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Commentary on Psalms 5 verses 1–6
The title of this psalm has nothing in it peculiar but that it is said to be upon Nehiloth, a word nowhere else used. It is conjectured (and it is but a conjecture) that is signifies wind - instruments, with which this psalm was sung, as Neginoth was supposed to signify the stringed - instruments. In these verses David had an eye to God,
I. As a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, and yet is still as ready to hear prayer as ever. Observe how David here styles him: O Lord (Psa 5:1, Psa 5:3), Jehovah, a self-existent, self-sufficient, Being, whom we are bound to adore, and, "my King and my God (Psa 5:2), whom I have avouched for my God, to whom I have sworn allegiance, and under whose protection I have put myself as my King." We believe that the God we pray to is a King, and a God. King of kings and God of gods; but that is not enough: the most commanding encouraging principle of prayer, and the most powerful or prevailing plea in prayer, is to look upon him as our King and our God, to whom we lie under peculiar obligations and from whom we have peculiar expectations. Now observe,
1.What David here prays for, which may encourage our faith and hopes in all our addresses to God. If we pray fervently, and in faith, we have reason to hope, (1.) That God will take cognizance of our case, the representation we make of it and the requests we make upon it; for so he prays here: Give ear to my words, O Lord! Though God is in heaven, he has an ear open to his people's prayers, and it is not heavy, that he cannot hear. Men perhaps will not or cannot hear us; our enemies are so haughty that they will not, our friends at such a distance that they cannot; but God, though high, though in heaven, can, and will. (2.) That he will take it into his wise and compassionate consideration, and will not slight it, or turn it off with a cursory answer; for so he prays: Consider my meditation. David's prayers were not his words only, but his meditations; as meditation is the best preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation. Meditation and prayer should go together, Psa 19:14. It is when we thus consider our prayers, and then only, that we may expect that God will consider them, and take that to his heart which comes from ours. (3.) That he will, in due time, return a gracious answer of peace; for so he prays (Psa 5:2): Hearken to the voice of my cry. His prayer was a cry; it was the voice of his cry, which denotes fervency of affection and importunity of expression; and such effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much and do wonders.
2.What David here promises, as the condition on his part to be performed, fulfilled, and kept, that he might obtain this gracious acceptance; this may guide and govern us in our addresses to God, that we may present them aright, for we ask, and have not, if we ask amiss. Four things David here promises, and so must we: - (1.) That he will pray, that he will make conscience of praying, and make a business of it: Unto thee will I pray. "Others live without prayer, but I will pray." Kings on their own thrones (so David was) must be beggars at God's throne. "Others pray to strange gods, and expect relief from them, but to thee, to thee only, will I pray." The assurances God has given us of his readiness to hear prayer should confirm our resolution to live and die praying. (2.) That he will pray in the morning. His praying voice shall be heard then, and then shall his prayer be directed; that shall be the date of his letters to heaven, not that only ("Morning, and evening, and at noon, will I pray, nay, seven times a day, will I praise thee"), but that certainly. Morning prayer is our duty; we are the fittest for prayer when we are in the most fresh, and lively, and composed frame, got clear of the slumbers of the night, revived by them, and not yet filled with the business of the day. We have then most need of prayer, considering the dangers and temptations of the day to which we are exposed, and against which we are concerned; by faith and prayer, to fetch in fresh supplies of grace. (3.) That he will have his eye single and his heart intent in the duty: I will direct my prayer, as a marksman directs his arrow to the white; with such a fixedness and steadiness of mind should we address ourselves to God. Or as we direct a letter to a friend at such a place so must we direct our prayers to God as our Father in heaven; and let us always send them by the Lord Jesus, the great Mediator, and then they will be sure not to miscarry. All our prayers must be directed to God; his honour and glory must be aimed at as our highest end in all our prayers. Let our first petition be, Hallowed, glorified, by thy name, and then we may be sure of the same gracious answer to it that was given to Christ himself: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again. (4.) That he will patiently wait for an answer of peace: "I will look up, will look after my prayers, and hear what God the Lord will speak (Psa 85:8; Hab 2:1), that, if he grant what I asked, I may be thankful - if he deny, I may be patient - if he defer, I may continue to pray and wait and may not faint." We must look up, or look out, as he that has shot an arrow looks to see how near it has come to the mark. We lose much of the comfort of our prayers for want of observing the returns of them. Thus praying, thus waiting, as the lame man looked stedfastly on Peter and John (Act 3:4), we may expect that God will give ear to our words and consider them, and to him we may refer ourselves, as David here, who does not pray, "Lord, do this, or the other, for me;" but, "Hearken to me, consider my case, and do in it as seemeth good unto thee."
