejoice. Rejoice. Shout for joy. Be joyful in Thee.

2. It is the privilege of all saints thus to rejoice. Let all those who trust in Thee rejoice.

3. It is their blessed privilege always to rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Psalms 5

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

A Morning Prayer for Deliverance from Conspirators.

ANALYSIS

Stanza I., Psa. 5:1-3, Petitions Pleaded to which an Answer is Awaited. Stanza II., Psa. 5:4-6, Jehovahs Character Forbids the Success of the Rebels. Stanza III., Psa. 5:7-9, The Petitioners Privileged Position made a Plea for Guidance through Present Perils. Stanza IV., Psa. 5:10-12, The Punishment of the Wicked will Restore the Confidence of the Righteous.

(Lm.) PsalmBy David.

1

To mine utterances give ear O Jehovah,

understand thou my plaint:

2

Attend to the voice of my cry for help my King and my God, for unto thee do I pray,

3

Jehovah in the morning shalt thou hear my voice,

in the morning will I set in order for thee and keep watch.

4

For not a GOD finding pleasure in lawlessness art thou,

there shall not sojourn with thee a doer of wrong:

5

Boasters shall not stand their ground before thine eyes,

thou hatest all workers of iniquity:[43]

[43] NaughtinessDr.

6

Thou wilt destroy the speakers of falsehood,

the man of bloodshed and deceit Jehovah abhorreth.

7

But I in the abounding of thy kindness may enter thy house,

I may bow down towards thy holy temple in reverence of thee.

8

Jehovah! lead me with thy righteousness because of my watching foes,

make even before me thy way.

9

For there is in his mouth nothing steadfastwithin them is a yawning gulf,

an opened grave is their throattheir tongue they smooth.

10

Hold them guilty O God, let them fall by their own counsels, in the abounding of their transgressions thrust them outfor they have defied thee:

11

That all may rejoice who take refuge in theeto the ages may ring out their joy,

And do thou overshadow them that they may exultwho are lovers of thy name.

12

For thou thyself dost bless the righteous one,

O Jehovah! as with an all-covering shield with favour dost thou encompass him.

(Lm.) To the Chief Musician. (CMm.) With stringed instruments.
Over the male choir.

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 5

O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my plea, O God my King, for I will never pray to anyone but You.
2?????
3 Each morning I will look to You in heaven and lay my requests before You, praying earnestly.
4 I know You get no pleasure from wickedness and cannot tolerate the slightest sin.
5 Therefore proud sinners will not survive Your searching gaze; for how You hate their evil deeds.
6 You will destroy them for their lies; how You abhor all murder and deception.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your Temple protected by Your mercy and Your love; I will worship You with deepest awe.
8 Lord, lead me as You promised me You would; otherwise my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, which way to turn.
9 For they cannot speak one truthful word. Their hearts are filled to the brim with wickedness. Their suggestions are full of the stench of sin and death. Their tongues are filled with flatteries to gain their wicked ends.
10 O God, hold them responsible. Catch them in their own traps; let them fall beneath the weight of their own transgressions, for they rebel against You.
11 But make everyone rejoice who puts his trust in You. Keep them shouting for joy because You are defending them. Fill all who love You with Your happiness.
12 For You bless the godly man, O Lord; You protect him with Your shield of love.

EXPOSITION

This psalm is attributed to David; and its contents well sustain the inscriptionespecially if we date its origin at the time when the rebellion of Absalom was being fomented by men who were yet maintaining the appearance of loyalty to the king, though really plotting against him.
The danger prompting the prayer was evidently most serious. It seems to have been caused by one chief offender, aided by associates: hence the alternation of the language between the leader and his followershis mouth, their tongue, and the like. The character of these workers of mischief is described in unsparing terms. They are lawless men, patrons of wrong, guilty of defying Jehovah: boastful, yet deceitful; their language is fair, for they smooth their tongue, but their principles are foul: their transgressions abound, and at least one of their number is a man of bloodshed and deceit. They are plotters; with nefarious designs not yet avowed. Probably the perfidy of Ahithophel is already evident to the king, although he does not yet point to him so plainly as in later psalms.

It is perfectly clear that the psalmist perceives himself to be aimed at by the conspirators: hence his prayer for Divine guidance because of his watchful foes.

It is further clear that the psalmist perceives the very government of Jehovah in Israel to be at stake, so that deliverance vouchsafed to the petitioner by bringing him out of this crisis will cause great joy to the godly men of the nation.
It is no objection to the Davidic authorship of this psalm that the writer appears to be animated by the Levitical spirit of consecrationso much so that we are tempted to ask whether he was not himself a Priest with the ordering of the sacrifices on the altar under his own charge. But this spirit and this lively interest in the Divinely appointed ritual, as we know, had found a remarkable embodiment in David himself, as the history indicates, and as these psalms are themselves beginning to reveal. Hence it is perfectly natural that the king should seem to count on his psalm being used in the next mornings worship, and that he should liken his prayer itself to an ordered sacrifice, promising himself that he will watch for a divine response.
The yet deeper element of instruction to be discovered in this psalm, is, the evidence it affords of spiritual restoration on the part of the king. If we are right in dating this psalm at the time when the fire of rebellion was already glowing in secret, then we know where we are, with reference to the antecedent event of Davids deplorable fall. He is no longer under the spell of that spiritual paralysis which followed his transgression: he has humbled himself in the dust, has sought and found forgiveness, is once more in fellowship with his forgiving God. Hence, now again, Jehovahs cause is his own; and the spiritual well-being of those who love Him is near to his heart. Restored to fellowship with his holy God, he realises his covenant relation to Him who is carrying forward his vast plans for Redemption; and therefore anticipates abiding gladness to all who love Jehovahs name.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

If we like David considered prayer as the first work of the dayhow very different would be some of our days.

2.

Discuss the practice and value of daily devotions. If possible commit the students to this holy practice.

3.

Does God indeed hate the evil deeds of sinners? How is this hatred expressed?

4.

Did David believe he was going to receive some special treatment from Jehovah? What was ithow or why was it given?

5.

Discuss the principle of self-destruction implicit within all steadfast sinning. Give examplesnot the least of which is Absalom.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) Meditation.From a root cognate with the word translated meditate in Psa. 1:2, with primary sense of mutter or murmur. Here whispered prayer, in contrast to words in first clause, and to voice of my cry in the next. It echoes clause 1: while unto thee will I pray corresponds to meditation.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1. Meditation Literally, my deep sighing or moaning, such as one in profound thought and trouble would make hence meditation. But it is here the meditation of a soul in distress and perplexity talking to itself in sighs, and is in contrast to words in the previous hemistich. To his words David asks God to “give ear;” to his meditations, a discriminating attention, in order to know his thoughts. See Rom 8:27

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Give ear to my words, O YHWH,

Consider my meditation.

Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God,

For to you do I pray.

O YHWH in the morning you will hear my voice,

In the morning I will order my prayer to you, and will keep watch.’

This is an introductory plea for YHWH to hear his prayer. He asks that God will respond to his words, and consider his thoughts, and addresses Him as both his King and his God (compare Psa 84:3, also Psa 44:3; Psa 68:24; Psa 74:12). He exults in His majesty and power, and thus declares that He is the One to whom he prays and Who is able to do what he asks. He points out that his prayer is not haphazard. It is ordered and disciplined. Furthermore he wants God to know that he will be on the watch for YHWH’s response and direction, and on the watch so that he does not sin. It is a prayer for use in the morning as a person prepares for a new day, a reminder that we too should begin each day with prayer.

‘The voice of my cry,’ stresses the urgency of his petition. It is an imploring cry (see Psa 22:24; Psa 28:2 etc).

‘My King and my God.’ That is, his great Overlord and God, stressing the mightiness and sovereignty of the One to Whom he comes, and to Whom we also can come.

‘O YHWH in the morning you will hear my voice.’ He begins each day with prayer, for he recognises that he must go into the day with God.

‘I will order my prayer to you.’ Literally ‘I will set in order for you’ (‘prayer’ is read in). The word ‘order’ is used of setting pieces of wood in order on an altar (Gen 22:9; Lev 1:7), or the parts of the sacrifice (Lev 1:8). So just like those who set in order the sacrifices he does not pray haphazardly but comes to God with an orderly approach, setting out his prayer before Him (compare Job 33:5; Job 37:19 for its use of ‘words’). This is a lesson we all need to learn. We should come to prayer with hearts and thoughts prepared. While extempore prayer is good, it should not necessarily be without previous thought. That can be lazy prayer. Some, however, see the words as indicating a morning sacrifice, at the offering of which he prays.

‘And will keep watch.’ He will be like a watchman on the lookout to hear YHWH’s word to him, no doubt throughout the day, and will guard his way so as to avoid sin (compare Isa 21:6; Mic 7:7). All God’s people should be watchmen in a similar way.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Psalms 5

Outline Here is a proposed outline for Psalm Five:

Psa 5:1-3 – Direction of prayer towards God

Psa 5:4-6 – Description of God’s character

Psa 5:7

Psa 5:8 – Prayer for guidance

Psa 5:9-10 – Prayer against the wicked

Psa 5:11-12

Psa 5:6  Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Psa 5:6 Word Study on “leasing” Webster says the English word “leasing” means, “Or, “the act of lying, falsehood, a lie.”

Psa 5:9  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

Psa 5:9 Word Study on “faithfulness” Webster gives the following synonyms for “faithfulness” as “ Trusty; honest; upright; sincere; veracious; trustworthy .”

Psa 5:9 “their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue” – Comments – Paul quotes from Psa 5:9 when he concludes that both Jews and Gentiles are under sin (Rom 3:13). The rest of Rom 3:13 comes from Psa 140:3.

Rom 3:13, “ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their lips:”

Psa 140:3, “They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips . Selah.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Morning Prayer before Worship.

To the chief musician, for use in the liturgical service, upon Nehiloth, flutes or wind instruments of the Temple-orchestra, a psalm of David. David was at this time in Jerusalem and composed the hymn before attending divine worship.

v. 1. Give ear to my words, O Lord, for the purpose of answering his prayer speedily; consider my meditation, hearing his sighs, his gentle complaints.

v. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, his loud and insistent clamoring for help, my King, the special Ruler of Israel, and my God, for whose protection David pleads, expecting it with all confidence; for unto Thee will I pray, that being the proper attitude of the Christian at all times, and especially when he draws near to the Lord in worship.

v. 3. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, will I direct my prayer unto Thee, laying it on the altar as a sacrifice to God, for without true prayer neither the wood nor the burnt offering has any value, and will look up, carefully watching for every token of divine favor. David now gives the reason for his confident approach to the Lord.

v. 4. For Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, God’s holiness cannot abide godless meanness; neither shall evil dwell with Thee, not being accepted as a guest of God, not abiding in His presence.

v. 5. The foolish, the boasters, the vain mockers, shall not stand in Thy sight, be in any way regarded with favor, regard, and affection; Thou hatest all workers of iniquity, those who make wrong-doing a practice.

v. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing, engaging in falsehood and lying; the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. All the ungodly people, as here described, are an abomination before the Lord, and all their service is blasphemy before Him, Rev 21:8; Rev 21:27. In opposition to them stands David, who knows himself to be sincere in his relation toward Jehovah.

v. 7. But as for me, I will come into Thy house, the Tabernacle, whose place was to be taken by a fine permanent structure, in the multitude of Thy mercy, the riches of the grace of God in the Messiah; and in Thy fear, in the proper childlike awe and reverence, will I worship toward Thy holy Temple, the place of Jehovah’s throne, for the lowly Tabernacle was soon to be replaced with a magnificent palace dedicated to God. It is in the spirit of true worship that David now makes his plea.

v. 8. Lead me, O Lord, in Thy righteousness, in the virtue of true piety, which is a gift of God, because of mine enemies, the adversaries who were carefully watching, who would have been more than pleased with any misfortune which might have befallen David; make Thy way, the path which accorded with the will of God, straight before my face, so that he might walk without hindrance and without the danger of losing his way. This is so very necessary for all believers because of the occasions of temptation and the ambushes which beset their path.

v. 9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth, they are not steadfast and of one mind in their speech, they cannot be depended upon in what they say; their inward part, their entire heart and mind, is very wickedness, an abyss of destruction; their throat is an open sepulcher, held wide apart, in order to grab and to devour; they flatter with their tongue, they hide their real intentions under the guise of flattery. This description is used also by Paul in his description of the godless, Rom 3:13. David now calls down upon all such the anger of Jehovah.

v. 10. Destroy Thou them, O God, letting them expiate their guilt by a well-merited destruction; let them fall by their own counsels, the foolishness of their own planning being the cause of their overthrow; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, thrusting them aside from the midst of the congregation of believers, to whom they do not rightfully belong; for they have rebelled against Thee, this rebellion showing also in their refusal to turn to the Lord in true penitence.

v. 11. But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice, this sentence being the statement of a definite fact, for all believers rejoice in the Lord of their salvation; let them ever shout for joy, in an ecstasy of pleasure, because Thou defendest them, the protection of Jehovah being their safeguard against all attacks of the enemies; let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee, Php_4:4 .

v. 12. For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous, with such spiritual blessings as make for eternal happiness; with favor wilt Thou compass him, surround him on all sides, as with a shield, the large buckler which covered the whole body being meant. That is the blessed assurance of the believers of all times, the certain protection of God against all wicked designs of all opponents, no matter how numerous and how mighty they may be. The believer trusts in Jehovah, the God of his salvation, and worships Him in holy fear, knowing that he is safe in His care.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

THIS psalm is assigned by some to the time of Manasseh, but contains nothing that is really opposed to the superscription”A Psalm of David”since, before the temple was built, the tabernacle was called “the temple” (Jos 6:24; 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 12:20). It is thoroughly “Davidic in style, concise, vigorous; with rapid transitions of thought and feeling” (‘Speaker’s Commentary’). With respect to the time in David’s life whereto it should be assigned, there are no very distinct indications. It was not while he was in exile, for he had ready access to the house of God (verse 7); nor was it in the later years of his life, when he had no open adversaries. Perhaps “a short time before the revolt of Absalom, when David was aware of the machinations of conspirators against him under a bloodthirsty and treacherous chief” is the most probable date. The psalm is not marked by any notes of division, but seems to consist of five parts:

(1) a morning prayer (verses 1-3);

(2) a warning to the wicked (verses 4-6);

(3) a renewed prayer (verses 7, 8);

(4) a denunciation of woe on the wicked (verses 9, 10); and

(5) an anticipation of blessings and favour for the righteous (verses 11, 12).

The superscription, “To the Chief Musician upon Nehiloth,” is thought to mean, either, continuously, “To the Chief Musician, for an accompaniment of wind instruments;” or, discontinuously, “To the Chief Musician: a Psalm upon inheritances.” In the latter case, the respective “inheritances” of the wicked (verse 6) and the righteous (verses 11, 12) are supposed to be meant.

Psa 5:1

Give ear to my words, O Lord (comp. Psa 66:1; Psa 86:6). Cries of this kind are common with the psalmists, even when they do not express the purport of their prayer. Consider my meditation; or, my silent musing (Kay); comp. Psa 39:3, where the same word is used.

Psa 5:2

Hearken unto the voice of my cry (comp. Psa 27:7; Psa 28:2; Psa 64:1; Psa 119:149; Psa 130:2; Psa 140:6). The Oriental habit of making requests in loud and shrill tones is the origin of these forms of speech. My King. David was “king” over Israel; but Jehovah was “King” over David (comp. Psa 10:16; Psa 29:10; Psa 44:4; Psa 47:6, etc.). And my God (see Psa 84:3). For auto thee will I pray. To thee, i.e; and to no other.

Psa 5:3

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord (compare “At evening, and at morning, and at noonday will I pray, and he shall hear my voice,” Psa 55:17; and see also Psa 59:16; Psa 88:13; Psa 119:147). The appointment of daily morning and evening sacrifice (Num 28:4) pointed out morn and eve as times especially appropriate for prayer. A natural instinct suggested the same idea (Job 1:5). In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee. The repetition adds force to the implied injunction (comp. Psa 130:6). The word translated “direct my prayer” means “arrange” or “set in order,” as the priests did the altar before a sacrifice (Le 1:7, 8, 12; Psa 6:5; Num 28:4). Prayer is viewed as a sort of sacrificial act. And will look up; or, look outkeep on the watchin expectation of my prayer being granted (see the Revised Version).

Psa 5:4

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness. Thou wilt listen to the prayer of a righteous man (Psa 4:1), since thou dost not delight in wickedness, but in goodness. Neither shall evil dwell with thee. Light has no fellowship with darkness. Evil men can obtain no support from thee, who art All-holy. They will scarcely venture to ask thy aid.

Psa 5:5

The foolish (or, the arrogant“the boasters”) shall not stand in thy light. Rather shall they be cast down and dismayed (Psa 73:3, Psa 73:18). Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. David has in mind the wicked and presumptuous men who have handed themselves together against him, and “take his contrary part” (Psa 109:3, Prayer-book Version). These he is sure that God hates.

