ETB Psalm 5:1-12

Session 13: God’s Righteousness - p.113

Despair takes a toll on hope. When we’re struggling with tough situations, we work to address them. When nothing changes, we can let anxiety creep into our minds and hearts. It gets more entrenched when we think nobody seems to care. [LifeWay Adults (2025). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Summer 2025]

Have you ever heard someone tell you to “sleep on it” before making a decision? Does that help you?

I have found that if something is troubling enough to take more thought, then it usually prevents sleep from being productive. Only when I can leave the troubles of the day in God’s capable hands do I find rest comes and a fresh perspective only comes by His grace.

Ask: What was your first thought when you woke up this morning?

Understand the Context

Psalms of lament express the deep despair of believers who cry out to God for help. Psalm 5 fits well into this category. It’s a personal appeal for the Lord to intervene in a distressing situation. While it’s a personal cry, it also serves a worshiping community. It gives a voice to the anguish that plagues God’s people when they are on the verge of hopelessness. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

NIV Bible Speaks Today: Notes Chapter 5

Psalm 5

Psalm 5 gives growing disciples a simple but effective pattern for praying through distressful situations. The psalm begins with a heartfelt plea for God’s help that grows out of a personal relationship with Him (5:1-3).

Our personal walk with the Lord prompts us to ask for Him to help us so we can keep on growing in righteousness. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

If there was not anything troubling this morning when you woke up, praise God for that. May our study today of God’s Word through David find a place in our hearts and memories when those restless mornings do come.

I am going to just read the first three verses.

Explore the Text

Psalm 5:1–3 ESV

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.

sound of my cry

This is not the sobbing of sadness but the shouting of desperation. Some translations have “cry for help” which seems be the intended context of this word.

How desperate or in trouble do you have to be in order to “yell for help?”

When was the last time that you did?

David’s “cry” was for the Lord’s help in his current situation. How long did it take for you ask God for help in yours?

If we take the threes Psalms together as the commentary suggested, then we see that David’s pleas was not a “one and done” event. Going to the Lord for help was his habit. That is a good example for us to follow.

My King and my God

These are two titles that David used to exhibit his submission and humility to the Lord. Though he ruled over the kingdom of Israel as a king, the Lord reigned over him with even greater authority. The sovereign God who created the universe listened attentively to his anxious cry.

The Lord revealed Himself to David as an extremely personal friend, as well as the supreme sovereign monarch. Meanwhile, David underscored the depth of his relationship with God by including my before each title. He had complete confidence that the God who loved him would answer his prayer.  [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

to you do I pray

Why would David mention this? What is this in contrast with?

Whether he was thinking about the surrounding nations or some who may have been in his court, there were - and still are - more people who worship other things than God. David knew that only Yahweh was capable of any true assistance and so he separated himself from all the other worshippers. This is also a contrast to those that he will mention in the next stanza.

in the morning you hear my voice

Is David inferring that God will not hear his cries for help until the morning?

Maybe he says it this way because he is admitting that he will not ask again until he wakes up again.

Life Application Bible Notes Chapter 5

The secret of a close relationship with God is to pray to him earnestly each morning. In the morning, our minds are more free from problems, and then we can commit the whole day to God. Regular communication helps any friendship and is certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God. We need to communicate with him daily.

NIV Bible Speaks Today: Notes Chapter 5

In what ways could a ‘rhythm’ of prayer help us to put our everyday problems and challenges into perspective?

I prepare a sacrifice for You

This is the second “Christian discipline” mentioned - sacrifice.

In addition to prayer, we should be giving back to God in some way that requires us to do without.

What are some ways that we “offer sacrifices” to God in the church age?

The next question would be, do you give in such a way that, like David mentions, you expect a response?

Habakkuk 2:1 “1 I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”

Why might we not expect God to respond to our sacrifices and prayers?

Last week we talked briefly about how “familiarity breeds contempt.” I think this happens in our expectations of prayers as well. Whether we are used to seeing the answered or not being answered, we can get in a pattern of expecting God to do the same thing as last time. He can however be doing much more than we see preparing to grant us an answer.