II. As a sin-hating God, Psa 5:4-6. David takes notice of this, 1. As a warning to himself, and all other praying people, to remember that, as the God with whom we have to do is gracious and merciful, so he is pure and holy; though he is ready to hear prayer, yet, if we regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear our prayers, Psa 66:18. 2. As an encouragement to his prayers against his enemies; they were wicked men, and therefore enemies to God, and such as he had not pleasure in. See here. (1.) The holiness of God's nature. When he says, Thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, he means, "Thou art a God that hates it, as directly contrary to thy infinite purity and rectitude, and holy will." Though the workers of iniquity prosper, let none thence infer that God has pleasure in wickedness, no, not in that by which men pretend to honour him, as those do that hate their brethren, and cast them out, and say, Let the Lord be glorified. God has no pleasure in wickedness, though covered with a cloak of religion. Let those therefore who delight in sin know that God has no delight in them; nor let any say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God is not the author of sin, neither shall evil dwell with him, that is, it shall not always be countenanced and suffered to prosper. Dr. Hammond thinks this refers to that law of Moses which would not permit strangers, who persisted in their idolatry, to dwell in the land of Israel. (2.) The justice of his government. The foolish shall not stand in his sight, that is, shall not be smiled upon by him, nor admitted to attend upon him, nor shall they be acquitted in the judgment of the great day. The workers of iniquity are very foolish. Sin is folly, and sinners are the greatest of all fools; not fools of God's making (those are to be pitied), for he hates nothing that he has made, but fools of their own making, and those he hates. Wicked people hate God; justly therefore are they hated of him, and it will be their endless misery and ruin. "Those whom thou hatest thou shalt destroy;" particularly two sorts of sinners, who are here marked for destruction: - [1.] Those that are fools, that speak leasing or lying, and that are deceitful. There is a particular emphasis laid on these sinners (Rev 21:8), All liars, and (Psa 22:15), Whosoever loves and makes a lie; nothing is more contrary than this, and therefore nothing more hateful to the God of truth. [2.] Those that are cruel: Thou wilt abhor the bloody man; for inhumanity is no less contrary, no less hateful, to the God of mercy, whom mercy pleases. Liars and murderers are in a particular manner said to resemble the devil and to be his children, and therefore it may well be expected that God should abhor them. These were the characters of David's enemies; and such as these are still the enemies of Christ and his church, men perfectly lost to all virtue and honour; and the worse they are the surer we may be of their ruin in due time.
In singing these verses, and praying them over, we must engage and stir up ourselves to the duty of prayer, and encourage ourselves in it, because we shall not seek the Lord in vain; and must express our detestation of sin, and our awful expectation of that day of Christ's appearing which will be the day of the perdition of ungodly men.
If one grants that indeed each animal recognizes the cry of its own offspring in the largest and most crowded flocks, that though a thousand calves may cry, the mother knows the cry of her own young, that though a thousand lambs may bleat, the female runs to the voice of her own and it does not fall, how much more among a thousand sinners crying out does God know the cry of the just and recognize him as the pure voice of his own child?
Because of grace this hymn is sung, in behalf of the individual spirit or for the church called out for the divine inheritance, not a natural one but a spiritual one.
Who is she who is to obtain the inheritance? I believe it is the church, for it is the church who receives the inheritance.… David sings at the beginning that the church wins the inheritance at the end.… There are, however, several other interpretations. Many say that the psalm accords with the history of the people of Israel who long to return to Judea from Babylon, but they have failed to interpret “unto the end” and “for her that obtains the inheritance.” We, then, by “combining spiritual with spiritual” shall endeavor with the help of your prayers to consider this psalm as applying to the church.
There are many who insist that the titles do not belong to the psalms but who really do not know why they hold such a view. If the titles were not found in all the manuscripts—Hebrew, Greek and Latin—their position would be tenable. Since, however, there are titles in the Hebrew books, and this one in particular marks the fifth psalm, I am amazed at the implication that there can be anything in Scripture without reason. If it be true that “not one jot or one title shall be lost from the Law,” how much more shall not a word or a syllable be lost?
"Attend to the voice of my supplication;" that is, to that voice, which he makes request that God would understand: of which what the nature is, he has already intimated, when he said, "Understand my cry. Attend to the voice of my supplication, my King, and my God" [Psalm 5:2]. Although both the Son is God, and the Father God, and the Father and the Son together One God; and if asked of the Holy Ghost, we must give no other answer than that He is God; and when the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are mentioned together, we must understand nothing else, than One God; nevertheless Scripture is wont to give the appellation of King to the Son. According then to that which is said, "By Me man comes to the Father," [John 14:6] rightly is it first, "my King;" and then, "my God." And yet has not the Psalmist said, Attend You; but, "Attend." For the Catholic faith preaches not two or three Gods, but the Very Trinity, One God. Not that the same Trinity can be together, now the Father, now the Son, now the Holy Ghost, as Sabellius believed: but that the Father must be none but the Father, and the Son none but the Son, and the Holy Ghost none but the Holy Ghost, and this Trinity but One God. Hence when the Apostle had said, "Of whom are all things, by whom are all things, in whom are all things," [Romans 11:36] he is believed to have conveyed an intimation of the Very Trinity; and yet he did not add, to Them be glory; but, "to Him be glory."