Psa 5:6

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing (comp. Psa 4:2). David’s adversaries were cunning, treacherous, and quite regardless of truth (see 2Sa 3:27; 2Sa 13:28; 2Sa 15:7-9; 2Sa 20:10, etc.). God’s vengeance was sure to fall upon them, either in this world or in the next. The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. An individual seems to be pointed at, who is probably Ahithophel.

Psa 5:7

But I will come into thy house; rather, unto thy house. David, as a layman, would not be entitled to enter within the tabernacle. He would draw near to it, probably bring his offering, and then worship toward it (see the following clause). In the multitude of thy mercy; or, through the abundance of thy mercy (comp. Psa 69:13, Psa 69:16). It was by God’s mercy that David lived, that he was maintained in health and strength, that he had a desire to go to God’s house, and was permitted to worship there. Of all these mercies he is deeply sensible. And in thy fear will I worship. David’s worship is never without feara reverent sense of God’s greatness, power, and perfect holiness. Toward thy holy temple. “David would, according to the custom of the worship then established, turn himself in the time of prayer to the place where the gracious presence of the Lord had its seat” (Hengstenberg; scrap. Psa 28:2; Psa 138:7; 1Ki 8:30, 1Ki 8:33, 1Ki 8:38, 1Ki 8:42, 1Ki 8:44, 1Ki 8:48; Dan 6:10; Jon 2:4).

Psa 5:8

Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness. Here at last we find what David prayed for. Previously, we have only heard him entreat that his prayer may be heard (Psa 5:1, Psa 5:2), declare that he will pray early (Psa 5:3), and before the tabernacle (Psa 5:7); now we learn what his prayer is. It is that God will lead him in the path of his righteousnessthat righteousness of which he is the pattern, and whereof he approves; and will “make his way plain for him,” i.e. show it him clearly, so that he cannot mistake it. God is asked to do this, especially because of David’s enemies, or of “those that lie in wait for him”, lest, if he were to make a false step, they should triumph over him, and so he should bring discredit upon the cause of God and of his saints. Make thy way straight (plain, Revised Version) before my face. Not so much “smooth my way,” or “make it level” or “easy,” as “put it plainly before me” (scrap. Psa 25:5; and Psa 27:11, ‘”Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies”).

Psa 5:9

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; or, no steadfastness“no sincerity” (Kay, Cheyne); see the comment on Psa 5:6. Their inward part is very wickedness; literally, wickednesses; i.e. nothing but wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulchre. “Emitting the noisome exhalations of a putrid heart” (Bishop Horns). They flatter with their tongue; literally, they make smooth their tongues, which may, perhaps, include flattery, but points rather to smooth arguments, specious reasonings, and the habit of making the worse appear the better cause. The last two clauses of this verse are quoted by St. Paul (Rom 3:13), and applied generally to the character of the ungodly.

Psa 5:10

Destroy thou them, O God; rather, condemn them, or declare them guilty (Kay); (LXX.). Let them fall by their own counsels. No condemnation naturally follows punishment. David assumes that God will make his enemies fall; he prays that they may fall from the effect of their own counsels. The fate of Ahithophel (2Sa 17:23) perhaps fulfilled this imprecation. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; Thrust them out (Revised Version); “Thrust them down” (Kay). Punish them at once, in the midst of their many transgressions. For they have rebelled against thee. They have sinned, not against me only, but equallynay, far moreagainst thee.

Psa 5:11

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. David is fond of contrasts. Here he sots the lot of the righteous over against that of the wicked. While the wicked “fall,” and are “cast out,” or “thrust down’ to hell, the righteous “rejoice “nay, ever shout for joy, displaying their feelings in the true Oriental manner. Because thou defendest them. There is no “because” in the original. The passage runs on without any change of construction, “Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy, and do thou defend them; and let them that love thy Name be joyful in thee.”

Psa 5:12

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous. All the joy of the righteous springs from the fact that God’s blessing is upon them. The sense of his favour fills their hearts with rejoicing. With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. Tsinnah ()is the large, long shield that protected the whole body. God’s favour, thus encompassing a man, effectually secured him against all dangers.

HOMILETICS

Psa 5:1-3

Prayer.

“Give ear,” etc. There are prayers, some of the most fervent and spiritual, which refuse words, and need not language (Rom 8:26). But God, who hath given speech as the glory of our nature and the principal instrument of human progress, will have us consecrate it to this highest use-converse with our Maker, the Father of our spirits.

I. PRAYER IS PERSONAL CONVERSE WITH GOD. “My voice shalt thou hear” (Psa 5:3). On this turns the whole reality, efficacy, spiritual benefit, of prayer.

1. Reality. We are not speaking into the air; or to an Infinite Impersonal Power that takes no heed; but to the living God. “He that planted the ear,” etc. (Psa 94:9). To the Father of spirits (Luk 11:13).

2. By efficacy of prayer we mean, not that prayer has a virtue or power of its own, not that God needs instructing what to give, or persuading to give. The very power to pray comes from him. But the earnest desire and pleading request of his children have real value in his sight; as they must have, if “God is love.” True, God knows what we need, better than we do; but fervour of desire, perseverance and patient faith in asking, accompanied with childlike resignation to his will, are often the very conditions of its being wise and right (and therefore possible) for God to grant what we ask.

3. The spiritual benefit of prayer is no doubt its chief blessing. Nothing else could bring the soul so near to God. But this benefit turns on its reality and efficacy. God might have given promises without inviting or permitting us to pray; but faith claims and pleads his promises in prayer.

II. PRAYER SHOULD HAVE ITS SET SEASONS, though it should not be confined to any. “In the morning,” i.e. every morning. Our day should begin with God (comp. Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10).

III. THE HABIT OF PRAYER MUST BE MAINTAINED BY HOLY PURPOSE, STEADFAST RESOLVE. “Will I direct,” etc.; order and arrange it, gathering up all my powers to this great employment, this glorious privilege, as happy as holy. God’s ear is not chained to a careless prayer, of which the offerer himself makes no account.

Psa 5:4, Psa 5:5

God’s hatred of sin.

“Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness,” etc. It needs courage to preach the severe side of Bible truth. Time was when preaching could not be too severe. Men loved to hear the thunder and see the fire of Sinai. Now it cannot be too flattering and soothing. A view of Divine love is current, not to say fashionable, which tends to reduce it to an easy-going apathetic tolerance, taking little account of the difference between moral good and evil. We need reminding that in God’s judgment the opposition is irreconcilable, infinite, eternal. These verses strongly set forth God‘s hatred of sin.

I. GOD‘S HATRED OF SIN IS INSEPARABLE FROM HIS HOLINESS. Having “no pleasure in wickedness” stands here for abhorrence, unchangeable opposition. Were it possible to conceive “a God that hath pleasure in wickedness,” this would be the most terrible, hateful, and hideous of all imaginationsan Omnipotent Fiend I Even a wicked man must see that such a thought is monstrous. But if all sympathy with evil is thus abhorrent to the Divine character, the very thought revolting, it follows that sin must be infinitely hateful to God. Not to hate sin is characteristic of a bad man (Psa 36:4); he finds in himself no standard by which to test and hate it. “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psa 97:10).

II. GOD‘S HATRED OF SIN DOES NOT CONTRADICT HIS LOVE, but is inseparable from it. Because “God is love,” he must desire the happiness of his creatures. But men are created to be happy through holiness. Sin poisons the very source of human happiness; fills the world with strife, injustice, cruelty, vice, disease, want, pain, tears, death. Where would Divine love be if our Maker calm]y looked upon the destruction of all that is best in his creatures, and the wholesale wreck of human happiness? Again, because “God is love,” he must desire the love of his children. Love asks love. Sin robs God of his children’s love; robs them of the very power of loving him, and of all the joy that can spring only from his love. Because “God is love,” he must desire men to know him and converse with him; and in this communion grow up to their true spiritual stature (Eph 4:13). Sin tends to banish the knowledge of God from earth; to dry and choke the channel of communion with God (Joh 17:3; Rom 1:20, Rom 1:21, Rom 1:28; Eph 4:18).

III. How CAN HATRED OF EVIL BE RECONCILED WITH LOVE TO THE WRONG–DOER? How separate sin from sinnersthe sinner from his sins? The gospel is the answer. By the atonement of the Son of God, and by the renewing power of the Holy Ghost (Rom 5:8; Tit 3:5, Tit 3:6; 1Co 6:11). The Old Testament Scriptures contain abundant promises of pardon to the penitent; and one wonderful example in King Manasseh (Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7; Psa 32:1-11.; 2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:13). But Law, and fear of punishment, were necessarily predominant till “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” On the other hand, never forget that if the sinner will not and cannot separated from his sin, the New Testament is fully as severe as the Old (Mat 7:23; Mat 13:49, Mat 13:50; Rom 2:8, Rom 2:9). The cross, which reveals God’s love to sinners, is at the same time the most tremendous of all witnesses against sin (Rom 8:3, Rom 8:4).

Psa 5:11

The joy of faith.

“Let all those rejoice,” etc. People who look on Bible religion as gloomy and joyless would do well to study the Book of Psalms. It is worth note that in this one book of Scripture the words “joy,” “joyful,” “glad,” “gladness,” “rejoice,” occur more than ninety times. Truly the “river that maketh glad the city of God” is a full, pure, deep-flowing stream. Idle mirth, empty-headed and hollow-hearted gaiety (Ecc 7:6), you do not, indeed, find characterizing the psalmists or prophets. But for full-hearted, clear-voiced joythe joy that sings on its pilgrim-way because it sees the rainbow in the cloud, and hears the Saviour’s voice in the stormthere is no joy like that which the text speaks ofthe joy of faith.

I. IT IS A GREAT JOY TO TRUST GOD. Trust is an indispensable element of a happy life. A suspicious, distrustful soul is like one walking in a fog, chilling, perplexing, distorting. One of a trustful nature who has no one to trust is like a lonely traveller, bunny and homeless. Mutual confidence is essential to love or friendship worthy the name. But the most faithful, loving friend may disappoint trust through weakness, ignorance, calamity, forgetfulness. Only the all-wise, all-loving, almighty, unchangeably faithful God is worthy of absolute trustthe perfect rest of the soul (Isa 26:3).

II. TRUST IN GOD IS FULL OF JOYFUL EXPECTATION. It lights up the future (else dim and dark) with the sunshine of certain hope. “We know,” etc. (Rom 8:28). Care is the heaviest burden of life; to-morrow weighs heavier to most men than to-day; and this burden faith rolls off on to God (1Pe 5:7; Isa 43:2).

III. TRUST IN GOD IS FULL OF JOYFUL EXPERIENCE. If it is joy to trust God, it is double joy to find by experience that he accepts the trust he invites; rewards the faith that lays hold on his promise.’ Joshua’s experience is the. experience,, of faith in all ages (Jos 24:14). St. Paul could say at the end of his course, I know whom I have believed,” etc. (2Ti 1:12; 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8).

IV. THE GOSPEL HAS OPENED A NEW AND FULLER FOUNTAIN OF JOY, by supplying a firmer foundation of faith, and clearer knowledge of God, in the Person of Jesus Christ (1Pe 1:8).

CONCLUSION. If you have no joy in God, it must be because you do not know him; and this is because you do not believe him as speaking to you in his Son. Yet let no Christian despond if his joy in God be not what he desires, what he hears or reads of, what it reasonably should be. If we have not sunshine, let us be thankful for daylight. If even daylight, for a while, fail, let us remember Isa 50:10, and “watch for the morning” (Psa 130:6).

HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE

Psa 5:1-12

A morning prayer: for sanctuary service: in evil times.

This psalm seems to have been written for, or handed to the leader of a special choir, that he might adapt music for its use in sanctuary worship; not necessarily that of the templefor its composition was probably anterior to the erection of that buildingbut for use in the services of that temporary structure which preceded it, and which, though but temporary, and even fragile in a material sense, was nevertheless in a high and holy sense the dwelling-place of God, yea, “the palace of the great King.” Note: No material splendours of gold, silver, and precious stones can make a temple without the Real Presence; but however humble the structure, the Real Presence therein will make it a temple of God. Whether David was actually the penman of this psalm or no, matters not. It is evidently the composition of a true saint of God, and reflects in its several verses the spirit of the time and circumstances under which it was written. And not only so. But it shows us that the saints of olden time were wont to regard the house of God as a house of prayer, and to let their prayers be an unburdening of the heart to God on every matter of immediate and pressing concern. Note: In our prayers in God’s house we have no need to include everything in one service. Nor are we bound to use the words of another’s prayers, except as far as they suit our case at the line. Still less need we rack and tear such a psalm as this to find in it the whole gospel. That would not only be a strange anachronism, but we should even lose very much by missing the historic setting and aim of the psalm. Who cannot find comfort in the obvious fact that the Old Testament saints, in their prayers, used to tell God everything, just as it seemed to them, and as they felt about it? There is no greater boon in life than to have a friend who will never misunderstand us, and to whom we can tell anything, knowing that he will hide all our folly in his loving forgetfulness, and sympathize with all our cares. Such perfection of friendship is found in God alone. And we have in this psalm a beautiful illustration of the use which the psalmist made thereof.

I. THE PSALMIST LAYS THE ENTIRE SITUATION BEFORE GOD. (Psa 5:8, Psa 5:9, “mine enemies,” equivalent to” those that lie in wait for me.”) The whole of the ninth verse shows the treachery and hollowness that mark the hostile bands, and the consequent peril in which the people of God were on that account. (This verse is one of those quoted by the Apostle Paul in proof of human depravity. Nor is there any contrariety to reason in his so doing. For while the psalm speaks of all this wickedness in its relation to society, St. Paul speaks of similar wickedness in its relation to the Law of God and to the God of law. And it is because the psalmist knows how foreign to the nature of God all this iniquity is, that he brings it before God in prayer, and asks him to put it to shame.) Note: Let us learn to pray minutely, and not to lose ourselves in generalities.

II. IN DOING THIS HE RECOGNIZES AN ENDEARING RELATION. (Psa 5:2.) “My King,” “my God.” God was not a far-distant Being, only remotely related. The name “Jehovah” brought him near as Israel’s redeeming God; and that very name, which removes us infinitely from anthropomorphism, was the one in which the saints of old found their joy and glory. They could call God flair God. Under the New Testament our thoughts of God may be more sweet and endearing still.

III. HE OBSERVES A DEVOUT AND WISE METHOD IN HIS PRAYER. “In the morning I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. The meaning isI will order it accurately, and then look out to see whether it has sped, and when the answer will come. (Many of the old divines are very felicitous in their treatment of these two words.) Sometimes, indeed, the yearning Godward is too deep for outward expression (see Psa 5:1, “consider my meditation,” i.e. understand my murmuring). “Lord, read the desires of my heart by thine all-piercing eyeand interpret my petitions in thine own loving-kindness before they rise to my lips.” Happy they who know that they have a God with whom they can thus plead, and who have learned the blessed art of thus pleading with God!

IV. HE SETS HIS APPLICATION ON SUBSTANTIAL GROUNDS. (Psa 5:4-6.) The psalmist knows the character of God, and the righteousness of his administration; and in these verses he shows us how real was the revelation on these great themes which God had given in his Law (see Psa 103:6, Psa 103:7). All these glorious disclosures of the holiness of God are reiterated and confirmed in the teaching and redemption of the Son of God. (For the specific phrases, see the Exposition; also Perowne and Cheyne.) It is because we know what God is, and the principles of his government, that we can under all circumstances commend ourselves, the Church, and the world to him.

V. ON SUCH GROUNDS THE PSALMIST OFFERS VARIED PETITIONS.

1. For himself. (Psa 5:8.) Beautiful! He wants

(1) to go along God’s way, not his own;

(2) to be shown clearly what that way is; and then

(3) to be led along that way.

He who thus puts himself into God’s hand, wanting only to be led aright, shall never be put to shame.

2. For the people of God. (Psa 5:11.) He prays that in the midst of the whirl and tumult which surround them, the righteous may ever ring out a peal of joy because of God’s protecting care and love.

3. For evil ones. (Psa 5:10.) He prays that they may be

(1) held guilty and condemned for their transgressions. Yea

(2) rejected by God, even as they had themselves rejected God.

We are not bound to imitate the psalmist in such petitions. Jesus Christ tells us that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest of Old Testament prophets. They could not rise above the level of their inspiration, nor advance in prayer beyond the point their understanding had reached in those days. For us it would be far more appropriate to pray for the conversion of God’s enemies by the power of his love and grace.

VI. THERE IS HERE A CONFIDENT ASSURANCE EXPRESSED. (Psa 5:12, “Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous as with a shield.”) The word means, not a small shield which may be held out to ward off a dart, but a large buckler which can cover one around as with armour. So effective are the Divine protection and care with which he guards his own. May such protection ever be ours!

VII. IT IS WORTHY OF NOTE AT WHAT HOUR OF THE DAY THIS PRAYER IS OFFERED. We are twice told in the third verse, “in the morning.” The early morn, when the frame is freshest and the spirit freest, is the best time for devotion. The early hours, when sanctified by prayer, will help us to sanctify the whole day for God. Before ever we look upon the face of man, let us catch a morning smile from our Father in heaven; and we shall find how true it is that

“His morning smiles bless all the day.”

