Psalms Five Commentary

Contents

I. Introduction

Our purpose is to render a commentary on Psalm Five. Here is that great lover of Jehovah God David in straits, crying out to his God (consider Psa 55:1-8, set on another occasion perhaps [cf. Jesus-Luk 22:41-44]), and his God, attentive to David’s cry, making straight his path (1Sa 18:14, cf. Jesus-Mat 28:5-6).

We will follow this format:

Verse of Scripture utilizing the YLT text followed by an NASB mouseover of that verse. Key words in the YLT text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Hebrew text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word. We are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye.
Commentary We shall be commenting on this passage keeping before us at all times the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.

II. Psalms Five Commentary Verses

5:1-3-Set in Array, unto Thee O Jehovah I Pray

YLT TEXT: To the Overseer [1], ‘Concerning the Inheritances [2].’ — A Psalm of David. My sayings hear [3], O Jehovah [4], Consider [4a] my meditation [5]. Be attentive [6] to the voice of my cry [7], My king [7a] and my God [7b], For unto Thee I pray [8] habitually. Jehovah, at morning Thou hearest my voice, At morning I set in array [9] for Thee, And I look [10] out. (Psa 5:1-3).

COMMENTARY-David has been praying inwardly in his spirit: “…Consider my meditation…” and is here ready (=accordingly has in spirit settled his need/s) to outwardly disclose his need/s to Jehovah his God: “…My sayings hear, O Jehovah, Consider my meditation…” Notice that these verses are peppered with imperatives: “…My sayings hear, O Jehovah, Consider my meditation. Be attentive to the voice of my cry…” Hear, consider, be attentive. Is not David “pushing things” a bit here? Surely no, he is not—consider the beautiful words of Psa 119:169-176, that self-evidently explain why not—a litany of declarative and descriptive praise betrays David’s motivations: humble, selfless, aiming to exalt Jehovah’s Rescue; in this way, rightly motivated, they are not presumptuous. It is likely that David wrote this psalm (119); wrote it out of the treasure trove of writings and meditations he put down here and there over the course of his life (so Matthew Henry). The imperatives show us his firm conviction—and “conviction” is but a place holder for “faith”—that his God Jehovah could and would settle his need/s (already in his meditation he knew this). If said conviction were not a part of David’s thinking, there would be no need for imperatives here, rather we would read in their place subjunctives, the implication of which would not be pleasing to a God, Jehovah, who appreciates (and blesses) faith in Himself. Together with his praising mindset, David honors his God in this way. Moreover, like Nehemiah, David prays here like a servant; like a subject (“Nehemiah Chapter One Commentary”): “…be attentive to the voice of my cry, my king and my God…”, he prays thus to his King and God. It is good to remember that Jehovah God is (even our) King (Psa 47:2-7, Rev 19:16), for precisely such a One, omnipotent, can help us, His subjects and servants, when we cry out (to Him) for help, and it is good to remember that Jehovah is God (“Elohim” is here used-note 7b), for precisely He, omniscient, omnipresent…hears—desperate inward whispers, if that be all one can muster heavenward, yet cry out to Him. And he persists in prayer (as did Nehemiah in his day; persistence negates presumptuousness); we may take it that praying was like breathing to David (both sustain life; David prayed not just when he was in straits we can be sure—it was a way of life for this great lover of Jehovah God): “…For unto thee I pray habitually…”

It is lovely how David communes with (prays to) his God—one gets the sense of an intimate conversation taking place—see how David calls his God by name as though speaking with a dear old Friend: “…Jehovah, at morning thou hearest my voice…” (the Hebrew has it the same as the earlier address-note four). Our God’s name is not ineffable (in the sense of not to be spoken), rather it is to be spoken, in reverence (Psa 47:2, Hbr 12:28), with a tone that betrays the dearness of the Holder of that name in one’s heart (intelligent beings are addressed by and associated with their name by other intelligent beings; thus God created us intelligent beings to converse with Him, personally, as David here; yea, thus He revealed His Name [Exd 3:14-15, “O, That Name!”]—it is not hard to reckon then that only intelligent beings in fact revere that Name). And David sets himself in array. Picture if you will his preparation for this prayer engagement with God—meditating beforehand, disclosing his need/s, straightaway anticipating, waiting, watching, listening, for his God’s return engagement (cf. Psa 85:8, Hab 2:1, “Patiently Waiting for God”). Thus he sets himself in array for his God early, in the morning, like an experienced military commander, acutely vigilant before an engagement; with very life to be lost for any lapse in attention; for any lack of discipline: “… Jehovah, at morning Thou hearest my voice, At morning I set in array for Thee, And I look out…” Thus he comes prepared; prepared to wrestle with his God in prayer for blessings (Gen 32:24-29), so that he may ultimately wrestle successfully with his predicament (with his enemies). Pressed as he was, in straits, David knew what business came first (“in the morning” if you will), and that was the business of vigilant prayer (cf. Jesus-Mar 1:35).

