Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

Psalm 5

Trust in God for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O L ord;

give heed to my sighing.

Listen to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

O L ord, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil will not sojourn with you.

The boastful will not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies;

the L ord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house,

I will bow down toward your holy temple

in awe of you.

Lead me, O L ord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouths;

their hearts are destruction;

their throats are open graves;

they flatter with their tongues.

Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

because of their many transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

so that those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O L ord;

you cover them with favor as with a shield.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

11. And let all rejoice, etc It makes little difference as to the sense, whether we read these words in the future tense, All shall rejoice, etc., or in the optative mood, Let all rejoice, etc.; for in both ways the meaning of the prophet will be the same; namely, that if God deliver him, the fruit of this deliverance will be common to all the godly; as if he had said Lord, if thou succourest me, the goodness which thou conferrest upon me will not rest on me alone, but will extend to all thy servants: for this will serve the more to confirm their faith, and make them praise thy name the more. In order, therefore, to induce God to grant him deliverance, he employs as an argument the end or effect which it would produce, inasmuch as it would stir up all the godly to exercise greater trust in God, and encourage them to give praise and thanks to him. This passage teaches us, that we are ungrateful to God if we do not take encouragement and comfort from whatever blessings he confers upon our neighbours, since by these he testifies that he will always be ready to bestow his goodness upon all the godly in common. Accordingly the reason of this joy is added, because the Lord will cover or protect them. As often as God bestows any blessings upon any of the faithful, the rest, as I have said before, ought to conclude that he will show himself beneficent towards them. Again, this passage teaches us, that true joy proceeds from no other source than from the protection of God. We may be exposed to a thousand deaths, but this one consideration ought abundantly to suffice us, that we are covered and defended by the hand of God. And this will be the case, if the vain shadows of this world do not so beguile us as to excite us to take shelter under them. We ought also particularly to notice the statement, that those who trust in the Lord love his name. The remembrance of God must be sweet to us, and fill our hearts with joy, or rather ravish us with love to him, after he has caused us to taste of his goodness; as, on the other hand, all unbelievers wish the name of God to be buried, and shun the remembrance of him with horror.