Commentary - Psalm 5:1-3

Bird's-eye view

This psalm is a morning prayer, a cry to God from His servant David, who finds himself beset by enemies. But before he even names his troubles, he establishes the ground of his appeal: his personal relationship with the living God. This is not a shot in the dark. This is a covenant son coming to his covenant Father. The psalm starkly contrasts the righteous, who can approach God, with the wicked, whom God detests. It is a prayer for guidance and protection, rooted in the absolute righteousness of God. David knows that the day must begin with God, setting his face toward the Almighty before he sets it toward the world and its attendant troubles. This psalm teaches us how to orient our days, our conflicts, and our very lives, by starting with God, appealing to His character, and trusting in His justice.

The movement is from intimate appeal (vv. 1-3), to a profound meditation on the holiness of God that excludes the wicked (vv. 4-6), to a confident approach to worship because of that same holiness (v. 7), and then to a plea for righteous guidance in the face of treacherous enemies (v. 8). It is a complete worldview in miniature, a primer on how the man of God is to conduct himself in a hostile world. He does it by prayer, by worship, and by a confident reliance on the God who hears.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 5 is one of the early psalms of David, and it sets a foundational tone. It is a lament, but one filled with robust confidence in God. Coming after Psalm 4, which is an evening prayer ("In peace I will both lie down and sleep"), Psalm 5 presents itself as the corresponding morning prayer ("in the morning You will hear my voice"). Together they provide a picture of a man whose life is bracketed by dependence upon God, from dusk to dawn. The superscription "For the flutes" suggests a musical setting for corporate worship in the Temple. This is not just a private devotional; it is a prayer intended to be sung by the people of God, instructing them on how to approach their King as they begin their day.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 1 Give ear to my words, O Yahweh, Consider my meditation.

David begins by asking God to do two things: hear his spoken words and consider his unspoken thoughts. This is where all true prayer must begin, with the settled conviction that God is a God who hears. He is not a distant, deistic clockmaker. He is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God who has bound Himself to His people. The prayer is first for an audience. "Give ear" is a plea for attentive listening. But it goes deeper. "Consider my meditation." The Hebrew word here for meditation can mean a sigh, a groan, or a murmur. David is asking God to pay attention not just to the carefully crafted sentences of his prayer, but to the deep, inarticulate groaning of his soul. This is Romans 8:26 in the Old Testament. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. David is confident that God's attention goes past the lips and into the heart. He is not just reading a script; his whole being is engaged in this cry to God.

v. 2 Give heed to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray.

He intensifies his plea. "Give heed" is stronger than "give ear." It means to pay close attention, to focus intently. And what God is to focus on is "the sound of my cry for help." This is not a polite request; it is a desperate shout. But notice the basis of this desperate cry. It is not based on the volume of his shout, but on the identity of the one to whom he is shouting. "My King and my God." This is a profound statement of personal allegiance and relational claim. God is not just a king; He is my King. He is not just God in the abstract; He is my God. This is the language of covenant. Because God is his King, David has a right to appeal for protection and justice. Because He is his God, David has a right to an audience. The final clause provides the simple, powerful reason for God's attention: "For to You I pray." David is not hedging his bets. He is not praying to Yahweh on Monday and Baal on Tuesday. His appeal is exclusive. There is nowhere else for him to go, and this exclusive loyalty is a powerful argument in the court of heaven. He is coming to the one true God, and that God is his own.

v. 3 O Yahweh, in the morning, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

Here we see the discipline and the expectation that undergirds David's prayer. "In the morning." Before the business of the day, before the attacks of his enemies, before the distractions of the world can crowd in, David seeks God. This is a principle of priority. What comes first in your day reveals what comes first in your heart. He says, "You will hear my voice," which is a statement of bold faith. It is not "I hope you hear," but rather a settled confidence. God is in the business of hearing the prayers of His people, especially those who seek Him early.

Then David describes his own responsibility in this transaction. "I will order my prayer to You." The word for "order" here is the same word used for arranging the wood on the altar for a sacrifice (Lev. 1:7) or arranging the showbread in the Temple (Lev. 24:8). Prayer is not a casual, haphazard affair. It is a spiritual sacrifice that is to be prepared and arranged thoughtfully before God. We are to come to God with our thoughts in order, our requests considered, our hearts prepared. And then, having done that, David says he will "eagerly watch." This is the capstone of faith-filled prayer. He doesn't just pray and then walk away, forgetting what he asked. He watches. He looks expectantly for the answer. It's like a boy who has mailed a letter to his father asking for a gift, and now he runs to the mailbox every day to see if it has arrived. This is not anxious fretting, but eager anticipation. David has presented his case to his King, and now he stands on the watchtower of faith, looking to see how God will answer.

Application

We live in a world that is just as hostile to the man of God as David's was. We are surrounded by lies, wickedness, and those who would undo us. What is our first recourse? It must be the same as David's. Our day, and our strength for that day, must begin with God. Prayer is not a religious duty to be checked off a list; it is our lifeline to the King of the universe.

First, we must pray with personal conviction. Do you call God "my King and my God"? Is your relationship with Him a settled, personal reality? If not, all your prayers will be hollow. But if He is, then you have the right to approach His throne with boldness.

Second, we must pray with priority and preparation. The morning is a wonderful time to set the trajectory of the day. To "order" our prayer means we should think about what we are doing. We are addressing the sovereign Lord. This is not a time for sloppy, thoughtless mumbling. We bring our adoration, our confession, our thanksgiving, and our supplications, and we lay them out before Him as a holy sacrifice.

Finally, we must pray with expectation. When we pray, we should watch. We should look for God's hand in our circumstances. We should expect Him to answer, and we should be ready to give Him the glory when He does. To pray without watching is to reveal that we don't really believe He will do anything. But to order our prayer and then to watch eagerly, this is the posture of a child of the King, confident that his Father hears and will answer for His own glory.