Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 5:7
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.
7. I will come &c.] Better, as R.V., following the order of the original: in the multitude [or, abundance ] of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house. Cp. Psa 69:13; Psa 69:16, Psa 106:7; Psa 106:45. The wicked are excluded from Jehovah’s presence by their own act; the godly man is admitted to it by Jehovah’s grace. Note the contrast between “the multitude of thy lovingkindness,” and “the multitude of their transgressions,” Psa 5:10.
and in thy fear ] Omit and. Fear, reverent awe, is the right spirit for approach to a holy God. Cp. Psa 2:11; Heb 12:28-29.
will I worship ] The Heb. word means to prostrate one’s self, the Oriental attitude of reverence to a superior or supplication (Gen 18:2); hence in general, of the corresponding disposition of mind, to worship. The Psalmist worships facing the sanctuary which was the outward sign of Jehovah’s presence among His people. Or is the heavenly temple meant? (1Ki 8:22).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 9. In sharp contrast to the banishment of the wicked from God’s presence is the Psalmist’s freedom of access. He prays for the special guidance needed by one who is surrounded by insidious enemies.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But as for me – While it is their characteristic that they are wicked, and have no desire to serve God; and while with such characteristics they can have no hope of access to God, and no reason to suppose that he will hear their cry, I am inclined to enter his house, and I feel the assurance that he will listen to my prayer. In character and ill feelings he was wholly unlike them.
I will come into thy house – Indicating his expectation and his hope that he would yet be permitted to enter the courts of the Lord, from which he was now driven away (see the introduction to the psalm), and his purpose thus to acknowledge God. The word house here refers to the tabernacle, which was regarded as the house or dwelling place of God. The word was applied to the entire structure, embracing all the courts, as being sacred to God, as the word was subsequently to the whole of the temple. It was the holy of holies, however, which was regarded as the special dwelling-place of God, and that none were permitted to enter but the high priest, and he but once in the year. (See the notes at Heb 9:1-7.)
In the multitude of thy mercy – In thine abundant mercy. He expected to be delivered from his present troubles, and he felt assured that God would permit him again to enter his earthly courts, and to offer his vows and thanksgivings there.
And in thy fear – In profound reverence for thee. Fear, or reverence, is often employed to denote devotion or worship.
Will I worship toward thy holy temple – The worshippers were not permitted to enter the temple, but worshipped toward it; that is, looking toward it, or prostrating themselves toward it as the special dwelling-place of God. If they were in the courts around the temple, they worshipped with their faces toward the place where God was supposed to reside; if they were far away, even in distant lands, they still directed their faces toward Jerusalem and the temple, as the Muslims now do toward Mecca. See the notes at Dan 6:10. It has been objected, from the use of the word temple here, that this psalm could not have been written by David, as the temple was not built until the time of Solomon. But in reply to this it may be observed that the word here used – heykal – is a word of large signification, and might be applied to any place of worship. It means, properly, a large and magnificent building, a palace, Pro 30:28; Isa 39:7; Dan 1:4; and then, the place where Yahweh was supposed to reside, or the place of his worship; and might be applied to the tabernacle as well as to the temple. In fact, it is often applied to the tabernacle that was in use before the building of the temple, 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 22:7. Compare Gesenius Lexicon.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 5:7
I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy.
Sanctuary worship
This noble resolution. It manifests–
I. An independence of character. As for me. How many there are who follow the crowd! Whether for evil or good, where the multitude go they will go. Hundreds stay away from the house of God either because it is not fashionable to go there or because they are afraid of being singular. Such was not Davids course.
II. A noble determination. I will come into Thy house. Two or three thoughts will show the nature of the act.
1. David was a king. He might have thought it beneath him to leave his throne and humble himself before God in the worship of the temple. But kings as well as subjects need the pardon of their sins, the help of the Holy Spirit, and the Divine favour. And no king could do a more noble act than show an example of pious devotion.
2. David was a man of war. He was constantly engaged in bitter contests. But he did not, therefore, abstain from attending the house of God.
3. David was a busy man. He had to manage the affairs of a large and distracted kingdom; yet he still found time for attending the house of God.
4. David was a clever man. He was also a good man. He might have said, What good can I get from the temple? I know the services, etc. But humility always attends those who have real merit, while those who have little to boast of fail to avail themselves of opportunities of improvement because of their self-conceit. A real Christian feels his deficiencies.
III. A worthy object. I will come into Thy house. Public worship is the most important part of Christian life.
1. It is obeying the Divine command. The duty of gathering ourselves together is imposed upon us in many parts of the Scriptures. Not only was it insisted upon in the Old Testament, but it is still more urged in the New.
2. It is the means of developing the Christian life. In the assemblies of the saints the Holy Spirit was given at first, and is still bestowed. Here spirituality is deepened and the work of conversion carried on.
3. It is the appointed means of communing with God. We can pray in private; but we have particular access in the house of prayer. (Homilist.)
The tribute of worship
From the sense the Psalmist had of Gods manifold, repeated favours to him, from the multitude of the Divine mercies towards him, he would be always glad and ready to resort to the house of God; there to prostrate himself with all humble reverence, and there to pay Him the tribute of a public and solemn worship.
