Embrace the Word for Friday, January 9, 2026

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Psalm 5 and Psalm 6 continue the petitions that David offered in Psalm 3 and Psalm 4. David is still confronted by strong opposition to his ascendancy to the throne. The opposition that David is facing is still creating serious distress. Though the superscriptions for Psalm 5 and Psalm 6 do not provide any detailed historical information, it seems best to understand that the historical marker from Psalm 3 carries through to Psalm 7, which provides the next historical details. The historical details of Psalm 7 correspond with those from Psalm 3. Therefore, my assumption is that Psalms 3-7 all pertain to the same opposition and affliction. Psalm 5 connects with Psalm 3 and Psalm 4 through its setting as a morning prayer: “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (5:3). This setting links to Psalm 3 as it is a morning prayer (3:5) and Psalm 4 as it is an evening prayer (4:8). The introductory themes expressed in Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 still inform the words and prayer found in Psalm 5 and 6 as they did in Psalm 3 and 4. Psalm 5 contains strong contrasting statements concerning the wicked and the righteous. The refuge promised at the end of Psalm 2 (2:12), appears toward the end of Psalm 5, “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice” (5:11a). Further, the vain rebellion of the wicked highlighted in Psalm 2 is revisited in Psalm 5, “they have rebelled against you” (5:10).

While Psalm 6 has much that we could benefit from, the remainder of this reflection will focus on Psalm 5. Among other things expressed in Psalm 6, most certainly, the agony of David’s cry “O Lord—how long?” (6:3), solicits a thorough inquiry. But we will see that desperate cry again when we get to Psalm 13. We will consider David’s struggle with the timing of God’s actions at that point.

We certainly learn to pray by praying. Praying is a real life lab experience. But our praying can be greatly helped by considering the prayers that are found in Scripture. The Psalms are, in many ways, like a textbook that informs and directs our lab assignments. This is certainly the case with Psalm 5, which provides something like basic textbook instructions with the intention of enhancing our lab experience of praying. First, Psalm 5 clearly specifies who we are speaking to when we pray. One way to arrange Psalm 5 is to simply note the occurrence of “O Lord” (5:1, 5:3, 5:8, and 5:12), which can serve as structural markers for dividing up the Psalm. Of course the real significance of “O Lord” is much more than a mere structural marker. “O Lord” identifies to whom we speak as we pray. Notice that David is not addressing his “Lord,” but the “Lord.” Lord is a title that certainly is fitting to be used in reference to the One True Eternal God Who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. However, throughout the Old Testament we find the term “Lord,” which is differentiated from Lord by the use of all caps. “Lord” or “YAHWEH” is not a title, but the personal name that God has exclusively given to His covenant people for intimately approaching Him. “Lord” is God’s name revealed to Moses at the Mount Sinai (see Exodus 34:5-7) and based on God’s earlier revelation to Moses at the burning bush (see Exodus 3:13-15). David is aware of who he is praying to naming his Lord as, “my King and my God, for to you do I pray” (5:2b).

Second, Psalm 5 clarifies of what prayer consists. In a word, prayer consists of words: “give ear to my words” (5:1a). But prayer can consist of a variety of types of words: distressed words, “my groaning” (5:1b); desperate words, “the sound of my cry” (5:2); determined words, “to you do I pray” (5:2b); and deliberate words, “in the morning you hear my voice” (5:3a). One of the wonderful dimensions of the Psalms is that they provide us with a wide variety of the various types of words that we can draw from to give vocalization to our groaning prayers, urgent cries of prayer, prepared public prayers, and recurrent private prayers. The Psalms literally give Word to our prayers, for they give us the words to use in our prayers.

As David addresses the Lord, the truths about God shapes what he prayerfully acknowledges: “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (5:5-6). Psalm 1 and 2 inform an expectancy in David’s prayer concerning the wicked. While the righteous delights in God (1:2), God does not delight in the wicked. The wicked will not stand in the judgment (1:5), meaning that they will not stand before the Lord. The wicked will perish (1:6) as God will crush them with His own hand (2:9). God will destroy them for He utterly hates them. David knows how to pray because he knows what the Lord is like and what He has proclaimed He would do. It might seem as though David is reminding the Lord of what He already knows, but prayer does entail a deep and earnest expression of what God has declared as true. Prayer is not reminding God of what He says as much as it is aligning our heart to what He has said.

