Psalm 5:8

“Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, because of mine enemies…”
¨      [This is] a prayer that God would lead His servant in safety through the midst of the snares of his enemies, and open up to him a way of escape, even when, to all appearance, he was caught and surrounded on every side. The righteousness of God, therefore, in this passage, as in many others, is to be understood of His faithfulness and mercy which He shows in defending and preserving His people. JC
¨      [David] prays for God’s gracious guidance… The direction of God, by which he wishes to be guided he calls tsadaqah. Such is the general expression for the determination of conduct by ethical rule. The rule… is the order of salvation which opens up the way of mercy to sinners. When God forgives those who walk in this way their sins, and stands near to bless and protect them, He shows Himself not less just, than when He destroys those who despise Him, in the heat of His rejected love. By this righteousness, which accords with the counsel and order of mercy, David prays to be led, in order that the malicious desire of those who lie in wait for him may not be fulfilled, but put to shame, and that the honor of God may not be sullied by him. K&D, Franz Delitzsch
¨      Lead me, O Lord, as a little child is led by its father, as a blind man is guided by his friend. It is safe and pleasant walking when God leads the way. CHS
¨      Because they are most malicious and mischievous, and withal cunning and treacherous…, and they lay snares for me, and if thou dost not assist me, will be too hard for me, and will triumph over me; which will reflect dishonor upon thee also. MP
¨      The confident hope expressed in vs. 7, so far from causing remissness, only stimulates him to pray afresh, on the ground of that hope. JFB, A.R. Fausset
¨      The word chosen for my enemies perhaps emphasizes their vigilance. But the answer to ‘my’ peril is in the twofold ‘thy…,’ with its frank acceptance of a higher standard and a surer aim than one’s own. TOTC, Derek Kidner
¨      He earnestly prays that God, by His grace, would guide and preserve him always in the way of his duty… See here the good use which David made of the malice of his enemies against him. The more curious they were in spying faults in him, that they might have whereof to accuse him, the more cautious he was to avoid sin and all appearances of it, and the more solicitous to be always found in the good way of God and duty. Thus, by wisdom and grace, good may come out of evil. MH

“[…] make thy way plain before my face.”
¨      […] he acknowledges how impossible it was for him to avoid being entangled in the snares of his enemies, unless God both gave him wisdom, and opened up for him a way where no way is. It becomes us, after his example, to do the same thing; so that distrusting ourselves when counsel fails us, and the malice and wickedness of our enemies prevail, we may betake ourselves speedily to God. JC
¨      David further prays that God will make his way (i.e. the way in which a man must walk according to God’s will) even and straight before him, the praying one, in order that he may walk therein without going astray and unimpeded. The adj. yashar signifies both the straightness of a line and the evenness of a surface. K&D, Franz Delitzsch
¨      Brethren, when we have learned to give up our own way, and long to walk in God’s way, it is a happy sign of grace; and it is no small mercy to see the way of God with clear vision straight before our face. CHS
¨      This was a needful request, because many good men are oft at a loss what their duty is in several circumstances. MP
¨      The way of our duty is here called God’s way, and his righteousness, because He prescribes to us by His just and holy laws, which if we sincerely set before us as our rule, we may in faith beg of God to direct us in all particular cases. MH

Personal Summary:

There are many trials in this life which we have faced and untold more to come. Some of them are self-imposed as a result of sin and some are the wicked advances of evil men. In this verse we have the answer to how we should react to those circumstances. We are shown that it is not through our efforts that we ultimately overcome difficulty, it is not because we become more righteous men in and of ourselves, it is not because we are so special and unique that we overcome obstacles, it is because the Lord delivers us Himself. Yes, we have responsibilities that require action on our part, but make no mistake about it: your best efforts apart from the hand of God are worth nothing.

What is left is to cast ourselves, along with all of our fears, all of our heartaches, with all of our struggles before Him and garner the sure hope that can only be had in Him and is exclusively available to His children. The rest of the world cites hope all the time but their version is nothing more than wishful thinking. Our hope lies in a perfect God who has promised to use all things for our good. Matthew Henry showed us an example of this: even in David’s time of distress and persecution the Lord moved him to discipline himself to more pious living; the Lord even used this time of hardship for good in the life of David, certainly He has and will do the same for us.