I. The reasonableness of this resolution. His reason in this instance was indeed occasional and particular, and but one of the many motives which persuade to the discharge of this important duty. Consider well the intrinsic grounds of that fitness which it is so generally agreed there is in the worship of our Maker. Moral duties have, besides His will and pleasure, reasons of their own. How doth the relation of a reasonable creature to an all-perfect Creator, infinite in wisdom, goodness, and power, introduce the fitness of any application from the one to the other, in the offices of religious worship? How should it appear, if God had not commanded it, that He would either expect or accept such a service from us? With what view do we lay our wants before Him? Doth He not know them beforehand much better than we do? Or doth His goodness want solicitation to induce Him to be yet more gracious than He is? Or when we deprecate the punishment of our sins, and implore His merciful pardon, do we intend to make our impressions upon the tenderness of His nature? Or when we approach Him with the charity of our intercessions for His mercies and blessings to our fellow creatures, is it that we are better than they? Are we more mindful of their interests than He is? Or when we praise Him for His benefits with joyful lips, do we mean by the pleasing sound of our eucharistical oblations to engage His goodness in the more and further largesses of His favour? If these are improper regards, what more proper reason will be left for the support of our worship? Why are we commanded to pray? Because prayer recognises and settles upon our minds a sense of those several attributes and perfections in God, the dutiful and cordial acknowledgment whereof is most likely to maintain and preserve us in the state of dependence and subjection we were made for. When we approach God in the humble strains of penitential sorrow, what a scene of melting and moving considerations must open to our minds! What indignation that we have not yet approved, what fear that we may not, what vehement desire that we may approve our hearts before Him in all holy obedience. Do we engage in the charitable office of intercession for others? The seeds of mutual benevolence are fostered hereby and greatly cultivated. We cannot ask with any decency the forgiveness of their sins at the hands of God, whose trespasses against ourselves we should not be willing to remit or pardon. Finally, the offices of praise and thanksgiving add the motives of gratitude to the sense of our dependence, and inspire us with a more generous and honourable principle of obedience.
II. The fitness of the place He chose for it. The palace of Gods holiness where numbers resorted for the purposes of public prayer and thanksgiving. An appropriate place is necessary to the purposes of public worship.
III. The manner of executing the pious resolution. In the fear of God with an awful sense of His wisdom, goodness, and power. With reverence and godly fear. This every attribute of God, when duly improved to us by proper reflections, may help to enforce and to inculcate. Even the forgiveness that there is with Him, by the manner and method wherein we partake of it, was, with our holy Psalmist, a motive to the fear of Him. (N. Marshall, D. D.)
In Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple.
The Christian worshipping in Gods temple
Two qualifications of a right worshipper of Jehovah are here set before us.
1. I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy. He seems to trace all the multitudinous streams of the Divine goodness to one great fountain, and then as he looks at that fountain overflowing on every side, and pouring out its waters in those numberless streams, he calls it a multitudinous fountain; he says, The multitude of Thy mercy. He will go to Gods house –
(1) With a thankful remembrance of the Lords great mercies past.
(2) With a lively sense of Gods great mercy now. And
(3) With great expectations from His mercy.
2. In Thy fear will I worship. Fear, as we generally experience it, is a humiliating and painful feeling. We suffer under it, and are ashamed of it. And because of this, we cannot disconnect the ideas of pain and humiliation from it. But fear is not necessarily a painful thing. Real godliness is called a holy fear of God. Perfect love does indeed cast out fear; but what fear? Only the fear that hath torment; servile fear. The fear David means here, is that feeling which naturally arises in the human mind from the contemplation of any object immensely superior to ourselves. It is made up of admiration, awe, and reverence. The phrase worship toward His holy temple, is taken from a custom among the Jews of always turning towards the temple or tabernacle when they prayed.
3. See these two things conjoined. They may be conjoined; and it is good for us to have these two things conjoined. The union qualifies us for the service and worship of God in His house. And these feelings must correspond with Gods character. Let us all, then, seek to cultivate these holy feelings. (C. Bradley.)
Worship, a sight of God
Belief in God is the great regenerating force of the world. The loss which the unbeliever suffers is enormous. For it does matter what God a man believes in, for his character will be as his faith. Darwin says, That with the existence of the more civilised races the conviction of the existence of an all-seeing Deity has had a potent influence in the advancement of morality. But morality means the highest welfare of mankind. Faith in God depends upon culture: we are not born believers. There are races who seem to have no such faith; and there seems, alas, in too many Christian countries, a tendency to revert to primitive barbarism in this respect! Its beginning may be detected in the neglect of public religious service. When a man begins to neglect his church, he loses one of the things which keep faith in God alive within him. But if such faith is to be a power, it must have some finer education than can be had from mere formal attendance at church; it must, in fact, be a sight of God. This is the highest act of religious service, it is the act and state of worship. What is worship? It does not mean all sorts of religious services, but it is one particular state of mind. And this not a self-regarding one. It seeks not to get something for itself, though indeed it gains much. But that is not its object, which is the looking upon that which attracts the mind by its own intrinsic worth or worthiness. This is the real meaning of the word worship. Of the self-regarding states are our appetites and passions. They are for self. And prayer, whilst it looks to God, is yet that it may gain for self. Its two great words are, Give and Forgive. But there are states of mind which look quite away from self. Nature, in her highest moods, and Art, in some of its grandest expressions, are able to thus absorb us and hold us spellbound. The mind is taken out of itself and placed in a strange mysterious atmosphere. And so worship is the mind entranced, fascinated, spellbound by the sight of what God is in Himself. Thus worship implies a sight of God. But not any sight. Some views of God are so oppressive and terrifying as to palsy the mind with fear. For many practically hold God to be the author of evil rather than of good, and think of Him only to find out how they may appease Him. They come before Him in awful dread. But the highest form of religious service–seen with such lofty pathos in the worship of our Lord and Master, and presented to us as the absorbing occupation of heaven–is the beatific vision of God and the dwelling upon Him until earthly pains and sorrows and sins fall off from us and all is tranquil as a dreamless sleep.