In contrast to the wicked who have no access to the Lord, the righteous have much access to the Lord. They enjoy the Lord’s abundant love (5:7a), entrance into the Lord’s house (5:7b), access to the Lord’s presence (5:7c), a proper experience of a fear of the Lord (5:7d), guidance in the Lord’s righteousness (5:8a), and enablement for the Lord’s way (5:8b). David’s prayer is shaped by his awareness of the undeserved kindness and devotion that the Lord has abundantly provided him. The effect of such abundance is showed through the humility and reverence that he has toward the Lord “I will bow down…in fear of you” (5:7); but also in what David desires the most from the Lord “lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness” (5:8a). The abundance of God’s love toward David has stirred in him a growing hatred against sin. David prays not only for protection from the wicked, he also prays that he be prevented to live like his enemies. David does desire to live in safety, but he also, perhaps even more so, desires to live in obedience. David is seeking not merely a rearrangement of his situation, but a continued realignment of his heart. God’s grace causes us to long to be free of and far away from the wickedness that remains in us.

David does’t wish to be anything like the wicked, who because of “the abundance of their transgressions” (5:10), will be cast out of the presence of the Lord. This statement should be set against David’s knowledge concerning “the abundance of your steadfast love” (5:7), which accounts for David’s own welcome into the presence of the Lord. David situates the center of the wicked’s sinfulness as deep in their heart: “their inmost self is destruction” (5:9). But David pinpoints the outward demonstration of the wicked’s sinfulness through their words: “For there is no truth in their mouth…their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue” (5:9). Wicked words flow from a like heart. Perhaps David is referring to the taunts (3:2) and smears (4:2), which we see from Psalm 3 and 4, the wicked deployed against him. David yearns to see them face justice: “make them bear their guilt, O God” (5:10). David longs to see that the very counsel that the wicked offer (1:1), is used by God to bring about their demise, "let them fall by their own counsels” (5:10). We need not conclude from David’s request that he is operating with a vengeful heart. Based upon a reliance on the promises from Psalm 1 and 2, David is displaying what a true yearning for the glory of God looks like when the desire is to see God’s plans and promises come to pass. Historically, we know that the disintegration of Absalom’s coup began with the counsel he welcomed, which Samuel informs us was all brought about by the hand of God (see 2 Samuel 17:14).

Through the means of seeking the Lord in prayer, the Spirit of God worked a joy-filled confidence into David’s heart. This heart posture overflowed in David’s confidence: "For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield” (5:12). David’s seeking the Lord has afforded him a great sense of reassurance concerning the Lord’s protection as a reality that is fully wrapped around him. Out of such confidence, noting the triple-tiered statements of joy, rejoice, and exult, David’s heart posture expressed itself in exuberance: “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” (5:11).

As we reflect on Psalm 5 and its clear demarcations between the wicked and the righteous, both in how they choose to live, but also in the outcome of their lives, it might seem unclear how these prayers can shape our prayers. We want to be identified as the righteous, but we must not be pharisaical about it (see Luke 18:9-14). In fact, we must understand that the descriptions of the wicked, natively describe each of us. The Apostle Paul says as much when he quotes and applies Psalm 5:9 to all of us: “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive” (see Romans 3:13). This quote was as a part of Paul’s argument that “None is righteous, no, not one” (see Romans 3:10).

Ultimately, our praying can be shaped by Psalm 5 only as we grasp that Jesus alone can rightly pray about the sharp contrast between the wicked and the righteous. But we, and David, can take possession of Psalm 5 as we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, received by grace through faith in Christ. Yes, there should be a distinction between those who are trusting in Christ and those who remained opposed to Christ. The wicked are forewarned: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled” (2:12). But for those clothed in the righteousness of Christ, it is the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ working in us a righteousness of life, which qualifies us to receive the blessings of joy-filled confidence amid trouble and affliction.

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, January 9, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, January 12, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 7.