For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor. For surelyThis phrase introduces a statement of certainty and assurance. In Hebrew, the word often translated as "surely" is "כִּי" (ki), which can also mean "indeed" or "truly." It emphasizes the psalmist's confidence in God's actions and character. This assurance is rooted in the covenant relationship between God and His people, reflecting a deep trust in God's promises. You, O LORD
The use of "LORD" in all capital letters indicates the Hebrew name "YHWH" (Yahweh), the personal and covenantal name of God. This name signifies God's eternal existence and His faithfulness to His covenant. It is a reminder of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. The psalmist addresses God directly, highlighting a personal relationship and reverence. bless
The Hebrew word for "bless" is "בָּרַךְ" (barak), which means to confer prosperity or happiness. In the biblical context, blessing is not merely material wealth but encompasses spiritual well-being and divine favor. God's blessing is an active force in the lives of the righteous, bringing about His intended purposes and goodness. the righteous
The term "righteous" comes from the Hebrew word "צַדִּיק" (tzaddik), referring to those who live in accordance with God's laws and maintain a right relationship with Him. Righteousness in the biblical sense involves both ethical conduct and a heart aligned with God's will. The psalmist acknowledges that God's blessings are particularly directed toward those who seek to live by His standards. You surround them
The imagery of surrounding suggests protection and encirclement. The Hebrew root "סָבַב" (sabab) conveys the idea of encircling or encompassing. This indicates God's comprehensive care and defense, ensuring that the righteous are safeguarded from harm. It reflects the biblical theme of God as a refuge and fortress for His people. with the shield
The word "shield" in Hebrew is "מָגֵן" (magen), a common metaphor for protection in the Psalms. In ancient times, a shield was a crucial part of a warrior's defense, symbolizing safety and security. This metaphor illustrates God's role as a protector, defending the righteous from spiritual and physical dangers. of Your favor
The Hebrew word for "favor" is "רָצוֹן" (ratson), which can also mean goodwill, pleasure, or acceptance. God's favor implies His gracious disposition towards the righteous, granting them His approval and support. This favor is not earned but is a result of God's lovingkindness and mercy. It assures the righteous of God's presence and benevolence in their lives. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant-keeping God of Israel, who is characterized by His holiness, justice, and mercy. In this Psalm, He is the one who blesses and protects the righteous. 2. The RighteousThose who are in right standing with God, often characterized by their faithfulness and obedience to His commandments. In the context of the Psalms, the righteous are those who seek God and His ways. 3. David (implied author)Traditionally attributed as the author of many Psalms, including Psalm 5. David often wrote about his reliance on God for protection and guidance. Teaching Points God's Blessing on the RighteousThe verse assures believers that God actively blesses those who live righteously. This blessing is not just material but encompasses spiritual well-being and peace. Divine Protection as a ShieldGod's favor acts as a shield, offering protection from spiritual and physical harm. Believers can trust in God's encompassing protection in their daily lives. Living in God's FavorTo experience God's favor, believers are encouraged to pursue righteousness through obedience to God's Word and a faithful relationship with Him. The Assurance of God's PresenceThe imagery of being surrounded by God's favor provides comfort and assurance that God is always present with His people, especially in times of trouble. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding God as a shield change your perspective on facing daily challenges? 2. In what ways can you actively pursue righteousness in your life to align with the blessings mentioned in Psalm 5:12? 3. Reflect on a time when you felt surrounded by God's favor. How did that experience impact your faith journey? 4. How can the concept of God's favor as a shield encourage you in your prayer life and spiritual growth? 5. Compare the protection described in Psalm 5:12 with the armor of God in Ephesians 6. How do these scriptures complement each other in understanding spiritual protection? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 3:3This verse also speaks of God as a shield, emphasizing His protective nature over those who trust in Him. Proverbs 10:6This verse highlights the blessings that come upon the righteous, reinforcing the theme of divine favor and protection. Ephesians 6:16The concept of a shield is used in the New Testament to describe faith, which protects believers from spiritual attacks, paralleling the idea of God's favor as a shield. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Bless, Blesses, Blessest, Blessing, Buckler, Chief, Compass, Cover, David, Encompass, Favor, Favour, Grace, Instruments, Musician, O, Psalm, Righteous, Round, Sheminith, Shield, Strength, Stringed, Surround, Upright, WiltDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 5:12 1055 God, grace and mercy
1330 God, the provider
5527 shield
7150 righteous, the
8158 righteousness, of believers Library A Staircase of Three Steps
'All those that put their trust in Thee ... them also that love Thy name ... the righteous.'--PSALM v. 11, 12. I have ventured to isolate these three clauses from their context, because, if taken in their sequence, they are very significant of the true path by which men draw nigh to God and become righteous. They are all three designations of the same people, but regarded under different aspects and at different stages. There is a distinct order in them, and whether the Psalmist was fully conscious …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureMorning Hymn.