In such access of mind, in such high hour
Of visitation from the living God,
Thought was not; in enjoyment it expired.
No thanks he breathed, he proffered no request,
Rapt into still communion that transcends
The imperfect offices of prayer and praise.
Now we might and should have more of this Divine elevation in our religious services. If there were there would be no fear of the neglect of public worship. But for this we must prepare ourselves. Like David we should sit still for a while. We should come as he says, here in the text, that he will come. In praise we have the best opportunity of rising to adoration, as in the Te Deum and in the Gloria in Excelsis. But we cannot drop into a grand view of God as we drop into our seats at church. To such an elevation we must climb. This is the ideal after which we should reach. It is no sterile contemplation. It gives tone to the character, and dignity to the life. (W. Page Roberts.)
The solemn service of God
I. The motives we have to join in the solemn service of God. One leading object which we ought to have in view is to promote the glory of God by the conversion or confirmation of others; but still it is in consideration of His mercy that we magnify Jehovah in His other attributes. The Psalmist considered it to be an invaluable privilege that he was permitted to take part in the solemn and public worship of God. He knew the comfort and benefit which flowed from that privilege.
II. The dispositions to be acquired in order that it may be an acceptable sacrifice. The value to ourselves depends on the use we make of it, and on the state of our own hearts. The true worshipper is studious.
1. To bring into the sanctuary a purified heart, at least a heart that seeks to be purified and to experience, in the serious and faithful use of the appointed means of grace, the renewing and refreshing influences of that Spirit who helpeth our infirmities.
2. The spirit of purity requires a spirit of fear. In Thy fear will I worship. We are invited, by the Sabbath bell, to an act of solemn and direct intercourse with our Maker, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier, and our Judge. Is that an employment which we can presume to take in hand without the most serious consideration, the most entire collectedness of thought, the warm glow of thankfulness and love?
3. The worship must be attended with faith and hope. The experience of mercies past, and the sure promise of their continuance, the gracious invitations and affectionate expostulations of Him who has described Himself as hearing and answering prayer, should fill us with the spirit of supplication. God loves to listen to the united praises of those who are met together in His name. (Bishop Bloomfield.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. In the multitude of thy mercy] David considered it an inexpressible privilege to be permitted to attend public worship; and he knew that it was only through the multitude of God’s mercy that he, or any man else, could enjoy such a privilege. He knew farther that, from the multitude of this mercy, he might receive innumerable blessings in his house. In this spirit, and with this dependence, he went to the house of the Lord. He who takes David’s views of this subject will never, willingly, be absent from the means of grace.
In thy fear] Duly considering the infinite holiness of thy majesty, will I worship, eshtachaveh, will I bow and prostrate myself in the deepest self-abasement and humility.
Toward thy holy temple.] If David was the author of this Psalm, as is generally agreed, the temple was not built at this time: only the tabernacle then existed; and in the preceding clause he speaks of coming into the house, by which he must mean the tabernacle. But temple here may signify the holy of holies, before which David might prostrate himself while in the house, i.e., the court of the tabernacle. Even in the house of God, there is the temple of God; the place where the Divine Shechinah dwells. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. In him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. In all ages and dispensations, Jesus was ever the temple where the Supreme Deity was met with and worshipped. The human nature of Jesus was the real temple of the Deity. Nowhere else can God be found.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will come, to wit, with holy boldness and confidence, as becomes thy son and servant; whereas mine enemies cannot appear in thy presence with any comfort and safety, Psa 5:5.
Into thy house, to wit, the tabernacle; from which, though I be now excluded, through the malice and power of mine adversaries, yet thou wilt, I doubt not, restore me to my former opportunities of coming thither to worship thee, which was my constant custom and chief joy.
In the multitude of thy mercy, or, by thy great mercy, i.e. trusting only to thy great mercy for admittance thither, and acceptance there. Or, for or became of thy many mercies to me, for which I will come to pay my thanks and service unto thee.
In thy fear; with a holy dread and reverence of thy majesty, and of thy house, and a due care to please thee in my religious worship, and in the whole course of my life; which he opposeth to the carelessness of his enemies, who came thither so rudely and presumptuously, and with the conscience of such wicked hearts and lives.
Toward thy holy temple; looking towards it, when I cannot come to it. Compare Dan 6:10. Or, at thy holy temple, i.e. the tabernacle, which is sometimes called by that name.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. Butas in Ps2:6, literally, “and.”
house (1Ch9:23), the tabernacle.
templeliterally,”palace,” applied to God’s residence, the Holy of Holies(1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 22:7);the inner part of the tabernacle.
