Psalm 5

 
Psalm 5
A Meditation on Jehovah’s Righteous Dealings
 
Psalm 5. The inscription indicates that this is a psalm of David. It was written in the style of “Nehiloth”, meaning “flutes”, or “wind instruments”. In the progression of Psa. 3-8 we are now in the night, looking forward to the future morning; “in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I address myself to thee, and will look up” (Psa. 5:3). Prophetically, this Psalm captures the prayer of the faithful remnant in the great tribulation, as they experience harsh persecution, and witness great evil, done by their natural brethren under the leadership of Antichrist.
 
PSALM 5
To the chief Musician. Upon Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Jehovah; consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my crying, my king and my God; for to thee will I pray.
 
vv.1-2 Asking God to Hear. In the opening lines, the psalmist cries out to Jehovah to hear him, as he pours out the meditation of his heart. Notice that the psalmist (David) addresses Jehovah as “my king and my God”. Prophetically, the Jewish remnant will be surrounded by circumstances where there is a false king in Israel, and a false God being worshipped by their earthly brethren. How important to recognize the true Sovereign and Deity!
 
3 Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I address myself to thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a GOD that hath pleasure in wickedness; evil shall not sojourn with thee.
5 Insolent fools shall not stand before thine eyes; thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: Jehovah abhorreth a man of blood and deceit.
7 But as for me, in the greatness of thy loving-kindness will I enter thy house; I will bow down toward the temple of thy holiness in thy fear.
 
vv.3-7 The Twofold Disposition of Jehovah. In these lines, the psalmist considers two dispositions of the Lord: toward the righteous, and also toward the wicked. Speaking as only of the faithful, the psalmist could say, the Lord will “hear my voice”, and “I will enter thy house”. Notice the posture. First, there is dependence; “I address myself to thee, and will look up”. Second, there is a sense of grace; “in the greatness of thy loving-kindness will I enter thy house”. Third, there is reverence; “I will bow down toward the temple of thy holiness in thy fear”. But for the wicked, God can have no fellowship with them (vv.4-6). God’s displeasure in the wicked, His hatred for them, and His eventual judgment on them are expounded. Some have suggested that “a man of blood and deceit” is a reference to Antichrist himself, stressing his violence and corruption. Surely, the reign of antichrist will be a totalitarian regime. Antichrist also would be a infamous example of “them that speak lies”, for he is called “the liar” in 1 John; “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). Notice that this Psalm is for one outside, looking forward to being in the temple. Perhaps the prophetic setting of this Psalm is at a time when the faithful are unable to enter the temple.
 
8 Lead me, Jehovah, in thy righteousness, because of my foes; make thy way plain before me.
9 For there is no certainty in their mouth; their inward part is perversion, “their throat is an open sepulchre;” [quoted in Rom. 3:13] they flatter with their tongue.
10 Bring guilt upon them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels: drive them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee.
11 And all that trust in thee shall rejoice: for ever shall they shout joyously, and thou wilt protect them; and they that love thy name shall exult in thee.
12 For thou, Jehovah, wilt bless the righteous man; with favour wilt thou surround him as with a shield.
 
vv.8-12 Two Requests. The psalmist closes with two requests: to guide the faithful (v.8, vv.11-12), and to destroy the wicked (vv.9-10). Part of v.9 is quoted in Romans 3, to support the indictment of man before the bar of God’s justice. In v.10, we find that the remnant has a sense of the grievousness of the sin that wicked are guilty of. As an imprecatory prayer, the faithful pray that the wicked would be judged; “O God; let them fall by their own counsels”. So it will be in the great tribulation; “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13). By trusting their own wisdom, their own counsels, the apostate nation of Israel will be the cause of their own destruction at the attack of the King of the North. But when the wicked are destroyed in “the consumption”, the faithful will be protected; “all that trust in thee shall rejoice… thou wilt protect them… with favour wilt thou surround him as with a shield”.
 
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