Read Psalm 5 at Bible Gateway.
Psalm 5 paragraph divisions from the Hebrew Bible:
Psa 5:- For the Leader; upon the Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.
Psa 5:1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation.
Psa 5:2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.
Psa 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.
Psa 5:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.
Psa 5:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.
Psa 5:6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Psa 5:7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Psa 5:8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.
Psa 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.
Psa 5:10a Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; {n}
Psa 5:10b Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.
Psa 5:11a But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; {n}
Psa 5:11b Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
Psa 5:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield. {p}
Psa 5 chiastic structure:
1a) Psa 5:1-3,The prayer of the righteous toward the LORD;
1b) Psa 5:4, For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You;
1c) Psa 5:5, The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity;
1d) Psa 5:6, You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty + deceitful;
central axis) Psa 5:7-8, “But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face;”
2d) Psa 5:9, No faithfulness in their mouth/ inward destruction/ throat = open tomb + tongue = flattery;
2c) Psa 5:10a, Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; {n}
2b) Psa 5:10b, Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You;
2a) Psa 5:11-12, The praise + joy of the righteous before the LORD.
The central axis describes that the righteous, whom God does not abhor, come into the place of His presence by the multitude of His mercy. They don’t get there because of the multitude of their righteous acts. They need mercy too, to enter into the presence of a holy God. But the cry of their heart in the presence of God, is, I stand in fear of You (for God is just and upright, who abhors wicked acts).
The righteous acknowledge God’s sovereignty over men and His right and responsibility to instruct mankind by commandment. The righteous worship God, not flippantly or lightly, but reverently with regard for those things which He delights in and those things which He abhors. The righteous acknowledge that God’s way follows after Him in righteousness, and seek to learn it and walk in it.
The wicked shake their fist in God’s face and dare Him to strike them lightning.
While sometimes the righteous really blow it, there is a fundamental heart attitude difference between them and the wicked. The righteous cares what God approves of, and the wicked don’t. The Scripture calls this difference in heart, circumcision. The heart of the righteous is circumcised toward Him, i.e., the self-serving fleshly nature has been cut away.
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