towardnot in; the highpriest alone was allowed to enter.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But as for me, I will come [into] thy house,…. The tabernacle of Moses, sometimes called the house of God, 1Ch 9:23; for as yet the temple was not built. Here David had been used to go in times past; and though he was now in a kind of exile from it, he was confident he should again enter into and determined so to do whenever he had an opportunity, and that in the following manner:
in the multitude of thy mercy; grace or goodness. God is rich in mercy, abundant in goodness and truth; there is a multitude of mercy, love, and grace in his heart, and which is stored up in his covenant, and displayed in his Son, and in the provision of him as a Saviour of lost sinners; abundant mercy is shown in regeneration, in adoption, and in the forgiveness of sins, and in every spiritual blessing, and in the gift of eternal life. And now, not relying on his own merits, strength, and righteousness, or leaning to his own understanding, but trusting in the mercy, grace, and goodness of God in Christ, and in hope of finding more grace and mercy to help in time of need; with thankfulness for what he had received, he determines, by divine leave and assistance, to enter, into the house of the Lord: and whatever other persons did, whom he had before described, it was his resolution to serve the Lord, under a sense of his mercy and goodness to him; which laid him under an obligation so to do, and is the true principle from which all service should proceed;
[and] in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple; either heaven, the habitation of God’s holiness, towards which, and to God there, the psalmist would lift up his eyes, his hands, and heart; or the tabernacle, at the door of which the worship of God was performed, the sacrifices were brought, and God met his people; and therefore he says he would worship towards the temple or tabernacle, Le 1:3. And it may be that David has reference to the Messiah, the medium of divine worship; whose human nature was typified by the tabernacle and temple, in which the fulness of the Godhead dwells: the psalmist therefore purposes to worship God in Christ, and to perform all acts of worship, as prayer, praise, hearing the word, offering sacrifice, c. in the name and faith of Christ looking towards him for the presentation of his services by him, and for the acceptance of them with God through him: and this he desired to do in the “fear” of God; not with a slavish fear, but with reverence and godly fear; with a fear influenced by the multitude of God’s mercy, grace, and goodness, in art humble modest manner, not trusting to, or depending upon, any service done by him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 5:8-10) Since the Psalm is a morning hymn, the futt. in Psa 5:8 state what he, on the contrary, may and will do (Psa 66:13). By the greatness and fulness of divine favour (Psa 116:14) he has access ( , for means, according to its root, “to enter”) to the sanctuary, and he will accordingly repair thither to-day. It is the tabernacle on Zion in which was the ark of the covenant that is meant here. That daily liturgical service was celebrated there must be assumed, since the ark of the covenant is the sign and pledge of Jahve’s presence; and it is, moreover, attested by 1Ch 16:37. It is also to be supposed that sacrifice was offered daily before the tabernacle. For it is not to be inferred from 1Ch 16:39. that sacrifice was only offered regularly on the Bama (high place) in Gibeon before the Mosaic tabernacle.
(Note: Thus, in particular, Sthelin, Zur Kritik der Psalmen in the Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitschr. vi. (1852) S. 108 and Zur Einleitung in die Psalmen. An academical programme, 1859. 4to.)
It is true sacrifice was offered in Gibeon, where the old tabernacle and the old altars (or at least the altar of burnt-offering) were, and also that after the removal of the ark to Zion both David (1Ch 21:29.) and Solomon (1Ki 3:4; 2Ch 1:2-6) worshipped and sacrificed in Gibeon. But it is self-evident sacrifices might have been offered where the ark was, and that even with greater right than in Gibeon; and since both David, upon its arrival (2Sa 6:17.), and Solomon after his accession (1Ki 3:15), offered sacrifices through the priests who were placed there, it is probable-and by a comparison of the Davidic Psalms not to be doubted-that there was a daily service, in conjunction with sacrifices, before the ark on Zion.
But, moreover, is it really the in Zion which is meant here in v. 8 by the house of God? It is still maintained by renowned critics that the tabernacle pitched by David over the sacred ark is never called or or or or . But why could it not have all these names? We will not appeal to the fact that the house of God at Shilo (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3) is called and , since it may be objected that it was really more of a temple than a tabernacle,
(Note: Vid., C. H. Graf, Commentation de templo Silonensi ad illustrandum locum Jud. xviii. 30, 31, (1855, 4to.), in which he seeks to prove that the sanctuary in Shilo was a temple to Jahve that lasted until the dissolution of the kingdom of Israel.)
although in the same book, 1Sa 2:22 it is called , and in connection with the other appellations the poetic colouring of the historical style of 1 Sam 1-3 is to be taken into consideration. Moreover, we put aside passages like Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, since it may be said that the future Temple was present to the mind of the Lawgiver. But in Jos 6:24; 2Sa 12:20, the sanctuary is called without being conceived of as a temple. Why then cannot the tabernacle, which David pitched for the ark of the covenant when removed to Zion (2Sa 6:17), be called ? It is only when and are placed in opposition to one another that the latter has the notion of a dwelling built of more solid materials; but in itself beit (bt) in Semitic is the generic term for housing of every kind whether it be made of wool, felt, and hair-cloth, or of earth, stone, and wood; consequently it is just as much a tent as a house (in the stricter sense of the word), whether the latter be a hut built of wood and clay or a palace.
(Note: The Turkish Kamus says: “Arab. byt is a house (Turk. ew ) in the signification of chane (Persic the same), whether it be made of hair, therefore a tent, or built of stone and tiles.” And further on: “ Beit originally signified a place specially designed for persons to retire to at night from Arab. bata he has passed the night, if it does not perhaps come from the , Arab. bayya , which stands next to it in this passage, vid., Job at Job 29:15-17]; but later on the meaning was extended and the special reference to the night time was lost.” Even at the present day the Beduin does not call his tent ahl , but always bet and in fact bet sha’r ( ), the modern expression for the older bet wabar (hair-house).)
If a dwelling-house is frequently called , then a tent that any one dwells in may the more naturally be called his . And this we find is actually the case with the dwellings of the patriarchs, which, although they were not generally solid houses (Gen 33:17), are called (Gen 27:15). Moreover, (from = to hold, capacem esse ), although it signifies a palace does not necessarily signify one of stone, for the heavens are also called Jahve’s , e.g., Psa 18:7, and not necessarily one of gigantic proportions, for even the Holy of holies of Solomon’s Temple, and this par excellence , is called , and once, 1Ki 6:3, . Of the spaciousness and general character of the Davidic tabernacle we know indeed nothing: it certainly had its splendour, and was not so much a substitute for the original tabernacle, which according to the testimony of the chronicler remained in Gibeon, as a substitute for the Temple that was still to be built. But, however insignificant it may have been, Jahve had His throne there, and it was therefore the of a great king, just as the wall-less place in the open field where God manifested Himself with His angels to the homeless Jacob was (Gen 28:17).
