Psalm 5: A Morning Prayer for the Way Ahead

Core Theme: For when you’re at a crossroads, unsure which way to turn and in need of wisdom from God

(Related Theme: Anger, Injustice & Being Wronged. See “Walking through it” below.)

Background

David wrote Psalm 5 and addressed it to the chief Musician “upon Nehiloth,” a musical direction whose exact meaning is uncertain. The Bible does not name the occasion, but the psalm tells us plenty. It is a morning prayer, and it comes from a man who is surrounded by people who lie, flatter, and plot against him.

He does not know exactly how to move forward, so he does the wisest thing he can. Before he does anything else, he lays the matter before the LORD and asks to be led.

Psalm 5 (KJV)

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

The heart of it

Psalm 5 shows us what to do when the way forward is unclear. David does not start with a plan. He starts with prayer. He brings his words, his groanings, and his unspoken thoughts to the LORD and waits to be heard.

Then he does something worth copying. Before he asks for direction, he remembers who he is praying to. The LORD is holy, He is merciful, and He leads in righteousness. That shapes the kind of guidance David expects, and it shapes the way he comes. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

The psalm ends not in worry but in joy. The man who began by groaning ends by shouting, because he knows the One who is leading him is also the One who surrounds him like a shield.

Walking through it

Verses 1–3: “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.”

David asks to be heard, and he asks God to consider not only his words but his meditation, the thoughts he cannot put into words. Then verse 3 gives us a habit to learn from: “in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” To “direct” a prayer means to lay it out in order before the LORD, and to “look up” means to wait with expectation. Bringing your decision to God first thing, before the day crowds in, is a good way to begin. “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee” (Psalm 143:8).

Verses 4–6: “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.”

Before David asks to be led, he says who he is asking. The LORD is holy. The strong words in verses 5 and 6 are not the reaction of a petty God. They are the response of perfect holiness to what ruins people: lies, violence, and deceit. This is also why we can trust Him to guide us. He will never lead us into evil. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). If a path requires you to do wrong, it is not the path He is leading you on.

Verse 7: “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.”

“But as for me” turns the psalm. David does not come on his own merit. He comes “in the multitude of thy mercy.” That is how every one of us comes for guidance, humbly and with reverence, depending on mercy and not on ourselves. And because of Christ, we have been given the access David hoped for: “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18).

Verses 8–10: “Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.”

This is the center of the psalm. David has people lying about him, and verse 9 describes them plainly: no faithfulness in their mouths, and flattery on their tongues. It would be easy to answer in kind. Instead he asks to be led in the LORD’s righteousness, not his own anger, and to have the way made straight. When we have been wronged, that is often the hardest decision to make: to let God lead the response instead of reacting. Verse 10 shows him leaving the matter in God’s hands, asking that those who rebel against the LORD fall by their own counsels. “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee” (Proverbs 20:22).

Verses 11–12: “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Here the psalm turns to joy. Those who trust the LORD are defended, and verse 12 gives the picture: His favor surrounds them like a shield, covering them on every side. The man who began by groaning ends by shouting. That is what it is like to hand a decision over to God and to trust Him with the outcome. “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalm 28:7).

Carrying this forward

If the Lord has already led you through a season when you did not know which way to go, whether because of a hard decision or because people were working against you, look back and see how He made the path straight. It may not have looked that way while you were in it. Thank Him for it, and hold on to David’s habit of bringing everything to the LORD in the morning. It is easy to let that slip once the pressure is off.

If you are at a crossroads right now, bring it to Him first, before the day begins. Lay it all out in prayer, ask for His wisdom, and look up expecting Him to answer. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can come in the multitude of His mercy and know that the One leading you is also the One who shields you. Make David’s prayer your own: “Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face” (Psalm 5:8).