Notes on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 5
Fifth PSALM.
David prayeth to God for audience and answer touching his preservation, because of his firm confidence, vehement importunitie; and his enemies wickedness, which God hating in his holiness will therefore punish in his justice. But because David was and ever would be a servant and worshipper of God, he therefore hopes and prayes that God will shew him how to escape his enemies, which without his direction he can never do, they are so full of deceit and crueltie. For which he prayes God to punish them, yea to take them in their traps. But for the godly that trust in the Lord, and do love and fear him, he prayes they may ever prosper, and have cause of continual rejoycing in outward preservation and inward manifestation of grace and favour, which likewise he promiseth to such.Psalm. 5. To the chief musician upon Neginoth. A Psalm of David.
To him that is most skilful upon the instrument Nehiloth to which the Psalm is chiefly set, do I David that made it recommend it for his care and ordering of it in the Quire.
1GIve ear to my words O Lord, consider my meditations.1 GOod Lord let me have thine ear to the prayer wherewith I humbly bespeak thee, which is not a bare lip-labour, but springs from within me, out of the most intense thoughts of my mind and heart, caused by the sense of my many miseries, and confidence of thy gracious goodness, which I pray thee consider to move thee to hear and grant my requests.
2 My grief makes me importunate and earnest with thee for audience,2Hearken unto the voice of my crie, my King, and my God, for unto thee will I pray. to whose free gift and Sovereign bountie I pay the Homage of all I hold, and in whom I onelyonly trust for protection, knowing and believing thee to be my all-sufficient and good God. Therefore thou must not fail to hear and answer me, for I will never cease calling upon thee, nor will I seek to any other but thee.
3 My greatest confidence is in thee,3My voyce shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. and therefore my first and chiefest addresses shall be to thee. It is thee O Lord that I relie upon, and prefer before wicked shifts and humane policie, and therefore with me thou shalt have precedencie of all things both for time and place. Early when others are otherways busied, contriving how to bring to pass their wicked designs by evil means, then will I be supplicating thy throne of grace O Lord, there will I be busied, and thither will I direct my prayer.
4 And in this I have great odds of mine enemies,4For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. for I know the righteous God loves righteousness, and takes no pleasure in the wickednes of the wicked; How pleasing soever their ways be to themselves, they are hateful to God, nor shall ever sin and iniquitie find favour from him, be acceptable to him, or be blessed by him.
5 And as sin,5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquitie. so the obstinate sinners shall have no favour from the Lord, for thou art too righteous to love wicked workers, nay in thy holiness thou hatest and abhorrest them.
6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloudie and deceitful man.6 They that think to prevail by lying and dissembling, thou wilt in thy righteousness turn it to their ruin, thou Lord wilt not endure that the cruel minded and fals-hearted should prosper.
7But as for me I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy merciemercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple.7 Let them think to thrive in those ways, for my part I am resolved of another course, I'le keep close to thee, and trust firmly in thine abundant goodness and merciemercy to me, which shall make me frequent thee with prayer and praise, and in obedience to thy holy will, I will make mine humble supplications, and offer up thanks-givings to thee through the mediation of Christ, who shall be figured by the holy Temple.
8Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.8 O Lord be thou faithful to me and careful over me, that I fall not into the snares of mine enemies, who are so watchful to catch me, shew me the way thou wouldst have me to walk, and which thou wilt bless unto me for my preservation.
9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth, their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre, they flatter with their tongue.9 For if thou doest not furnish me with wisdom, and instruct me how to escape, they will be too hard for me, seeing they make no conscience to lie and dissemble, they have no truth nor honestie in them, but are wholly composed of malice, mischief, and deceit, its their studie and delight, they care not what they say nor how false they pretend, so that thereby they may devour me and them that side with me, and to compass their cruel designs can speak fair and mean false.
10Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels: cast them out in the multitude of their transgressio…s, for thy have rebelled against thee.10 Thou that art a righteous God and hatest such dealing, plague them for it, that they may know thou knowst it, and abhorrest them for it, entrap them by their own dissemblings, and take them in their own deceitful snares. Let their sins which are so many and great, stir up thy just wrath against them to confound them, and free thine Israel of them, for it is not me onelyonly but thee that they set at nought, and rebel against.
11 And as thou shewest thy self an enemy to thine enemies,11But let all those that put their trust in thee, rejoyce: let them ever shout for joy: because thou defendest him: let them also that love thy name, be joyful in thee. so let the world see thou art a friend to thy friends. Let all those that faithfully trust in thee, and humbly depend upon thee, prosper in so doing, when thine enemies weep let them rejoyce, and that with infinite joy and gladness, because of thy wonderful and apparent preservation of them. Yea let those who believing in thee, do withal fear and love thee, not onelyonly joy in thine outward preservation of them, but also inwardly in thy grace and salvation.
12 For indeed thou Lord art and wilt ever be,12For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous, with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. not onelyonly a God of outward blessings to him that loves thee, and trusts in thee, but wilt also inwardly so manifest thy special and saving grace and favour to him, as it shall make him dreadless of any outward danger, by being assured through thy merciemercy of salvation it self.