Into this tabernacle of God, i.e., into its front court, will David enter ( with acc. as in Psa 66:13) this morning, there will he prostrate himself in worship, ( ) reflexive of the Pilel , Ges. 75, rem. 18), towards ( as in Psa 28:2, 1Ki 8:29, 1Ki 8:35, cf. Psa 99:5, Psa 99:9) Jahve’s , i.e., the , the Holy of holies Psa 28:2, and that “in Thy fear,” i.e., in reverence before Thee ( genit. objectivus ). The going into the Temple which David purposes, leads his thoughts on to his way through life, and the special de’eesis, which only begins here, moulds itself accordingly: he prays for God’s gracious guidance as in Psa 27:11; Psa 86:11, and frequently. The direction of God, by which he wishes to be guided he calls . Such is the general expression for the determination of conduct by an ethical rule. The rule, acting in accordance with which, God is called par excellence , is the order of salvation which opens up the way of mercy to sinners. When God forgives those who walk in this way their sins, and stands near to bless and protect them, He shows Himself not less (just), than when He destroys those who despise Him, in the heat of His rejected love. By this righteousness, which accords with the counsel and order of mercy, David prays to be led , in order that the malicious desire of those who lie in wait for him may not be fulfilled, but put to shame, and that the honour of God may not be sullied by him. is equivalent to (Aquila , Jerome insidiator ) from the Pilel to fix one’s eyes sharply upon, especially of hostile observation. David further prays that God will make his way (i.e., the way in which a man must walk according to God’s will) even and straight before him, the prayer one, in order that he may walk therein without going astray and unimpeded. The adj. signifies both the straightness of a line and the evenness of a surface. The fut. of the Hiph. is in Pro 4:25, and accordingly the Ker substitutes for the imper. the corresponding form , just as in Isa 45:2 it removes the Hiphil form (cf. Gen 8:17 Keri ), without any grammatical, but certainly not without some traditional ground.
in Psa 5:10 is closely connected with : on account of my way-layers, for the following are their characteristics. is separated by (= Psa 62:5) from the word it governs; this was the more easily possible as the usage of the language almost entirely lost sight of the fact that is the construct of , Ges. 152, 1. In his mouth is nothing that should stand firm, keep its ground, remain the same (cf. Job 42:7.). The singular suffix of has a distributive meaning: in ore unuiscujusque eorum . Hence the sing. at once passes over into the plur.: their inward part, i.e., that towards which it goes forth and in which it has its rise (vid., Psa 49:12) is corruption, from which comes from = Arab. hawa , to yawn, gape, , hiare , a yawning abyss and a gaping vacuum, and then, inasmuch as, starting from the primary idea of an empty space, the verbal significations libere ferri (especially from below upwards) and more particularly animo ad or in aliquid ferri are developed, it obtains the pathological sense of strong desire, passion, just as it does also the intellectual sense of a loose way of thinking proceeding from a self-willed tendency (vid., Fleischer on Job 37:6). In Hebrew the prevalent meaning of the word is corruption, Psa 57:2, which is a metaphor for the abyss, barathrum , (so far, but only so far Schultens on Pro 10:3 is right), and proceeding from this meaning it denotes both that which is physically corruptible (Job 6:30) and, as in the present passage and frequently, that which is corruptible from an ethical point of view. The meaning strong desire, in which looks as though it only differed from in one letter, occurs only in Psa 52:9; Pro 10:3; Mic 7:3. The substance of their inward part is that which is corruptible in every way, and their throat, as the organ of speech, as in Psa 115:7; Psa 149:6, cf. Psa 69:4, is (perhaps a figure connected with the primary meaning of ) a grave, which yawns like jaws, which open and snatch and swallow down whatever comes in their way. To this “they make smooth their tongue” is added as a circumstantial clause. Their throat is thus formed and adapted, while they make smooth their tongue (cf. Pro 2:16), in order to conceal their real design beneath flattering language. From this meaning, directly signifies to flatter in Psa 36:3; Pro 29:5. The last two lines of the strophe are formed according to the caesura schema. This schema is also continued in the concluding strophe.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Delight in Public Worship; Happiness of the Righteous. | |
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.
In these verses David gives three characters–of himself, of his enemies, and of all the people of God, and subjoins a prayer to each of them.
I. He gives an account of himself and prays for himself, Psa 5:7; Psa 5:8.
1. He is stedfastly resolved to keep closely to God and to his worship. Sinners go away from God, and so make themselves odious to his holiness and obnoxious to his justice: “But, as for me, that shall not keep me from thee.” God’s holiness and justice are so far from being a terror to the upright in heart, to drive them from God, that they are rather by them invited to cleave to him. David resolves, (1.) To worship God, to pay his homage to him, and give unto God the glory due unto his name. (2.) To worship him publicly: “I will come into thy house, the courts of thy house, to worship there with other faithful worshippers.” David was much in secret worship, prayed often alone (Psa 5:2; Psa 5:3), and yet was very constant and devout in his attendance on the sanctuary. The duties of the closet are designed to prepare us for, not to excuse us from, public ordinances. (3.) To worship him reverently and with a due sense of the infinite distance there is between God and man: “In thy fear will I worship, with a holy awe of God upon my spirit,” Heb. xii. 28. God is greatly to be feared by all his worshippers. (4.) To take his encouragement, in worship, from God himself only. [1.] From his infinite mercy. It is in the multitude of God’s mercy (the inexhaustible treasures of mercy that are in God and the innumerable proofs and instances of it which we receive from him) that David confides, and not in any merit or righteousness of his own, in his approaches to God. The mercy of God should ever be both the foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our joy in every thing wherein we have to do with him. [2.] From the instituted medium of worship, which was then the temple, here called the temple of his holiness, as a type of Christ, the great and only Mediator, who sanctifies the service as the temple sanctified the gold, and to whom we must have an eye in all our devotions as the worshippers then had to the temple.