We must seek the Lord’s will, we must be in constant prayer, we must spend time studying His word, and we must trust in Him to show us the way. It is God who sustains us, it is God who protects us, and it is God who will see us through the difficult times in our lives. Robert Hawker says, “[…] looking up to Jesus, shall we not say, lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, even thine only, that thy way may be straight before me?” Certainly we do, or we should, in full recognition of the fact that our perseverance in the faith and in life lies ultimately with the Lord; we must look to Him in good times and in bad to be our great defender and guide through this life. As Charles Spurgeon said above, “Brethren, when we have learned to give up our own way, and long to walk in God’s way, it is a happy sign of grace; and it is no small mercy to see the way of God with clear vision straight before our face.” May it be so, Amen.

Psalm 5:7

Note: Calvin makes a point of whether the verse properly begins with and so as to make it a continuation of the preceding verse or if it is properly rendered but where David contrasts himself with the men previously mentioned. I think it is safe to say that most agree it is in contrast to the aforementioned men, making but the more appropriate word; though the consideration is a minor one. Calvin says, “[…] the prophet, by simply commending his own piety towards God, separates himself from the class of whom he spoke.” Derek Kidner makes the point, “The significance of the words But I… will come into your house is sharpened by their proximity to 4b, ‘Nor shall evil dwell with you.’”

There is also some controversy as to whether or not your house refers to the tabernacle or not. Franz Delitzsch makes an almost bullet proof case that it is but does so in a manner that is too lengthy to include here. I operate on that reasonable assumption based on what he provided there and with what some of the others have defaulted to as well. Derek Kidner, and to a lesser degree John Gill, say otherwise, but I don’t think they got this right after a review of the evidence.

“But as for me I will come into your house…”
¨      The scope of the passage leads us to understand [David] as promising to give thanks to God. He had before spoken of his enemies as hated of God; and now, being persuaded that God will keep him in safety, he calls himself to the exercise of gratitude. JC
¨      [This] Psalm…, states what he, on the contrary, may and will do. K&D, Franz Delitzsch
¨      While mine enemies, whom the Lord abhors, are put down, I, whom thou lovest as thy pious worshipper, will come into thine house (to thank thee for deliverance), not through mine own power, but through thy favor. JFB, A.R. Fausset
¨      I will come, to wit, with holy boldness and confidence, as becomes thy son and servant; whereas my enemies cannot appear in thy presence with any comfort and safety. MP
¨      The contrastive phrase “but I” expresses the psalmist’s hope in God’s love over against God’s certain hatred of all forms of evil. EBC, W. VanGemeren

“[…] in the multitude of your mercy…”
¨      [It is] as if he had said, I may now seem to be in a condition almost desperate, but by the favor of God, I shall be kept in perfect safety. JC
¨      By the greatness and fullness of divine favor he has access to the sanctuary, and he will accordingly repair thither today. It is the tabernacle on Zion in which was the ark of the covenant that is meant here… Into this tabernacle of God, i.e. into its front court, will David enter this morning, there he will prostrate himself in worship, towards Jehovah’s the Holy of holies. K&D, Franz Delitzsch
¨      […] trusting only in thy great mercy for admittance… and acceptance… for which I will come to pay my thanks and service unto thee. MP
¨      […] I will not come… by my own merits; no, I have a multitude of sins, and therefore I will come in the multitude of thy mercy. I will approach thee with confidence because of thine immeasurable grace. God’s judgments are all numbered, but His mercies are innumerable; He gives His wrath with weight, but without weight His mercy. CHS
¨      The hope of fellowship with God is based not on his righteousness but on His sovereign “love”… For the psalmist, the hope of entering into the temple is much more than the typical walking into the courts of the temple… The psalmist seeks the affirmation of God’s love for him in an evil world and hence the assurance of God’s presence with him. EBC, W. VanGemeren