C.

HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH

Psa 5:1-12

A morning prayer.

Every new day the priests began anew the service of God in the temple. The altar was set in order, the lamb was made ready, and as soon as the sign of day was given the morning sacrifice was offered (Le Psa 6:5; Num 28:4). In this there was a lesson for all times. Every new day calls for a fresh consecration of ourselves to God. “When first thine eyes unveil, give thy soul leave to do the like” (Vaughan). In this morning prayer we find

I. FAITH IN GOD‘S FATHERLY CHARACTER. The cry, “Give ear,” is that of a child to its father. The priests stood for others. They offered sacrifices not only for themselves, but for the people. But for us there is but one Priest and one Sacrifice. Through Christ we have access to God as our Father, and can cry to him for help in every time of need (Eph 2:16; Heb 4:16).

II. CONFIDENCE IN GOD‘S HOLY RULE. (Psa 5:3-7.) The psalmist speaks of what he knows. God is just and holy. The more we think, the more will our confidence grow. We rise from the faith that God is our Father, to the grand belief that he is “King,” and that he will defend the right. But let us keep in mind what sin is. Some in these days make light of sin. It is an inherited weakness, a necessary evil for which circumstances are to be blamed more than the sinner. These and such-like excuses are made, and, if this is not enough, it is said, “Somehow things will come right. If not here, yet in the future world all will be well. To such the “wrath” of God is but a figure of speech, and “hell” the invention of our slavish fears. Against all such dangerous teaching, let us place the wholesome doctrine of the psalmist and of our Lord.

III. EXPECTATION OF GOD‘S GRACIOUS INTERPOSITION. (Psa 5:8-10.) Help is needed, and earnestly implored. The cry is not for mere personal ease or comfort, but for such deliverance as shall be for God’s glory. The soul is in sympathy with God, and can not only pray, but “look up” with the patience of hope.

1. Guidance. (Psa 5:9.) We confess our weakness; hut we east ourselves on God for help. He is our Shepherd. We trust his love, and surrender ourselves to his leading. It is for him to go before; it is for us as his sheep to hear his voice and follow him.

2. Defence. (Psa 5:11.) When Luther was asked at Augsburg where he should find shelter if his patron, the Elector of Saxony, deserted him, his answer was, “Under the shield of Heaven” This shield is for all. Other defences may fail; but here we are safe from all the assaults of the enemy.

3. Blessedness. (Psa 5:12.) God is pledged to his people by his character as well as by his covenant. Trust in him awakens joypure, ardent, comforting, not like the joy of the fool (Ecc 7:6), but real and abiding, as God’s Name. Trust also calls forth praise. What Jeremiah said in the pit, God’s people say in the sunshine, O Lord, there is none like unto thee. They are as Naphtali, “satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord” (Deu 33:23). Therefore they sing, “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy Refuge” (Deu 33:26, Deu 33:27).W.F.

HOMILIES BY C. SHORT

Psa 5:1-7

Prayer for deliverance from wicked men.

The psalmist prays to be delivered from, not open persecution, but the scoff and scourge of the tongue at all goodness and service to God. When irreligion prevails, it is difficult to resist it and stand firm in our allegiance to God.

I. THE CRY FOR HELP AGAINST THE PREVAILING IMPIETY.

1. He prays God as the Highest to hearken to his meditations, his words, and his cry. All true prayer begins in thought or meditation, goes on to express itself in uttered words, and rises at last into an earnest cry. Not till we muse on our own needs and difficulties does the fire of devotion burn; then do we break into earnest pleading, and deep, if not loud, cries.

2. The urgency and eagerness of his suit. In the morning, at the earliest opportunity, at the time of the morning sacrifice in the temple, do I wait upon thee with my prayer. Urgent matters take precedence of all others, and we cannot rest till we set about them.

3. He waited expectant for the answer to his prayer. (Psa 5:3.) “Watched”or looked out, not “up”to see what came of it, and how it would be answered. This is both natural and reasonable; for God has promised to answer true prayer.

II. THE GROUND OF HIS PRAYER. God is the righteous God, and as such:

1. He has no sympathy with the ways of the wicked. (Psa 5:4.) Not when they seem to prosperin trade, politics, or open irreligion. And they seem to prosper only for a time.

2. God has no fellowship with the irreligious. (Psa 5:5.) “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight;’ or before thee, as favoured courtiers stand in the presence of a king. God has no gracious intercourse or communion with wicked men. Therefore I can ask for his help with confidence; for he is gracious to the righteous.

3. The false and the cruel are doomed to perish. (Psa 5:6.) Their own devices destroy them; that is God’s appointment. God’s action is commonly by law, anti not by personal interference; he abhors and destroys men by the opposition of his laws to all deceit and cruelty.

III. THE FREEDOM AND AWE OF THE PSALMIST IN DRAWING NIGH TO GOD. (Psa 5:7, “I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy loving-kindness.”) The wicked cannot stand in thy sight; but I can. Note:

1. The freedom and confidence of trite worship. He feels the infinite mercy and privilege of enjoying access to God.

2. The arm of God felt in all true worship. “In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.” When freedom and reverence are blended, then is our worship the truest and most acceptable.S.

Psa 5:8-12

The righteousness of God.

This second strophe of the psalm is very much like the first in substance, the matter running parallel with Psa 5:3-7. The fundamental thought on which all is based is that of the righteousness of God. The whole prayer is framed on that conception.

I. A PRAYER FOR RIGHTEOUS DELIVERANCE AND GUIDANCE.

1. For righteous guidance. “Lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way [the right way] plain to me.”

2. For righteous deliverance. The unrighteous lay in wait for himthreatened his safety. There was “no faithfulness in their mouth;” they used slander and treachery when they dared not use open violence. Their inward part, their souls. were full of evil designs and purposes. “Their throat is like an open sepulchre,” which yawns for his destruction. Their speech, fair and smooth, to flatter and put him off his guard and lure him on. With them, mouth, heart, throat, and tongue are all instruments of evil; and their malice was such that he needed the care and guidance of the righteous power above.

II. A PRAYER FOR RIGHTEOUS RETRIBUTION. (Psa 5:10.) Punish. “The word properly signifies such a decision and judgment as would show and manifest what sort of neighbours they are when their ungodly dispositions are disclosed and every one is made known.” Show them guilty. Let them fall through or because of their own counsels. Their counsels are of such an evil nature that they must in the end ensure their destruction. By means of their transgressions thrust them awaythe same thought in substance as the last. But the great argument for retribution isthey have rebelled against thee. The enemies of the psalmist are the enemies of God. God’s cause and that of his people are the same. Whoso toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye; “Saul, Saul, why porsecutest thou me?”

III. PRAYER FOR THE REALIZATION OF A RIGHTEOUS JOY. (“Psa 5:11, Psa 5:12.) This joy proceeds:

1. From the sense of refuge and defence we have in God.

2. From the love we have to God, for his goodness and righteousness.

3. From the knowledge we have that God does assuredly bless the righteous.S.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Psalms 5.

David prayeth, and professeth his study in prayer. God favoureth not the wicked. David, professing his faith, prayeth unto God to guide him, to destroy his enemies, and to preserve the godly.

To the chief musician upon Nehiloth.
A Psalm of David.

Title. lamnatseach el hannechiiloth. To the {Master / Prefect} of the successive voices. This psalm was indited by David, on account of his many enemies; and in particular, as it is supposed, of Achitophel. He represents himself in it as performing his morning devotions in the temple, and praying for protection against his enemies; whose falsehood and malice he describes; and in the end expresses his confidence in God’s favour. Nechiiloth is by many of the commentators supposed to express those wind instruments which were used in the temple service. Aquila, Symmachus, and several other of the versions, render the words, upon NehilothConcerning her who obtaineth the inheritance: Improving upon whom, Fenwick readers the whole title, To him who giveth the victory; the God of the inheritance; i.e. “To Christ; who gave the Jews possession of the earthly Canaan, and who will bring all his faithful servants to his heavenly kingdom, that blessed lot of our inheritance.” See the note on the title of the former psalm.

Psa 5:1. My meditation My sighing.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Psalms 5

To the chief musician upon Nehiloth, a Psalm of David.

1Give ear to my words, O Lord,

Consider my meditation.

2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:

For unto thee will I pray.

3My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord;

In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

4For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:

Neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight:

Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing:

The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:

And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

8Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;

Make thy way straight before my face.

9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness;

Their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels;

Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

11But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:

Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:
Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;

With favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Respecting the title, vid. Introduction. This is a morning prayer, which is not only in general a testimony to the Divine grace and righteousness in defending and blessing the pious, and in excluding the wicked from their society, to their own destruction (Venema); or a prayer against hypocrites and false prophets who mislead the people of God and the inheritance of Christ with their human precepts (Luther); but the prayer of a pious man, surrounded by ungodly enemies, which are deceitful rather than powerful; and he prays for Divine guidance, blessing, and protection for himself, and punishment for his enemies, who are at the same time adversaries of God; and he bases both petitions on the righteousness of God, who rules over Israel as king.

We thus have not only a subjective source for a didactic Psalm, in which the poet speaks in the abstract as a righteous person (Hengst.), but the reference is to a special circumstance, which yet does not appear in such a way, that we are obliged with the Rabbins to consider Doeg or Ahithophel as the real opponents of the Psalmist. Psa 5:7 is not necessarily against David as the author of this Psalm (vid. exegesis). The interpreters differ very much in the analysis of this Psalm. It seems to me most natural; since the symbolism of numbers, accepted by Hengstenberg, is not favored at all by the structure or contents of the Psalm, and there is no sign of a homogeneous structure of the strophes, to divide according to the contents: a) An introductory invocation of God. Psa 5:1-3; b) reasons for the Psalmists confidence in prayer, Psa 5:4-7; c) petition for his own person, with reasons, Psa 5:8-9; d) petition with respect to his opponents, Psa 5:10; e) closing statement respecting the consequences of such a prayer being heard, with reasons, Psa 5:11-12.

Str. I. Psa 5:1. Hear my sighs [consider my meditation, A. V.] The construction of the verb with the accusative, does not allow the translation listen to. Instead of sighs it may be translated meditation, (Syr., Rabb., Hengst.), since this word, which occurs only here and Psa 39:4, is derived from a root which denotes thinking, as well as a dull tone, a low sound.15 Either translation gives a suitable contrast to the loud cry mentioned, Psa 5:3.

Psa 5:2. My king.[Hupf.: Here, and generally in the Old Testament, not only in a general sense as Ruler of the earth, as the ancient nations called their gods kings, but in a special theocratic relation to the people of Israel, as a subject to his king, whose righteousness and protection he invokes, and can expect with confidence, Psa 10:6; Psa 44:4; Psa 48:2; Psa 68:24; Psa 74:12; Psa 84:3; 1Sa 12:12.C. A. B.]

Psa 5:3. In the morning.This word has the same meaning in both members of the verse, its first use and its repetition. Hupfeld even has rejected the figurative, soon, early, but yet would find in the local reference only a poetical force; whilst Delitzsch, on the contrary, in justification of Hengst., remarks that then the allusion to the daily morning sacrifice would be done away with. But is the usual word for the arrangement of the wood of the offering, Lev 1:7, and of the pieces offered, 1:8, 12; 6:5; the holy lamps, Exo 27:21; Lev 24:8; the show bread, Exo 40:23; Lev 24:8; and the arrangement of the wood for the lamb of the morning sacrifice was one of the first duties of the priest as soon as the day began. Psa 55:17 mentions three times for prayer. [Wordsworth: David lays his prayer on the altar as a sacrifice to God. The wood and the victim are of no avail without the spiritual sacrifice of the heart of the offerer.C. A. B.] This figure, Look out (Look up, A. V.), is used, Mic 7:7; Hab 2:1. [Barnes: The idea is that he would watch narrowly and carefully (as one does who is stationed on a tower) for some token of Divine favor.This is perhaps equivalent to the Saviours oft-repeated command watch and pray! Perowne: As the priest might look (or as Elijah looked on Carmel) for the fire from heaven to descend and consume the victim.C. A. B.]

Str. II. Psa 5:4. For thou art not a God,etc.The Psalmist bases his courage in drawing near to God in prayer, and his confidence of being heard on attributes which are derived from the Being of God; and indeed his confidence is based on the holiness of God, and his courage on the abundance of Divine grace; the former negatively, the latter positively.

Be a guest [dwell, A. V.]. is usually connected with , but also with the accusative, and indeed of the person, when the idea of place is applied to persons (Hupf.) Comp. Psa 58:4; Psa 68:18; Psa 120:5; Gen 30:20. It indicates not only the right of external entrance into the temple, but the enjoyment of the rights of hospitality which include that of protection. The same figure is used, Psa 15:1; Psa 23:6; Psa 27:4; Psa 31:20; Psa 36:8; Psa 61:4; Psa 84:4. [Thus Ewald, Hupf., Perowne, et al. Perowne Evil (personified) cannot be a guest or friend of Thine; cannot tarry in Thy house, as 15:1; 61:5; not merely, however, with a reference to the temple, but to that spiritual abiding in the presence of God, and in the light of His countenance, which is the joy only of them that are true of heart. To the wicked the light of Gods countenance is a consuming fire.C. A. B.]

Psa 5:5. In this connection it is proper in the following verse to think of the privilege of standing before the eyes of God. It may mean however not to endure the judicial glance of God, as is usual. Instead of fools comp. Psa 73:3; Psa 75:4, others translate vain-glorious and haughty, or mad, raging. For the etymology of the word and its many meanings, vid. Hupfeld in loco. [Hupfeld thinks of the privilege of the nobles and others, who stand in the presence of the King, Pro 22:29, and the angels which are said to stand before God, Job 1:6; Job 2:1. Perowne seems to favor this view. It is the privilege of the pious to stand before God as a gracious symbol of their intimate relations with Him as Sovereign and Friend. This idea makes the entire strophe harmonious and beautiful. The three negative clauses, Psa 5:4-5 a, are followed by three positive clauses, Psa 5:5 b and 6, which unfold and carry out the ideas advanced positively and emphatically. There is a beautiful gradation and correspondence in the six clauses. Thus the statement that God has no pleasure in wickedness is carried out into, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity; that evil cannot be a guest with Thee, that is, have Thy care and protection, and enjoy Thy hospitality passes over into, Thou destroyest them that speak lies; that the foolish cannot stand in Thy sight, that is, in Thy favor, regard, and affection, as Thy friends and favorite subjects, becomes, the bloody and deceitful man doth the Lord abhor.C. A. B.]

Psa 5:7. Palace [temple, A. V.]. The preceding word house had already made many interpreters doubtful of the Davidic authorship of this Psalm; the expression palace seems to them entirely irreconcilable with it. As far as the former is concerned we know that bait (beit) in the Semitic languages denoted originally, the place where the night was passed, and that the signification afterwards became more general; but the reference to night-time, especially, passed out of use (vid. Fleischer in Delitzsch, Comm. on the Psalms.) It is in accordance with this that the place where God appeared to Jacob in the open field was named Beth-El, Gen 28:17. Accordingly every place of prayer, as the place of the Divine presence might bear this name. And is it otherwise with palace? As soon as God is conceived as King this reference is natural and proper. That it does not at all matter about the material, follows from the designation of heaven as the palace of God, Psa 11:4; Psa 18:6; Psa 29:9, and that we are not compelled to think of a large building, but that the reference is to the place of Jehovahs throne, is proved from the fact that it is just the most holy place that is called the palace of the house, 1Ki 6:3. Naturally also the entire temple of Solomon might be called the palace, as well as the house of God (2Ki 23:4). But the assertion that the entire manner of the reference presupposes the temple, cannot be proved. On the contrary, the heavenly relations are throughout, the ideal and type of that which is presented on earth. Accordingly, Moses even beholds the pattern of the tabernacle (Exo 25:40; Exo 26:26 sq.; Heb 8:5), and the legal places of sacrifice were according to Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, to be in the house of the Lord. The real sanctuary bears the same name, Jos 6:24, and at the time of David, 2Sa 12:20. What form then had the tabernacle which David erected over the ark, 2Sa 6:17? We have as little knowledge of this as of the form of the house of God at Shiloh, which in 1Sa 2:22 is called tabernacle of testimony (Luther, tabernacle of the covenant), but 1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:24,house, and 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3, palace. of Jehovah (Luther always translates hekal by temple). The same interchange of names Psa 27:4; Psa 27:6; comp. Eze 41:1. In this passage the reference is not to prayer in the temple, but of turning in prayer to the holy place of the throne of Jehovah. In this I agree with Hengst., but not in the statement that the object of the future coming and worship was the thanksgiving here promised on account of the deliverance wrought by the divine grace, as Psa 66:13. The reference is certainly not to the greatness of love towards God, but to the divine grace; but so that its fulness is designated by him as the accomplishment of the Psalmists entrance into the sanctuary. It is necessary to regard the imperfects as future, on account of the character of the Psalm as a morning prayer, but the contrast with the preceding words limits the potential coloring = I may and will (Hupf., Delitzsch, Hitzig). Oraturi quasi clum ingressuri et coram majestate infinita locuturi (Hugo).

