Psalm 5:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.

NASB: But as for me, by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

CSB: But I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you.

NLT: Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.

David is assured he will worship humbly and reverently in God's house because God's love is abundant and steadfast. David's enemies would not worship like David because they were arrogant and bloodthirsty. This psalm is part of David's experience with his murderous, rebellious son, Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13–14). Part of David's confidence that he would be vindicated was the fact that his enemies were evil, and not chosen by God (Psalm 4:2–3). Echoing this, Psalm 66:18 says "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."

Isaiah chapter 1 explains that the Lord detested the hypocritical worship of the people. They offered sacrifices that the Lord rejected. He described the nation as "a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly!" (Isaiah 1:4). He told the hypocrites, "Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moons and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates" (Isaiah 1:13–14).

In Psalm 24:3–4, David writes, "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully." The contrast between David and Absalom in these verses is striking.

Psalm 5:7–12 reflects David's confidence in God's justice. The Lord punishes the guilty but rewards the righteous. Other passages tell us the Lord loves righteousness and justice (Psalm 36; 58; 97). Isaiah 30, Luke 18, and Romans 1 reveal these characteristics of God, as well. Romans 3 paints the entire human race as guilty before God, but Romans 4—6 show how God justifies the guilty who believe on His crucified and risen Son Jesus (John 3:16–18). David's prayer for blessing resembles the apostle Paul's benedictions at the close of some of his epistles (1 Corinthians 16:23; Galatians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:28).

Psalm 5 begins with David's urgent prayer for the Lord to heed his groaning and cry. He addresses the Lord as his King and his God, and indicates that he prays in the morning and watches for an answer. He recognizes that God takes no pleasure in the wicked but destroys evil, lying, bloodthirsty, or deceitful men. He anticipates that the God who loves him will allow him to enter the tabernacle, where he will offer reverential worship. He prays for the Lord's leading so that he will escape his enemies, whom he identifies as devoid of truth and violent. He prays further that the Lord will cause those rebels to bear the consequences of their transgressions. The psalm closes with an appeal to the righteous to sing for joy as they take refuge in the Lord, and David asks the Lord to bless and protect the righteous.

Like Psalm 4, this psalm is connected to Psalm 3. Psalm 3 refers to David's rising up in the morning, whereas Psalm 4 refers to his nighttime sleep. This psalm is addressed to the choirmaster. Like Psalms 3 and 4, Psalm 5 was composed by David in the wilderness, when Absalom's forces sought to destroy him (see 2 Samuel 15—18). This is one of the ''imprecatory psalms,'' so called because they pray for God to destroy the wicked. The imprecatory psalms are Psalms 5, 12, 35, 37, 58, 59, 69, 79, 83, 108, 139, and 140. These psalms urge God to judge those who oppose God and His people. Imprecations are also found elsewhere in the Bible, such as in passages like Jeremiah 11:18–20,15:15, 17:18, 18:19–23, 20:11–12; 1 Corinthians 16:22, and Revelation 6:10.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.