Psalm 5
I. We worship a prayer-hearing God (verses 1–3)
Psalm 4:3 says “The Lord hears when I call to Him.”
A. David calls on God to listen, and in doing so assumes that He already hears.
David is peculiarly disturbed at the wickedness that surrounds him and enmity that has organized itself against him. He asks the Lord to listen to his meditations on this reality that often can only be expressed in groaning. God does hear these deep groaning meditations of heart and takes them as confessions of powerlessness and as requests for righteous intervention.
B. David calls these times of meditative groaning a “cry for help” that he directs to one who is “my king and my God.”
Our groanings should consider the reality and the nature of those forces that oppose our devotion to the will of God. Some are external, embedded within the flippancy and hostility of godless culture. Others, however, are internal, revealing pockets of carnal power in our own minds. Meditations, therefore, must consist of contemplations of divine chastening so that they are productive of repentance and renewed trust in divine purpose for increased holiness. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “We should be careful to keep the stream of meditation always running; for this is the water to drive the mill of prayer. It is idle to pull up to the floodgates of a dry brook, and them hope to see the wheel revolve.”
C. A day ill-begun without acknowledgement that we are the servants of a strong and merciful king will tumble along with dryness and frustration.
I know. Immediate recognition of divine presence, provision, sovereignty, condescension, and mercy by ordered, Scripture-laden morning prayer makes one conscious of the beauty of Him with whom we have to do for the day and always. We arrange our prayers and direct them specifically to the only one who can answer. Then we watch to discern the multiplicity of ways and occasions in which they are answered. “In the morning I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch” (3 b NASB).
II. We worship a God who is perfect in holiness.
David lets us know something of the content of his daily morning prayer by the word, “For.” His prayers are governed by this imposing reality, “I pray as I do, because my words will come before a God whose judgment against evil is absolute.
A. Distilling large quantities of Scripture into a few words, the Baptist catechism says, “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.”
Evil will receive no toleration from Him. He never ceases to exist nor diminishes in his perfect wisdom to know the just punishment due to every violation of his holiness, every contradiction to His goodness, and every corruption of his truth. The fallen world is abundantly filled with these things for “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18 ESV). It would be antithetical to His nature to have any degree of love for or sympathy with any sort of evil, that is, contradictions to His law and holy attributes. God as such a being takes “no pleasure in wickedness” and “no evil dwells with [Him].”
B. In the day of the final assize, the wicked will cower and desire to flee from the all-seeing eyes of omnipotence and the holy, wrathful sentence pronounced against them for their endless stream of wickedness.
They find no place to stand before His eyes. Perfect righteousness reflecting unalloyed holiness will permit no easing of conscience nor words of objection or explanation. “Every mouth will be stopped” (Romans 3:19).
C. Moral propensity and character is bound up in personhood.
Evil is principial, but it is not a mere abstraction. It is personal and exists as a result of personal moral choice counter to the great commandments of love to God and love to neighbor. We should be neither surprised nor offended, therefore, when Scripture declares of God, “You hate all who do iniquity” (5). It follows that God “destroys those who speak falsehood” and “abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit” (6).
D. From this, we may infer that the prayers have to do with desires for righteous living even when opposed by those who hate him and disregard God.
We see this distilled and specifically stated in verses 7 and 8.
III. Who are true worshippers of this God?
We learn more about the concern and content of David’s prayer. In contradistinction from the wicked—“But”—David goes with expectation of reception from God. This confidence does not arise from self-righteousness for in himself David is no different from these perverse enemies. He would agree with Paul in Titus 3, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3 ESV). His confidence also is the same as Paul’s: “But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared …”
A. David enters the place of worship in the midst of an abundance of mercies, a variety of expressions of God’s lovingkindness.
Not only is mercy great and infinitely enthralling, it has expressions designed to meet each need that a fallen creature has for a full restoration of fellowship with God.
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- One of these abundant mercies is justification. David is justified and has no sin imputed to him. His sin is covered (Psalm 32:1, 2). According to God’s mercies, his transgressions are blotted out (Psalm 51:1, 9). Apart from this righteousness he cannot enter God’s house.