Str. III. Psa 5:8. Lead me in Thy righteousness, according to some, at least Hengstenberg, refers to the attribute of God as the righteous helper and avenger, Psa 31:1; Psa 31:3. But the opponents, although not exactly called capricious (Aquil., Jerome, and most others), are yet described, not as oppressors threatening with external danger, but as those who prepared danger with their mouths, and this character of these persons is expressed Psa 5:9 as the reason of the petition, that God would lead the pious Psalmist in righteousness, which discloses itself in an inoffensive walk (Psa 27:11). This righteousness, however, is not merely the virtue which God demands and is well pleasing to Him (De Wette), but a characteristic of the pious, which is indeed well pleasing to God, but yet at the same time has its source and its standard in God Himself (Hupf.), whose action is in all respects righteous.

Make thy way level before me [straight before my face, A. V.).Either make it straight before me that I may see it and find it (Hitzig), or better, make it level for me to walk. Yet this does not suppose an easy exercise of motion, without trouble, but a removal of hindrances, which are not in the person who walks, but which lie in the Divine way of righteousness, in which the Psalmist would have God lead him. In order that he may walk in safety, he requests Divine help, and indeed either by removal of the mountains of trouble, the ambushes of enemies, or the setting aside of stones of stumbling, and occasions of temptation. The decision on this point must be in accordance with the explanation of the preceding member of the verse, since this second member is added without any connecting word. Even with the latter interpretation, which we prefer, the connection with the following clause which gives the reason of the petition, although overlooked by Hupfeld, is very evident. According to another reading, approved by Grotius, the Sept., Vulg., Arab., translate: level my path before Thee. But Syr., Chald., Aquil., Symm., Theod., follow already the present text, and it is confirmed by the investigation of Jerome.

Psa 5:9. In their mouth.The singular suffix among nothing but plurals, and referred to a plural, is not so much a collective as a distributive (Delitzsch) in ore uniuscujusque eorum. is separated from its genitive by a word which is shoved in between, as Psa 6:5; Psa 32:2.Abyss [very wickedness, A. V.] either of destruction (Psa 38:12; Psa 52:4; Psa 55:11; Pro 17:4), or the wicked lust (Pro 10:13; Pro 11:6; Mic 7:3; perhaps Psa 52:7; comp. Hupf.).

Psa 5:10. By their own counsels, so that these are the cause of their fall=overthrew, as Hos 11:6, etc. (Hengst., Hupf., Camph.). Others (Olsh., De Wette, Ewald, Delitzsch), comparing Sir 14:2, refer these words to the frustration of their counsels and translate from, or add to it away [Ewald, let them fall from their plans.C. A. B.], Luther even in the sense that the enemies should fall, be ruined, without being able to carry out their counsels. Hitzig maintains his explanation in accordance with the Arabic figure of down from the counsel which they ride. So also in the following member many translate: owing to, on account of, and understand the thrusting out [cast out, A. V.] as their overthrow. But since the verb in question is very frequently used for the rejection of the Israelites, and their dispersion among foreign nations, it probably means hero their thrusting away (Sept., Vulg., Mich., Rosenm., Delitzsch), and, indeed, whilst they thought to live in their sins, Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24[For they have rebelled against Thee.Perowne. The enemies of David are the enemies of Davids God. Whoso toucheth you, toucheth the apple of Mine eye, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou Me?C. A. B.]

Psa 5:11. And they will rejoice [Letrejoice, A. V.].Luther continues the imperative of petition. The imperfects may indeed be taken as optative, but it is better to regard them as future, since these clauses state the lot of the pious and their behaviour subsequent to the hearing of their prayer and the judicial act of God. Ille placet Deo, cui placet Deus (Augustine).

[Psa 5:12. Shield.The , Tsinnah, is a large shield, larger than , mgn, covering the whole body, used of the shield of Goliath, 1Sa 17:7, vid. SmithsBib. Diet., Art. Arm.C. A. B.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. He who sides with God, must be prepared as well for hostility and persecution on the part of the ungodly, as he is assured of protection on the part of the Almighty; but he must also hold fast to his communion with God, and cultivate it by prayer and Divine service, and show its power by walking in the ways of righteousness.

2. Walking in the way of righteousness has its difficulties, restraints and dangers ; but God makes the way level for those who fear Him ; God leads those who are devoted to Him upon it; God protects in it those who trust in Him.

3. To be reminded of the nature and Providence of God is a terror to the wicked, but a consolation to the pious; for the former are condemned, the latter saved thereby: therefore, also, the former feel that they are frightened away from the place where God reveals Himself ad is worshipped; the latter, on the other hand, are drawn to this place ; and whilst the latter render prayer, praise and thanksgiving; the former commit grievous sins with their tongue without shame or repentance. The frightful extent of natural corruption, since the fall of Adam, appears everywhere in essentially the same characteristics, hence the use made of this Psalm, in Rom 3:11 sq.

4. If those who blame us are to be declared liars, those who complain of us, slanderers, those who persecute us at the same time fools and evil-doers, and if our adversaries in general are the enemies of God, then we ourselves must be found in the closest communion with God and therefore we must diligently and faithfully make use of all the means of His grace.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

We cannot solemnize the morning more properly than by prayer and worship; we cannot consecrate the day better than by walking in the way of righteousness: we cannot make the evening more delightfully blessed than by praising the name of God, and by again committing ourselves with thankfulness to His protection.The righteous government of God shows itself: 1) in the judgment with which He punishes the wicked ; 2) in the grace with which He blesses the pious.God has revealed His name not only that we may know Him; we ought likewise to call upon Him, and praise Him, that we have not received the grace of God in vain. He who would receive grace must likewise use the means of grace. The ungodly devices of the wicked are the reason of their fall, the cause of their destruction; on the other hand, the pious are saved, not by their righteousness, but by the grace of God in which they have taken refuge by faith.Blessed is the man, whose mind is fixed in righteousness, whose life is supported by the Divine grace, whose daily work is surrounded and penetrated with prayer.God hears not only the cry, but also the sigh of prayer.Pious kings regard themselves as the subjects of God.

Starke: God is righteousness and piety itself; therefore it is impossible that the ungodly should stand before Him.It is true, that believers have sins in themselves, but they are not evil-doers, who wantonly sin and make a business of sinning.Although the vices of lying, blood-thirstiness and deceitfulness are in the highest degree accursed and injurious, yet they are usually found together.O man, learn to tame thy mouth and bridle thy tongue, else thou art like a wild beast in human form.The man who is guided by God is not led astray; he who is led by God does not err or stumble, neither in faithnor in life; and this grieves his enemies.What an abomination is an unconverted man! What a poisonous, wicked heart man has by nature I No sin is too great for him to commit, if not restrained by the grace of God.The reason of condemnation is not the lack of grace, the love of God, and the redemption of Christ, but the guilt of wanton obstinacy. The joy of believers in the righteous judgment of God upon the ungodly, is no revengeful satisfaction in the misfortunes of their enemies, but a sacred satisfaction in the preservation of the Divine truth, holiness, righteousness, and the honor of His name.The grace of God is the believers ornament and crown, but likewise his shelter, protection, and shield. Grace adorns him with righteousness, and protects him from condemnation.Here is the labor, there is the reward; here is the conflict, there the crown ; a crown of grace instead of the crown of thorns borne in this world. Although we should pray for our enemies, who either have slandered our persons, or persecuted us from ignorance of the truth, Mat 5:44; yet we ought not to pray for those who blaspheme against known truth, or persecute those who confess it; for they sin against the Holy Ghost and unto death, Mat 12:32; 1Jn 5:6; yet we may likewise pray against them not from revengeful feelings, but from a zeal for God, Psa 59:5.

Luther: We should be pious before man, and stand in fear before God.Calvin: God Himself will be to us such a God as we need; and we can and should make such a God of our God.Osiander: Although God has no bodily ears, for He is a Spirit (Joh 4:24); yet He hears very sharply (Psa 94:9).We should avoid giving our enemies occasion to blaspheme the name of God and His holy Gospel, on account of our ill treatment of them.Arndt: The righteousness of faith and Christian life are a mighty protection and victory over bodily and spiritual enemies.Trust in God brings blessing and grace.Menzel: We should hold fast to the righteous God and His sure Word; come what will, it will have a good issue, as the contrary does not fail that crowd which forsakes Him.Franke: When the children of the world are in need and misery, they run about and seek here and there for help, and leave God in the heavens. On the other hand, a true child of God lets all others go, and goes to his Father in his need.Renschel: Sin without fear, and hypocrisy, have as their reward punishment and hate; piety has the crown of grace.Frisch: In order to overcome the enmity of the world, David goes first to the sanctuary, then he gives himself to prayer, humiliates himself before God, and calls upon Him for help and assistance for the sake of the Messiah; finally he undertakes to walk in Gods ways, and resigns himself to the holy government of God.Even the righteous and pious have still so many weaknesses that they cannot do without the Divine guidance.Herberger: The more wickedly our enemies rage, the riper are they for punishment, the nearer their ruin.What God roots out and casts away you should not plant, cherish, and praise.What we lack in our houses, we may seek in the house of God.As the wagon goes on two tracks so Christianity runs on in two parts, in pure faith and irreproachable life.It is better that God should precede us with his favor, than follow us with the sharp rod.He who is to dwell in the heavens, God crowns with four crowns: (1) With the crown of grace and mercy, Psalms 5.; (2) with the crown of virtue and piety (Sirach 1.); (3) with the crown of the cross and adversity, Isa 22:17; (4) with the crown of life, of honor, and of everlasting bliss (Jam 1:12).Rieger: To walk before the eyes of our heavenly Father is very desirable.The more we know and experience of the world and human wickedness the more we desire the gracious government of God.Taube: A model of a prayerful life for the children of God. Notice (1) how devout Davids soul is towards God; (2) how well acquainted he is with God; (3) how humble before God; (4) how bold towards his God; (5) how happy in his God.

[Matt. Henry: Four things David here promiseth, and so must we. (1) That he will pray; that he will make a conscience of it, and make a business of it; unto Thee will I pray. Others live without prayer, but I will pray. Kings on their thrones must be beggars at Gods throne. (2) That he will pray in the morning. Morning prayer is our duty; we are the fittest for prayer when we are in the most fresh, lively, and composed frame, got clear of the slumbers of the night, revived by them, and not yet filled with the business of the day. (3) That he will have his eye single, and his heart intent on the duty. As a marksman directs his arrow to the white; or as we direct a letter to a friend at such a place. (4) That he will patiently wait for an answer of peace. We must look up or look out, as he that has shot an arrow looks to see how near it has come to the mark.Spurgeon: There are two sorts of prayersthose expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations. Words are not the essence, but the garments of prayer.Here is a grand argument why God should answer prayerbecause He is our King and our God. We are not aliens to Him: He is the King of our country. Kings are expected to hear the appeals of their own people. We are not strangers to Him; we are His worshippers, and He is our God; ours by covenant, by promise, by oath, by blood.While the dew is on the grass, let grace drop upon the soul. Let us give to God the morning of our days, and the morning of our lives. Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night. Devotion should be both the morning star and the evening star.We should be careful to keep the stream of meditation always running; for this is the water to drive the mill of prayer. It is idle to pull up the flood-gates of a dry brook, and then hope to see the wheel revolve.Neither on earth nor in heaven shall evil share the mansion of God. Oh, how foolish are we if we attempt to entertain two guests so hostile to one another as Christ Jesus and the Devil! Rest assured Christ will not live in the parlor of our hearts if we entertain the Devil in the cellar of our thoughts.Spurgeons Treasury of David.Gurnall: For want of looking up, many a prayer is lost. If you do not believe, why do you pray? And if you believe, why do you not expect? By praying you seem to depend on God; by not expecting, you again renounce your confidence. What is this, but to take His name in vain? O, Christian, stand to your prayer in a holy expectation of what you have begged upon the credit of the promise.Haldane: What proceeds out of their mouth is infected and putrid; and as the exhalation from a sepulchre proves the corruption within, so it is with the corrupt conversation of sinners.C. A. B.]

Footnotes:

[15][Meditation is the better translation adopted by Ewald, Hupfeld, Perowne, Delitzsch, et al.C. A. B.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Psalmist is here at his devotions. If David in the first instance of the petitions had an eye to his own personal persecutions, yet, there can be no doubt but that the Holy Ghost designed to instruct the Church, through David, as a type of the Lord Jesus, that what is here said had a more immediate reference to Christ, and God the Father’s gracious attention to him.

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

If we consider the Lord Jesus in these addresses as the representative of his church and people, we not only heighten the several expressions made use of, but raise also our confidence, when coming to the mercy seat with similar petitions in him and through him. The covenant relations Christ here adverts to, by way of strengthening his claims, are very precious when adopted by his people also. And what an unquestionable authority we go upon; when we look up to Jehovah in his name, who said himself, I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Joh 20:17 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 5

[Note. The inscription is supposed to be suspicious. The psalm is a sign of the troublous times of the later monarchy. At the time of the composition of this psalm the adherents of Jehovah’s religion were intensely disliked and universally calumniated. The literal rendering of the title is, “To the leader on the flutes.” It might also be read, “To the precentor, with flute accompaniments.” The word Nehiloth , means bored instruments. Some critics have derived the word from the Chaldee, and made it mean “a swarm of bees,” referring to the multitudes reciting the psalm. The use of flutes in the religious services of the Hebrews is proved by 1Sa 10:5 ; 1Ki 1:40 ; Isa 30:29 .]

1. Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

8. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

11. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Personal Prayer and Praise

This psalm is a direct address to the Almighty. We are not aware that any special instructions as to exact form were ever given to man in view of his approaching God in personal prayer. Reverence was enjoined, but no set form of words was given; every heart was left to find words for itself; whatever best expressed its sorrow and its need, if spoken in truth, was acceptable to God. Taking this psalm as an example of personal waiting upon God separating it from all merely local circumstances what may we learn concerning Personal Worship?

Mark the Directness of the speech. No priest stands between the worshipper and his Lord. Every man must state his own case. We pray for one another, but not instead of one another. What can be more beautiful than the picture which is thus represented? God is put in his right place as the throned father listening to each of his subjects as the subject may feel impelled to address him. Every word is charged with tremulous life. No man can pray for another in the same exquisite and vital sense as a man can pray for himself: there are always circumstances in the case of the petitioner which the petitioner alone knows, and even though he cannot throw such circumstances into literal expression he can suggest them all by the very tones of his voice. We mistake the nature of prayer if we think it can be limited by words. Even when we use the words of another in our devotional exercises we throw into their expression accents which are personal and incommunicable. It is in such tones and accents that the true quality of the prayer is found. If prayer consisted only in the utterance of certain words, then the wicked might pray, and pray with great elocutionary effect; but the prayer is hardly in the words at all: it is a subtle fragrance of the soul, an inexpressible something which we understand most nearly by the name of agony. This being the nature of prayer, it follows that whatever priestly mediation there may be in the universe and that there is such mediation no student of the Bible can deny the individual himself must stand in a direct relation to God, receiving help from the priest, but not in any degree to obliterate his personality or reduce his spiritual enjoyment.

Then, again, mark the Earnestness of the speech. There is not one formal sentence in it from end to end. The man means what he says. There is no merely literary composition in his address; it is the heart’s passion for the time being. This marvellous agony of prayer is a wonderful feature in Old Testament devotion. The suppliant almost insists upon having his own way with God. He is so absolutely sure of the righteousness of his cause that he cannot for a moment doubt that God will instantly reply to him in judgment or in mercy, as the case may be. The Old Testament saints did not argue a case before God in fine balancing of words and arguments, by an elaborate process of giving and taking; they came boldly with a cause about whose genuineness they had no doubt, and as it were insisted upon an immediate reply wholly in their own favour. All earnestness is in a degree associable with narrow-mindedness; not narrow-mindedness in the sense of selfishness or meanness, but in the sense of intensity, the mind being held at such a strain as not to admit of looking to the right hand or to the left, or of suspending its agony even for one instant. Earnestness is but another word for burning. When the soul is on fire it is really in earnest. Who can think of prayer in any other sense? To stand before God at all with sincerity and truthfulness is to be called up to the very highest point of being. At such a moment the man realises all the force and quality of his manhood, all its grandeur, and all the possibilities of its future: by this, indeed, he knows whether the soul is really in the exercise of prayer or not; falling below this exalted consciousness the man may at once conclude that he has not touched the mystery and the enjoyment of true communion with God. This ought to be true of all religious exercises and relationships. To be in the sanctuary ought to be in a state of complete release from every memory and anxiety that can distract the attention or trouble the reverence of the soul. This we know to be almost impossible, having due regard to all the conditions of life; but that which is abstractly impossible may be ideally influential, and may constrain the soul to move upwards towards its perfect realisation.

