Psalms 5

Psalms 5THEME: A morning prayer: a cry of the godly in the time of great troublePsalm 5 is included in the section which forms a stairway between two messianic psalms. This group of psalms (4-7) actually tells a story. They are, first of all, a picture of a personal experience of David. Secondly, they reveal prophetically the picture of the nation Israel during the Great Tribulation period. Also they have very real applications for us today, for they involve great principles. They have messages for God’s people in all ages and in all times. This is a psalm written by David, and it has as its inscription: “To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth.” Psalms 4 was on neginoth, a stringed instrument, and this one, nehiloth, is generally believed to have been a wind instrument, a flute. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, set most of these psalms to music. Possibly a choir also sang this psalm to the accompaniment of flutes. Arthur Pridham states the tone and general character of this psalm very nicely: “It is a prayer of faith, sent up from a heart in which the discernment of God as the shield and rewarder of them that seek Him, is found in union with a very deep sense of the prevailing evil and ungodliness which daily present themselves to the contemplation of the faithful. Vexing of soul because of the abundance of iniquity is thus a leading feature in its general expression.” Pridham also makes this very interesting statement: “Hence patience is wrought in tribulation. Joy abounds in the sure hope of a deliverance, which is deferred only by the councils of unerring love.” This pretty well sums up this very magnificent psalm. It is called a morning psalm, and notice how it begins:

Psalms 5:1

Now let me give you a little different translation: “Give ear to my words, O Jehovah, give heed to my meditation. Listen to the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for to thee do I pray. Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I come before thee, and expectantly look up.” This psalm is a morning prayerin the morning his voice would be lifted unto God. The morning is a mighty good time to lift your heart to God in prayer.

Psalms 5:4

A little different translation at this point I think will be helpful for a better understanding of this passage. “For no God art thou whom wickedness can please. The evil man cannot dwell with thee. The arrogant shall not dare to stand before thine eyes. Thou hatest all workings of iniquity. Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: the man of blood and deceit Jehovah abhorreth. As for me, through thy great mercy will I enter thy house. I will fall down, facing thy holy temple in fear.” This is the comfort of the godly. When you look about you today, you may have (as I do) a sinking feeling as you see the evil that is abroad and the iniquity that abounds. It is something that makes you sick at heart. What is the comfort of the godly in days like these? The psalmist tells us. The hatred that he has in his heart for evil reveals that he is on God’s side.

God also hates it. It also makes God sick to look down on this sinful world of today. Wickedness does not please God, nor will it please those who know God. Evil cannot dwell with Him, for “…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1Jn_1:5). Habakkuk said it like this (when the Lord told him that the Chaldeans were going to invade God’s land): “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity …” (Hab_1:13). Wickedness may prosper for a time, but the day is surely coming which will bring destruction and eternal shame to those who practice lies and iniquity.

God has made it very, very clear that there is a day of judgment coming, and evil is not going to prevail. God spells it out in Rev_21:8 which says, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Now I may sound like an antiquated preacher referring to a passage like this, but I believe that the judgment of God is coming upon this earth.

Psalms 5:8

A different translation is: “Jehovah, lead me in thy righteousness because of my foes.” He is saying, “My enemies are watching me. They want me to stumble and fall, but I want to glorify You.” Therefore he is praying to God that He will not let him stumble and fall, and that He will lead him. He prays, “Make thy paths straight before me, for in their mouth is nothing trustworthy; they are inwardly full of depravity; their throat is an open sepulchre.” By the way, this is quoted in Rom_3:13 by the apostle Paul. “They make their tongues smooth"they are glib of tongue. They don’t seem to know what the truth is, and they seldom tell it.

Psalms 5:10

Or to translate it another way: “Destroy 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. And all who seek refuge with Thee shall rejoice; forever shall they shout for joy because of thy protection, and they shall exult in Thee and love Thy name, for Thou, Jehovah, will bless the righteous: with favour wilt Thou surround him as with a shield.” Prayer is this man’s resource and recourse when he looks at the wickedness all about him. He prays for that guidance which will enable him to walk in a way that will not bring disrepute upon the name of God. In verse Psa_5:10 the psalmist asks the Lord to destroy the enemy. This is the first imprecatory prayer recorded in the Psalms. Later on I will have time to develop that subject. There are certain prayers that David prayed where he asked God for justice; he asked God to intervene and bring judgment. Some of them are very harsh. Isaiah prayed that way in Isa_64:1-2, when he said, “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!” Judgment must fall some day upon the transgressors. Scripture makes it very clear that God will take vengeance. The Lord, you remember, told the parable concerning the widow who took her case to an earthly judge, saying, “…Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily …” (Luk_18:3-8). And David in his day prayed for vengeance. For a Christian to pray these prayers during these days I think is absolutely sinful. You say, “You don’t mean that!” I certainly do mean it. This is where I think a proper interpretation of Scripture is essential. There are many people who want to get rid of this portion of the Word of God. There are even people who say this is not even God’s Word because it is no expression for a Christian today. Well, who said it was?

This is going to be for God’s people during the Great Tribulation. In that day these people under law will pray this kind of prayer as they did in the past under law. And God intends to hear His people, and He intends to bring vengeance upon their enemies. We are to do things differently during this age. Mat_5:44 says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” This is difficult to do, I will grant you that, but that is what the Lord asks us to do. In Rom_12:19 we are told, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” God says that He will take care of any reprisals.

When we get hit in the nose, it is human nature to want to hit back. But when we take matters into our own hands, we are not walking with Him by faith. God wants us to trust Him to take care of our enemies. When the Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth and was so brutally treated, He did not strike back. He wants those who are His own in the church today to take that same position. But God has said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” God intends to take care of it some day. This is a marvelous psalm. What a comfort it will be to God’s people in the time of severe persecution!