5:4-6-Thou O Jehovah, Holy, Dost Cast the Wicked out of Thy Sight

YLT TEXT: For not a God desiring wickedness [11] art Thou, Evil [12] inhabiteth Thee not. The boastful station not themselves before Thine eyes: Thou hast hated all working iniquity. Thou destroyest [13] those speaking lies, A man of blood and deceit Jehovah doth abominate. (Psa 5:4-6).

COMMENTARY-David straightaway turns his prayer to specific declarative praise by affirming his God’s posture toward evil: ‘…thou desirest not wickedness, Evil inhabiteth thee not, the boastful have no place before thee, yea, thou hast hated all working iniquity, thou destroyest those speaking lies, the man of blood and decieit thou doth abominate…’ My, this is very strong language here from the Word of God (no place before thee [=cast out of thy sight], hast hated, destroyest, abominate, and so forth; cf. Rev 21:8). Let us be sobered by it. But maybe you say here: ‘…Wait just a minute—is not this God of whom you preach a God of mercy?…’ Yes, He is. But let us not forget exactly what this mercy is; what it is all about. A holy God’s posture toward evil, which evil is manifested by wickedness and its vehicle Sin, is such that He is predisposed to completely eliminate it, as related by the verses—and this means, practically, specifically, elimination of the workers of iniquity (Rom 6:23). And all who are not of God (of God by way of Jesus Christ these days) are, hands down, workers of iniquity; so says the Word of God (Rom 3:23). Therefore, the mercy of God is made both lucid and manifest by the death of Jesus Christ for sinners. This is what God’s mercy is all about, by definition. It has very little to do with “health,” or “wealth,” or “looks,” or “books,” or other such mundane blessings, and it has nothing at all to do with “overlooking” Sin without payment of the penalty thereof (we must reference Rom 6:23 here again; cf. Jhn 3:16). So given holy God’s “by-default-posture” toward evil by these verses, the very verses themselves then summarily give expression and meaning to His mercy by way of the Cross. So yes, God’s Mercy stands ready to counterbalance if you will these verses (“A Letter of Invitation”—as you can see, gaining His Mercy is volitional).

Well, there is another reason why David brings this praise (affirmation of God’s holiness by way of the negative) before his God—he is about to bring before his God the sort of evil just related—as pressed upon himself by his enemies (surely, more generally, it is the vexation of the saints proper down through the ages to be thus pressed by the wicked; hurray for David that he brings it before our God; but more so, praised be God for hearing). David is about to bring his own enemies before God (in the next verse set) and show them to be evildoers that are at the heart of it enemies of his God by their preferential identification with the sort of unholy standards he just identified his God to be vehemently against (notice how God allows David to “wrestle” with Himself in this!).

5:7-10-O Jehovah Lead Me in Thy Righteousness

YLT TEXT: And I, in the abundance of Thy kindness, I enter Thy house, I bow myself toward Thy holy temple in Thy fear [14]. O Jehovah, lead [15] me in Thy righteousness, Because of those observing me, Make straight [16] before me Thy way, For there is no stability [17] in their mouth. Their heart is mischiefs, An open grave is their throat, Their tongue they make smooth [18]. Declare [19] them guilty, O God [7b], Let them fall from their own counsels, In the abundance of their transgressions [20] Drive them away, Because they have rebelled [21] against Thee. (Psa 5:7-10).