“In fear of you I will worship toward your holy temple.”
¨      […] hypocrites, in giving thanks to God, do nothing else but profane His name, inasmuch as they themselves are unholy and polluted, he therefore resolves to come in the fear of God, in order to worship Him with a sincere and upright heart… [It] is only through the goodness of God that we have access to Him…; no man prays aright but he who, having experienced His grace, believes and is fully persuaded that He will be merciful to him. The fear of God is at the same time added, in order to distinguish genuine and godly trust from the vain confidence of the flesh. JC
¨      As the sculpture is on the seal, so will the print on the wax be; if the fear of God be deeply engraven on thy heart, there is no doubt but it will make a suitable impression on the duty thou perfomest. William Gurnall
¨      David’s reverent fear of God is the result of the grace of God experienced in his deliverance. JFB, A.R. Fausset
¨      His submission to his covenantal God is further illustrated by the manner of his approach. He bows down “in reverence,” not in paralyzing fear. EBC, W. VanGemeren
¨      David resolves… to worship Him reverently and with a due sense of the infinite distance between God and man…; God is greatly to be feared by all His worshippers. MH

Personal Summary:

What prevents the saints from drawing close to God? We have the blessing of being viewed not as ourselves, where if that were the case we would be just as damnable as the wicked, but through the prism of the imputed righteousness of Christ. We do indeed stand opposed and separate from the lost; based on Christ we are, when compared, like David, found righteous where they are found evil. That is a glaring contrast between us and them and one that we may revel in as long as our revelry leads us to give thanks to God. It is in Him that we find salvation, it is in Him that we may joy, it is in Him that we are saved from the evil plots of those that persecute us. How can we be left to say anything other than what Robert Hawker said in summing up this verse, “[…] how blessed it is for us to draw nigh to Jesus, who hath come, and who is both the mercy seat, the sacrifice, and the temple; the way, the truth, the life!” Calvin and others stated how openly this concept of grace, deliverance and acceptance led David to worship God and give thanks and how can we but do otherwise? Our life is a long chain of blessings which truly began at salvation and ends with glorification; from blessing to blessing we live and somewhere between the first and the last we experience so much grace that should our sinful hearts even attempt to number them we would fail to see even a small percentage of what the Lord has actually given us.

One of the times that we seem to be most in tune with recognizing the blessings of God is when we are in the midst of a difficult time; whatever the cause of that difficulty may be. While there are a litany of reasons the Lord allows us to go through these times, I cannot but think that one of them is to lead us to recognize His gracious dealing with us when previously our hearts had become complacent in seeing His sovereign hand at work in us. Calvin says, “[…] as our carnal minds either wickedly undervalue the grace of God, or put the low estimate upon it which is commonly put by the world, let us learn to extol its wonderful greatness, which is sufficient to enable us to overcome all fears.” These times cause us to look for and remember the many times the Lord has been gracious to us and when He delivers us, yet again, it causes us with David “to be grateful to God for it, and keep it in remembrance.”

With this principle firmly entrenched in the heart of every believer we learn to exist in the fear of the Lord, with a reverential sincere heart that depends on Him, and in hope, knowing He has been gracious to us in the past and expecting Him to be gracious to us going forward based on the merits of His Son Jesus Christ. That comprises the perfect state of Christianity. Martin Luther says, “A blessed verse this is! A blessed saying! The words and the sense itself, carry with them a powerful contrast. For there are two things with which this life are exercised, HOPE and FEAR… Between these two, as between the upper and nether millstone, we must always be ground and kept, that we never turn either to the right hand or the left. For this turning is the state peculiar to hypocrites, who are [also] exercised with the two contrary things, security and presumption.”

Let us then look to the Lord with reverence and awe, let us lean on His grace for deliverance and sustenance, let us give thanks that He is working in our hearts and in our lives and that He does not allow His children to be destroyed with the wicked. He is a beautiful God worthy of all praise and honor and if our hope is in Him, and is we desire to see His will accomplished in preference to our own, we will never be disappointed or let down. Laus Deo!

