◄ Psalm 5:2 ►














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
A Morning Prayer: For Sanctuary Service: In Evil Times
Psalm 5:1-12
C. Clemance
This psalm seems to have been written for, or handed to the leader of a special choir, that he might adapt music for its use in sanctuary worship; not necessarily that of the temple - for its composition was probably anterior to the erection of that building - but for use in the services of that temporary structure which preceded it, and which, though but temporary, and even fragile in a material sense, was nevertheless in a high and holy sense the dwelling-place of God, yea, "the palace of the great King." Note: No material splendours of gold, silver, and precious stones can make a temple without the Real Presence; but however humble the structure, the Real Presence therein will make it a temple of God. Whether David was actually the penman of this psalm or no, matters not. It is evidently the composition of a true saint of God, and reflects in its several verses the spirit of the time and circumstances under which it was written. And not only so. But it shows us that the saints of olden time were wont to regard the house of God as a house of prayer, and to let their prayers be an unburdening of the heart to God on every matter of immediate and pressing concern. Note: In our prayers in God's house we have no need to include everything in one service. Nor are we bound to use the words of another's prayers, except as far as they suit our case at the line. Still less need we rack and tear such a psalm as this to find in it the whole gospel. That would not only be a strange anachronism, but we should even lose very much by missing the historic setting and aim of the psalm. Who cannot find comfort in the obvious fact that the Old Testament saints, in their prayers, used to tell God everything, just as it seemed to them, and as they felt about it? There is no greater boon in life than to have a friend who will never misunderstand us, and to whom we can tell anything, knowing that he will hide all our folly in his loving forgetfulness, and sympathize with all our cares. Such perfection of friendship is found in God alone. And we have in this psalm a beautiful illustration of the use which the psalmist made thereof.

I. THE PSALMIST LAYS THE ENTIRE SITUATION BEFORE GOD. (Vers. 8, 9, "mine enemies," equivalent to" those that lie in wait for me.") The whole of the ninth verse shows the treachery and hollowness that mark the hostile bands, and the consequent peril in which the people of God were on that account. (This verse is one of those quoted by the Apostle Paul in proof of human depravity. Nor is there any contrariety to reason in his so doing. For while the psalm speaks of all this wickedness in its relation to society, St. Paul speaks of similar wickedness in its relation to the Law of God and to the God of law. And it is because the psalmist knows how foreign to the nature of God all this iniquity is, that he brings it before God in prayer, and asks him to put it to shame.) Note: Let us learn to pray minutely, and not to lose ourselves in generalities.

II. IN DOING THIS HE RECOGNIZES AN ENDEARING RELATION. (Ver. 2.) "My King," "my God." God was not a far-distant Being, only remotely related. The name "Jehovah" brought him near as Israel's redeeming God; and that very name, which removes us infinitely from anthropomorphism, was the one in which the saints of old found their joy and glory. They could call God flair God. Under the New Testament our thoughts of God may be more sweet and endearing still.

III. HE OBSERVES A DEVOUT AND WISE METHOD IN HIS PRAYER. "In the morning I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. The meaning is - I will order it accurately, and then look out to see whether it has sped, and when the answer will come. (Many of the old divines are very felicitous in their treatment of these two words.) Sometimes, indeed, the yearning Godward is too deep for outward expression (see ver. 1, "consider my meditation," i.e. understand my murmuring). "Lord, read the desires of my heart by thine all-piercing eye - and interpret my petitions in thine own loving-kindness before they rise to my lips." Happy they who know that they have a God with whom they can thus plead, and who have learned the blessed art of thus pleading with God!

IV. HE SETS HIS APPLICATION ON SUBSTANTIAL GROUNDS. (Vers. 4-6.) The psalmist knows the character of God, and the righteousness of his administration; and in these verses he shows us how real was the revelation on these great themes which God had given in his Law (see Psalm 103:6, 7). All these glorious disclosures of the holiness of God are reiterated and confirmed in the teaching and redemption of the Son of God. (For the specific phrases, see the Exposition; also Perowne and Cheyne.) It is because we know what God is, and the principles of his government, that we can under all circumstances commend ourselves, the Church, and the world to him.

