Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give earThe phrase "Give ear" is a plea for attention and is often used in the Psalms as a call for God to listen attentively. The Hebrew root for "give ear" is "אזן" (azan), which means to listen or to pay attention. This reflects a deep yearning for divine attention and intervention. In the ancient Near Eastern context, calling upon a deity to "give ear" was a common practice, signifying the worshiper's belief in a personal and responsive God. The psalmist's use of this phrase underscores the intimate relationship between the believer and God, emphasizing that God is not distant but is actively engaged in the lives of His people. to my words
The psalmist's request for God to listen "to my words" highlights the importance of verbal expression in prayer. The Hebrew word for "words" is "דברים" (devarim), which can also mean matters or things. This suggests that the psalmist is not only asking God to hear his spoken prayers but also to understand the matters of his heart. In the biblical tradition, words are powerful and carry weight, as seen in the creation narrative where God speaks the world into existence. Thus, the psalmist's words are not mere utterances but are imbued with significance and urgency. O LORD
The use of "O LORD" refers to the covenant name of God, "Yahweh" (יהוה), which is the most sacred name for God in the Hebrew Bible. This name signifies God's eternal presence and His covenantal relationship with Israel. By invoking this name, the psalmist is appealing to God's faithfulness and His promises. It is a reminder of the personal and relational nature of God, who is both transcendent and immanent. The use of "O LORD" in prayer reflects a deep trust in God's character and His willingness to act on behalf of His people. consider
The word "consider" in Hebrew is "בין" (bin), which means to understand or to discern. This is more than a request for God to hear; it is a plea for God to perceive and comprehend the depth of the psalmist's situation. It implies a desire for God to engage with the psalmist's plight on a profound level. In the biblical context, understanding is often associated with wisdom and insight, qualities attributed to God. The psalmist is asking for God's wise and discerning attention to his circumstances, trusting in God's ability to see beyond the surface. my groaning
The term "groaning" is translated from the Hebrew word "הגה" (haghah), which can also mean sighing or murmuring. This word conveys a sense of deep emotional distress and unarticulated pain. It reflects the psalmist's inner turmoil and the intensity of his plea. In the ancient world, groaning was often associated with suffering and lamentation, a raw expression of the human condition. The inclusion of "my groaning" in the prayer indicates that God is attentive not only to spoken words but also to the unspoken cries of the heart. It reassures believers that God is compassionate and responsive to their deepest needs and struggles. Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidThe author of this Psalm, King David, is known for his deep relationship with God and his honest expressions of emotion in the Psalms. He often sought God's guidance and protection. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal nature and His relationship with His people. David addresses his plea to Yahweh, indicating a personal and covenantal relationship. 3. The Act of PrayerThis Psalm is a prayer, highlighting the importance of communication with God. David's plea for God to "give ear" and "consider" reflects the earnestness and urgency of his prayer. Teaching Points The Importance of Honest PrayerDavid's use of "groaning" (Hebrew: "hagig") suggests deep, heartfelt communication with God. We are encouraged to bring our true feelings and struggles before God without pretense. God's AttentivenessThe request for God to "give ear" and "consider" reminds us that God is attentive to our prayers. We can trust that He listens and cares about our concerns. The Role of Lament in FaithLament is a valid and important part of our spiritual journey. Expressing sorrow or frustration to God is not a lack of faith but an act of trust in His ability to handle our deepest emotions. Consistency in PrayerDavid's repeated calls for God to hear him throughout the Psalms teach us the value of persistence in prayer. We should continually bring our needs before God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding the covenant relationship between David and Yahweh enhance our understanding of this verse? 2. In what ways can we incorporate honest expressions of our emotions in our prayer life, as David did? 3. How does the assurance of God's attentiveness to our prayers impact our approach to prayer? 4. What other biblical examples of lament can we find, and how do they inform our understanding of expressing sorrow or frustration to God? 5. How can we develop a consistent prayer life that reflects the persistence seen in David's prayers throughout the Psalms? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 4:1David also calls upon God to hear his prayer, showing a consistent theme of seeking God's attention and intervention. Philippians 4:6-7Paul encourages believers to present their requests to God with thanksgiving, promising peace. This aligns with David's approach of bringing his concerns before the Lord. Hebrews 4:16Believers are encouraged to approach God's throne of grace with confidence, similar to David's boldness in prayer. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Chief, 5, Choirmaster, Consider, David, Ear, Flutes, Groaning, Gt, Heart-searchings, Heed, Inheritances, Instruments, Leader, Lt, Meditation, Music, Musician, Music-maker, Nehiloth, O, Overseer, Psalm, Sayings, Sighing, WindDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 5:1 5148 ear Psalm 5: 5314 flute
5420 music 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 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 5:1 NIVPsalm 5:1 NLTPsalm 5:1 ESVPsalm 5:1 NASBPsalm 5:1 KJV
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