The Bible

Psalms 5

American Standard Version

¹ For the Chief MusicianMusician; with the Nehiloth. A PsalmPsalm of DavidDavid. Give ear to my wordswords, O JehovahJehovah, Consider my meditation.

² Hearken unto the voicevoice of my cry, my King, and my GodGod; For unto thee do I pray.

³ O JehovahJehovah, in the morningmorning shalt thou hearhear my voicevoice; In the morningmorning will I order [my prayer] unto thee, and will keep watch.

⁴ For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickednesswickedness: EvilEvil shall not sojourn with thee.

⁵ The arrogant shall not stand in thy sightsight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquityiniquity.

⁶ Thou wilt destroy them that speakspeak lieslies: JehovahJehovah abhorreth the bloodblood-thirsty and deceitfuldeceitful manman.

⁷ But as for me, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness will I comecome into thy househouse: In thy fear will I worshipworship toward thy holyholy templetemple.

⁸ LeadLead me, O JehovahJehovah, in thy righteousnessrighteousness because of mine enemies; Make thy wayway straight beforebefore my faceface.

⁹ For there is no faithfulness in their mouthmouth; Their inward part is very wickedness; Their throatthroat is an openopen sepulchre; They flatter with their tonguetongue.

¹⁰ Hold them guilty, O GodGod; Let them fallfall by their ownown counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressionstransgressions; For they have rebelledrebelled against thee.

¹¹ But let all those that take refuge in thee rejoicerejoice, Let them everever shout for joyjoy, because thou defendest them: Let them also that lovelove thy namename be joyful in thee.

¹² For thou wilt blessbless the righteousrighteous; O JehovahJehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield.

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Study the Inner Meaning

Chapter summary

Exploring the Meaning of Psalms 5

Psalm 5: A prayer for guidance

The message of this psalm is encapsulated in verse 8: “Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.” When we follow the Lord’s guidance, we can develop a clearer understanding of those things that come from the Lord, and those things that are in opposition to His design. The important thing for us is to discern the nature of what comes into our hearts and minds.

In the first verse, we hear the words: “consider my meditation.” Meditation in a biblical sense has a different meaning from the way it is understood today. Rather than the modern idea of simple awareness, this kind of meditation is more a reflection and exploration in the mind. This whole psalm is like such a meditation. We, too, must make use of this practice in our spiritual lives; this kind of mental examination helps us understand which deeper desires our thoughts stem from (see Swedenborg’s work, Divine Providence 61).

The speaker says in verse 3 that he will pray to the Lord in the morning. The morning is significant because it is a time of awakening. It represents a new spiritual state of personal renewal, based on the Lord, His love, His truth, and His presence with us.

Verses 4 through 6 list many things that are not acceptable to the Lord: wickedness, evil, boastful arrogance, iniquity, falsity and deceit. Many of these attributes feed our inclinations toward self-righteousness; these influences are at play whenever we try to convince others (and ourselves) that we always know what is right, and that we are superior to others. They are the ingredients of a hellish life.

A list such as this one helps us to recognize what is contrary to the Lord’s life in us, so that we may be genuine followers of the Lord and the Word. This process involves a great deal of self-examination, and indeed, meditation of our own thoughts and spiritual states.

Verse 7 follows with a promise to come and worship in the house of the Lord, and verse 8 is a prayer to be led by the Lord in His righteousness “because of my enemies.” These enemies are really our internal battles; “a man’s foes are those of his own household” (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 8282 ).

Verses 9 and 10 move on to recognize the self-destructive path of those caught up in evil. While all of us have our hereditary evils and a lower nature before regeneration, it is intentional evil, as the psalm declares, that can lead us in the direction of hell (see Swedenborg’s Heaven and Hell 532[3]).

The psalm comes to an end with an affirmation: let all those who trust in the Lord rejoice! For He blesses us when we live in righteousness, and protects us as with a shield. This simply reminds us to have confidence in our commitment to the Lord, and to trust that He works for our eternal life more than we will ever know (Divine Providence 46).

From Swedenborg's Works

Main explanations:

The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 255

Other references to this chapter:

Arcana Coelestia 3527, 9013, 9156

Apocalypse Revealed 44, 208, 379, 436, 586, 624

True Christian Religion 322

References from Swedenborg's drafts, indexes & diaries:

Apocalypse Explained 179, 237, 295, 313, 329, 622, 659, ...660, 866

Commentary

Exploring the Meaning of Psalms 5

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