2. He earnestly prays that God, by his grace, would guide and preserve him always in the way of his duty (v. 8): Lead me in thy righteousness, because of my enemies–Heb. “Because of those who observe me, who watch for my halting and seek occasion against me.” See here, (1.) The good use which David made of the malice of his enemies against him. The more curious they were in spying faults in him, that they might have whereof to accuse him, the more cautious he was to avoid sin and all appearances of it, and the more solicitous to be always found in the good way of God and duty. Thus, by wisdom and grace, good may come out of evil. (2.) The right course which David took for the baffling of those who sought occasion against him. He committed himself to a divine guidance, begged of God both by his providence and by his grace to direct him in the right way, and keep him from turning aside out of it, at any time, in any instance whatsoever, that the most critical and captious of his enemies, like Daniel’s, might find no occasion against him. The way of our duty is here called God’s way, and his righteousness, because he prescribes to us by his just and holy laws, which if we sincerely set before us as our rule, we may in faith beg of God to direct us in all particular cases. How this prayer of David’s was answered to him see 1Sa 18:14; 1Sa 18:15.
II. He gives an account of his enemies, and prays against them, Psa 5:9; Psa 5:10. 1. If his account of them is true, as no doubt it is, they have a very bad character; and, if they had not been bad men indeed, they could not have been enemies to a man after God’s own heart. He had spoken (v. 6) of God’s hating the bloody and deceitful man. “Now, Lord,” says he, “that is the character of my enemies: they are deceitful; there is no trusting them, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth.” They thought it was no sin to tell a deliberate lie if it might but blemish David, and render him odious. “Lord, lead me,” says he (v. 8), “for such as these are the men I have to do with, against whose slanders innocency itself is no security. Do they speak fair? Do they talk of peace and friendship? They flatter with their tongues; it is designed to cover their malice, and to gain their point the more securely. Whatever they pretend of religion or friendship, two sacred things, they are true to neither: Their inward part is wickedness itself; it is very wickedness. They are likewise bloody; for their throat is an open sepulchre, cruel as the grave, gaping to devour and to swallow up, insatiable as the grave, which never says, It is enough,” Pro 30:15; Pro 30:16. This is quoted (Rom. iii. 13) to show the general corruption of mankind; for they are all naturally prone to malice, Tit. iii. 3. The grave is opened for them all, and yet they are as open graves to one another. 2. If his prayer against them is heard, as no doubt it is, they are in a bad condition. As men are, and do, so they must expect to fare. He prays to God to destroy them (according to what he had said v. 6, “Thou shalt destroy men of this character,” so let them fall; and sinners would soon throw themselves into ruin if they were let alone), to cast them out of his protection and favour, out of the heritage of the Lord, out of the land of the living; and woe to those whom God casts out. “They have by their sins deserved destruction; there is enough to justify God in their utter rejection: Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, by which they have filled up the measure of their iniquity and have become ripe for ruin.” Persecuting God’s servants fills the measure as soon as any thing, 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. Nay, they may be easily made to fall by their own counsels; that which they do to secure themselves, and do mischief to others, by the over-ruling providence of God may be made a means of their destruction, Psa 7:15; Psa 9:15. He pleads, “They have rebelled against thee. Had they been only my enemies, I could safely have forgiven them; but they are rebels against God, his crown and dignity; they oppose his government, and will not repent, to give him glory, and therefore I plainly foresee their ruin.” His prayer for their destruction comes not from a spirit of revenge, but from a spirit of prophecy, by which he foretold that all who rebel against God will certainly be destroyed by their own counsels. If it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people, as we are told it is (2 Thess. i. 6), we pray that it may be done whenever we pray, Father, thy will be done.
III. He gives an account of the people of God, and prays for them, concluding with an assurance of their bliss, which he doubted not of his own interest in. Observe, 1. The description he gives of God’s people. They are the righteous (v. 12); for they put their trust in God, are well assured of his power and all-sufficiency, venture their all upon his promise, and are confident of his protection in the way of their duty; and they love his name, are well pleased with all that by which God has made himself known, and take delight in their acquaintance with him. This is true and pure religion, to live a life of complacency in God and dependence on him. 2. His prayer for them: “Let them rejoice; let them have cause to rejoice and hearts to rejoice; fill them with joy, with great joy and unspeakable; let them shout for joy, with constant joy and perpetual; let them ever shout for joy, with holy joy, and that which terminates in God; let them be joyful in thee, in thy favour, in thy salvation, not in any creature. Let them rejoice because thou defendest them, coverest them, or overshadowest them, dwellest among them.” Perhaps here is an allusion to the pillar of cloud and fire, which was to Israel a visible token of God’s special presence with them and the special protection they were under. Let us learn of David to pray, not for ourselves only, but for others, for all good people, for all that trust in God and love his name, though not in every thing of our mind nor in our interest. Let all that are entitled to God’s promises have a share in our prayers; grace be with all that love Christ in sincerity. This is to concur with God. 3. His comfort concerning them, v. 12. He takes them into his prayers because they are God’s peculiar people; therefore he doubts not but his prayers shall be heard, and they shall always rejoice; for, (1.) They are happy in the assurance of God’s blessing: “Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous, wilt command a blessing upon them. Thou hast in thy word pronounced them blessed, and therefore wilt make them truly so. Those whom thou blessest are blessed indeed.” (2.) “They are safe under the protection of thy favour; with that thou wilt crown him” (so some read it); “it is his honour, will be to him a diadem of beauty, and make him truly great: with that thou wilt compass him, wilt surround him, on every side, as with a shield.” A shield, in war, guards only one side, but the favour of God is to the saints a defence on every side; like the hedge about Job, round about, so that, while they keep themselves under the divine protection, they are entirely safe and ought to be entirely satisfied.