V. ON SUCH GROUNDS THE PSALMIST OFFERS VARIED PETITIONS.

1. For himself. (Ver. 8.) Beautiful! He wants

(1) to go along God's way, not his own;

(2) to be shown clearly what that way is; and then

(3) to be led along that way.

He who thus puts himself into God's hand, wanting only to be led aright, shall never be put to shame.

2. For the people of God. (Ver. 11.) He prays that in the midst of the whirl and tumult which surround them, the righteous may ever ring out a peal of joy because of God's protecting care and love.

3. For evil ones. (Ver. 10.) He prays that they may be

(1) held guilty and condemned for their transgressions. Yea

(2) rejected by God, even as they had themselves rejected God.

We are not bound to imitate the psalmist in such petitions. Jesus Christ tells us that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest of Old Testament prophets. They could not rise above the level of their inspiration, nor advance in prayer beyond the point their understanding had reached in those days. For us it would be far more appropriate to pray for the conversion of God's enemies by the power of his love and grace.

VI. THERE IS HERE A CONFIDENT ASSURANCE EXPRESSED. (Ver. 12, "Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous... as with a shield.") The word means, not a small shield which may be held out to ward off a dart, but a large buckler which can cover one around as with armour. So effective are the Divine protection and care with which he guards his own. May such protection ever be ours!

VII. IT IS WORTHY OF NOTE AT WHAT HOUR OF THE DAY THIS PRAYER IS OFFERED. We are twice told in the third verse, "in the morning." The early morn, when the frame is freshest and the spirit freest, is the best time for devotion. The early hours, when sanctified by prayer, will help us to sanctify the whole day for God. Before ever we look upon the face of man, let us catch a morning smile from our Father in heaven; and we shall find how true it is that -

"His morning smiles bless all the day." C.

Biblical Illustrator
For unto Thee will I pray.
Psalm 5:2
Prayer
A. Thomson D. D.
If you "restrain prayer before God" —

1. You act in opposition to your sense and confession of what is right. You know that you ought to pray. How can you repel the charge of inconsistency, when prayer is excluded from your practical system?

2. By neglecting prayer, you resist the authority of God. God has commanded you to pray. Can you venture to treat His command with contempt, and yet hope to prosper? What title have you to expect that, in this particular more than in any other, you can disobey God with impunity?

3. Without prayer vain will be to you all the provisions that are made in the gospel for your deliverance and happiness. The gospel is a dispensation of Divine wisdom and goodness. It proposes to bestow on men the benefits of salvation. But it proposes to bestow them in a certain way, and according to a certain scheme. Do you know any ground for believing that these benefits can ever belong to those who do not pray for them? Lessons:(1) It becomes us to form and adopt the purpose of the Psalmist. His purpose was to pray; and that purpose should be ours. We have many motives and inducements to engage in this exercise.(2) It should be with great earnestness that we pray to God. Not going about the duty in a cold, formal, or perfunctory manner.(3) We are not to pray as if God were unwilling to hear us, and to bestow the blessings which we need. He has revealed Himself as the hearer of prayer.(4) Do not forget that the God to whom you pray is a holy God. Observe that the Psalmist did not satisfy himself with private prayer; he also resolved to engage in the exercises of public worship. The resolution of the Psalmist should be ours.

(A. Thomson D. D.)