- He has the presence of the Spirit of God to convict of sin and urge him on in the pursuit of holiness (Psalm 51:10, 11). Those who argue that Old Testament believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them surely must be wrong. Conviction, perseverance, and assurance of God’s love are impossible without the abiding presence and indwelling of the Spirit. In Psalm 23 David rejoices in the overflowing anointing that he has received. The Spirit has given him “everything that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called him by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3).
B. Rather than an enemy of God, one in rebellion (10), David recognizes the holiness of this access and the reverence that must characterize any approach to God (7).
Reverence may be cultivated by instruction as in the admonitions to respect that we must have for those in authority (Romans 13:1–7, “If you do evil be afraid … an avenger to execute wrath … fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor;” 1 Peter 2:13–17 “Honor the king.”) Essential reverence, however, is implanted in the soul by a true perception of natural intrinsic power and holiness such as Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6: “The whole earth is full of His glory. …Woe is me for I am undone! …Behold this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged” (3, 5, 7).
C. David’s foes stake out a path of self-empowered wickedness and would lead David into their species of disregard for the holy and righteous.
He knows that the way of righteousness comes from both divine revelation and specific empowerment. Both of these are necessary to walk righteously. God must show us the way (“Make your way straight before me.”) and his Spirit creates the desire to follow it and the power to overcome opposition. Foes may be both external in the form of godless men as well as internal in the power of as-yet-unmortified sin.
D. “Lead me in your righteousness” (8).
Righteousness is an attribute of Yahweh, and the way of righteousness is revealed by command, proposition, and example in Scripture. Righteousness consists in loving conformity to moral law and unquestioning obedience to positive law. We find the righteousness of perfect and loving obedience on the part of man only in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5–8). His righteousness becomes ours by covenantal identification (“As in Adam, … so in Christ” 1 Corinthians 15:22) resulting in imputation (Romans 4:6, 23, 24). Acceptance before God comes only “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Union with Him by faith means we are covered with His righteousness.
E. “Make your way straight” is the heart cry of the justified for they now want the path of righteousness to be their habit of life.
Enough of the proud transgression of the world, for eternal joy and knowledge of the fount of joy comes in the path of divine approval.
IV. The perverse, therefore, do not worship this God (9).
His character alienates them and the entire bent of their life as demonstrated in their words and arguments calls for judgment.
A. Their speech consists either of lies or delusions so that what they say cannot be relied on as trustworthy guidance.
Either they purposely deceive, or their world view is so skewed away from God’s character and power that they are incapable of giving safe counsel. Even at their best, they interpret life in terms of non-absolutes and relative socially-approved norms; at worst they rely on subterfuge and deception and speak from an anti-God bias.
B. Such lamentable and systemic deception and danger arises from perversity of heart, from being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
“Their inmost self is destruction” (ESV); “Their inward part is destruction itself” (NASB);. Hearts and, therefore, minds defy the way of holiness and eternal life. They issue no call for repentance, no love for godliness, no perception of the character of eternal life and, so, “their throat is an open grave” (10c). They can seem wise, sophisticated, daring, and affirming, but their whole perspective leads to the way of destruction.
V. We worship a God who is the Righteous Judge (10).
His execution of justice will be precisely measured by the depth, amount, aggressiveness, and context of their evil.
A. “Hold them guilty, O God.” None who have not entered on the way of life through divine truth, holiness, and lovingkindness will escape the verdict of “guilty.”
“The whole world may be held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
B. Their own sin, their own devices and counsels, will drag them to a just judgment.
Left to themselves, left to their own wills, left to their own corrupt desires, they will fall. Their own sin will create such a moral weight that nothing can sustain them from plunging to eternal destruction.
