Psalms 5

Psalms 5:1. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Sometimes we pray right off, as David did when he cried to the Lord, «Hear me when I call.» At other times, we sit down to meditate, and think over what we want to say to the Lord in prayer, as David did when he said, « ‘O Lord, consider my meditation.' What I have considered do thou consider.» A well-considered prayer is very likely to succeed with God.

Psalms 5:2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry,-

«When I have not confidence or comfort enough to present a well-ordered prayer to thee; but, like a child in pain, cry unto thee, ‘Hearken unto the voice of my cry,'»-

Psalms 5:2. My King, and my God:

What! will a king hearken to a cry? Men generally prepare elaborate petitions when they come into the presence of royalty; but, although the Lord is far greater than all earthly sovereigns, he is far more condescending than they are.

Psalms 5:2. For unto the will I pray.

I trust that we all pray; I am sure that all believers do; but let us pray more, let us pray much more than we have done and let us each one truly say to the Lord, « Unto thee will I pray.» He is a King, so serve him with your prayers. He is God, so adore him with your prayers, and if you can put both your hands on him, and say, as David did, « My King, and my God,» what abundant motives you have for abounding in prayer to him

Psalms 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;

«When the dew is on all nature, and on my spirit too, then shalt thou hear my voice in prayer. Before I go out into the world, my first thoughts shall be of thee.» Never see the face of man, beloved, until you have seen the face of God.

Psalms 5:3. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Adjust your prayer as the archer fits his arrow on the bow, look up as you shoot it, and keep on looking up and looking out for an answer to your supplication. You cannot expect God to open the windows of heaven to pour you out a blessing if you do not open the windows of your expectation to look for it. If you look up in asking, God will look down in answering. It is well always to take good aim in prayer; some prayers are like random shots, they cannot be expected to hit the target; but David's prayer was well aimed, and he expected it to prevail with God: « In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.»

Psalms 5:4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

In both of these Psalms there is a clear line drawn between the righteous and the wicked, this is a line which still needs to be kept very clear, and we must all seek to know on which side of that line we are.

Psalms 5:5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

These are strong words, but not too strong, God is not tolerant of evil and those who are most like him in other respects will be like him in this matter also.

Psalms 5:7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:

«I will be like a child who goes in and out of his father's door as often as he pleases because he is at home. I will not go there on my own merits, but ‘in the multitude of thy mercy.»'

Psalms 5:7. And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

There was no temple on earth when David wrote this Psalm, but God was his temple; and so the pious Jew opened the window, and looked towards Jerusalem, so do we look towards God upon the throne of grace in heaven, and seek to worship him in the beauty of holiness.

Psalms 5:8. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

David does not say, « Make my way straight, « he does not want to have his own way, but he wants to walk in God's way. Thus sweet submission blends with a desire for perfect obedience: « Make thy way straight before my face.»

Psalms 5:9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;-

You cannot expect ungodly men to speak that which is right: « there is no faithfulness in their mouth; «-

Psalms 5:9. Their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher;

Pouring out foul, putrid gas. They cannot speak without using filthy or blasphemous expressions, or if they do, there is falsehood lurking behind their words, for deceit and evil of all kinds are in their hearts.

Psalms 5:9. They flatter with their tongue.

Always beware of people who flatter you, and especially when they tell you that they do not flatter you, and that they know you cannot endure flattery, for you are then being most fulsomely flattered, so be on your guard against the tongue of the flatterer.

Psalms 5:10. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

« It does not matter what they do against me; but, O Lord, ‘they have rebelled against thee.'» David speaks here like a judge pronouncing sentence upon the guilty,-not out of malice, but out of loyalty and devotion to God,

Psalms 5:11. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 4:5.