The directness of prayer
Joseph Parker, D. D.
No priest stands between the worshipper and his Lord. Every man must state his own case. We pray for one another, but not instead of one another. What can be more beautiful than the picture which is thus represented? God is put in His right place as the throned Father, listening to each of His subjects as the subject may feel impelled to address Him. Every word is charged with tremulous life. No man can pray for another in the same exquisite and vital sense as a man can pray for himself; there are always circumstances in the case of the petitioner, which the petitioner alone knows, and even though he cannot throw such circumstances into literal expression he can suggest them all by the very tones of his voice. We mistake the nature of prayer if we think it can be limited to words. Even when we use the words of another in our devotional exercises, we throw into their expression accents which are personal and incommunicable. It is in such tones and accents that the true quality of prayer is found. If prayer consisted only in the utterance of certain words, then the wicked might pray, and pray with great elocutionary effect; but the prayer is hardly in the words at all, it is a subtle fragrance of the soul, an inexpressible something which we understand most nearly by the name of agony. This being the nature of prayer, it follows that whatever priestly mediation there may be in the universe — and that there is such mediation no student of the Bible can deny — the individual himself must stand in a direct relation to God, receiving help from the priest, but not in any degree to obliterate his personality, or reduce his spiritual enjoyment.

(Joseph Parker, D. D.)

On the advantages of prayer
J. Somerville, D. D.
Prayer is the pulse of the soul. To be prayerless, or little inclined to pray, is the most dreadful state in which a human being can possibly be. But it is nearly as lamentable to pray under the influence of improper sentiments and feelings, as not to pray at all. It is by no means the province of prayer, to inform the Deity of what we need, or to induce Him to alter His purposes, or to prevail upon Him to bestow upon us whatever we may think fit to solicit from Him. To the omniscient God all our wants must be well known; even better than they are to ourselves. Nor can He be supposed, in consequence of our prayers, either to deviate from the course which He had determined to pursue, or to submit the disposal of His favours to our direction. The advantages of prayer must be considered as confined to ourselves; and we have only to reflect for a moment on the state and temper of mind which it is instrumental in cherishing, to be convinced that it is eminently calculated to promote our real improvement and happiness.

1. Prayer, in consequence of the dispositions which it excites and cherishes in the mind of the suppliant, is well calculated to produce the happiest effects upon his conduct and condition. There is not an error in the understanding, a wrong propensity in the will, or a blemish in the outward conduct, which may not, either directly or indirectly, be traced to a temper of mind, the reverse of that of the Christian suppliant, and which a similar temper to his would not tend either to prevent or remove.

2. Prayer qualifies the suppliant for receiving the enlightening, sanctifying, and comforting influences of the Divine Spirit. That the Spirit of God can communicate direction, energy, and purity to the soul in a secret and incomprehensible manner, cannot be denied. That it is chiefly by means of prayer such communication is made, is a truth, which the experience of every genuine Christian sufficiently corroborates. Prayer is the means God has appointed to be used for obtaining the influences of the Spirit, and for cherishing that frame and temper of mind which peculiarly qualify him for receiving them.

3. Prayer is happily fitted to fortify against temptation Our temptations chiefly arise from the world, and the things of the world. The influence which worldly objects produce upon the different tempers and circumstances of men is so great, that it is not to be described. The best way to counteract this influence, is to avert the mind as much as possible from earthly things, and in the frequent exercise of prayer to lay it open to the impression of things invisible and eternal. Prayer renders us independent of the world, by fixing and strengthening our dependence upon God.

4. Prayer imparts to the Christian such a serenity, strength, and stability, as fit him for all that is truly amiable, and great, and good. It renders him serene, composed, and cheerful. Seeing, then, that prayer is attended with such important and blessed effects, how gladly ought we to avail ourselves of this precious privilege!

(J. Somerville, D. D.)