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord."--Psalm 5:3. "Morgen glanz der Ewigkeit." [35]Knov. von Rosenroth. transl., Jane Borthwick, 1855 Jesus, Sun of righteousness, Brightest beam of Love Divine, With the early morning rays Do Thou on our darkness shine, And dispel with purest light All our night! As on drooping herb and flower Falls the soft refreshing dew, Let Thy Spirit's grace and power All our weary souls renew; Sbowers of blessing over all Softly fall! Like the sun's reviving …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther Morning Hymns
Morning Hymns. [2] My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3 …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year Moreover what is Written "Thou Wilt Destroy all that Speak Leasing...
35. Moreover what is written "Thou wilt destroy all that speak leasing:" [2360] one saith that no lie is here excepted, but all condemned. Another saith: Yea verily: but they who speak leasing from the heart, as we disputed above; for that man speaketh truth in his heart, who hateth the necessity of lying, which he understands as a penalty of the moral life. Another saith: All indeed will God destroy who speak leasing, but not all leasing: for there is some leasing which the Prophet was at that time …
St. Augustine—On Lying But if no Authority for Lying Can be Alleged...
9. But if no authority for lying can be alleged, neither from the ancient Books, be it because that is not a lie which is received to have been done or said in a figurative sense, or be it because good men are not challenged to imitate that which in bad men, beginning to amend, is praised in comparison with the worse; nor yet from the books of the New Testament, because Peter's correction rather than his simulation, even as his tears rather than his denial, is what we must imitate: then, as to those …
St. Augustine—On Lying A Great Deal for Me to Read Hast Thou Sent...
1. A great deal for me to read hast thou sent, my dearest brother Consentius: a great deal for me to read: to the which while I am preparing an answer, and am drawn off first by one, then by another, more urgent occupation, the year has measured out its course, and has thrust me into such straits, that I must answer in what sort I may, lest the time for sailing being now favorable, and the bearer desirous to return, I should too long detain him. Having therefore unrolled and read through all that …
St. Augustine—Against Lying On the Other Hand, those who Say that we must Never Lie...
6. On the other hand, those who say that we must never lie, plead much more strongly, using first the Divine authority, because in the very Decalogue it is written "Thou shall not bear false witness;" [2306] under which general term it comprises all lying: for whoso utters any thing bears witness to his own mind. But lest any should contend that not every lie is to be called false witness, what will he say to that which is written, "The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul:" [2307] and lest any should …
St. Augustine—On Lying What Then, if a Homicide Seek Refuge with a Christian...
22. What then, if a homicide seek refuge with a Christian, or if he see where the homicide have taken refuge, and be questioned of this matter by him who seeks, in order to bring to punishment a man, the slayer of man? Is he to tell a lie? For how does he not hide a sin by lying, when he for whom he lies has been guilty of a heinous sin? Or is it because he is not questioned concerning his sin, but about the place where he is concealed? So then to lie in order to hide a person's sin is evil; but …
St. Augustine—On Lying Since the Case is So, what is Man...
19. Since the case is so, what is man, while in this life he uses his own proper will, ere he choose and love God, but unrighteous and ungodly? "What," I say, "is man," a creature going astray from the Creator, unless his Creator "be mindful of him," [2683] and choose [2684] him freely, and love [2685] him freely? Because he is himself not able to choose or love, unless being first chosen and loved he be healed, because by choosing blindness he perceiveth not, and by loving laziness is soon wearied. …
St. Augustine—On Patience Second Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Brotherly Love.
Text: 1 John 3, 13-18. 13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Question of the Division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative
I. May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Augustine, De Consensu Evangelistarum, I., iv. 8 " Tractatus, cxxiv. 5, in Joannem II. Is this division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative a sufficient one? S. Augustine, Of the Trinity, I., viii. 17 I May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Gregory the Great says[291]: "There are two kinds of lives in which Almighty God instructs us by His Sacred Word--namely, the active and …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Covenanting a Duty.
The exercise of Covenanting with God is enjoined by Him as the Supreme Moral Governor of all. That his Covenant should be acceded to, by men in every age and condition, is ordained as a law, sanctioned by his high authority,--recorded in his law of perpetual moral obligation on men, as a statute decreed by him, and in virtue of his underived sovereignty, promulgated by his command. "He hath commanded his covenant for ever."[171] The exercise is inculcated according to the will of God, as King and …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 5:12 NIVPsalm 5:12 NLTPsalm 5:12 ESVPsalm 5:12 NASBPsalm 5:12 KJV
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