Bible Study Psalms 5
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Psalms 5 · WEB

Morning Prayer for Guidance and Protection

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation.
2Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to you.
3Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.
4For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can't live with you.
5The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.
6You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.
8Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.
9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
10Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.
11But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.
12For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.
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Summary

Psalm 5 is a morning prayer in which David brings his day's requests to God and watches expectantly for his answer. The psalm moves through David's commitment to morning prayer, a declaration of God's absolute holiness and hatred of wickedness, David's own approach to God through his loving kindness rather than personal merit, a prayer for guidance and protection from deceitful enemies, imprecatory petitions against those enemies, and a closing blessing of all who take refuge in Yahweh.

Themes

  • Morning prayer as a deliberate spiritual discipline
  • God's absolute holiness and incompatibility with evil
  • Approaching God through his loving kindness, not personal merit
  • The contrast between the deceitful wicked and the joyful righteous
  • God's favor as a surrounding shield for those who take refuge in him

Key verses

  • Ps 5:12 — “You will surround him with favor as with a shield.”
  • Ps 5:3 — “In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.”
  • Ps 5:7 — “In the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house.”

Context & background

Psalm 5 is a temple-oriented psalm — David speaks of coming to God's "house" (v. 7), the tabernacle or later the temple, bowing toward the holy place. The morning setting reflects the ancient discipline of bringing daily petitions before God at the start of each day, echoing the morning sacrifices in the tabernacle. The description of the wicked in verse 9 is quoted by Paul in Romans 3:13 as part of his extended indictment of universal human sinfulness. The "favor as with a shield" image in verse 12 directly anticipates the armor of God language in Ephesians 6. The psalm's structure moves from address (vv. 1-3) to character of God (vv. 4-6) to approach and petition (vv. 7-10) to final blessing (vv. 11-12).

Cross-references

  • Ephesians 6:16 — the shield of faith echoes "surround him with favor as with a shield"
  • Lamentations 3:22-23 — God's mercies are new every morning; his loving kindness is the same basis as v. 7
  • Mark 1:35 — Jesus rising before dawn to pray alone reflects the morning prayer discipline of v. 3
  • Romans 3:13 — Paul quotes v. 9 in his indictment of human sinfulness
  • Zephaniah 3:5 — every morning Yahweh brings his justice to light

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    According to verse 3, what is David's morning prayer practice?

  2. Observe

    On what basis does David say he will come into God's house in verse 7?

  3. Interpret

    How do you hold together God's hatred of "all workers of iniquity" (v. 5) with his love for sinners?

  4. Interpret

    What does the image of God's favor "as with a shield" surrounding the righteous (v. 12) communicate?

  5. Apply

    How could you adopt David's pattern of laying requests before God in the morning and watching expectantly (v. 3)?

  6. Apply

    How does approaching God "in the abundance of your loving kindness" (v. 7) rather than on the basis of your own righteousness change the quality of your prayer life?

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