Objections to prayer answered
J. Somerville, D. D.
No argument has ever been adduced against prayer, which may not be traced to the source of human corruption. Men disrelish the duty of prayer, and then the judgment is set at work to devise arguments against it. Some tell us that they see little or no necessity for prayer: that God, who is rich in mercy, will bless them, whether they pray or not. Many are so irregular in the exercise of this duty, that they can scarcely be said to pray at all. They would pray, and they would not. Their hearts are divided. But how can they imagine that God will be served with a divided heart? Others say, for what purpose are we to pray, seeing that our prayers can have no effect upon God to dispose Him to grant us what we need, to alter His purposes, or to ward off from us those dangers by which we are threatened? Why we are to pray for quite another reason; namely, to produce the greatest and most important, and most beneficial effect upon ourselves. The purpose of prayer is answered, when, through the Divine blessing, a holy frame of mind is thereby wrought in us; when we are brought to yield to the impression of spiritual things. Some well-disposed persons allege that they cannot pray. This does not furnish any reasonable objection to prayer. Not to pray at all, because we are unable to pray well, is as absurd as it would be in a child not to walk, because it cannot walk with the elegance and grace of a full-grown man. Such an objection is too likely to arise from indolence, and the want of a real disposition to pray. It is not the manner or language of prayer that renders it acceptable to God, but the temper and dispositions with which it is offered up. If the poor afflicted sinner has right dispositions, he will approach the Lord, though in the most imperfect manner. Some sincere Christians say, they are conscious of so much sin and unworthiness, so much weakness and depravity, in the sight, of God, that they dare not pray. But their forget, the great Intercessor,. standing before the throne, with the golden censer in His hand, and offering up much incense with the prayers of the saints. By this, their fears are dissipated. Another objection to prayer is apt to arise in the minds of true Christians. However earnest and sincere they may have been in the performance of this duty, they have no reason to suppose that an answer to their prayers has ever been vouchsafed. This objection is sometimes made when prayers have been answered, but not in the particular form desired. God may have reasons for delaying or withholding answers. The true suppliant does not immediately cease to urge his suit, when he thinks that he is not heard. God knows both what is good for the Christian, and at what time, and in what manner, it should be granted. Therefore it becomes the Christian, instead of lessening his importunity when he thinks he is not heard, to wait with patience, and a renewed earnestness, till God be pleased to vouchsafe to him a gracious answer.

(J. Somerville, D. D.)

On the nature of prayer
J. Somerville, D. D.
Prayer is well defined as an offering up of our desires to God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies. Prayer may be considered as a generic term, including adoration, confession, petition, and thanksgiving. All these are equally the result of a devotional temper.

1. The true suppliant is deeply conscious of his being in a state of dependence, weakness, ignorance, and inability to promote his own happiness. Without this, there may be a form of prayer, but nothing of its spirit.

2. The true suppliant comes to God in the firm belief of His existence, and with a confidential application to Him, as both able and willing to help all who put their trust in Him. Without such faith and confidence, there can be no such thing as prayer.

3. The true suppliant draws near to God, with clean hands and a pure heart. In all ages and nations, rites of purification have usually preceded the immediate approaches to Deity. If we "regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us." But imperfection cleaves in a greater or less degree to the people of God in the present life; and as they are deeply conscious of this being the ease, and as such a consciousness naturally tends to weaken their confidence in God, observe —

4. That the true suppliant draws near to God, through the mediation of His Son, Jesus Christ. "Through Him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Nor is this a recent appointment.

5. The true suppliant, in all his requests at the throne of grace, is regulated by the word and will of God. The desires of mankind are as various as their imaginary wants. The will of God, and not his own will, is the Christian's guide in devotional duty. Let me remind yon of the glorious privilege of prayer; a privilege so great, that by improving it aright, dependent and sinful creatures like ourselves may lean with confidence on the Rock of Ages Himself. But such prayer as has been delineated is no natural attainment. The sentiments and feelings of the true suppliant are the produce of a Divine principle, specially engendered and nourished by Him who is denominated, "the Spirit of grace and supplications."

(J. Somerville, D. D.)

People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Attentive, Cry, Crying, Habitually, Hearken, Heed, Listen, Prayer, Voice
Outline
1. David prays, and professes his study in prayer
4. God favors not the wicked
7. David, professing his faith, prays to God to guide him
10. to destroy his enemies
11. and to preserve the godly

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 5:2

     8136   knowing God, effects
     8224   dependence
     8318   patience

Psalm 5:1-3

     8610   prayer, asking 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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