◄ Psalm 5:6 ►
You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
Study Bible
You destroy
The Hebrew root for "destroy" is "אָבַד" (avad), which conveys a sense of perishing or being lost. In the context of divine justice, it implies a complete and irrevocable end brought about by God's righteous judgment. This word underscores the seriousness with which God views sin, particularly the sin of lying, and His active role in upholding truth and justice.

those who tell lies
The phrase highlights the moral and ethical standards that God expects from His people. In the ancient Near Eastern context, truth-telling was foundational for community trust and cohesion. Lies disrupt the social fabric and are seen as a direct affront to God's nature, who is the embodiment of truth. This phrase serves as a warning against deceit and a call to live in integrity.

the LORD abhors
The Hebrew word for "abhors" is "תּוֹעֵבָה" (to'evah), which is often used to describe something detestable or loathsome. This strong language indicates God's intense aversion to sin, particularly sins that harm others. It reflects God's holiness and His desire for His people to reflect His character in their actions.

the bloodthirsty
This term refers to those who are eager to shed innocent blood, a grave sin in the biblical worldview. In ancient Israel, the sanctity of life was paramount, and violence against the innocent was a direct violation of God's commandments. This phrase serves as a reminder of the value God places on human life and His commitment to justice for the oppressed.

and deceitful man
Deceitfulness is condemned throughout Scripture as it undermines trust and leads to discord. The Hebrew root "מִרְמָה" (mirmah) conveys a sense of treachery and betrayal. In a historical context, deceit was not only a personal failing but a threat to the community's stability. This phrase calls believers to pursue honesty and transparency in their dealings with others.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
- The author of Psalm 5, David is expressing his reliance on God for justice and protection against his enemies.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
- The covenant name of God, emphasizing His holiness and justice.

3. The Wicked
- Those who are deceitful and bloodthirsty, representing the enemies of David and, by extension, the enemies of God.

4. The Righteous
- Implicit in the text as those who are contrasted with the wicked, seeking God's favor and protection.

5. The Temple
- While not directly mentioned in this verse, the context of the Psalm suggests a setting of worship and prayer, possibly in or near the temple.
Teaching Points
God's Holiness and Justice
God’s nature is inherently opposed to deceit and violence. As believers, we are called to reflect His holiness by living truthfully and peacefully.

The Consequences of Sin
The destruction of liars and the abhorred state of the bloodthirsty serve as a warning of the consequences of sin. We must examine our lives and repent of any deceitful or harmful behavior.

The Importance of Integrity
Integrity is a key characteristic of a follower of Christ. We should strive to be honest in all our dealings, knowing that God values truth.

Trust in God's Justice
In a world where deceit and violence often seem to prevail, we can trust that God will ultimately bring justice. This assurance allows us to live with peace and confidence.

Prayer for Protection and Guidance
Like David, we should seek God’s protection from deceitful and violent influences, asking for His guidance to walk in righteousness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's hatred for deceit and violence influence your daily interactions with others?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a spirit of integrity in your personal and professional life?

3. Reflect on a time when you experienced or witnessed deceit. How did you respond, and what biblical principles can guide you in similar situations?

4. How can the assurance of God's ultimate justice provide comfort in times of personal or societal injustice?

5. What steps can you take to ensure that your prayers, like David's, align with seeking God's righteousness and justice?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 6:16-19
- This passage lists things the LORD hates, including a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood, directly connecting to the themes of deceit and bloodthirstiness in Psalm 5:6.

John 8:44
- Jesus describes the devil as the father of lies, highlighting the spiritual battle against deceit and aligning with God's abhorrence of falsehood.

Revelation 21:8
- This verse speaks of the fate of liars and the wicked, reinforcing the ultimate destruction mentioned in Psalm 5:6.

Psalm 11:5
- Another Psalm of David that speaks of the LORD's hatred for violence and wickedness, echoing the sentiments of Psalm 5:6.
Sermons
Prayer for Deliverance from Wicked MenC. Short Psalm 5:1-7
A Morning PrayerW. Forsyth Psalm 5:1-12
A Morning Prayer: for Sanctuary Service: in Evil TimesC. Clemance Psalm 5:1-12
David's State of Mind in Relation to God and SocietyHomilistPsalm 5:1-12
Prayer to GodThomas Wilcocks.Psalm 5:1-12
The Inward and Outward Sides of the Divine LifeA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
The Oratory GateMarvin R. Vincent, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
The Poverty of Speech in PrayerPsalm 5:1-12
The Prayerful and UnprayerfulF. B. Meyer, B. A.Psalm 5:1-12
The Unspoken Part of PrayerB. Gregory, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
FALSE, Abhorreth, Abhors, Abominate, Blood, Bloodshed, Bloodthirsty, Blood-thirsty, Bloody, Cruel, Deceit, Deceitful, Destroy, Destroyest, Destruction, Falsehood, Hated, Leasing, Lies, Speak, Speaking, Wilt
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 5:6

     5295   destruction
     6147   deceit, practice
     8282   intolerance
     8776   lies

Psalm 5:4-6

     8715   dishonesty, and God

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 Scripture

Morning 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

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