COMMENTARY-Having just “reminded” his God of His holiness, David sets out to show his own enemies to be unholy wretches that stand for everything that his God Jehovah is against, thus showing them to be rebellious toward God; thus showing them to be enemies of God in this way (rebels and transgressors). Please notice that it is for the latter reason—as God’s enemies, that David calls on his God to destroy them: “…Declare them guilty, O God, Let them fall from their own counsels, In the abundance of their transgressions Drive them away, Because they have rebelled against Thee..” Jesus of course taught (enjoined is more like it) that one should bless one’s enemies, and pray for their good (Mat 5:43-45)—is there a discontinuity in Scripture here, seeing that all of Scripture pivots on Jesus Christ; on His Word? No. It is no work at all to see that David is calling for an end to those who show themselves to be the enemies of God (time and again Scripture shows God’s saints crying out against God’s enemies [the wicked]): “…Because they have rebelled against Thee…” ( becoming God’s friend, or remaining His enemy, is volitional-“A Letter of Invitation”). This immediately necessitates that David in his person not be like they are, otherwise he comes before his God as a phony and a hypocrite, no better than a self-server praying for the demise of his enemies. Therefore he says thus to his God (this is a terrific insight into the stewardship-of-God’s-Name character of David): “…O Jehovah, lead me in Thy righteousness, Because of those observing me, Make straight before me Thy way,…” Here is some of that preparation he settled upon earlier (this man David was no phony; yea, he was a lover of Jehovah God, and not at all Jehovah’s enemy—in thought, word, and deed). Who are “those observing me” as he says? It is the enemies of God, who make themselves David’s (any a saint’s) enemies by association—please hear the heartbeat of a saint: “…And I, in the abundance of Thy kindness, I enter Thy house, I bow myself toward Thy holy temple in Thy fear….”

The enemies of God. Here they are in David’s day; they are the same down through the ages. Are they not always watching (1Sa 18:9, 2Sa 6:16, Mat 7:3-5, Mar 7:1-2, Luk 14:1, et al.)? Watching for stumbles and slips and hypocrisy and what not by which they might lash out [17], and by which they no doubt justify and settle themselves in their Godless ease and proud self service. This is why David (the Holy Spirit) “lays into them” thus: “…Their heart is mischiefs, An open grave is their throat, Their tongue they make smooth…” Indeed. They shift this way today and that way tomorrow, they say this and then that against Jehovah God and His people, whatever affirms and serves their Godless bent the best and puts their conscience at ease. These are the enemies of God; they are the children and servants of that consummate hater and enemy of God Satan. They love not much more than to see a saint fall by the wayside, even if it is but the appearance of a fall. They, with their evil heart full of anti-God mischief, putrefied of throat, with their smooth lip-service-speak, will try to put a sham on Jehovah God (whom they wish to remove far from their sight [in academics, government, industry, etc.]) by way of His people, for that is the only way they can “get to Him” so to speak (“Revelation chapter Thirteen: Perched for a Kill”). Thus David is on his guard, and yet in another sense “sets himself in array,” and prays for his God’s help toward that end, for the last thing this lover of Jehovah God wants to be is a weapon in the hands of his God’s enemies.

Whatever the reason was, David was in straits to be sure, but we see him here (1) concerned for his God’s honor, and (2) dissociating himself from the wickedness that his God hates. He appeals to God’s mercy to help him in this (cf. Neh 1:11). God’s heroes | heroines (saints) do things like that. “…O Jehovah, lead me in Thy righteousness, Because of those observing me, Make straight before me Thy way…”

.”5:11-12-Thou O Jehovah Art My Place of Shelter, Far from the Tempest and Storm

YLT TEXT: And rejoice do all trusting in Thee, To the age they sing, and Thou coverest [22] them over, And those loving Thy name exult in Thee. For Thou blessest the righteous, O Jehovah, As a buckler [23] with favour dost compass him! (Psa 5:11-12).

COMMENTARY-Here are the words of a man who had been in straits before and had tasted the salvation of his God Jehovah: “…And rejoice do all trusting in Thee, To the age they sing…” That is, those trusting in God sing His, their Champion and Hero’s praises continually, for thus continually He, Able, saves them (Psa 36:7, 91:1-6, Mat 23:37-as you can see, it is volitional; Fig. 1). David is speaking from experience. But whence such trust as David here infers? Graciously it comes when God’s Name is known, for that Name characterizes Him, Able. Nay, more, it comes when His Name is known and loved and revered: “…And those loving thy name exult in Thee…” (cf. “…And rejoice do all trusting in Thee…”). God reveals His Name (=Himself) on the pages of Scripture; this is why Scripture study is an open-ended study—precisely because of that infinite Name (“O, That Name!” for a work in progress). Lovers of Jehovah God, like David, are in fact lovers of His Name, and it only follows, yea, it must needs be, that they exult in Him.