Having marked the Directness of the speech, and the Earnestness of the prayer, we may next dwell upon the Intelligence which the speaker displays. For example, what a marvellous conception he has of the character of God:

“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man” ( Psa 5:4-6 ).

The suppliant was therefore by so much a theologian. Without a true conception of the nature of Almighty God, how can prayer be addressed to him? We might be speaking the wrong language, or directing our observations to the wrong point, or invoking judgment in the very act of supplicating mercy. Knowledge, therefore, would seem to be the very basis of prayer. Not knowledge in any scientific sense as involving great ability in analysis or in metaphysical perception and expression; but the knowledge which realises the fatherhood of God and all the willingness and love of his heart; a knowledge, too, that realises the righteousness of God, righteousness being no narrow term, but a word which embraces the most multifarious elements and reconciles them in one noble truth. According to the Psalmist’s conception, God is righteous, severe, ineffable in holiness, terrible in judgment. Now a conception of this kind must exalt the devotional feeling of every man who entertains it. It is not possible for the soul to go before such a God with frivolous words or with tones and postures unworthy of the being who is addressed. The God will always make the prayer. According to the soul’s conception of the throne that is addressed will be the elevation and reverence and grandeur of the terms that are employed, or if not of the terms in any literary sense, yet of the tones which express the soul’s divinest moods. Then the Psalmist has also a clear view of the character and deserts of the wicked; wickedness is something more to him than an error of judgment, or an excusable eccentricity, or a mere vapour which shuts out the best hopes of life. “He who entertains but a superficial conception of wickedness can never in reality pray. He may patronise some deity, or pay ceremonial attention to some ideality, but pray he never can. Only the consciously wicked and helpless man can utter the words, “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” with any spiritual effect. We never know God’s mercy until we know man’s wickedness. When we go before God we must carry with us no excuse either of our own sin or the sins of other people; we must express ourselves in utter abhorrence and detestation, and do this not in words only, but with the very heart and soul. This is really more than negative worship. The soul must be in a very positive mood before it can adopt the language of denunciation and rejection with regard to moral evil. The terms themselves may from a literary point be simply negative; but they never could have been used but for the positive condition of soul in which the speaker found himself at the time of their burning utterance.

If this is the kind of prayer which the Lord will hear, then let us gladly learn, first of all, that one man will be heard. This idea does not degrade the majesty of heaven, but rather exalts it. Our vicious imagination is prone to think that the God of the universe can condescend to listen to nothing but the speech of the universe itself. The Bible finds it infinitely difficult to rid the human mind of this unworthy and debasing sophism. We think we exalt God by coming before him in countless numbers, and with elaborate and costly display of ceremony and action; whereas his very greatness is enlarged to our conception by the fact that though heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, he will find for himself a sanctuary in the broken and contrite heart. We must invert our ideas of greatness when we apply them to the divine being, We express our reverence most acceptably when we recognise God as numbering the hairs of our head, caring for the lilies of the field and the fowls of the air, carrying the lambs in his bosom, and condescending to men of low estate. Greatness is a question of quality, not of bulk. It follows that those who are heard and answered in prayer should be enthusiastic in their joy. This is made evident by the eleventh verse:

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” ( Psa 5:11 )

Prayer finds its true sequel in praise. The very act of prayer, when conducted according to the conception already laid down, fills the soul with enthusiasm. The soul feels that it has been engaged in a great exercise and has been ennobled by it, and in withdrawing from the personal interview with the king there is a radiance of face which symbolises a still higher brightness and glory of soul. The only thing that can properly succeed prayer is praise. Every other tone would be an anti-climax. Even shouting for joy would seem to be the true sequence of profound and reverent silence in communion.

Regarding this as an acceptable prayer, we may correct some mistaken notions of worship. For example, it is often said that we may not tell God what he already knows. If this were so there would be no prayer at all, for God knows everything, and therefore no information can be conveyed to him. We do not instruct God by the enumeration of facts; we rather educate our own minds and train them to fulness of survey and accuracy of statement. Education is a very subtle process, and is not all done from the outside. Sometimes the mere utterance of language shows us how imperfectly we are instructed in the tongue which we use. The parent loves to hear the child talk, though the child has nothing to say of the nature of intelligence or information. The utterance has an educational effect upon the speaker himself: so it is in the exercise of prayer: as we begin to enumerate our wants, our necessities grow upon us in number and in force, until imagination takes fire and almost invents a new language for the expression of new consciousness. It is absurd to suppose that we must not tell God the facts of life simply because God already knows them; the use which Jesus Christ made of God’s knowledge is of course the right use: it is that our words should be few not in the sense of number, but should be condensed, expressive, charged with the highest meaning, throbbing with immeasurable intensity of feeling. We are often told that we ought not to make a speech to God in prayer. By this canon the psalm before us never could have been written, for it is of the very nature of a noble religious oration: it is, indeed, a solemn eulogium upon the character and attributes of God. The fact is, the finite must often pray as best it can, now in speech, now in statement, now in a review of life; the one thing which must not be lost is earnestness; so long as that can be kept at the fervid point the soul may allow itself to run on in utterance and praise and supplication and thanksgiving. We are often told that prayer means asking for something. That is a vicious mistake. It is possible to pray without asking for anything in the narrow sense of the term. Prayer includes fellowship with God, close communion with the Spirit of the universe, long speech concerning truth, purity, duty, and heaven. We are more than beggars when we come before the throne of God: we are children, adopted ones, saints, fellow-heirs with Christ; and the soul would be impoverished beyond all conception if it could not dwell with thankfulness and rapture upon the abundance of the divine mercy and the delightfulness of filial communion. Men should never allow themselves to be beaten back and impoverished by the narrow and unworthy criticism which limits prayer to mere petitioning or requisition. That the soul will always have blessings to ask for has been made clear enough by human experience; but the highest request it has to offer is that its own will may be transformed and made coincident with the will of God. All prayers are brought into one complete desire in the words of Jesus Christ in Gethsemane: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done.”

Selected Note

The efficacy of morning prayer. The efficacy and especial obligation of morning prayer is continually dwelt on by Orientals. Thus in the Talmud, we read, “Every one that eateth and drinketh, and after that says his prayers, of him the Scripture saith, ‘But me thou hast cast behind thy back.'” And again, “It is forbidden to a man to go about his business before praying.” So too the Koran, “Perform the prayer at the declining of the sun, at the first darkness of the might, and the prayer of day-break, for the prayer of day-break is borne witness to.” And so Hafiz, the great Persian lyric poet, addressing the beloved in mystical language, says, “In the morning hours be on thy guard (lest thou be compelled to hear) if this poor stranger make his complaint.” Such instances might be multiplied almost without limit. The habit of going to prayer before taking food will explain the words of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost ( Act 2:15 ); the disciples could not have eaten or drunk, for it was still the hour of morning prayer.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

PSALMS

XI

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS

According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:

1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.

2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.

3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.

4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.

5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.

6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.

7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.

At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.

The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.

The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.

They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”

The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:

1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.

2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.

3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .

In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.

It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.

There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.

The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.

The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.

The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:

Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)

Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)

Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)

Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)

Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)

They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.

There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:

Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.

Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:

1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.

2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:

(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;

(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;

(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.

3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.

4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.

5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.

All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:

In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).

In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).

In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).

In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).

The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .

QUESTIONS

1. What books are commended on the Psalms?

2. What is a psalm?

3. What is the Psalter?

4. What is the range of time in composition?

5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?

6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?

7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?

8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.

9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?

10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?

11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?

12. How many psalms in our collection?

13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?

14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?

15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?

16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?

17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?

18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?

19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?

20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?

21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?

22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?

23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?

24. How many of the psalms have no titles?

25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?

26. How do later Jews supply these titles?

27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?

XII

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)

The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:

1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).

2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).

3. The nature, or character, of the poem:

(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).

(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).

4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).

5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).

6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).

7. The kind of musical instrument:

(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).

(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).

(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).

8. A special choir:

(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).

(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).

(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).

9. The keynote, or tune:

(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).

(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).

(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).

(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).

(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).

(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.

(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.

(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.

10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).

11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)

12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).

The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.

The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.

David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:

1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.

2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.

3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.

4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.

5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.

As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:

1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.

2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.

3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.

4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.

5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.

6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.

The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.

Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.

Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:

I. By books

1. Psalms 1-41 (41)

2. Psalms 42-72 (31)

3. Psalms 73-89 (17)

4. Psalms 90-106 (17)

5. Psalms 107-150 (44)

II. According to date and authorship

1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )

2. Psalms of David:

(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).

(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).

(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).

3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).

4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).

5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).

6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )

7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )

8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)

III. By groups

1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:

(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;

(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;

(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.

2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )

3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)

4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )

5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”

IV. Doctrines of the Psalms

1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.

2. The covenant, the basis of worship.

3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.

4. The pardon of sin and justification.

5. The Messiah.

6. The future life, pro and con.

7. The imprecations.

8. Other doctrines.

V. The New Testament use of the Psalms

1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.

2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.

We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:

1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )

2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )

3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )

4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )

5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )

6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )

7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )

8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )

9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )

The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.

There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.

It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.

The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.

Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:

1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.

2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.

3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.

The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.

QUESTIONS

1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.

2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?

3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?

4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?

5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.

6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?

7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?

8. What other authors are named in the titles?

9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?

10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.

11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?

12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.

13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?

14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?

15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?

16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?

17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.

18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?

19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?

20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?

XVII

THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS

A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.

Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.

The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:

1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.

2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.

3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.

In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).

This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.

It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:

1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.

2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.

We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.

1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.

The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.

The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).

But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .

Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).

This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.

2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:

(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).

(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .

(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”

(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).

What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!

3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.

(1) His divinity,

(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;

(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .

(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .

(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .

(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .

(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .

(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.

(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .

4. His offices.

(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).

(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).

(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).

(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).

(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).

5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:

(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .

(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.

(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .

(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:

Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).

And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).

And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).

Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).

These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .

(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).

(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .

(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).

(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).

(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).

(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).

(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).

The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).

The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).

The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).

His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).

In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).

His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).

Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).

With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).

We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.

QUESTIONS

1. What is a good text for this chapter?

2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?

3. What is the last division called and why?

4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?

5. To what three things is the purpose limited?

6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?

7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?

8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?

9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?

10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?

11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.

12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?

13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?

14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?

15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.

16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.

17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.

18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Psa 5:1 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Ver. 1. To the chief Musician ] See Trapp on title for “ Psa 4:1 “

Upon Nehiloth ] Upon wind instruments. Pneumatica, tribulata. The Rabbis say that this psalm was made and appointed to be sung concerning Doeg and Ahithophel.

Give ear to my words, O Lord ] David knew him to be a prayer hearing God, Psa 65:2 , and that his ears were always open (as the doors of the Roman Aediles were) to hear complaints and requests: hence this prayer.

Consider my meditation ] i.e. The conceptions of my soul uttered with a low voice ( Murmur meum, Jerome), but with most vehement affection. Mussitationem meam. All this the Hebrew word importeth.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

This goes farther, and is also “To the chief musician upon Nehiloth” (which some regard as wind instruments): “a psalm of David.” It expresses the cry of the godly to God for judgment; a characteristically Jewish sentiment, and righteous altogether when the day approaches for the vindication of His people. The nearest approach to it in Christ’s life as the Sent but rejected One is in Joh 17:25 ; for the “Righteous” Father was and is not indifferent to the world’s wickedness. But “Holy” Father expresses His actual ways, as the Christian should well know. In its due time He will surely hear and judge the wicked on the earth when His public kingdom comes. His righteousness is everlasting; but there is a fitting season for its display, and this in and by Jesus His rejected King, which will fill the remnant by-and-by with just confidence. As they look to enjoy the earth under His reign, they rightly, when God livingly works in them, cry for judgment. We one with Christ in heaven look for Him to fetch us there where He is, and pray for grace as He did, even for His blinded murderers. For their joy and blessing they must await His deliverance, when condign judgment falls on His foes before all the world.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 5:1-3

1Give ear to my words, O Lord,

Consider my groaning.

2Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,

For to You I pray.

3In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

Psa 5:1-2 This prayer begins with three imperatives.

1. give ear to my words BDB 24; KB 27, Hiphil imperative

2. consider my groanings BDB 106, KB 122, Qal imperative (groaning, BDB 211, only here and Psa 39:3, musing)

3. heed the sound of my cry BDB 904, KB 1151, Hiphil imperative

These do not represent a fear on the psalmist’s part that God will not hear, but Hebrew parallelism.

Psa 5:1 O Lord Notice the parallelism of titles.

1. O Lord (YHWH, cf. Exo 3:14)

2. my King (the terminology comes from 1Sa 8:7, cf. Psa 84:3, the rabbis later call YHWH the King of the universe)

3. my God (see note below)

For #3 there are several forms of the term God/god. A good example is Deuteronomy 32.

1. Deu 32:3; Deu 32:15 (Eloah, BDB 42-43, cf. Psa 5:2)

2. Deu 32:4; Deu 32:18; Deu 32:21 (El, BDB 41-42, cf. Psa 5:4)

3. Deu 32:17 (Elohim, BDB 43-44, cf. Psa 5:10)

All are based on El, which denotes power and strength. It is the general name for deity in the ANE. In poetry all are used interchangeably.

Psa 5:3 This Psalm denotes a morning prayer. For post-exilic Jews there were several set times a day when prayers were offered.

1. at the time of the morning sacrifice, about 9 a.m. (possibly alluded to in Psa 46:5 b)

2. at noon

3. at the time of the evening sacrifice, about 3 p.m.

This faithful follower structured his day around times with God. He believed God heard and would respond (i.e., eagerly watch, Psa 5:3 b, BDB 859 I, KB 1044, Piel imperfect).

The daily sacrifices in the tabernacle (cf. Exo 29:38-42), and later temple, occurred every morning and evening. They were called The Continual. These were special times to draw near to YHWH.

NASBI will order

NKJVI will direct

NRSVI will plead

TEVI will offer

NJBI will lay

LXXI will present

This verb (BDB 789, KB 884, Qal imperfect) has a wide semantic field but basically means to arrange something. Here it could be (1) words or (2) sacrifice.

eagerly watch This verb (BDB 859, KB 1044, Piel imperfect) denotes expectant waiting for something, here for YHWH to respond to the psalmist’s prayer (cf. Lam 4:17; Mic 7:7; Hab 2:1).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Title. A Psalm. See App-65.

Give ear . . . Consider . . .

LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

meditation. Connecting this Psalm with Psa 1:2; Psa 2:1.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Psa 5:1-12

Psa 5:1-12 is a prayer of the morning. Psa 4:1-8 was the prayer of the evening, and now for the morning.

Give ear unto my words, O LORD; consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up ( Psa 5:1-3 ).

This again is upon a Neginoth, the psalm of David. And he said,

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all of the workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak deceitfully: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man ( Psa 5:4-6 ).

Now the bloody, this is an old English kind of a word. Over in England to say, “You are a bloody bloke,” is really a bad thing. Where’s Malcolm? He’ll tell you that in England the word bloody is really a gutter type of word. You have got to really watch your language when you go really from one culture to the other, because you can be saying things that are sort of weird.

When I was over in England I was speaking to a group of ministers, and I was sharing with them a little bit about the history of Calvary Chapel. And how before we came, the group of people that were praying whether or not to try to keep going or just to quit. And they were discouraged; there were only about twenty-five people here. They had a little church down here on Church Street here in Costa Mesa, and they had gone for a couple of years and were actually just deciding to whether or not to try to go or not. And so a prophecy came to them. And in the prophecy the Lord said that, “Chuck Smith is going to come down and be your new pastor and the church is going to be blessed. You are going to out grow this facility; you are going to have to move onto the bluff overlooking the bay. The church will be going on the radio nationally and it will be known around the world.” Twenty-five discouraged people ready to quit and a prophecy like that, and you have the same attitude as the guy upon whom the king leaned when Elisha said, “Tomorrow they will be selling a barrel of wheat for sixty cents in the gate of the city.” And he said, “If God could open up the windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” It seemed utterly impossible. The prophecy went on to say, “As soon as Chuck comes down, he’s not going to like the church. He is going to suggest that you remodel it. Remodel the platform and all.” And, it was just an encouragement, “Get in and do it.”

They didn’t tell me anything about the prophecy. In fact, when I finally said, “Yes, I will come down,” they called me back the next day and they said, “Don’t bother. We have decided to quit. We just have had it.” I said, “Hey, I have already resigned. I’m on my way, you know.” So the first Sunday, all of us went out for lunch together to the Sizzler. And I took the napkin on the table, and I said to the guys, “We really need to remodel the church, and here is what we need to do to the platform.” And I began to draw on the napkin, remodeling design for the church. Now, they didn’t tell me about the prophecy. I didn’t know anything about it, but they all began to get real excited. They said, “That sounds great! Lets start this week.” And I thought, “Wow! This is all right. I’ve got an eager crew here, you know.”