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SUMMARY
Psalms 5:2 is a profound and intensely personal supplication from David, revealing his urgent and singular reliance on God in a time of distress. It captures the psalmist's posture of profound dependence and intimate relationship with the Almighty, addressing Him as both sovereign ruler and personal covenant God, to whom alone David directs his earnest, heartfelt cry. This verse serves as the foundational declaration of trust and exclusive devotion that undergirds the entire psalm, setting the stage for a lament and confident appeal for divine intervention and justice.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 5:2 employs several potent literary devices to convey David's earnest supplication and profound faith. The most prominent is Apostrophe, where David directly addresses God as "my King, and my God," speaking to the divine entity as if present and capable of direct interaction. This device immediately establishes the intimate, personal, and direct nature of the prayer. The phrase "the voice of my cry" utilizes Personification, giving an inanimate "cry" a "voice," thereby emphasizing its intensity and the audible, desperate nature of David's supplication. Furthermore, the repeated use of the possessive pronoun "my" in "my cry," "my King," and "my God" serves as a form of Emphasis, highlighting the deeply personal and covenantal relationship David shares with the Divine, underscoring his individual reliance and devotion. The structure of the address, moving from the desperate plea to the dual, intimate titles of God, then to the declaration of exclusive prayer, also demonstrates a form of Climax in the expression of David's faith and dependence, building from a raw emotional outpouring to a theological affirmation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 5:2 profoundly illustrates the accessibility and responsiveness of God to the earnest prayers of His people. It underscores that true prayer is more than mere words; it is a heartfelt cry born of deep need and unwavering trust in God's character as both sovereign ruler and personal deliverer. This verse establishes a pattern for approaching God with raw honesty and confident expectation, knowing that the One who governs the universe also intimately cares for the individual. The dual address of "my King, and my God" encapsulates the tension and harmony between God's transcendence and His immanence, inviting believers to worship His majesty while relying on His personal faithfulness and covenant love. This verse is a powerful testament to the efficacy of prayer when directed to the one true God.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 5:2 serves as a powerful model for our own prayer lives, encouraging us to cultivate a deep, personal, and earnest communion with God. It reminds us that our prayers do not need to be eloquent or perfectly structured; what God desires is the genuine "voice of our cry"—the unfiltered expression of our deepest needs, fears, and hopes. In a world full of distractions and alternative sources of help, David's singular focus ("for unto thee will I pray") challenges us to place our ultimate reliance solely on God. Recognizing Him as both "King" and "God" strengthens our faith, knowing that the One who holds all authority and power is also our intimate, covenant-keeping Father who listens attentively to our every plea. This verse calls us to bring our whole selves, with all our vulnerabilities and desperation, before the throne of grace, confident in His attentiveness and ability to respond. It is a call to radical dependence, acknowledging that true help comes only from Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of David calling God "my King, and my God" in this verse?
Answer: This dual address is profoundly significant, revealing the comprehensive nature of David's understanding of God and his relationship with Him. Calling God "my King" (Hebrew: malki, H4428) acknowledges His supreme sovereignty, His absolute authority over all creation, and His rightful dominion over David's life. It speaks to God's transcendence, His power to rule, judge, and deliver. This title underscores that the one to whom David prays is the ultimate ruler, capable of orchestrating events and providing decisive intervention. Simultaneously, calling Him "my God" (Hebrew: ʼĕlôhîym, H430) emphasizes a deeply personal, intimate, and covenantal relationship. This title highlights God's faithfulness to His promises, His immanence, and His personal care for His people. It signifies that the Creator of the universe is also David's personal, covenant-keeping God, distinct from all other deities. Together, these titles convey that the God to whom David prays is not only the all-powerful, universal ruler but also the personal, covenant-keeping God who is intimately involved in David's life and hears his individual cry. This combination provides a strong foundation for David's confidence in prayer, knowing that the One who rules the cosmos also cares for him personally, as seen throughout the Psalms, such as in Psalms 23:1 where the Lord is portrayed as a personal shepherd.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 5:2, with its earnest cry to "my King, and my God," finds its ultimate fulfillment and deepest meaning in Jesus Christ. David's desperate plea for God to "hearken unto the voice of my cry" foreshadows the intense prayers of Jesus, especially in His moments of deepest anguish, such as in the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed with "loud cries and tears" (Hebrews 5:7), demonstrating a "cry" far deeper than any human lament, a cry that perfectly aligned with the Father's will. Jesus perfectly embodied the dual nature of God as both "King" and "God." He is the promised King of Israel, the Son of David, whose kingdom is eternal and whose rule is righteous, as prophesied in passages like Luke 1:32-33 and affirmed by His own words in John 18:36-37. Yet, He is also "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), Emmanuel, fully divine and fully human, establishing an intimate and personal relationship with His followers, bringing God near to humanity. The declaration "for unto thee will I pray" finds its ultimate expression in Christ, who perfectly models exclusive reliance on the Father (John 5:19, 30) and serves as our ultimate Intercessor, ever living to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Through Christ, David's cry becomes the cry of all believers, empowered by the Spirit, to approach the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), knowing that our "King and our God" hears and responds through the perfect mediation of His Son, who is both our sovereign Lord and our personal Savior.