C. “In the multitude of their transgressions” they will be cast away from the benevolent glory of God’s presence.
No sin, no evil thought, no transgression, no trespass will be left out of the cumulative account. Each transgression will add to the load of divine wrath. Reflect on this: “For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:2, 3). Each of the multitude of the transgressions of the unforgiven will add sensible wrath to the eternal burden of divine wrath. And David, aware of the dynamic of retribution and mercy says, “Thrust them out.” We rightly glory in and pray for exuberant manifestations of divine mercy and lovingkindness, but we also will see God’s glory in the words, “Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). David had learned to hate those who hated the Lord and for the right reasons (Psalm 139:19–23).
D. David gives the reason for his request for their exclusion: “For they are rebellious against you” (10d).
None can be in fellowship with God who also are in fellowship with rebels against Him, His words, His salvation.
VI. We worship a God who delights in those who trust in Him (11, 12).
A. Verse 11 sets forth an obvious triple parallelism of divine protection and favor and consequent everlasting joy.
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- As opposed to the unrighteous living under divine judgment, some “take refuge” (NASB) or “put their trust” (NKJV) in him. They find His abundant lovingkindness a shelter from the coming wrath. This is parallel to the phrase, “May you shelter them” (NASB) or “defend them” (NKJV). The certain consequence of taking refuge is reception of shelter or a pace of defense. This word for refuge is used around 20 times in the Psalms, perhaps most famously in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (ESV);” or Psalm 142:5, “I cry to you, O Lord; I say ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (ESV). A third phrase helps us understand why persons who know they need refuge would do so: “Let those who love your name …” They seek refuge particularly in Yahweh for they see the beauty of His unchangeable attributes. Their heart has been changed from enmity to trust, admiration, confidence, and love by the unflawed trustworthiness of the Lord’s word and ways.
- Parallel to these ideas of refuge, shelter, and love, we find three phrases translated in a variety of ways: “be glad, … sing for joy … exult” (NASB); “rejoice, … sing for joy, … exult” (ESV); “rejoice, … shout for joy, … be joyful” (KJV, NKJV). The reality of a refuge, justly provided and lovingly bestowed, from an eternity of woe certainly prompts a joy that overflows in praise, even exultation. The word “ever” means that such joy and worshipful praise will never cease. The wonder of God’s saving intervention in our desperate plight will only accelerate and expand without intermission throughout eternity.
B. Both safety and joy are the products of the Lord’s grace (12).
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- God blesses the one who is righteous. God blesses him with righteousness (Justification) and then rewards him because he is considered righteous. These are the ones who have taken refuge in the Lord and thus rejoice in the Lord; the refuge they take is within the favor of God. They also seek to follow righteousness because they love it (sanctification).
- Those refugees so rescued, justified, sanctified, and heavenly-minded are surrounded by God’s favor as with an impregnable shield. The shield of faith, “and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The favor of God begins our pilgrimage, protects us on the way, prompts us to pray, hears our prayers, protects us from enemies, and increases our joy.
Our God, the Lord, delights in prayer.
He listens even to our meditations.
My cry He hears, because He cares.
By morning my earnest solicitation
Will come to His ear,
Assured He will hear.
Our God, the King, hates wickedness.
Nor sin, nor perverse arrogance with Him dwell.
Iniquity and boastfulness
Will find their condign place in the fires of hell.
No look of love for those
Who God’s own law oppose.
Our God, the Good, will mercies show;
Their plenitude will guide our lives in true fear.
His righteousness will truth bestow,
Press enemies aside. To His way adhere
Made plain before my face,
When captured by His grace.
Our God, the Just—pure holiness—
Sees every sin and judges heart corruption.
He abhors all unfaithfulness
And reveals each deadly moral eruption,
Flowing in abundance
From the sinner’s substance.
Our God, the Happy, grants us His joy.
He favors, defends, calls them righteous who trust,
While shouts of glee their tongues employ.
They love His name, His holy beauty and must
Give to Him endless praise,
Pure, expanding always.
Our God, the Triune, always blest
Exhibits with no end the flow of pure love.
None can deny, none can contest
His sovereign prerogative, here and above.
He will judge and redeem,
Worth infinite esteem.