And so I was relating this to the ministers in England how that I took out a napkin and I began to draw the plans on the napkin. Afterwards my host over there said, “Um, in England we call baby diapers a napkin.” So he said, “All of those ministers were giggling because they pictured you drawing plans on a baby diaper.” So it is interesting how one culture changes the thoughts and the meanings. Of course, that’s not quite as bad as when I was in New Guinea and I decided to use one of Romaine’s phrases, but never again. As I, at the close of the missionary conference, told those Wycliffe missionaries how the conference was just such a great blessing to us. I said, “I’ve just been blessed out of my gourd since I have been here.” Not realizing that New Guinea tribesmen often wear gourds over a certain part of their body. The place broke up.

Now I don’t know what the word bloody means really, but it’s a dirty word in England. So being an English translation of a Hebrew word, it’s a word that doesn’t really commentate to us the dirtiness of it, that it is. It is a dirty kind of a man. But it doesn’t really connotate in our minds. But David used it several times in the psalm concerning the deceitful man and the evil man. So he speaks, “The Lord will abhor the bloody and the deceitful man.” That will mean much more to an Englishman than it does you.

But as for me ( Psa 5:7 ),

Now here is the contrast. Now, as I told you, poetry to them is contrasting ideas or the compounding of an idea. Here comes the contrast,

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee ( Psa 5:7-10 ).

Contrast.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defend them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee ( Psa 5:11 ).

This is a beautiful psalm, really. “Let all of these who put their trust in Thee rejoice.” If you put your trust in the Lord, then you should be rejoicing, shouting for joy. Why? Because God defends you. “Those that love Thy name, let them be joyful in Thee.” God does want the consciousness of our daily walk in life to be that of joy.

For thou, LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor will thou encircle him as with a shield ( Psa 5:12 ). “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Psa 5:1. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Sometimes we pray right off, as David did when he cried to the Lord, Hear me when I call. At other times, we sit down to meditate, and think over what we want to say to the Lord in prayer, as David did when he said, O Lord, consider my meditation. What I have considered do thou consider. A well-considered prayer is very likely to succeed with God.

Psa 5:2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry,-

When I have not confidence or comfort enough to present a well-ordered prayer to thee; but, like a child in pain, cry unto thee, Hearken unto the voice of my cry,-

Psa 5:2. My King, and my God:

What! will a king hearken to a cry? Men generally prepare elaborate petitions when they come into the presence of royalty; but, although the Lord is far greater than all earthly sovereigns, he is far more condescending than they are.

Psa 5:2. For unto the will I pray.

I trust that we all pray; I am sure that all believers do; but let us pray more, let us pray much more than we have done and let us each one truly say to the Lord, Unto thee will I pray. He is a King, so serve him with your prayers. He is God, so adore him with your prayers, and if you can put both your hands on him, and say, as David did, My King, and my God, what abundant motives you have for abounding in prayer to him

Psa 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;

When the dew is on all nature, and on my spirit too, then shalt thou hear my voice in prayer. Before I go out into the world, my first thoughts shall be of thee. Never see the face of man, beloved, until you have seen the face of God.

Psa 5:3. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Adjust your prayer as the archer fits his arrow on the bow, look up as you shoot it, and keep on looking up and looking out for an answer to your supplication. You cannot expect God to open the windows of heaven to pour you out a blessing if you do not open the windows of your expectation to look for it. If you look up in asking, God will look down in answering. It is well always to take good aim in prayer; some prayers are like random shots, they cannot be expected to hit the target; but Davids prayer was well aimed, and he expected it to prevail with God: In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psa 5:4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

In both of these Psalms there is a clear line drawn between the righteous and the wicked, this is a line which still needs to be kept very clear, and we must all seek to know on which side of that line we are.

Psa 5:5-6. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

These are strong words, but not too strong, God is not tolerant of evil and those who are most like him in other respects will be like him in this matter also.

Psa 5:7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:

I will be like a child who goes in and out of his fathers door as often as he pleases because he is at home. I will not go there on my own merits, but in the multitude of thy mercy.

Psa 5:7. And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

There was no temple on earth when David wrote this Psalm, but God was his temple; and so the pious Jew opened the window, and looked towards Jerusalem, so do we look towards God upon the throne of grace in heaven, and seek to worship him in the beauty of holiness.

Psa 5:8. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

David does not say, Make my way straight, he does not want to have his own way, but he wants to walk in Gods way. Thus sweet submission blends with a desire for perfect obedience: Make thy way straight before my face.

Psa 5:9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;-

You cannot expect ungodly men to speak that which is right: there is no faithfulness in their mouth; –

Psa 5:9.Their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher;

Pouring out foul, putrid gas. They cannot speak without using filthy or blasphemous expressions, or if they do, there is falsehood lurking behind their words, for deceit and evil of all kinds are in their hearts.

Psa 5:9. They flatter with their tongue.

Always beware of people who flatter you, and especially when they tell you that they do not flatter you, and that they know you cannot endure flattery, for you are then being most fulsomely flattered, so be on your guard against the tongue of the flatterer.

Psa 5:10. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

It does not matter what they do against me; but, O Lord, they have rebelled against thee. David speaks here like a judge pronouncing sentence upon the guilty,-not out of malice, but out of loyalty and devotion to God,

Psa 5:11-12. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 4, 5.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Psa 5:1-3

Psa 5:1-3

PRAYER FOR PROTECTION FROM THE WICKED

(FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN; WITH THE NEHILOTH. A PSALM OF DAVID)

This psalm is also called a “Morning Prayer” because of the statement in Psa 5:3. Any connection the psalm has with the life of David is unknown, because the prayer is appropriate for any individual at any time, especially when one is threatened by enemies.

“With the Nehiloth.” This word has no certain meaning at all for us. It evidently referred to something connected with the music, but just what is meant is unknown. Delitzsch believed that it signified “inheritances,” the same being a reference to some traditional tune familiar to the people of that generation. Others think it refers to some kind of a wind instrument, such as a flute.

Psa 5:1-3

“Give ear to my words, O Jehovah,

Consider my meditation.

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God.

For unto thee do I pray.

O Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice;

In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch.”

A great wealth of information about prayer appears in these brief lines.

(1) There must be “words” in which prayers are offered. It is not sufficient merely to sit silently as if in some inner communion with God, such as was characteristic of the Quakers. Prayers are presented in words and sentences.

(2) Prayer is personal. The prayers of my preacher, or of my friends or parents, cannot suffice. Note the words: `my words,’ `my meditation,’ `my cry,’ `my voice,’ `my prayer,’ `my King,’ and `my God.’ Prayer is the breathing of spiritual life; and where there is no prayer that life is either threatened or deceased altogether.

(3) The words at the end of Psa 5:3, “will keep watch,” indicate that true prayer involves the expectancy of God’s answer, and of the worshipper’s earnestly watching to receive it. As Jesus himself stated it, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive it.” (Mat 21:22).

“I will order my prayer before thee.” Some have labored to find in this a reference to the way ancient Jewish priests prepared the fire and placed the wood and the pieces of the sacrifice upon the altar; but to us, it appears that the simple meaning is that prayer is not a sporadic or occasional thing at all.

(4) It is regular, continual, persistent and unceasing. The text here mentions prayer “in the morning.” What morning? Every morning of course. It is proper to begin every day with the worship of God and earnest prayers for his help and guidance. Our Lord had a certain place in which to pray; and it is scarcely possible to believe that he did not also have a certain time in which to engage in prayer.

E.M. Zerr:

Psa 5:1-2. David was a praying man and many of his prayers were very earnest and in the form of supplications. In this prayer he recognized God as his King also. That was significant, for there are men who would profess to lean upon God for purposes of divine aid, but look to some man for guidance in their manner of life.

Psa 5:3. This shows a devoted life, for David began the day’s activities with prayer to God.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

This is another song of the morning. It opens with language which reveals the reason of the soul’s assurance as it faces another day. First are petitions asking the attention of Jehovah. These are followed by words which reveal at once the singer’s conception of personal responsibility, and the reason of his confidence in God. As to the former, the day is to be begun in prayer.

O Jehovah, in the morning shalt Thou hear my voice. It is moreover, to be arranged as in the sight of God, In the morning will I order my prayer unto Thee, and will keep watch.

The attitude of God toward wickedness and evil men is then declared. This attitude at once makes the singer sure of his safety as against the opposition of evil men, and causes his concern about his own position before God.

Turning his eyes toward the enemies that wait for him, whom he describes, he seeks the divine guidance, desiring most of all to see plainly before his face the way of Jehovah. As he goes forth to meet these enemies, he does so with a prayer that God will defeat their counsels and vindicate those who put their trust in Him. There is no doubt or uncertainty in his heart. The things he asks for he is assured he will receive and with an affirmation of this confidence the song ends.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Protection from the Wicked

Psa 5:1-12

The ordering of prayer is very necessary, Gen 22:9. Our Lords prayer should be our model. Often our words need to be supplemented by our meditations; that is, we must make room for the groanings which cannot be uttered, but which the Spirit understands, Rom 8:26-27. Distinct from either of these is the urgent ejaculation for aid which is here described as the voice of my cry, Psa 5:2. As soon as we awake, let us speak to God. We must keep watch for the answer, Psa 5:3, r.v. How many answers we miss, because we get tired of waiting for the return of our ships!

Note the seven expressions for the ungodly, Psa 5:4-7. As for me-the chief of sinners, but see 1Co 15:10. The Jew in prayer turned toward the Temple, Psa 5:7; Dan 6:10. Here the Tabernacle, which preceded it, stood for the same, 1Sa 1:9. We look to the Most Holy Place, whither Jesus has entered, Heb 10:19.

The ungodly are specially characterized by sins of speech, Psa 5:9. Wicked men are like sepulchers, which exhale pestilential odors. Their doom is inevitable. Notice the combination of trust, love, and joy, Psa 5:11.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

In the fifth Psalm it is the holiness of God that is celebrated. And again we hear David lifting his voice in prayer, Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up/ He was going to start the day aright. It is a great thing to do that. Did He hear your voice this morning? Did you start the day without any word with Him, and have you wondered why things went wrong today? They always will if you launch out on the work of the day without speaking to Him first. In the Song of Solomon the bridegroom says, Let me hear thy voice, let me see thy countenance. And that is what our blessed Lord is saying to us-I want you to take time to talk with Me, to read My Word and let Me speak to you through it I want you to pour out your heart in prayer. I want to see your face and hear your voice. If you want to be a strong overcoming believer in a day of difficulty, be sure to start the day with God.

For Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with Thee. The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. What is it to stand in the sight of God? It is to be accepted of Him. We read in the first Psalm, The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, But will the ungodly not stand in the judgment; are not they the people that will have to stand before the great white throne? Yes; but they will have no standing there, because when He speaks of standing in the judgment, He means being acquitted, being accepted of God in that day. The ungodly will not be acquitted in the judgment, and so here, The foolish shall not be acquitted in Thy sight. In Revelation when the awful judgment of the last days will break over the world the cry goes forth, The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (6:17). You see, your standing is to be accepted of God in that day.

Well, who will be able to stand? In the fifth chapter of Romans, verses 1 and 2, we read, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. Every believer has a standing before God of which the worldling knows nothing. The unsaved man has no standing, but every child of God stands complete in the risen Christ in all the infinite value of the precious atoning blood of Jesus.

Notice the second part of this verse, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. What does that mean? Are we wrong in telling men that no matter how sinful they are God loves them? We cannot be wrong for the Word itself says, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Joh 3:16), and that world is made up of sinners. What does, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity mean? God abhors the work of ungodly men. No matter how true it is that He loves the sinner, He hates his sin and longs to see the sinner separated from his sin. If men persist in continuing in their sin there can be nothing but banishment from God for eternity, and so destruc- tion comes to the workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. And from this point on there seems to loom before the souls of the writers of these beautiful Old Testament hymns a strong and dreadful character who is the enemy of the people of God and the enemy of everything holy. In other words as you read, it seems that you can see the foreshadowing, all the way through, of the last great enemy of Gods people, who is going to rise up just before the end, the antichrist, and he, I believe, is really the bloody and deceitful man that is in view here. We shall see other terms used of him as we go along.

In spite of all this the child of God can say today as the remnant of Israel will be able to say, As for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy: and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make Thy way straight before my face. In other words, all I want to know, Lord, is what Thy path is, and then I would have grace to walk in it. There is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre. This passage is quoted in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in describing the corruption of men out of Christ.

They flatter with their tongue. Destroy Thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against Thee. You say, Well that does not seem to be a very gracious kind of prayer. Why does David not rather pray that God will break them down and bring them to repentance and save their souls? You see, the Psalmist carries us on to a time of crisis when the enemies of God and the people of God on the other hand are engaged in the last great conflict, and the only way that righteousness can triumph in that time will be by the destruction of all the enemies of the Lord. People have often said that some of these Psalms, with their imprecations, seem so contrary to the spirit of Christ. Of course they have to do largely with law, and in the coming day of tribulation it will be law rather than grace that rules, but after all, do we not even now enter in measure to the same spirit?

About the close of the Civil War two gentlemen happened to meet in a railway train. One of them was sitting there reading his Bible when the other sat down by him and said, My friend, I am rather surprised to see the Book you are reading; it is a Bible, is it not?

Yes, said the other, it is.

You look like an intelligent person; you dont mean to tell me you believe in the Bible?

Yes, I do believe in it.

I didnt know any intelligent persons believed it any more. When I was young, I used to think it was all right, but when I got older I threw it overboard.

What did you find in it so objectionable?

Well, take for instance those imprecatory Psalms. I cannot reconcile those with a loving God.

The other was going to answer him when a newsboy came hurrying through the car calling, Extra! Extra! Grant is marching on Richmond! and everybody wanted a paper. This man said, Good! I am glad that Grant is getting down to business at last. I hope he will wipe Richmond off the face of the earth.

My friend, said the other, that is an imprecatory Psalm!

What did that man mean? He did not really have any hatred in his heart toward the people of the south, but as he thought of the four long years of war he felt that the quickest way to end it all would be by the downfall of Richmond. And so, after all the long, long struggle between good and evil, when at last the end is just about reached and the army of Satan, marching under the antichrist, is defying God, the heart cries out to God to destroy these enemies and to let righteousness prevail. It does not imply hatred but an earnest desire that the long, long reign of wickedness should come to an end and the reign of righteousness begin.

On the other hand, Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee. For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield. And so we think of the tried people of God today entering into these Psalms and finding in them suited vehicles for expression of the earnest desires of their hearts. But how much more will they have their application in that coming day when the remnant of Israel will be suffering so terribly under the hand of the beast and the antichrist. Wherever there is a measure of divine illumination the heart will be lifted above the trial and will be able to look up to God and count on Him while waiting for the hour when the King shall return to bring in the reign of righteousness.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Psa 5:7

Worship a sight of God.

Belief in God is the great regenerating force in the world. Not to believe in God is to be without the grandest idea which can exalt the mind and the noblest motive for moral attainment. But faith in God depends upon culture. We are born capable of believing in God, but we are not born believers in God. When a man begins to neglect his church or his place of worship, he loses one of the things which keep faith in God alive within him. The man who attends, even if it be but as a matter of form, cannot so much resist the influences around him but that he will be more refined and less sordid as well as being in the way of something still higher than if he did not attend. But if faith in God is to be a power elevating and ennobling a man’s life, it must have some finer education than can be had from mere formal attendance at church; it must, in very fact, be a sight of God.

I. By worship I do not mean all sorts of religious services. There is one particular state of mind which is properly called worship. There are states of mind and feeling which primarily look within upon self, and there are other states which primarily look without upon something which is not self, something which attracts the mind by its own intrinsic worth or worthiness. And this is the real meaning of the word “worship.” In worship the prime thought is not the profit or pleasure which may come to me, but the worth or worthiness of that which I see.

II. Of the self-regarding states we may take as illustrations the different appetites and passions with which we are endowed. Prayer as we understand and practise it belongs to the class of self-regarding states. It looks to God, but it does not seem to stay fixed upon Him, but comes back upon itself with the answers to its petitions. Prayer looks to God that it may get something from Him; worship looks to Him, and is entranced, and fascinated, and spell-bound by what He is in Himself. Thus worship implies a sight of God.

III. Such rare moments of worship are not to be had without effort. We cannot drop into a grand view of God as we drop into our seats at church. To such an elevation we must climb, and not until this high communion is reached can the full ravishment of worship hold fast in its attraction the self-forgetting soul.

W. Page-Roberts, Law and God, p. 27.

Reference: Psa 5:8.-Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 257.

Psalm 5

This Psalm is peculiar in setting forth the characteristics of prayer in general.

I. In the first and second verses we have a suggestion of the variety of prayer. (1) “Give ear to my words “-formal prayer; (2) “Consider my meditation”-unexpressed prayer; (3) “Hearken unto my cry”-ejaculatory prayer.

II. The second verse directs our thoughts to the appropriating power of prayer. God is addressed as “my King,” “my God.”

III. By the third verse we are pointed to the statedness and decency of prayer: “My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning.”

IV. Expectancy is suggested by the third verse: “I will watch” or “look up.”

V. A fifth element of true prayer appears in the seventh verse-confidence. The Psalmist speaks as one who has a right to come to God’s house.

