Psalm 5

Title

לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ אֶֽל הַנְּחִיל֗וֹת מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד

BSB

Give Ear to My Words

For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David.

1Give ear to my words, O LORD;

consider my groaning.

2Attend to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to You I pray.

3In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I lay my plea before You

and wait in expectation.

4For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;

no evil can dwell with You.

5The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;

You hate all workers of iniquity.

6You destroy those who tell lies;

the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

7But I will enter Your house

by the abundance of Your loving devotion;

in reverence I will bow down

toward Your holy temple.

8Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make straight Your way before me.

9For not a word they speak can be trusted;

destruction lies within them.

Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.

10Declare them guilty, O God;

let them fall by their own devices.

Drive them out for their many transgressions,

for they have rebelled against You.

11But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;

let them ever shout for joy.

May You shelter them,

that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

12For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous;

You surround them with the shield of Your favor.

Matthew Henry's chapter overview

Introduction

Psalms 5

The psalm is a prayer, a solemn address to God, at a time when the psalmist was brought into distress by the malice of his enemies. Many such times passed over David, nay, there was scarcely any time of his life to which this psalm may not be accommodated, for in this he was a type of Christ, that he was continually beset with enemies, and his powerful and prevalent appeals to God, when he was so beset, pointed at Christ's dependence on his Father and triumphs over the powers of darkness in the midst of his sufferings. In this psalm, I. David settles a correspondence between his soul and God, promising to pray, and promising himself that God would certainly hear him (Psa 5:1-3). II. He gives to God the glory, and takes to himself the comfort, of God's holiness (Psa 5:4-6). III. He declares his resolution to keep close to the public worship of God (Psa 5:7). IV. He prayed, 1. For himself, that God would guide him, (Psa 5:8). 2. Against his enemies, that God would destroy them (Psa 5:9, Psa 5:10). 3. For all the people of God, that God would give them joy, and keep them safe (Psa 5:11, Psa 5:12). And this is all of great use to direct us in prayer.

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

Cross-references: Ps 5:1 · Ps 5:4 · Ps 5:7 · Ps 5:8 · Ps 5:9 · Ps 5:10 · Ps 5:11 · Ps 5:12