I. (5:1–3) Asking for God’s Attention. As is common in the laments, this psalm opens by calling out to God. The tone is one of urgency and expectation.

The terms “give ear . . . consider . . . give attention” (vv. 1–2) all denote the urgency by which the prayer addresses God, while “you hear my voice” and “I . . . watch” (v. 3) indicate the confident expectation that God will indeed listen.

These expressions surround the title “my King and my God” (v. 2). Some psalm texts that speak of the Lord as “king” have in mind his rule over all his creation (e.g., 29:10; 47:7; 95:3; 98:6; cf. 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1, where “reigns” means “reigns as king”). Others, such as this one, refer to him as the acknowledged king over his people (e.g., 84:3; 145:1, 13). The Davidic kingship, when it functioned properly, did not usurp either kind of divine kingship, though a faithless king could lead to God’s punishing of his people (cf. 1 Sam. 8:7; 12:12–15). The very intimate expression “my King and my God” indicates how the singer makes a potentially abstract concept—God’s kingship over the body of his people—deeply personal. Each member of the people is invited to speak to God in such intimate terms of trust, love, and loyalty and thus to “pray” to him.

The expression in Psalm 5:3 (“I prepare a sacrifice for you”) is difficult in Hebrew. Since it is simply the verb “I arrange for you,” another possible rendering is “I direct my prayer to you” (cf. ESV mg.). However, the mention of the “morning” here and of the Lord’s house in verse 7 favors the “sacrifice” rendering; the idea, then, is that the prayer comes from a faithful person at worship, one who receives assurance and expresses personal consecration by way of these ordinances. Small wonder, then, that such a person will “watch,” looking around and ahead in expectant faith.

II. (5:4–6) The God Who Loves Justice. In this section the singer praises God because the Lord loves what is right. The overall argument of the psalm is that, if these enemies of the faithful were to succeed, it would contradict the biblical view of God’s commitment to righteousness.

The terms used to describe evil and evildoers here are what we might call status words: they focus on the moral status of people, with the characteristic behavior being a consequence of that status. Thus in the Psalms the “righteous” are often those who embrace God’s gracious covenant, while the “wicked” and “evil” are those who reject it. In some psalms the “wicked” are clearly unfaithful members of Israel, while in others they are Gentile oppressors; in still other psalms the terms are general enough that they could be applied to either type. That is, the terms describe the inner stance of rejecting God’s kingship and also denote the behavior that stems from such rejection (as vv. 7–8 will make clear). Although it is difficult to be sure, the balance of evidence supports the identification of the enemies as Israelites, since the denial of welcome in God’s house probably indicates that these people might think they have it—which would most likely be true of unfaithful people within Israel.

The specific kind of practices such people carry out are to “speak lies,” and to be “bloodthirsty and deceitful” (v. 6). We are probably to imagine that the deceits are especially used to undermine, exploit, and harm the faithful.

The Hebrew word rendered “dwell” (v. 4) can also mean “sojourn” (as in 15:1); several Hebrew words denoting temporary residence have an extended application as a more enduring residence. To dwell with God is to find a welcome in his sanctuary (as in 15:1; 23:6; 61:4). For the theme that evil “may not dwell with” the true God, see also Isaiah 33:14.

III. (5:7–8) Confidence of the Pious. The genuinely godly recognize that they find welcome in God’s presence at worship (“enter your house . . . bow down toward your holy temple”) only because of the “abundance of your steadfast love” (v. 7); they deserve it no more than anyone else does. Recognizing this moves them to pray that God would “lead” them to walk in the “way” that is morally “straight” (v. 8). The prayer is even more necessary because the “enemies” will make it harder to live honestly and faithfully. There is nothing self-righteous about the confidence and prayers here.

The phrase “abundance of your steadfast love” in verse 7 comes from Exodus 34:6, where the Lord is “abounding in steadfast love.” This is the basic confession of OT faith, describing the Lord’s bent toward benevolence.

The shrine for worship is here called God’s “house.” Up until Solomon inaugurated the temple, the shrine was a temporary structure (the “tabernacle” from Moses’ day); it was possible to use both “temple” and “house” to refer to this structure (as in 1 Sam. 1:7, 9; 3:3, 15; cf. 1 Sam. 2:22; Ps. 78:60).

IV. (5:9–10) Prayer against the Evildoers. After a further description of the deceitful means and destructive schemes of these people (v. 9), we find a prayer that God would thwart the schemes and judge the schemers.

The section of the Introduction dealing with the general topic of such prayers for destruction in the Psalms noted that these prayers are actually a mercy to potential “evildoers” (i.e., those who will persecute the faithful and seek their destruction) if they are Israelites. That such prayer occurs in a hymn sung in public worship warns them of what awaits any who harden themselves to pursue such evil.

The description of the oppressors in verse 9 continues what we saw in verses 4–6. Paul uses this verse in Romans 3:10–18, together with extracts from Psalms 14:1–3; 140:3; 10:7; Isaiah 59:7–8 to argue that not only Gentiles but also Jews are under the power of sin. Except for Psalm 14:1–3 (cf. comment on 14:1–4), these texts focus on the unfaithful within God’s own people.99

Prayers like this one in 5:10 describe the judgment that must eventually fall on those members of God’s people who harden themselves to persecute the godly, for to harm the godly is to attack God. For them to “bear their guilt” is for their guilt offerings not to be received with favor (Lev. 5:19). If they “fall by their own counsels,” their deceitful schemes fail to destroy the godly but instead recoil on their own heads (e.g., 2 Sam. 15:31; 17:14, 23). They are to be “cast . . . out,” probably of the worshiping congregation, to show that they do not belong there (cf. Ps. 1:5). The request, then, is for God to vindicate his commitment to his people, if not here in this life for all to see, then at least in the hereafter. Prayers of this sort generally carry the unstated assumption that the evildoers will not repent and seek forgiveness; should they turn, these prayers are reversed as well.

V. (5:11–12) Assurance for All the Godly. The psalm closes by expressing the assurance enjoyed by the faithful. The song prays that the truly faithful, in contrast to the evildoers, will always rejoice in the Lord and be assured of the reality of his care and protection. For the song to close this way reinforces the notion, found commonly in the OT, that God’s people are to embrace his covenant from the heart and that God’s promises in their fullness belong particularly to those who do (cf. Deut. 6:5–6; 10:16; 30:6, 14; hence Rom. 2:28–29 sums up this theme).