In singing these verses, and praying them over, we must by faith put ourselves under God’s guidance and care, and then please ourselves with his mercy and grace and with the prospect of God’s triumphs at last over all his enemies and his people’s triumphs in him and in his salvation.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Some think that the word and, by which this sentence is joined to the preceding, is put for but; as if David, comparing himself with the ungodly, declared and assured himself that God would be merciful to him, while he abhorred and would destroy the wicked. But I leave it to my readers to judge whether it does not suit the passage better to consider this verse as an inference from what goes before, which might be put in this form: ”O Lord, thou canst not bear with the wicked; when, therefore, I am saved out of their hands by thy power, I will come to present myself before thee in thy temple, to give thee thanks for the deliverance which thou hast vouchsafed to me.” If the former interpretation be preferred, then the prophet, by simply commending his own piety towards God, separates himself from the class of whom he spoke. The scope of the passage leads us to understand him as promising to give thanks to God. He had before spoken of his enemies as hated of God; and now, being persuaded that God will keep him in safety, he calls himself to the exercise of gratitude. I will come into thy temples says he, in the multitude of thy mercy; as if he had said, I may now seem to be in a condition almost desperate, but by the favor of God, I shall be kept in perfect safety. This passage, therefore, teaches us, that when we are afflicted by the most distressing temptations, we ought to set the grace of God before our eyes, in order thereby to be supported with the hope of the divine interposition amidst the greatest dangers. Farther, as our carnal minds either wickedly undervalue the grace of God, or put the low estimate upon it which is commonly put by the world, let us learn to extol its wonderful greatness, which is sufficient to enable us to overcome all fears. The primary object of David was to encourage himself in the assured hope of preservation from the mercy of God; but at the same time he shows, that upon obtaining deliverance, he will be grateful to God for it, and keep it in remembrance. And as hypocrites, in giving thanks to God, do nothing else but profane his name, inasmuch as they themselves are unholy and polluted, he therefore resolves to come in the fear of God, in order to worship him with a sincere and upright heard. Again, we may hence draw the general truth, that it is only through the goodness of God that we have access to him; and that no man prays aright but he who, having experienced his grace, believes and is fully persuaded that he will be merciful to him. The fear of God is at the same time added, in order to distinguish genuine and godly trust from the vain confidence of the flesh.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) House . . . temple.These words must certainly be taken literally, and not, as Hupfeld suggests, metaphorically, or in a spiritual sense with reference to Psa. 5:4. The reference to worship hardly allows the rendering palace, though the derivation of the Hebrew word permits it. No doubt either explanation is possible; but neither would have been suggested but for the title to the psalm; and it is clear (see General Introduction) that historical exactness was not regarded in affixing the psalm-titles.
Worship.Literally, prostrate myself towards, as in 1Ki. 8:29; Psa. 28:2. (Comp. Daniels attitude of prayer towards Jerusalem, and that of the Moslems now towards Mecca.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. But as for me A sudden transition from the vile and abhorrent character of his enemies to the beautiful unfoldings of a true piety.
Thy house The habit of devout and sincere worship is here placed foremost, as the representative virtue of his life, comprehending all others. True piety is the source of human righteousness.
In the multitude of thy mercy Not in the spirit of vainglory does he contrast himself with his enemies, as did the Pharisee mentioned Luk 18:11; but humbly, and in conscious rectitude, he ascribes all his goodness to God’s mercy.
Temple Same as house, preceding. Not necessarily the temple of Solomon, if it were already standing, but tabernacle, or consecrated place of worship. See 1Sa 1:9; 2Sa 22:7; Psa 18:6; and notes on Psa 19:9; Psa 84:10; Psa 116:19
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But as for me, in the multitude of your lovingkindness I will come into your house,
In your fear I will worship towards your holy temple.’
His own entry before God rests in his confidence in God’s overwhelming lovingkindness (‘warm covenant love’ – chesed), His benevolence and goodness, and his own reverent awe and fear. He comes aware of the greatness and holiness of God, but also aware of His grace and mercy revealed through the covenant between God and His people, a covenant which has provided a way of forgiveness for all sin through the shedding of blood. And he worships (‘prostrates himself before’) God with proper respect and due deference.
This is why we too can come with such confidence. It is not because we are such good people, but because we come to One Who loved us and gave Himself for us, and it is in Him that we find a welcome. It is because He has made a new and living way for us through His flesh (Heb 10:20), so that we can come through Him.