These first three verses where about David speaking to God and his interactions with his Lord. In the next three, the focus shifts to those who oppose the Lord.

Psalm 5:4–6 ESV

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.

you are not a God who delights in wickedness

What is David claiming about himself with this statement?

The king recognizes that he is a subject in the Lord’s court and knows that God’s laws are more important to be honored than those that he has imposed in his own kingdom. Honoring God in all his ways prevents a pattern of evil or wickedness from taking root.

David’s affirmation of God’s intolerance for wickedness placed him in the company of Old Testament prophets. For example, Isaiah recognized his sin when he found himself in God’s presence (Isa. 6:1-5). Likewise, Amos warned God’s people that they would be able to return to the Lord only when they hated evil (Amos 5:15). Habakkuk issued a similar warning (Hab. 2:17; 3:5). [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

The boastful

After rejecting evil in general, David identified specific behaviors that the Lord opposed. Those who give themselves to these expressions of wickedness shall not stand in God’s holy presence. First on the list were boastful people. These individuals are consumed by selfish pride and have demonstrated with their behavior that they reject the Lord’s ways. They hold no room for Him in their hearts. The Lord also placed such arrogance first on the list of behaviors that He abhorred in Proverbs 6:16-17. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

If the boastful are rejected, what kind of person would God “delight” in? What would be the opposite of boastful in the Bible?

Micah 6:8 “8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Life Application Bible Notes Chapter 5

God cannot condone or excuse even the smallest sin; therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves for sinning only a little bit. As we grow spiritually, our sensitivity to sin increases. What is your reaction to sin in your life? Are you insensitive, unconcerned, disappointed, or comfortable? As God makes us aware of sin, we must be intolerant toward it and be willing to change. All believers should strive to be more tolerant of people but less tolerant of the sin in themselves and others.

You destroy those who speak lies

What would the opposite of this line be?

Proverbs 12:22 “22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”

2 Timothy 2:15 “15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

All throughout this stanza (4-6) David is giving the characteristics of those that do not follow God in contrast to those who do. He asserts that he is not these things because he recognizes and those things that he knows displease God.

What would you include in a list of things that you know displease God, so you avoid them?

Write some of the answers down and use them in the closing prayer

Psalm 5:7–10 ESV

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. 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.

Why David believe he could approach God with his concerns?

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love

David wisely does not consider his righteous thoughts and habits as his own but acknowledges that it is because of God’s gracious love that he is able to obey.

Philippians 3:8–9 “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—”

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies

In the previous stanza, David had listed what God’s enemies looked like. Now he pleads with God to guide him as he claims that God’s enemies are his own. He agrees with God that those that are against him are ultimately against the Lord and that therefore only the Lord can truly “deal with them” appropriately. Although King David may be used by God to accomplish that divine judgement, David submits to God’s plans and timing for the enemies to be thwarted.

Do you think this may be in part what he was “watching” for back in verse 3?

What enemies or hinderances to God’s plans do you need His help with this week?

Our enemies may not be physical or military like the ones that David was facing, but they are just as real and stressful. We can still lose sleep over them. I have heard stories about mine fields and how “sweepers” would mark a safe path through the dangers. I think that is similar to David’s request in this verse.

make your way straight before me.

Some of the contextual English translations have “make your way plain for me to follow.”

The Hebrew word used here suggests a smooth or pleasing way to go. The king asked God to keep him on the best path possible. John the Baptist later called on God’s people to take the straight path as they awaited the Messiah’s arrival (Matt. 3:3).

Here, David testified that God had to be the One who made the path straight. He could not do it himself. And if he stumbled, he would fall to violent and relentless enemies who chose a spiritually crooked path. He might even be tempted to adopt their wicked behavior himself.  [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Although David was facing literal national enemies, he also recognized that it was their hearts and character that made them enemies of God.

What some of the characteristics of David’s enemies?

The book has a bold heading at the end of this section - Believers must recognize who their true enemies are.

It states several good explanations of several types of enemies in the paragraph before that heading.

