10 Bring guilt upon them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels: drive them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee.
Let their table become a snare before them, and their very welfare a trap; Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of thine anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; let there be no dweller in their tents.
Do unto them as to Midian; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the torrent of Kishon: Who were destroyed at Endor; they became as dung for the ground. Make their nobles as Oreb and as Zeeb; and all their chiefs as Zebah and as Zalmunna. For they have said, Let us take to ourselves God's dwelling-places in possession. O my God, make them like a whirling thing, like stubble before the wind. As fire burneth a forest, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire, So pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with thy whirlwind. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Jehovah. Let them be put to shame and be dismayed for ever, and let them be confounded and perish: That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth.
Set a wicked [man] over him, and let [the] adversary stand at his right hand; When he shall be judged, let him go out guilty, and let his prayer become sin; Let his days be few, let another take his office; Let his sons be fatherless, and his wife a widow; Let his sons be vagabonds and beg, and let them seek [their bread] far from their desolate places; Let the usurer cast the net over all that he hath, and let strangers despoil his labour; Let there be none to extend kindness unto him, neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children; Let his posterity be cut off; in the generation following let their name be blotted out: Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out; Let them be before Jehovah continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth: Because he remembered not to shew kindness, but persecuted the afflicted and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay him. And he loved cursing; so let it come unto him. And he delighted not in blessing; and let it be far from him. And he clothed himself with cursing like his vestment; so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones; Let it be unto him as a garment with which he covereth himself, and for a girdle wherewith he is constantly girded. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
Remember, O Jehovah, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem; who said, Lay [it] bare, Lay [it] bare, down to its foundation! Daughter of Babylon, who art to be laid waste, happy he that rendereth unto thee that which thou hast meted out to us. Happy he that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the rock.
[As for] the head of those that encompass me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Let burning coals fall on them; let them be cast into the fire; into deep waters, that they rise not up again.
Now we know that whatever the things the law says, it speaks to those under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world be under judgment to God. Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him; for by law [is] knowledge of sin.
Thy hand shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thy presence; Jehovah shall swallow them up in his anger, and the fire shall devour them: Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong: They meet with darkness in a the daytime, and grope at midday as in the night.
Oh let the wrong of the wicked come to an end, and establish thou the righteous [man]; even thou that triest the hearts and reins, the righteous God. My shield is with God, who saveth the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a ùGod who is indignant all the day. If one turn not, he will sharpen his sword; he hath bent his bow and made it ready, And he hath prepared for him instruments of death; his arrows hath he made burning. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, yea, he hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood: He digged a pit, and hollowed it out, and is fallen into the hole that he made.
The nations are sunk down in the pit [that] they made; in the net that they hid is their own foot taken. Jehovah is known [by] the judgment he hath executed: the wicked is ensnared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbours, and mischief is in their heart. Give them according to their doing, and according to the wickedness of their deeds; give them after the work of their hands, render to them their desert.
{[A Psalm] of David.} Strive, O Jehovah, with them that strive with me; fight against them that fight against me: Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help; And draw out the spear, and stop [the way] against my pursuers: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Let them be put to shame and confounded that seek after my life; let them be turned backward and brought to confusion that devise my hurt: Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of Jehovah drive [them] away; Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of Jehovah pursue them. For without cause have they hidden for me their net [in] a pit; without cause they have digged [it] for my soul. Let destruction come upon him unawares, and let his net which he hath hidden catch himself: for destruction let him fall therein.
[Because of] the sin of their mouth, the word of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and because of cursing and lying which they speak. Make an end in wrath, make an end, that they may be no more; that they may know that God ruleth in Jacob, unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
They devise iniquities: We have it ready, the plan is diligently sought out. And each one's inward [thought] and heart is deep. But God will shoot an arrow at them: suddenly are they wounded; By their own tongue they are made to fall over one another: all that see them shall flee away.
{To the chief Musician. Of David. A Psalm: a Song.} Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered, and let them that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven, thou wilt drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 5
Commentary on Psalms 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 5
Ps 5:1-12. Upon Nehiloth—flutes or wind instruments. The writer begs to be heard, on the ground of God's regard for His covenant-people and true worshippers as contrasted with His holy hatred to the wicked. He prays for divine guidance, on account of his watchful, malignant, and deceitful enemies; and for their destruction as being also God's enemies. At the same time he expresses his confidence that God will extend aid to His people.
1. meditation—moanings of that half-uttered form to which deep feeling gives rise—groanings, as in Ro 8:26, 27.
2. Hearken—incline the ear (Ps 10:17; compare Ps 61:2)—give close attention.
my cry—that is, for help (Ps 61:2; Jer 8:19).
my King—thus by covenant relation interested in my cause.
3. direct—literally, "set in order," as the showbread was placed or set in order (Ex 40:23).
4. For, &c.—God only regards sincere worshippers.
evil—or, "the evil man."
dwell—lodge, remain under protection.
5. foolish—vainglorious and insolent.
iniquity—especially such as denotes a negation, or defect, that is, of moral principle.
6. leasing—a lie.
the bloody … man—literally, "man of blood"—murderer.
7. But—as in Ps 2:6, literally, "and."
house—(1Ch 9:23), the tabernacle.
temple—literally, "palace," applied to God's residence, the Holy of Holies (1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 22:7); the inner part of the tabernacle.
toward—not in; the high priest alone was allowed to enter.
8. enemies—literally, "watchers" (Ps 27:11), hence special need of guidance.
in thy righteousness—an attribute implying faithfulness in promises as well as threatenings.
make thy way straight—that is, make the way of providence plain.
9. The wicked are not reliable because by nature they are full of wickedness, or literally, "wickednesses," of every kind (Ro 8:7).
sepulchre—a dwelling-place of corruption, emitting moral putridness.
flatter—or, "make smooth."
their tongue—speaks deceitfully.
10. Destroy—or, "condemn" them to destruction as guilty.
11. defendest—(compare Margin).
love thy name—Thy manifested perfections (Ps 9:10).
12. with favour—or, "acceptance," alluding to the favor shown to an acceptable offering and worshipper (Le 7:18; 19:7).
shield—(compare Ps 3:3).