He mentions God’s house and God’s temple. While mention of these may suggest that he lives at the time of what we know of as the temple, that need not be so. The phrase ‘God’s house’ is equally used of the tabernacle (Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26; Deu 23:18; Jos 6:24; 1Sa 1:24 ; 1Sa 3:15; see also 2Sa 12:20) and so is God’s ‘temple’ (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3). For God dwells in house, temple and tent without regard (Psa 27:4-6). In view of the fact that Israel did not have a temple until the time of Solomon, to describe the tabernacle as God’s ‘temple’ would be natural, as a shadow of the heavenly temple (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:6), and in contrast with the temples of the nations. The words are all synonyms for God’s earthly dwellingplace. However, note that he worships ‘in God’s house’ but ‘towards His holy temple’. Thus he may be thinking of the house as earthly and the temple as heavenly (see 1Ki 8:30). Or the latter phrase may simply refer to the inner sanctuary
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Of whom but Jesus doth the prophet here speak? Of all the sons of fallen Adam we may humbly adopt the words of the Lord himself, and say, for who is this that hath engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. Jer 30:21 . None but he who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, could come into the house of Jehovah, or draw nigh unto him. But, Reader! how blessed is it for us to draw nigh to Jesus, who hath come, and who is both the mercy-seat, the sacrifice, and the temple; the way, the truth, and the life!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 5:7 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.
Ver. 7. But as for me ] Who am conscious of none of these foul and flagitious practices. The upright shall dwell in God’s presence, Job 12:16 Psa 140:13 : not so the hypocrite and ungodly. He is like a vagabond begging at the gate, and not knowing whether the master of the house is providing for him an alms or a cudgel.
I will come into thine house, &c.
And in thy fear will I worship, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as for me. Compare Psa 17:15; Psa 26:11; Psa 35:13; Psa 41:12; Psa 55:16; Psa 69:13; Psa 73:2.
multitude = abundance.
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
holy. See note on Exo 3:5.
temple. Hebrew. heykal = palace: i.e. heaven itself, which was the pattern for the earthly “house” or tent, as being the dwelling-place of Jehovah. Hence it is used of the Tabernacle (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3). Compare Psa 11:4; Psa 18:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 5:7-8
Psa 5:7-8
“But as for me, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house:
In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Lead me, O Jehovah, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;
Make thy way straight before my face.”
“Will I worship before thy holy temple.”
The temple, of course, had not been built in the days of David; and it can be alleged that this casts a reflection upon the ancient tradition that attributes the psalm to David. However, as Maclaren pointed out, The Hebrew word for “temple” used here is also used of the tabernacle in Shiloh (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3).
The word for “worship” in this passage is actually a reference to one’s prostrating himself before God.
The comment of Adam Clarke on Psa 5:7 was that, “David considered it an inexpressible privilege to be permitted to attend public worship. Note that the psalmist attributed the privilege of such worship to the “abundance of the lovingkindness of God.” Even in our own times, it is a mark of God’s blessing and lovingkindness that men are permitted to live in a location where the attendance of public worship is possible. Furthermore, no man who has the spirit of the author of this Psalm will ever be absent willingly from the public worship of God.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 5:7. The mercy of God only would admit an erring mortal to come into the house of the Lord. In thy fear means in reverence for God only would David presume to offer worship toward the holy temple.
Psa 5:8. It would not be so difficult to live righteously were it not for the opposition of enemies; for that reason David prayed for divine guidance. He also longed for a pathway that was correct. This is a parallel in thought with Mat 6:13.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
But: Psa 55:16, Jos 24:15, Luk 6:11, Luk 6:12
in the: Psa 51:1, Psa 52:8, Psa 69:13, Psa 69:16, Isa 55:7, Rom 5:20, Rom 5:21
in thy: Psa 130:4, Hos 3:5, Act 9:31, Heb 12:28, Heb 12:29, 1Pe 1:17-19
I worship: Psa 28:2, Psa 132:7, Psa 138:2, 1Ki 8:29, 1Ki 8:30, 1Ki 8:35, 1Ki 8:38, Dan 6:10, Heb 4:16
thy holy temple: Heb. the temple of thy holiness, Isa 64:11
Reciprocal: Deu 12:14 – General 1Sa 1:9 – General 1Sa 3:3 – the temple 1Ch 21:13 – great Neh 13:22 – greatness Psa 17:15 – As Psa 18:6 – heard Psa 73:2 – But Psa 106:7 – multitude Jon 2:4 – toward
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
WORSHIP A SIGHT OF GOD
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.
Psa 5:7
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 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 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 ennobling a mans 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. 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.
Dean Page-Roberts.
Illustration
The love of Gods house is evident in the Psalms, the pain of separation from its services is keenly felt. Light and colour overflow from the ordinance and sanctuary upon history, life, feeling, personal experience. The ceremonial is transfigured into thought, the thought into prayer.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Psa 5:7. But I will come into thy house Namely, into thy tabernacle, with holy boldness and confidence, as becomes thy son and servant; in the multitude of thy mercy Trusting only in thy great mercy for admittance thither and acceptance there. Or, for, or because of thy many mercies to me: for which I will come to render thanks and praise, and to pay the service so justly due to thee for thy goodness. And in thy fear With a holy dread and reverence of thy majesty; will I worship In spirit and in truth, thee who art a spirit, who searchest the heart, and requirest truth in the inward parts, toward thy holy temple Hebrew, the temple of thy holiness, looking toward it when I cannot come to it. Or, as , el heecal, may be rendered, at thy holy temple, that is, the tabernacle, which is sometimes called by that name.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:7 But as for me, I {e} will come [into] thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: [and] in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
(e) In the deepest of his temptations he puts his full confidence in God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
David did not claim a right to stand before God and to present his petitions on the basis of his own righteousness. He believed God would be merciful to him because God had made promises to bless David and his house (2 Samuel 7). The king believed God would be loyal to His servant. "Lovingkindness" (NASB) or "mercy" (NIV) means "loyal love" (Heb. hesed). The house and temple in view refer to the tabernacle David had pitched for the ark in Jerusalem (2Sa 6:17; cf. 1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:9). Rather than behaving arrogantly like the wicked, David prostrated himself before the Lord in worship. This posture expressed an attitude of humility and vulnerability in God’s presence.