“How are New Testament believers to pray concerning their enemies? First, we must recognize who our true enemies are. The apostle Paul indicated that our ultimate struggle is against the devil and his forces (Eph. 6:12). Second, we must understand that people who are opposed to Christ and His Church are darkened in their understanding of the gospel ‘because of the hardness of their hearts’ (4:18). They are blinded by Satan from ‘seeing the light of the gospel’ (2 Cor. 4:4). Third, the Lord has instructed believers to pray for unbelievers (Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:27-38) and share the gospel with them so that their eyes will be opened.” [ETB:PSG Sum'25]

I would add to this something I saw while reading some counseling materials. Whatever the problem (enemy) is, it is you and your spouse against it; Your spouse is never the enemy. I thought that was a great reminder that “The Enemy” does not want peace and union in our marriages, so he tries to divide. The same could be said for church congregations. It is the church body against the issue and not individuals.

Although David undoubtedly wanted his enemies removed, the king did not act as judge against them but turned them over to the Lord’s will and made himself ready to be used for that judgement.

Make them bear their guilt

Some psalms are considered “imprecatory,” which means they invoke curses and judgment on God’s enemies. Here, David called on God to bring calamity on those who were plotting against him. He pleaded with the Lord to convict them of their crimes. David asked the Lord to cast them out because of their endless rebellion. [ETB:PSG Sum'25]

Although David asks God to judge those who are against Him, the king still does not ask for participation and leaves the punitive acts for God to accomplish. David does have a “suggestion” though.

The Psalmist prayer does not go against God’s character and writes a valid prayer.

Do you find yourself praying “against” your enemies or for God’s wrath to come on others?

Why do you think this is not as common today as it appears to be in the Psalms?

In a public setting, I think the fear of offending those listening hinders our words from employing all of God’s vengeance and hatred of sin. But in our personal prayers we should not be so timid. Maybe the more we pray like this in private, it will give us the assurance and boldness to pray for all of God’s power and might to be revealed in public.

Psalm 5:11–12 ESV

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.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice

Another “but” contrasting statement. David hopes that this is his lot and that these pleas are equally in God’s character for His people.

James 1:12 “12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

How will David know if these prayers are answered? What will he “watch” for?

Most of the pronouns David uses in this section are plural, in effect he is praying for the nation of Israel under his reign.

Could we pray for these same requests over the local church and global church?

How might we know when they are answered?

You bless the righteous

Psalm 115:13 “13 he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.”

Previously, David had asked the Lord to guide him so he would grow in righteousness (Ps. 5:8). As he concluded the psalm, he returned to the priority of being righteous. He urged all of God’s people to embrace the value of being in a right relationship with Him and to live with character that revealed what it means to live by His standards.

In Genesis 15:6, Abram (Abraham) placed his faith in the Lord. In response to this act of trust and submission, the Lord deemed him as righteous. In other words, Abram was considered right with God. In Psalm 5, David asked the Lord to bless everyone who surrendered to Him in the same way.   [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

you cover him with favor as with a shield

The Hebrew word rendered favor (ratsown) has also been translated as “kindness” (CEV) and “love” (NLT). It suggests being accepted or experiencing goodwill. The Lord used the word when He taught His people about the appropriate way to bring pleasing sacrifices to Him (Lev. 1:3; 19:5). [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

This last phrase is singular; it could have been “me.” David’s is thankful of God’s protection and blessing.

Last week it was the psalmist considered God’s “hand”, this week it is a shield, and both accomplish the same result.

The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes Chapter 5

Christians should take care that we exhibit both holiness of character and joyfulness of spirit, for where these two things are in us and abound, they prove that we are not barren or unfruitful.

Apply the Text

David began the psalm crying out to the Lord and pleading with Him for protection. He appealed to God’s righteousness and faithful love for guidance. In the end, David was able to offer praise and joy for the blessings he had received. We can follow his example by calling out to God and expressing our gratitude to Him for all He has done for us. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Great Is Thy Faithfulness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwiBz1QA4o

Pray: Thank You God for Your faithful love and blessings. Help us to know, pray, and act in the certainty of Your righteousness and that Your actions will always be righteous and just. Teach us how to enjoy and to remain in Your presence and the center of Your guidance. Thank You again for Your blessing and protecting those that call You their Lord and God and granting us the righteousness that comes through faith.