Psalms 5King James Version
Give ear to my words, O Lord. Morning prayer. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning. Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
A morning prayer of petition against deceitful adversaries. It opens with an urgent appeal to God to hear, then moves to a meditation on what God tolerates and what he hates (the wicked, liars, bloodthirsty men), then circles back to David's own access through mercy, then asks God to deal decisively with enemies and protect the righteous. It ends in joy.
Because God's character is defined by what he hates as much as what he loves, the one who comes honestly can enter and the one who comes deceitfully cannot.
verse: "But 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." Access to God is through mercy, not merit.
Superscription: 'To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.' Nehiloth may refer to flutes or wind instruments. Morning orientation clear from v3: 'In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.' The 'house' of v7 indicates temple worship or its precursor at the tabernacle.
David as petitioner; God addressed throughout; unnamed enemies specifically characterized as liars and bloodthirsty men; the psalmist's opponents in the royal court.
Psalm 5 establishes early in the Psalter the contrast between access and exclusion: who may enter God's presence and who cannot. Its sharp moral categories feel stark but they are the theological grammar that makes grace meaningful. Quoted and alluded to in Romans 3 among Paul's indictment of universal sin.
For when you are surrounded by people whose words cannot be trusted and whose motives feel hidden. The psalm is a place to go in the morning before the meeting you are dreading.
1[To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.] Give 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.