My King and My God: Help When You Fear the Wicked (Psalm 5)

Read Psalm 5:

Psalm 5 is divided into five stanzas (called strophes in Hebrew poetry). In strophes 1, 3, and 5, the psalmist looks toward heaven and casts his eyes upon the Lord. Yet in strophes 2 and 4, he takes sidelong glances at the wicked as they speak evil words about him. As we move through this psalm, consider five petitions we can bring before God when we are fearful of man.

I. Listen to my prayer: The Lord is my King and my God (vv. 1-3)

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

¹ Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. ² Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. ³ O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

II. Love not the wicked: The Lord is holy and just (vv. 4-6)

⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. ⁵ The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. ⁶ You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

III. Lead me in your righteousness: The Lord saves through his abundant steadfast love (vv. 7-8)

⁷ But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. ⁸ Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

IV. Let the wicked fall: The Lord is righteous in his anger (vv. 9-10)

⁹ For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. ¹⁰ Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

V. Look after your beloved: The Lord is my refuge and joy, my protection and my shield (vv. 11-12)

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. ¹² For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Understand and Apply Psalm 5:

Observe the manner of David’s prayer.

He prays with confident humility in Yahweh, his God (vv. 1b-2). David submits himself to a higher King, but relates to him personally by calling him, “my God.” Charles Spurgeon often claimed that the sweetness of the Christian life is found in the personal pronouns of Scripture.[1]
David prays with passionate urgency, using vocatives and imperatives in his address.
He prays persistently every morning as soon as it is morning (v. 3). The form of the verb, “to pray” indicates unceasing action.
He prays with intentionality like the Jewish priests who prepared the tabernacle for worship. The priest arranged the wood on the altar and the animal sacrifices atop the wood (Lev 1:7-8, 12; 6:5). He arranged the golden lampstand in its place (24:2-4) and the showbread on the golden table in two rows of six loaves each (vv. 5-8). The priest set in order the tabernacle for worship, so that the Lord could speak with his people at the morning offering (Exod 29:42). David prepares his heart at the same time the priests prepare the house of God for worship.
Finally, David prays expectantly and watches for God’s response.

Now consider the manner of your own prayer:

Do you come before the Lord with confident humility like a child running into the arms of your Father-King?
Do you pray with passionate urgency like your life depended on it?
Do you pray with persistence, knocking on the door until God opens up (see Matt 7:7-8)?
Do you pray by intentionally preparing your heart to send up your prayers to heaven like the sweet-smelling incense of the altar (see Ps 141:2)?
Do you pray with expectant faith that God will answer you?

The wicked cannot enter God’s holy presence because he hates those who speak sinful words from a sinful heart (Ps 5:4-6). God requires that any who diminish his glory either repent or be judged (vv. 9-10). So as we grow increasingly aware of our sin before a just and holy God, we should hate our own wicked speech with righteous anger (Eph 2:1-3) while also praying for the salvation of lost people (1 Tim 2:4).

As a sinner himself, David can only enter into worship through the abundance of God’s steadfast love (Ps 5:7-8). David fears the wicked, but describes God’s protection in three ways: refuge in a cave, shelter beneath an eagle’s wings, and a shield in battle (vv. 11-12). The righteous receive God’s blessings while the wicked face his judgment. So also, believers today must rest in God’s steadfast love (Ps 5:7-8), be righteously angry against those who speak evil (vv. 9-10), then trust God’s protection no matter what others may say (vv. 11-12).

Pray Psalm 5:

My King and my God, hear my prayer (vv. 1-3).
Keep me from speaking falsehood or being harmed by lies (vv. 4-6).
Lead me in your way of righteousness (vv. 7-8).
Bring the wicked either to repentance or to judgment (vv. 9-10).
Grant me joy as I love, trust, and obey you (vv. 11-12).

Counsel Psalm 5:

Psalm 5 gives voice to our prayers when others speak evil against us. Instead of fearing man, we can show counselees how to trust in the Lord through believing prayer.

Projects for Growth:

Examine your prayers this past week. Did you pray like David in vv. 1-3?
- With confident humility, trusting God as your heavenly Father?
- With passionate urgency like your life depended on it?
- With persistence, knocking on the door until God opened up?
- With planned intentionality like the priests preparing the tabernacle for worship?
- With faith expecting God to answer?
Read Psalm 5:4-6, 9-10. Identify all the language having to do with evil speech or the organs of speech. How does wicked speaking originate from a sinful heart: “their inmost self is destruction” (v. 9; see Luke 6:45)?
Describe your attitude during a time when you were deeply hurt by the harmful words of others. How did you respond in thought, word, and deed? What spiritual resources did you rely on? Were you able to righteously rest in the steadfast love of God (Ps 5:7-8)?
Do you love, trust, and obey the Lord above all else? How do symbols of God’s protection (i.e., the cave of refuge, the mother eagle, the warrior’s shield) bring you comfort (vv. 11-12)?
When others speak evil against you, prepare your heart to turn to God in prayer:
- Recount his attributes and his eternal promises.
- Remind yourself of his protection and his steadfast love.
- Request wisdom to walk in his way of righteousness.
- Ask a fellow believer to pray with you and for you.
For further reflection, read this article on drawing near to God with a friend.

[1] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (McLean, VA: MacDonald, 1872), 1:45-46.