Psalm 5:6

“You shall destroy those who speak falsehood.”
¨      When we see the wicked indulging themselves in their lusts, and when, in consequence, doubts steal into our minds as to whether God takes any care of us, we should learn to satisfy ourselves with the consideration that God, who hates and abhors all iniquity, will not permit them to pass unpunished; and although He bears with them for a time, He will at length ascend into the judgment-seat, and show Himself an avenger, as He is the protector and defender of His people. Again, we may infer from this passage the common doctrine, that God, although He works by satan and by the ungodly, and makes use of their malice for executing His judgments, is not, on this account, the author of sin, nor is pleased with it because the end which He purposes is always righteous; and He justly condemns and punishes those who, by His mysterious providence, are driven whithersoever He pleases. JC
¨      Observe, that evil speakers must be punished as well as evil workers… All liars shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. A man may lie without danger of the law of man, but he will nto escape the law of God. CHS
¨      The liar is only a haribreath away from the murderer. Though the liar may claim to go only so far with his deception, when he is caught he is dangerous, for he may attempt to cover his tracks. Deception and greed mark the person who is unfaithful to God and people; she is a potential murderer. EBC, W. VanGemeren
¨      Little know the wicked how everything which now they have, shall be a snare to trap them when God begins to punish them. William Cowper
¨      […] whether in matters of religion; as false doctrines, errors, and heresies, are lies; and so all that deny the deity, Sonship, and Messiahship of Christ, are liars; and the followers of the man of sin speak lies in hypocrisy: or in common conversation; such are like to Satan, and are abominable in the sight of God; and He will destroy them…, for all liars have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. JG

“The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”
¨      Bloody men shall be made drunk with their own blood, and they who began by deceiving others shall end with being deceived themselves… How forcible is the word abhor! Does it not show us how powerful and deep-seated is the hatred of the Lord against the workers of iniquity? CHS
¨      The “bloodthirsty” person is… not necessarily one who is guilty of murder but one who no longer knows the limits between “mine” and “thine” and thus twists and perverts justice, even at the cost of human lives or dignity. Instead of “taking pleasure” in evil, the Lord “abhors” all who practice wickedness. EBC, W. VanGemeren
¨      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 pefectly lost to all virtue and honor; and the worse they are the surer we may be of their ruin in due time. MH

Personal Summary:

In the last verse we saw that God hates sin and that God hates sinners. In this verse we are given very real examples of those men whom God hates. These liars and murderers stand naturally opposed to a holy God and He abhors them. These are men who carry these sins with them as the general mark of their character. As such they resemble their father the devil and once again we hear God tell us that He hates them, detests them, and they will be dealt with.

It is important for us to realize that we too were liars, and perverts, and murderers before the Lord called us to salvation. We have no just reason to look down at these men, though we have every right to hate what they do and represent. We cannot relish in their demise beyond the fact that our loving God cares for us and will always avenge the sins that these men commit against us. But, even that isn’t really where we find our joy in the matter. What we are to be overjoyed with is that the holy justice of God will be satisfied in every man who has ever walked the face of the earth. Not one soul will escape His omniscient gaze. His holiness is never in doubt, His justice is never passed over, His law is never forgotten.

Who are we that we should be boastful or proud of of who we are? Without the justification we receive in Christ we are equal to the most wretched sinner that has ever walked on this planet and carry with us the potential to match them in every sinful deed. Knowing what awaits them we should glory in awe and wonder that the Lord has numbered us with the elect, forgiven our sins, and restrains us from acting upon the most evil desires of our hearts. Knowing what awaits them we should pity what they will one day face. Knowing that there is no hope for them apart from Christ we should witness to them and hope for their salvation. We are only deemed the righteous of God because we are seen through the prism of Christ, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. He is our hope, our defender, our everything. Robert Hawker ends his consideration on 5:4-6 by saying, “Oh! Thou holy one of God! Cause me to be forever fixing my eyes, my whole soul with unceasing rapture upon thee, as the Lord our righteousness.” I thank God that we may pray such a prayer and know it has been answered, I thank God that our righteousness does not depend on us; otherwise, we too would be numbered with those whom the Lord abhors. May we live to Him and for Him in all that we do, happily having become slaves of righteousness to His glory.