VI. This confidence by no means excludes humble reverence: “I will come in the multitude of Thy mercy.”

VII. Such an approach must involve joy: “Let them that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.”

M. R. Vincent, Gates into the Psalm Country, p. 39.

I. Taking this Psalm as an example of personal waiting upon God, what may we learn of personal worship? Mark (1) the directness, (2) the earnestness, (3) the intelligence, of the speech. The Psalmist shows intelligence (a) by his conception of the character of God, and (b) by his view of the character and deserts of the wicked.

II. If this is the kind of prayer which the Lord will hear, then let us gladly learn that one man will be heard; that every man will be heard in his own way; that no man who loves wickedness will be heard; that those who are heard and answered should be enthusiastic in their joy.

III. Regarding this as an acceptable prayer, we may correct some modern notions of worship; for example, (1) that we may not tell God what He already knows; (2) that we may not make a speech to God; (3) that in prayer we should be continually asking for something. Our worship should distinctly express our personality of sin, trouble, and necessity; then it will be always new, vigorous, and profitable.

Parker, The Ark of God, p. 130.

References: Psalm 5-I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 126. Psa 6:2.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xx., p. 87.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

Psalm 5

1.The cry to God the King (Psa 5:1-3)

2. Hating iniquity and trusting in mercy (Psa 5:4-7)

3. Prayer for guidance and judgment (Psa 5:8-12)

Psa 5:1-3. In the third Psalm trust is expressed in God as shield; in the fourth the prayer is to the God of righteousness. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God. It is a fresh and more intense prayer, because evil increaseth and abounds. The cry is to God as King. David calls Him King, as the Jewish remnant will pray to the King and look for the coming of the King. The Church looks for the Lord, for the Bridegroom. Nowhere is the Lord Jesus Christ spoken of as the King of the Church.

Psa 5:4-7. The holiness of God is recognized and shared by the godly in hating iniquity. His confidence is in a sin–and iniquity–hating God, a holy God. He has no pleasure in wickedness or in folly. Falsehood He hates and liars He will destroy. Such are the enemies of God and his enemies also. The bloody and deceitful man mentioned in verse 6 is the first mention of the man of sin, the false Christ, who will persecute Jewish saints in the future. And how beautiful it is to see faith breaking through the gathering storm clouds again–But as for me I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy, in Thy fear I will worship toward Thy holy temple. The final victory is seen by faith.

Psa 5:8-12. Prayer for guidance stands first. Lead me, Jehovah, in Thy righteousness because of mine enemies. What these enemies, especially the future enemies of Israel will be, their character, is described and this is followed by prayer for judgment. Here is the first imprecatory prayer (verse 10). This and the other imprecatory prayers will be prayed during the final days of this age, when the wicked are ripe for judgment. It will be answered and then the righteous will be delivered and have joy (Psa 5:11-12). All this we shall find very much more prominent in the Exodus section of the Psalms.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

Nehiloth

Nehiloth is not a musical instrument, but means “inheritance,” and indicates the character of the Psalm. The righteous are the Lord’s inheritance.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Give: Psa 17:1, Psa 54:2, Psa 55:1, Psa 55:2, Psa 64:1, Psa 80:1, Psa 86:1, 1Pe 3:12, 1Jo 5:14, 1Jo 5:15

consider my: Psa 19:14, 1Sa 1:13, 1Sa 1:16, *marg. Rom 8:26

Reciprocal: 1Ki 8:28 – hearken 2Ch 6:19 – to hearken Psa 9:16 – Higgaion Psa 25:4 – General Psa 61:1 – Hear Psa 86:6 – General Psa 130:2 – let thine ears

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The holiness of God’s presence.

To the chief musician upon the flutes. A psalm of David.

The fifth psalm is, in many respects, the converse, and in some the opposite of the fourth. He who has set apart the godly for Himself, of necessity “hateth all the workers of iniquity.” And here, for the first time, the pleading is against, and no longer with, them. It is one of those psalms whose language most Christians have found difficulty in appropriating as their own. No wonder that they should not be able to assimilate “Destroy thou them, O God,” with their Lord’s “Father, forgive them,” or with Stephen’s “Lay not this sin to their charge”! Judaism and Christianity are, in this matter, essentially different; and however people may try to blend them together, their own consciences will bear witness against the attempt. Alas, that the law which says “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” should be brought back to contravene the contrasted words of the Master,” But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: . . . love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for those that despitefully use you and persecute you.”

But the question will be asked, why should that be right and according to God upon the lips of a Jew, which would be wrong and to be condemned upon the lips of a Christian? The answer is, first, the prayer, “Destroy thou them, O God; for they have rebelled against thee,” is not wrong as measured by the test of intrinsic morality. If it be right for God to destroy, as it surely is, it is not wrong in itself to ask Him to do so. Nay, this is here a Spirit-taught prayer, and answered of God, as the Lord says: “And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” (Luk 18:7-8.) So, when Elijah asked for fire from heaven to consume those that were sent to take him,

the fire came. God put His seal upon that prayer, terrible as it was. Yet, when the disciples asked, in the case of the Samaritans, “Lord, shall we call down fire from heaven to consume them, even as Elias did?” they met with rebuke, not sanction: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” But why should that which was right in Elias be wrong in them? On this account: “for the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

In other words, they were out of sympathy with the mind of God. When Christ had come to save, how altogether unsuited a prayer for judgment! The Lord does not speak of any comparative difference between the Samaritans and the Israelitish companies of old, but reminds them that God was showing grace. How strange and sad that they should not enter more into the spirit of what He was doing, and rejoice in this grace being shown to men. On the other hand, were the day of grace passed, and the time come for judgment to take its course upon the despisers of that grace, what more evident than that the invoking of judgment would be the only right thing, and the prayer for grace itself totally unsuited?

Thus, when the Rider on the white horse comes out to smite the nations, the very saints now praying for God’s mercy upon men will come out after Him as the “armies in heaven” to the judgment of the earth, and there is not, and could not be, a solitary cry of intercession.

If Christians, then, are with Christ in the mercy that is now being shown, they will find it difficult indeed to pray, “Destroy thou them, O God”; but when judgment is at the doors, and the foredoomed followers of the beast and of his prophet are arrayed in open, blasphemous opposition to the Most High, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the prayer of the Jewish remnant of that future day will be in accordance with God’s mind, “Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against Thee.”

These considerations may account also for the change of tone in the fifth psalm as compared with the fourth. There there was, as we have seen, an appeal to the sons of men to consider. Here that is over, and they are treated as having definitely taken their place in rebellion against Jehovah. Entreaty lasted while it might avail. That being found in vain, judgment takes its course. The very purposes of love and goodness, against which the evil is arrayed in opposition, call for the unsparing removal of what hinders the display of that goodness. The “Lamb” will thus be the “Lion.” (Rev 5:1-14.) The Great Shepherd will “shepherd with an iron rod.” Love will smite, and yet be love: yea, because it is.

The Psalm therefore has the governmental character, and the twelve verses which speak of this; in general, also, the 4 x 3 structure which 12 ordinarily has. Yet there is a difference, the third section being divided again, so that the psalm has five divisions instead of four: all which must be in harmony with the theme. In fact, though showing governmental numbers the psalm is not in the governmental place: it is a psalm of the sanctuary; and its subject, therefore, is the holiness of God, which indeed necessitates the judgment of evil, but the main bearing of it is upon the education of the remnant themselves, as suits the place it has in this series; and this we must go on to consider.

1. The first part is a cry to God the King: the power of evil manifesting itself continually more, the heart rises above it for relief to the divine supremacy. God has not yielded to man the sceptre of His omnipotence. It is Jehovah the Unchangeable on whom he relies as hearkening to his words, and invites to consider even the heart-musing from which they spring. How man, the creature of a moment, sinks into nothing here, in presence of the Eternal!

Yet in this very contrast faith finds its claim upon God. The appeal of our weakness to His strength, of our ignorance to His wisdom, of our sinfulness to His grace, can never be in vain. To those that wait upon the Lord as such, how many are the promises! And here, “if patience has its perfect work,” we are “perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” (Jam 1:4.) Thus the plea is here only that of dependence -“I am Thy suppliant”; and there is no sense of its inadequacy: man taking his place before God, -God, too, has His, and relationship is owned between them.

But God being such as He is, the prayer of the suppliant has respect necessarily to His character; the words become “ordered” words, as in His presence: there is earnestness, and expectancy of the mercy sought.

2. In the second part, His nature as against evil is dwelt upon. He is not like one of the mighty ones of the nations, in whom power is conjoined with pleasure in wickedness: not for the briefest moment can evil dwell with Him; even the boaster, with his pretension to more than what is true, cannot maintain himself before the searching eyes of omniscience; and the doers of what is unprofitable and vain He hates. In the issue the actors of a lie perish, and the violence with which men associate their deceit is shown as the abhorrence of the righteous Judge.

3. The third section, or what would have been that in the ordinary division of the number 12, is here divided, as already said, so that only the first verse remains to it; the two others being detached as a plain fourth section. In this one verse the personal assurance of the worshiper expresses itself; but briefly, and without the joyousness that has marked the previous psalms when God’s revelation of Himself to the soul has been the theme; and this seems a sign of transition to the psalm that follows. The sense of the divine holiness induces fear of the Holy One, and it is abundant mercy to be permitted to come unto God’s house. He worships “toward” it. A certain shadow seems to pass over the soul, rather than the “thanksgiving” being heard, which we have elsewhere “at the remembrance of His holiness.” And this agrees well with the abrupt shortening of the section already noticed, if it be not rather the explanation of it. And how, indeed, shall we have “boldness to enter into the holiest,” or to draw near to God at all, save “by the blood of Jesus”? It is this, I doubt not, toward which God is bringing His people in this psalm; and for this there is just beginning, and no more, that self-revelation of the soul that must come, for the need and efficacy of the blood to be known aright.

4. At present there is but an intimation of this. The psalmist is still too much in the presence of others whose wickedness, which is evident, comforts him, as it were, with the consciousness of his own uprightness. Yet he feels his weakness under the gaze of those keen and sinister eyes that watch for his halting, and prays to be led in God’s path as made straight before his face, the only way of security and peace and power, for God is in it.

Around lie these enemies of the righteous, with a smooth but slippery tongue, their throat a yawning sepulchre, abysses within that none can fathom. Such is the divine picture -we may be very sure, therefore, no exaggerated one -of man away from God. What a morass to engulf the unwary! What a contradiction to the fixed clear certainty of the truth of God!

But let us notice again that all this, right as it is in desire, is nevertheless an intrusion into the third or sanctuary part of the psalm. What would have been completely in place as a proper fourth part, -that is, in the last three verses, -here takes away the larger part of the third, while it is itself diminished also in this way. How perfect is the very disorder that seems here! How full of meaning, and evidently designed! For with a soul not at rest, and for which the abiding presence of the Lord is not known, is it not just the walk, the practical conduct, that is the disturbing element; and that to its own damage? Where Christ is not thus rightly known, self is sure to intrude; and with peace holiness is marred, and God is little honored, though we desire it.

The enemies and hindrances here loom large also invariably, while the sanctuary has not power because not in truth enjoyed -to shut them out. From how many exercises -only needed because we must be driven to it, if without this we do not lay hold of it -would the apprehension of the perfect grace of God deliver the soul!

5. And God must interfere for His own. Can it be a question, when wickedness is leagued against the righteous, with which side He will be? Can He give up the world to riot and misrule? No: He has promises to fulfill, blessings for the earth itself, which can only consist with the destruction of the wicked out of it. These promises are Israel’s, as the apostle has very plainly told us. (Rom 9:4.) These blessings the faithfulness of God, spite of their present condition, will fulfill to them. Let us not wonder, then, at the cry for judgment which we hear in this psalm: all the interests of man himself are bound up with the answer. The last verse gives once more the reason for this governmental interference, as well as the ground for the joy that He does thus interfere: “for Thou, Jehovah, wilt bless the righteous: with favor wilt Thou compass him as with a shield.”

Yet, when God’s terrible judgments are at hand, not theirs, -righteous in a true sense as these Jewish saints may be -not theirs the attitude of the white-robed elders, peacefully seated on their thrones amid the lightnings and thunderings of the Throne which they surround. Needful, however painful, is the exercise of heart to which we shall find them now subjected. They are under His hand for good and not for evil; and though He lead the blind by a way they know not, He will at length make darkness light before them. The shadow of death shall be turned to morning, -“a morning without clouds.”

Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary

Psa 5:1-2. Consider my meditation That is, my prayer, as the foregoing and following words show. He calls his prayer his meditation, to signify that it was not the mere labour of his lips, but that it proceeded from, and was accompanied with, the deepest thoughts and most fervent affections of his soul. Hearken unto the voice of my cry The sincerity and earnestness of our cry to God will be in proportion to the sense we have of our sins and wants. My King It is the part and duty of a king to answer the just and humble desires of his subjects; and my God: for unto thee will I pray To thee alone will I direct all my prayers, for to whom should a sinner pray but to his God? and therefore, from thee alone I expect succour and relief.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psa 5:6. Leasing; a Gothic and primitive word equivalent to falsehood. They professed loyalty to the king, but were traitors in heart, as in Psa 5:9.

Psa 5:9. Their throat is an open sepulchre, emitting a noxious effluvia.

Psa 5:10. Destroy them; for by the rebellion their lives and lands were forfeited.

REFLECTIONS.

This is a psalm adapted to Nehiloth, or a wind instrument. It seems to have been composed about the time of Absaloms rebellion, when Davids person was surrounded with bloody and deceitful men.

In these troubles we find him, as usual, having recourse to God; and in fervent strains of early devotion. Prayers and tears relieve the soul of grief, and put it into a state meet for deliverance and salvation.

He was confident that the success of the wicked in the rebellion could not be lasting, for the foolish, (and the rebels were infatuated) could not stand before God. He abhors leasing and guile, and those who shed blood. This consideration should make a good man happy at the worst of times; for God is against his foes, and fighting on his behalf. Therefore the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment.

Davids faith anticipated deliverance. He knew how the battle would go; and charged his army to deal gently with the young man, even with Absalom. Hence he says, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies. In spirit he already celebrated the victory. Oh what advantages in trouble have the righteous over the wicked. When calamities come to a crisis, the one is all faith, and the other all fear.

The equity of Gods judgments on Davids enemies is apparent from their wickedness. They flattered him to the face; but presently filled all the land with lies against him, and excited his subjects to revolt. Their throat was an open sepulchre: the excess of their wickedness against the best of kings, might most obviously be traced to the original depravity of man. Lord cleanse and sanctify our souls, lest we fall by corruption in the day of temptation. From the greatness of their sin, and from the incurable character of their lives, David was impelled by the Spirit to pray for their destruction. So they pray in heaven, Thrust in the sickle, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And it is awful to add, that God presently heard his prayer. The swamp in the wood destroyed more of Absaloms army than the battle. Sheba and most of his adherents perished in the siege. Thus the righteous shout for joy, for the Lord compasseth them about with favour as a shield.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

V. A Hymn for Morning Sacrifice in the Temple.

Psa 5:1-3. Solemn invocation of Yahweh. The Psalmist sets in order (Psa 5:3), not perhaps his prayer (RV), but his sacrifice, the victim and the kindled wood upon the altar. Laying out or ordering in this sense is a common technical use of the Heb. verb. Keep watch may refer to a watch for favourable signs before or during the sacrifice.

Psa 5:4-7. The bloodthirsty can find no acceptance before God. Unlike them, the Psalmist approaches God in fear. This word is used as a summary of Jewish religion, though, of course, men like Hosea and the Deuteronomist knew very well that Israel was bound not only to fear but also to love Yahweh. Many Psalmists placed Gods dwelling-place in heaven, but the belief that God also dwelt in his holy temple still held its ground, at least in the popular creed.

Psa 5:8-12. The poet prays for Divine guidance, for the defeat of the wicked, and the triumph of the righteous, concluding with that note of absolute confidence in God, which is the most striking characteristic of the Psalter. Translate 9, Their inward desire is one of engulfing ruin, i.e. the ruin of the good. Hence (Psa 5:10) God declares them guilty, and does so by the calamities He inflicts, which are the tokens of His wrath. The name of Yahweh is His revealed character; so we speak of a man as having a good or bad name, i.e. reputation.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

PSALM 5

Confidence in God, based on the knowledge of His righteous government, and immutable character.

An appeal to God, based on God’s righteous government, and immutable character, to execute judgment upon the wicked, that the godly may enter upon their blessing.

(vv. 1-3) The psalm opens with an expression of the soul’s daily dependence upon God. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up. The appeal to God as my King involves the government of God, even as my God suggests the character of God.

(vv. 4-10) In the prayer that follows there passes before the soul the character of God (4-6); and need of the godly (7-8); and the evil of the ungodly (9-10).

The psalmist thinks first of God, for his prayer is based on the fact that the righteous character of God makes it impossible for God to pass over sin, and the government of God demands that God should judge the wicked. God’s character is such that He cannot take pleasure in wickedness, or allow evil to exist in His presence: hence in God’s government the man that does evil must come under judgment, and the abhorrence of God (4-6).

