Naravist

Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 5

Psalm 5: a morning prayer against deceitful mouths

General context

The speaker asks the Lord to give ear to his words and consider his meditation, and to hearken to the voice of his cry, calling him my King and my God. He says the Lord will hear his voice in the morning, when he will direct his prayer and look up. He states that God takes no pleasure in wickedness, that evil will not dwell with him, that the foolish will not stand in his sight, that he hates all workers of iniquity, will destroy those who speak leasing, and abhors the bloody and deceitful man. As for himself, he will come into God's house in the multitude of his mercy and worship toward his holy temple in fear. He asks to be led in righteousness because of his enemies and for God's way to be made straight before him. He describes the enemies: no faithfulness in their mouth, inward wickedness, a throat like an open sepulchre, flattering tongues. He asks God to destroy them, let them fall by their own counsels and cast them out for rebelling against him. He asks that all who trust in God rejoice and shout for joy because he defends them, and closes by saying the Lord will bless the righteous and compass him with favour as with a shield.

Cited passages: Psalms 5:1, Psalms 5:2, Psalms 5:3, Psalms 5:4, Psalms 5:5, Psalms 5:6, Psalms 5:7, Psalms 5:8, Psalms 5:9, Psalms 5:10, Psalms 5:11, Psalms 5:12

Psalms 5 (KJV)

1Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

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

5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

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

9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10Destroy 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.

11But 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.

12For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The text as printed carries no heading, so nothing is said here about author, occasion or accompaniment. The speaker addresses the Lord throughout and never turns to the enemies directly; they are described to God in the third person as the foolish, workers of iniquity, speakers of leasing, and "the bloody and deceitful man", but they are not named or counted. "Thy house" and "thy holy temple" are named as the place the speaker will come and worship toward, and "the morning" is the stated time of prayer; the psalm gives no other setting. Verse 9's description of the enemies' throat as "an open sepulchre" and their flattering tongue is quoted in Romans 3:13, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit", where it forms part of a chain of quotations. The psalm does not say what the enemies have done to the speaker beyond their speech and their rebellion against God.

Cited passages: Psalms 5:1, Psalms 5:6, Psalms 5:7, Psalms 5:3, Psalms 5:9, Romans 3:13, Psalms 5:10

Literary context

The psalm is organized around mouths and hearing. It opens with three requests to be heard (give ear, consider, hearken) and promises a morning voice; the enemies are then condemned for what their mouths do: leasing, no faithfulness, an open sepulchre for a throat, a flattering tongue. Against that, the speaker's own voice cries, prays and worships. "But as for me" in verse 7 marks the turn from the wicked who cannot stand in God's sight to the speaker who will come into God's house. The poem alternates description and petition: God's character (verses 4-6), the speaker's intent (7), a petition for guidance (8), the enemies' character (9), a petition against them (10), and a petition for the joy of those who trust (11). It closes with the shield, an image that Psalm 3:3 also used, and "the righteous" whom the Lord blesses, while the opening image was the speaker looking up.

Cited passages: Psalms 5:1, Psalms 5:3, Psalms 5:9, Psalms 5:7, Psalms 5:5, Psalms 5:12, Psalms 3:3

Key moments

  1. Give ear to my words (Psalms 5:1). The speaker asks the Lord to hear his words and consider his meditation.
  2. Morning prayer (Psalms 5:3). He will direct his prayer to the Lord in the morning and look up.
  3. No pleasure in wickedness (Psalms 5:4). God takes no pleasure in wickedness and evil cannot dwell with him.
  4. Into thy house (Psalms 5:7). The speaker will come into God's house and worship toward his holy temple.
  5. Throat an open sepulchre (Psalms 5:9). The enemies have no faithfulness in their mouth and flatter with their tongue.
  6. Let them fall (Psalms 5:10). He asks God to let the enemies fall by their own counsels.
  7. Favour as a shield (Psalms 5:12). The Lord blesses the righteous and surrounds him with favour like a shield.

For reflection

The speaker asks God to let the enemies "fall by their own counsels" rather than describing any blow struck by his own hand; what does the psalm leave to God and what does it keep for the speaker himself?

People in this chapter