As for the godly man, the psalmist recognizes that he can only enter into God’s house – the presence of God – on the ground of mercy. Nevertheless, in the presence of his enemies, he looks to God to lead him in righteousness, and that God’s way may be made plain before his face (7-8).

The ungodly are marked by corruption before men and rebellion toward God. Flattery is on their tongues; rebellion is in their hearts. The godly man looks to God to execute judgment upon them (9-10).

(vv. 11-12) The judgment of the wicked will be followed by the blessing of those who trust in God. In the meantime the favour of the Lord is a shield for the godly.

The psalm clearly indicates the distinct character of the earthly blessing of the godly Jew, in contrast to the heavenly blessings of the Christian. The Jew, having his portion on the earth, looks for the removal of the violent and deceitful man, in order for his own comfort and rest. Not so the Christian. He leaves the violent man here and goes to heaven (JND). This accounts for the prayer for judgment upon enemies found in this psalm, and many others. The Christian is to pray for his enemies. The psalm, therefore, does not present Christian experience, though the righteous character of God, and the principles of His government, set forth in the psalm ever remain true.

Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

5:1 [To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.] Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my {a} meditation.

(a) That is, my vehement prayer and secret complaint and sighings.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Psalms 5

This is another prayer of David that arose out of opposition by enemies (cf. Psalms 3, 4), as is clear from the content. In contrast to Psalms 4, this one is a morning prayer. The Jews regarded each new day as beginning with sundown. Both are individual laments that contain elements of confidence, but this one also has characteristics of a community lament (Psa 5:11-12) and an imprecation.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. Prayer to be heard 5:1-3

David cried out to God to listen to his prayer that arose out of great concern. His references to praying in the morning show the earnestness of his petition and his felt need for God’s help. The first thing David did when he awoke was to pray to God because he sensed his need for God’s assistance very keenly. The implication is that an injustice had been committed. David viewed Yahweh as his King, who could deliver him, and as his God, who was his Father. VanGemeren regarded "my God" as the Old Testament equivalent of "Abba Father." [Note: Ibid., p. 87. See also his excursus on Yahweh as God, pp. 91-96.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 5:1-12

THE reference to the temple in Psa 5:7 is not conclusive against the Davidic authorship of this psalm, since the same word is applied in 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3 to the house of God in Shiloh. It means a palace, and may well be used for any structure, even if a hair tent, in which God dwelt. No doubt it is oftenest used for the Solomonic temple, but it does not necessarily refer to it. Its use here, then. cannot be urged as fatal to the correctness of the superscription. At the same time, it does create a certain presumption against it. But there is nothing in the psalm to determine its date, and its worth is quite independent of its authorship. The psalmist is surrounded by foes, and seeks access to God. These are constant features of the religious life, and their expression here fits as closely to the present time as to any past.

The psalm falls into two main parts: Psa 5:1-7 and Psa 5:8-12. The former division deals with the inner side of the devout life, its. access to God, to whom sinful men cannot approach, the latter with the outward side, the conduct, “the way” in which the psalmist seeks to be led, and in which sinful men come to ruin because they will not walk. Naturally the inward comes first, for communion with God in the secret place of the Most High must precede all walking in His way and all blessed experience of His protection, with the joy that springs from it. These two halves of the psalm are arranged in inverted parallelism, the first verse of the second part (Psa 5:8) corresponding to the last verse of the first (Psa 5:7) and being, like it, purely personal; Psa 5:9-10 corresponding similarly to Psa 5:4-6 and like them, painting the character and fate of evil-doers; and, finally, Psa 5:11-12, answering to Psa 5:1-3 and representing the blessedness of the devout soul, as in the one case led and protected by God and therefore glad, and in the other abiding in His presence. The whole is a prayerful meditation on the inexhaustible theme of the contrasted blessedness of the righteous and misery of the sinner as shown in the two great halves of life: the inward of communion and the outward of action.

In the first part (Psa 5:1-7) the central thought is that of access to Gods presence, as the desire and purpose of the psalmist (Psa 5:1-3), as barred to evildoers (Psa 5:4-6), and as permitted to, and embraced as his chief blessing by, the singer (Psa 5:7). The petition to be heard in Psa 5:1-2 passes into confidence that he is heard in Psa 5:3. There is no shade of sadness nor trace of struggle with doubt in this prayer, which is all sunny and fresh, like the morning sky, through which it ascends to God. “Consider [or Understand] my meditation”-the brooding, silent thought is spread before God, who knows unspoken desires, and “understands thoughts afar off.” The contrast between “understanding the meditation” and “hearkening to the voice of my cry” is scarcely unintentional, and gives vividness to the picture of the musing psalmist, in whom, as he muses, the fire burns, and he speaks with his tongue, in a “cry” as loud as the silence from which it issued had been deep. Meditations that do not pass into cries and cries which are not preceded by meditations are alike imperfect. The invocation “my King” is full of meaning if the singer be David, who thus recognises the delegated character of his own royalty; but whoever wrote the psalm, that expression equally witnesses to his firm grasp of the true theocratic idea.

Noteworthy is the intensely personal tone of the invocation in both its clauses, as in the whole of these first verses, in every clause of which “my” or “I” occurs. The poet is alone with God and seeking to clasp still closer the guiding hand, to draw still nearer to the sweet and awful presence where is rest. The invocation holds a plea in itself. He who says, “My King and my God,” urges the relation, brought about by Gods love and accepted by mans faith, as a ground for the hearing of his petition. And so prayer passes into swift assurance; and with a new turn in thought, marked by the repetition of the name “Jehovah” (Psa 5:3), he speaks his confidence and his resolve. “In the morning” is best taken literally, whether we suppose the psalm to have been composed for a morning song or no. Apparently the compilers of the first Psalter placed it next to Psa 4:1-8, which they regarded as an evening hymn, for this reason. “I will lay me down and sleep” is beautifully followed by “In the morning shalt Thou hear my voice.” The order of clauses in Psa 5:3 is significant in its apparent breach of strict sequence, by which Gods hearing is made to precede the psalmists praying. It is the order dictated by confidence, and it is the order in which the thoughts rise in the trustful heart. He who is sure that God will hear will therefore address himself to speak. First comes the confidence, and then the resolve. There are prayers wrung from men by sore need, and in which doubt causes faltering, but the happier, serener experience is like that of this singer. He resolves to “order” his prayer, using there the word employed for the priests work in preparing the materials for the morning sacrifice. Thus he compares his prayer to it, and stands at the same level as the writer of Psa 4:1-8, with whose command to “offer the sacrifices of righteousness” this thought again presents a parallel.

A psalmist who has grasped the idea that the true sacrifice is prayer is not likely to have missed the cognate thought that the “house of the Lord,” of which he will presently speak, is something other than any material shrine. But to offer the sacrifice is not all which he rejoices to resolve. He will “keep watch,” as Habakkuk said that he would do, on his watchtower; and that can only mean that he will be on the outlook for the answer to his prayer, or, if we may retain the allusion to sacrifice, for the downward flash of the Divine fire, which tells his prayers acceptance. Many a prayer is offered, and no eyes afterwards turned to heaven to watch for the answer, and perhaps some answers sent are like water spilled on the ground, for want of such observance. The confidence and resolve ground themselves on Gods holiness, through which the necessary condition of approach to Him comes to be purity-a conviction which finds expression in all religions, but is nowhere so vividly conceived or construed as demanding such stainless inward whiteness as in the Psalter. The “for” of Psa 5:4 would naturally have heralded a statement of the psalmists grounds for expecting that he would be welcomed in his approach, but the turn of thought, which postpones that, and first regards Gods holiness as shutting out the impure, is profoundly significant. “Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness” means more than the simple “Thou hast not pleasure” would do; it argues from the character of God, and glances at some of the foul deities whose nostrils snuff up sensual impurity as acceptable sacrifice. The one idea of absolute contrariety between God and evil is put in a rich variety of shapes in Psa 5:4-6 which first deal with it negatively in three clauses (not a God; not dwell; not stand in Thy sight) and then positively in other three (hatest; shalt destroy; abhorreth). “Evil shall not sojourn with Thee.” The verb is to be taken in its full meaning of sojourning as a guest-friend, who has the right to hospitality and defence. It thus constitutes the antithesis to Psa 5:7. Clearly the sojourning does not mean access to the temple, but abiding with God. The barriers are of the same nature as the communion which they hinder, and something far deeper is meant than outward access to any visible shrine. No one sojourned in the temple. In like manner, the “standing in Thy sight” is a figure drawn from courts, reminding us of “my King” in Psa 5:2 and suggesting the impossibility of evil or its doers approaching the Divine throne.

But there is more than a negative side to the relation between God and evil, which the psalm goes on to paint in sombre colours, for God not only does not delight in sin, but hates it with a hatred like the physical loathing of some disgusting thing, and will gather all His alienation into one fatal lightning bolt. Such thoughts do not exhaust the truth as to the Divine relation to sin. They did not exhaust the psalmists knowledge of that relation, and still less do they exhaust ours, but they are parts of the truth today as much as then, and nothing in Christs revelation has antiquated them.

The psalmists vocabulary is full of synonyms for sin, which witness to the profound consciousness of it which law and ritual had evoked in devout hearts. First, he speaks of it in the abstract, as “wickedness” and “evil.” Then he passes to individuals, of whom he singles out two pairs, the first a more comprehensive and the second a more specific designation. The former pair are “the foolish” and “workers of iniquity.” The word for “foolish” is usually translated by the moderns “arrogant,” but the parallelism with the general expression “workers of iniquity” rather favours a less special meaning, such as Hupfelds “fools” or the LXXs “transgressors.” Only in the last pair are special forms of evil mentioned, and the two selected are significant of the psalmists own experience. Liars and men of blood and craft are his instances of the sort of sinners most abominable to God. That specification surely witnesses to his own sufferings from such.

In Psa 5:7 the psalmist comes back to the personal reference, contrasting his own access to God with the separation of evil-doers from His presence. But he does not assert that he has the right of entrance because he is pure. Very strikingly he finds the ground of his right of entry to the palace in Gods “multitude of mercy.” not in his own innocence. Answering to “in Thy righteousness” is “in Thy fear.” The one phrase expresses Gods disposition to man which makes access possible, the other mans disposition to God which makes worship acceptable. “In the multitude of Thy mercy” and “in Thy fear,” taken together, set forth the conditions of approach. Having regard to Psa 5:4, it seems impossible to restrict the meaning of “Thy house” to the material sanctuary. It is rather a symbol of communion, protection, and friendship. Does the meaning pass into the narrower sense of outward worship in the material “temple” in the second clause? It may be fairly taken as doing so (Hupfeld). But it may be maintained that the whole verse refers to the spiritual realities of prayer and fellowship, and not at all to the externalities of worship, which are used as symbols, just as in Psa 5:3 prayer is symbolised by the morning sacrifice. But probably it is better to suppose that the psalmists faith, though not tied to form, was fed by form, and that symbol and reality, the outward and the inward worship, the access to the temple and the approach of the silent soul to God, are fused in his psalm as they tended to be in his experience. Thus the first part of the psalm ends with the psalmist prostrate (for so the word for “worship” means) before the palace sanctuary of his King and God. It has thus far taught the conditions of approach to God, and given a concrete embodiment of them in the progress of the singers thoughts from petition to assurance and from resolve to accomplishment.

The second part may be taken as his prayer when in the temple, whether that be the outward sanctuary or no. It is likewise a further carrying out of the contrast of the condition of the wicked and of the lovers of God, expressed in terms applying to outward life rather than to worship. It fails into three parts: the personal prayer for guidance in life, the contemplation of evil-doers, and the vehement prayer for their destruction, corresponding to Psa 5:4-6, and the contrasted prayer for the righteous, among whom he implies his own inclusion.

The whole of the devout mans desires for himself are summed up in that prayer for guidance. All which the soul needs is included in these two: access to God in the depths of still prostration before His throne as the all-sufficient good for the inner life; guidance, as by a shepherd, on a plain path, chosen not by self-will but by God, for the outward. He who has received the former in any degree will in the same measure have the latter. To dwell in Gods house is to desire His guidance as the chief good. “In Thy righteousness” is capable of two meanings: it may either designate the path by which the psalmist desired to be led, or the Divine attribute to which he appealed. The latter meaning, which is substantially equivalent to “because Thou art righteous,” is made more probable by the other instances in the psalm of a similar use of “in” (in the multitude of Thy mercy; in Thy fear; in the multitude of their transgressions). His righteousness is manifested in leading those who seek for His guidance. {compare Psa 25:8; Psa 31:1, etc.} Then comes the only trace in the psalm of the presence of enemies, because of whom the singer prays for guidance. It is not so much that he fears failing into their hands as that he dreads lest, if left to himself, he may take some step which will give them occasion for malicious joy in his fall or his calamity. Wherever a man is earnestly God fearing, many eyes watch him, and gleam with base delight if they see him stumble. The psalmist, whether David or another, had that cross to carry, like every thorough going adherent of the religious ideal (or of any lofty ideal, for that matter); and his prayer shows how heavy it was, since thoughts of it mingled with even his longings for righteousness. “Plain” does not mean obvious, but level, and may possibly include both freedom from stumbling blocks (“Lead us not into temptation”) and from calamities, but the prevalent tone of the psalm points rather to the former. He who knows his own weaknesses may legitimately shrink from snares and occasions to fall, even though, knowing the wisdom of his Guide and the help that waits on his steps, he may “count it all joy” when he encounters them.

The picture of the evil-doers in Psa 5:9 is introduced, as in Psa 5:4, with a “for.” The sinners here are evidently the enemies of the previous verse. Their sins are those of speech; and the force of the rapid clauses of the picture betrays how recently and sorely the psalmist had smarted from lies, flatteries, slanders, and all the rest of the weapons of smooth and bitter tongues. He complains that there is no faithfulness or steadfastness in “his mouth”-a distributive singular, which immediately passes into the plural – nothing there that a man can rely on, but all treacherous. “Their inward part is destruction.” The other rendering, “engulfing ruin” or “a yawning gulf,” is picturesque; but destruction is more commonly the meaning of the word and yields a vigorous sense here. They plot inwardly the ruin of the men whom they flatter. The figure is bold. Down to this pit of destruction is a way like an open sepulchre, the throat expanded in the act of speech; and the falsely smoothed tongue is like a slippery approach to the descent (so Jennings and Lowe). Such figures strike Western minds as violent, but are natural to the East. The shuddering sense of the deadly power of words is a marked characteristic of the Psalter. Nothing stirs psalmists to deeper indignation than “Gods great gift of speech abused,” and this generation would be all the better for relearning the lesson.

The psalmist is “in the sanctuary,” and there “understands their end,” and breaks into prayer which is also prophecy. The vindication of such prayers for the destruction of evil-doers is that they are not the expressions of personal enmity (“They have rebelled against Thee”), and that they correspond to one side of the Divine character and acts, which was prominent in the Old Testament epoch of revelation, and is not superseded by the New. But they do belong to that lower level; and to hesitate to admit their imperfection from the Christian point of view is to neglect the plain teaching of our Lord, who built His law of the kingdom on the declared relative imperfection of the ethics of the Old. Terrible indeed are the prayers here. Hold them guilty-that is, probably, treat them as such by punishing; let them fall; thrust them out-from Thy presence, if they have ventured thither, or out into the darkness of death. Let us be thankful that we dare not pray such prayers, but let us not forget that for the psalmist not to have prayed them would have indicated, not that he had anticipated the tenderness of the Gospel, but that he had failed to learn the lesson of the law and was basely tolerant of baseness.

But we come into the sunshine again at the close, and hear the contrasted prayer, which thrills with gladness and hope. “When the wicked perish there is shouting.” The servants of God, relieved from the incubus and beholding the fall of evil, lift up their praises. The order in which the designations of these servants occur is very noteworthy. It is surely not accidental that we have them first described as “those that trust in Thee,” then as “all them that love Thy name,” and finally as “the righteous.” What is this sequence but an anticipation of the evangelical order? The root of all is trust, then love, then righteousness. Love follows trust. “We have known and believed the love which God hath to us.” Righteousness follows trust and love, inasmuch as by faith the new life enters the heart and inasmuch as love supplies the great motive for keeping the commandments. So root, stem, and flower are here, wrapped up, as it were, in a seed, which unfolds into full growth in the New Testament. The literal meaning of the word rendered “put their trust” is “flee as to a refuge,” and that beautifully expresses the very essence of the act of faith; while the same metaphor is carried on in “defendest,” which literally means coverest. The fugitive who shelters in God is covered by the shadow of His wing. Faith, love, and righteousness are the conditions of the purest joy. Trusts joy; love is joy; obedience to a loved law is joy. And round him who thus, in his deepest self, dwells in Gods house and in his daily life walks, with these angels for his companions, on Gods path, which by choice he has made his own, there is ever cast the broad buckler of Gods favour. He is safe from all evil on whom God looks with love, and he on whom God so looks is he whose heart dwells in Gods house and whose feet “travel on lifes common way in cheerful godliness.”

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary