Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 5:9

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 5:9. No faithfulness in their mouth — They make professions of friendship; but all is hollow and deceitful: "They flatter with their tongue."

Very wickedness — Their heart is full of all kinds of depravity.

Their throat is an open sepulchre — It is continually gaping for the dead; and sends forth effluvia destructive to the living. I fear that this is too true a picture of the whole human race, totally corrupt within, and abominable without. The heart is the centre and spring of this corruption; and the words and actions of men, which proceed from this source, will send out incessant streams of various impurity; and thus they continue till the grace of God changes and purifies the heart.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 5:0 Joy of the godly

In another morning prayer David again recalls the attacks that certain enemies made on him. This leads him to consider the different attitudes God has towards the godly and the ungodly. David expects God to hear his prayers and save him from his enemies (1-3).
The reason for David’s confidence is that his enemies belong to that group of people whose wickedness brings only opposition from God (4-6). By contrast, David worships God with a true heart and has a sincere desire to know God’s ways and walk in them (7-8). The speech of the wicked reveals the evil in their hearts, and because of that evil, God will punish them. On the other hand, the joy of the righteous displays their love for God, and because of that love, God will protect them (9-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is very wickedness; Their throat is an open sepulchre; They flatter with their tongue. Hold them guilty, O God; Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions; For they have rebelled against thee."

Gaebelein called these lines the "first imprecatory prayer recorded in the Psalms."Alexander Maclaren, Ibid., p. 47. Maclaren wrote, "Let us be thankful that we dare not pray such prayers;"Ibid., p. 47. however, it is my personal conviction that such views are not justified. The prayers of the Saints in Heaven itself is represented as a cry for God to avenge their blood upon earth's wicked men (Revelation 6:10); and in that light, I cannot find anything wrong with the so-called imprecatory Psalms. God indeed hates and abhors those who have rebelled against him; and it is evident that a prayer for the destruction of the rebellious enemies of God should not be condemned as "un Christian." There are a great many learned people who just do not know anything about the true Spirit of Christ. A glance at Luke 19:27 reveals the mind of Christ himself against his rebellious enemies.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

:Title

Upon Nehiloth - The title of Psalms 4:1-8 is, “upon Neginoth.” As that refers to a musical instrument, so it is probable that this does, and that the idea here is that this psalm was intended particularly for the music-master that had special charge of this instrument, or who presided over those that played on it. Perhaps the idea is that this psalm was specially designed to be accompanied with this instrument. The word here, Nehiloth - נחילות n^echı̂ylôth, plural. נחילה n^echı̂ylâh, singular - is supposed by Gesenius, Lexicon, to denote a flute, or pipe, as being “perforated,” from חלל châlal, to bore.” The word occurs only in this place. Very various opinions have been entertained of its meaning. See Hengstenberg, “Com.” The Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint understand it as meaning “inheritance” - the same as נחלה nachălâh, and as being somehow designed to refer to the people of God “as” a heritage. Latin Vulgate: In finem pro ca, quae hereditatem consequitur, psalmus David. So the Septuagint - ὑπὲρ τῆς κληρονομούσης huper tēs klēronomousēs. So Luther, Fur das Erbe. What was the precise idea affixed to this it is not very easy to determine. Luther explains it, “according to the title, this is the general idea of the psalm, that the author prays for the inheritance or heritage of God, desiring that the people of God may be faithful to him, and may always adhere to him.” The true interpretation, however, is evidently to regard this as an instrument of music, and to consider the psalm as adapted to be sung with the instrument of music specified. Why it was adapted particularly to “that” instrument of music cannot now be determined. Horsley renders it “upon the flutes.” Compare Ugolin. Thesau. Ant. Sac.; tom. xxxii. pp. 158-170.

A Psalm of David - See introduction to Psalms 3:1-8.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth - There is nothing in them which can be confided in; nothing in their promises and declarations. They are false and treacherous, and I can, therefore, only appeal to thee. It is easy to see the propriety of this statement, and of those which follow, on the supposition that this refers to the rebellion of Absalom. Absalom had gone to Hebron on a false pretence 2 Samuel 15:7-10, and every act of his in this whole transaction had been treacherous and false.

Their inward part - Not only their external conduct, but their hearts, their principles, their motives. This was fairly to be inferred from their conduct. The object of the psalmist is to show that they were wholly depraved in all that properly constitutes character or that entered into moral conduct.

Their throat is an open sepulchre - That is, as the grave is open to receive its victim, so is their throat open to devour or swallow up the peace and happiness of others. The main idea is that they are false, treacherous, not to be confided in, slanderous. This passage, with the following, is employed by the apostle Paul to demonstrate the universal depravity of man. See the notes at Romans 3:13.

They flatter with their tongue - He had referred to the “inward part,” or the “heart,” and to the “throat” as being depraved and evil; he now refers to another member of the body as being equally depraved - the “tongue.” Instead of being employed to utter truth, and to give expression to the real feelings of the heart, it was employed to flatter others, with a view to lead them astray, or to make use of them for base and selfish purposes. The propriety of this representation as applicable to Absalom and his coadjutors no one can fail to see (compare 2 Samuel 15:1-6). It is also to an eminent degree the characteristic of the wicked in general. On this, also, see the notes at Romans 3:13.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

9.For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. He still repeats the same complaints which he made before, in order thereby to render his enemies the more odious in the sight of God, and to call forth in his own behalf the mercy of God, who has promised to succor those who are unjustly oppressed. And this is to be particularly attended to, that the more our enemies manifest their cruelty against us, or the more wickedly they vex us, we ought, with so much the greater confidence, to send up our groanings to heaven, because God will not suffer their rage to proceed to the uttermost, but will bring forth their malice and wicked devices to the light. In the first place, he accuses them of treachery, because they speak nothing uprightly, or in sincerity; and the cause which he assigns for this is, that inwardly they are full of iniquity. He next compares them to sepulchres, their throat is an open sepulcher; as if he had said, they are devouring gulfs; ⁽⁷⁶⁾ meaning by this, their insatiable desire of shedding blood. In the close of the verse, he again speaks of their deceitfulness. From all this we conclude, that the wrongs with which he was tried were of no ordinary kind, but that he had to contend with enemies the most wickedly who had neither humanity nor moderation. Being so miserably oppressed, he not only perseveres in prayer, but finds ground of hope even from the confusion and apparent hopelessness of his outward condition.

When Paul, (Romans 3:13,) in quoting this passage, extends it to all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, he does not give to it a meaning of greater latitude than the Holy Spirit intended to give. Since he takes it as an undeniable point, that under the person of David, there is here described to us the church, both in the person of Christ, who is the head, and in his members, it follows that all those ought to be reckoned among the number of his enemies, who have not been regenerated by the Spirit of God, whether they are without the pale of the visible church, or within it. For David, in this passage, does not summons either the Assyrians or the Egyptians to the judgment-seat of God, but the degenerate Jews, who, being circumcised in the flesh, gloried in their descent from the holy lineage of Abraham. Paul, therefore, does not wrest these words from their genuine meaning when he applies them to all mankind, but asserts, with truth, that David showed in them what is the character of the whole human family by nature.

(76) “Gouffres qui devorent tout.” — Fr. “Gulfs which devour all.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 5:1-12

Psalms 5:1-12 is a prayer of the morning. Psalms 4:1-8 was the prayer of the evening, and now for the morning.

Give ear unto my words, O LORD; consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up ( Psalms 5:1-3 ).

This again is upon a Neginoth, the psalm of David. And he said,

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all of the workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak deceitfully: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man ( Psalms 5:4-6 ).

Now the bloody, this is an old English kind of a word. Over in England to say, "You are a bloody bloke," is really a bad thing. Where's Malcolm? He'll tell you that in England the word bloody is really a gutter type of word. You have got to really watch your language when you go really from one culture to the other, because you can be saying things that are sort of weird.

When I was over in England I was speaking to a group of ministers, and I was sharing with them a little bit about the history of Calvary Chapel. And how before we came, the group of people that were praying whether or not to try to keep going or just to quit. And they were discouraged; there were only about twenty-five people here. They had a little church down here on Church Street here in Costa Mesa, and they had gone for a couple of years and were actually just deciding to whether or not to try to go or not. And so a prophecy came to them. And in the prophecy the Lord said that, "Chuck Smith is going to come down and be your new pastor and the church is going to be blessed. You are going to out grow this facility; you are going to have to move onto the bluff overlooking the bay. The church will be going on the radio nationally and it will be known around the world." Twenty-five discouraged people ready to quit and a prophecy like that, and you have the same attitude as the guy upon whom the king leaned when Elisha said, "Tomorrow they will be selling a barrel of wheat for sixty cents in the gate of the city." And he said, "If God could open up the windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" It seemed utterly impossible. The prophecy went on to say, "As soon as Chuck comes down, he's not going to like the church. He is going to suggest that you remodel it. Remodel the platform and all." And, it was just an encouragement, "Get in and do it."

They didn't tell me anything about the prophecy. In fact, when I finally said, "Yes, I will come down," they called me back the next day and they said, "Don't bother. We have decided to quit. We just have had it." I said, "Hey, I have already resigned. I'm on my way, you know." So the first Sunday, all of us went out for lunch together to the Sizzler. And I took the napkin on the table, and I said to the guys, "We really need to remodel the church, and here is what we need to do to the platform." And I began to draw on the napkin, remodeling design for the church. Now, they didn't tell me about the prophecy. I didn't know anything about it, but they all began to get real excited. They said, "That sounds great! Lets start this week." And I thought, "Wow! This is all right. I've got an eager crew here, you know."

And so I was relating this to the ministers in England how that I took out a napkin and I began to draw the plans on the napkin. Afterwards my host over there said, "Um, in England we call baby diapers a napkin." So he said, "All of those ministers were giggling because they pictured you drawing plans on a baby diaper." So it is interesting how one culture changes the thoughts and the meanings. Of course, that's not quite as bad as when I was in New Guinea and I decided to use one of Romaine's phrases, but never again. As I, at the close of the missionary conference, told those Wycliffe missionaries how the conference was just such a great blessing to us. I said, "I've just been blessed out of my gourd since I have been here." Not realizing that New Guinea tribesmen often wear gourds over a certain part of their body. The place broke up.

Now I don't know what the word bloody means really, but it's a dirty word in England. So being an English translation of a Hebrew word, it's a word that doesn't really commentate to us the dirtiness of it, that it is. It is a dirty kind of a man. But it doesn't really connotate in our minds. But David used it several times in the psalm concerning the deceitful man and the evil man. So he speaks, "The Lord will abhor the bloody and the deceitful man." That will mean much more to an Englishman than it does you.

But as for me ( Psalms 5:7 ),

Now here is the contrast. Now, as I told you, poetry to them is contrasting ideas or the compounding of an idea. Here comes the contrast,

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. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee ( Psalms 5:7-10 ).

Contrast.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defend them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee ( Psalms 5:11 ).

This is a beautiful psalm, really. "Let all of these who put their trust in Thee rejoice." If you put your trust in the Lord, then you should be rejoicing, shouting for joy. Why? Because God defends you. "Those that love Thy name, let them be joyful in Thee." God does want the consciousness of our daily walk in life to be that of joy.

For thou, LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor will thou encircle him as with a shield ( Psalms 5:12 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 5

This is another prayer of David that arose out of opposition by enemies (cf. Psalms 3, 4), as is clear from the content. In contrast to Psalms 4, this one is a morning prayer. The Jews regarded each new day as beginning with sundown. Both are individual laments that contain elements of confidence, but this one also has characteristics of a community lament (Psalms 5:11-12) and an imprecation.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Prayer for guidance 5:8-12

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David mentioned a few of the sins of the wicked. They were untrustworthy in their speech. They determined to destroy rather than to edify. Their words led to death, and they were deceitful flatterers (cf. Romans 3:13).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For [there is] no faithfulness in their mouth,.... In the mouth of the ungodly, as the Chaldee paraphrase; in the mouth of every one of them, as Aben Ezra interprets it: that is, in the mouth of every wicked, bloody, and deceitful man; of everyone of David's enemies, as Saul, or the conspirators with Absalom his son. There was no steadfastness in them; nothing right, sure, or firm said by them; nothing that could be depended upon; there was "no truth" in them, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render it. And as this was true of David's, so of Christ's enemies; of Herod, and of the Herodians, and of the Scribes and Pharisees; see Matthew 2:8; and of the enemies of Christ's Gospel; of all false teachers, who speak not the word faithfully; tell dreams, use the hidden things of dishonesty, walk in craftiness, handle the word of God deceitfully, and speak lies in hypocrisy: there is no certainty in them, nor is any thing they say to be trusted to. And this is the character of wicked men in common: they are an assembly of treacherous men; there is none upright among them; nor is any confidence to be placed in them: the people of God are in danger of being imposed upon and misled by them to their hurt; and therefore the psalmist prays, that the Lord would lead him in his righteousness;

their inward part [is] very wickedness; their heart, which is desperately wicked, exceeding sinful; not only wicked, and very wicked, but wickedness itself. This is the root and fountain of all wickedness, and the reason why there is no faithfulness in their mouth: the word m is sometimes rendered, "their inward thought", Psalms 49:11; which is the inmost of man, the nearest to him; and which, and even the imagination of it, is evil, and that continually: the word n translated "wickedness" signifies woes, calamities, and mischiefs; and such the wicked hearts of men are full of, and are continually devising against the people of God, and his righteous cause. And this is the just character of ungodly men, even though they may profess to know God, have a form of godliness, and be outwardly righteous before men; as these were David was concerned with;

their throat [is] an open sepulchre; or as one, as the Targum paraphrases it; to which the throat of wicked men may be compared for its voracity and insatiableness; the grave being one of those three or four things, which never has enough or is satisfied. And this is true of the throat, whether it be considered as an instrument of speech, and throws out devouring words to the prejudice of the characters and reputations of others; or as an instrument of swallowing meat and drink, and where the pleasure of appetite is; and so may be expressive of the eager desire of the wicked after sin, who drink up iniquity like water; and of their delight in it, and their fulness of it, and yet still greedy, insatiable, and not to be satisfied: and their throat may be compared to an open grave for the nauseous stench it emits; corrupt communication, filthiness, and foolish talking, proceeding out of it; and horrible oaths, curses, imprecations, and blasphemies, being belched out through it; and for the danger which is by it, since into it men may fall unawares; and so the evil communications of wicked men corrupt good manners, and do great mischief to those who fall into company with them;

they flatter with their tongue; or, "make it smooth" o; use oily expressions, soft language: or, "part" or "divide" p their tongue; are double tongued and double hearted; and so deceive persons, as the apostle interprets it in Romans 3:13. They flatter God himself, drawing nigh to him in an hypocritical way; they flatter men, their neighbours, and impose upon them; they flatter princes, and such parasitic people were about David. And such are false teachers, who prophesy smooth things, and with good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple; or, which account there is great reason to pray to be led and directed by the Lord.

m קרבם η καρδια, Sept. "cor", V. L. i.e. "cogitatio", Muis. n הוות "aerumuae", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus "calamitates", Cocceius; so Ainsworth. o חליקון "levigant, seu emolliunt", Piscator, Gejerus. p "Divident vel dispertient", Mariana.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 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.   8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.   9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.   10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.   11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.   12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

      In Psalms 5:7-12 David gives three characters--of himself, of his enemies, and of all the people of God, and subjoins a prayer to each of them.

      I. He gives an account of himself and prays for himself, Psalms 5:7; Psalms 5:8.

      1. He is stedfastly resolved to keep closely to God and to his worship. Sinners go away from God, and so make themselves odious to his holiness and obnoxious to his justice: "But, as for me, that shall not keep me from thee." God's holiness and justice are so far from being a terror to the upright in heart, to drive them from God, that they are rather by them invited to cleave to him. David resolves, (1.) To worship God, to pay his homage to him, and give unto God the glory due unto his name. (2.) To worship him publicly: "I will come into thy house, the courts of thy house, to worship there with other faithful worshippers." David was much in secret worship, prayed often alone (Psalms 5:2; Psalms 5:3), and yet was very constant and devout in his attendance on the sanctuary. The duties of the closet are designed to prepare us for, not to excuse us from, public ordinances. (3.) To worship him reverently and with a due sense of the infinite distance there is between God and man: "In thy fear will I worship, with a holy awe of God upon my spirit," Hebrews 12:28. God is greatly to be feared by all his worshippers. (4.) To take his encouragement, in worship, from God himself only. [1.] From his infinite mercy. It is in the multitude of God's mercy (the inexhaustible treasures of mercy that are in God and the innumerable proofs and instances of it which we receive from him) that David confides, and not in any merit or righteousness of his own, in his approaches to God. The mercy of God should ever be both the foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our joy in every thing wherein we have to do with him. [2.] From the instituted medium of worship, which was then the temple, here called the temple of his holiness, as a type of Christ, the great and only Mediator, who sanctifies the service as the temple sanctified the gold, and to whom we must have an eye in all our devotions as the worshippers then had to the temple.

      2. He earnestly prays that God, by his grace, would guide and preserve him always in the way of his duty (Psalms 5:8; Psalms 5:8): Lead me in thy righteousness, because of my enemies--Heb. "Because of those who observe me, who watch for my halting and seek occasion against me." See here, (1.) The good use which David made of the malice of his enemies against him. The more curious they were in spying faults in him, that they might have whereof to accuse him, the more cautious he was to avoid sin and all appearances of it, and the more solicitous to be always found in the good way of God and duty. Thus, by wisdom and grace, good may come out of evil. (2.) The right course which David took for the baffling of those who sought occasion against him. He committed himself to a divine guidance, begged of God both by his providence and by his grace to direct him in the right way, and keep him from turning aside out of it, at any time, in any instance whatsoever, that the most critical and captious of his enemies, like Daniel's, might find no occasion against him. The way of our duty is here called God's way, and his righteousness, because he prescribes to us by his just and holy laws, which if we sincerely set before us as our rule, we may in faith beg of God to direct us in all particular cases. How this prayer of David's was answered to him see 1 Samuel 18:14; 1 Samuel 18:15.

      II. He gives an account of his enemies, and prays against them, Psalms 5:9; Psalms 5:10. 1. If his account of them is true, as no doubt it is, they have a very bad character; and, if they had not been bad men indeed, they could not have been enemies to a man after God's own heart. He had spoken (Psalms 5:6; Psalms 5:6) of God's hating the bloody and deceitful man. "Now, Lord," says he, "that is the character of my enemies: they are deceitful; there is no trusting them, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth." They thought it was no sin to tell a deliberate lie if it might but blemish David, and render him odious. "Lord, lead me," says he (Psalms 5:8; Psalms 5:8), "for such as these are the men I have to do with, against whose slanders innocency itself is no security. Do they speak fair? Do they talk of peace and friendship? They flatter with their tongues; it is designed to cover their malice, and to gain their point the more securely. Whatever they pretend of religion or friendship, two sacred things, they are true to neither: Their inward part is wickedness itself; it is very wickedness. They are likewise bloody; for their throat is an open sepulchre, cruel as the grave, gaping to devour and to swallow up, insatiable as the grave, which never says, It is enough," Proverbs 30:15; Proverbs 30:16. This is quoted (Romans 3:13) to show the general corruption of mankind; for they are all naturally prone to malice, Titus 3:3. The grave is opened for them all, and yet they are as open graves to one another. 2. If his prayer against them is heard, as no doubt it is, they are in a bad condition. As men are, and do, so they must expect to fare. He prays to God to destroy them (according to what he had said Psalms 5:6; Psalms 5:6, "Thou shalt destroy men of this character," so let them fall; and sinners would soon throw themselves into ruin if they were let alone), to cast them out of his protection and favour, out of the heritage of the Lord, out of the land of the living; and woe to those whom God casts out. "They have by their sins deserved destruction; there is enough to justify God in their utter rejection: Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, by which they have filled up the measure of their iniquity and have become ripe for ruin." Persecuting God's servants fills the measure as soon as any thing, 1 Thessalonians 2:15. Nay, they may be easily made to fall by their own counsels; that which they do to secure themselves, and do mischief to others, by the over-ruling providence of God may be made a means of their destruction, Psalms 7:15; Psalms 9:15. He pleads, "They have rebelled against thee. Had they been only my enemies, I could safely have forgiven them; but they are rebels against God, his crown and dignity; they oppose his government, and will not repent, to give him glory, and therefore I plainly foresee their ruin." His prayer for their destruction comes not from a spirit of revenge, but from a spirit of prophecy, by which he foretold that all who rebel against God will certainly be destroyed by their own counsels. If it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people, as we are told it is (2 Thessalonians 1:6), we pray that it may be done whenever we pray, Father, thy will be done.

      III. He gives an account of the people of God, and prays for them, concluding with an assurance of their bliss, which he doubted not of his own interest in. Observe, 1. The description he gives of God's people. They are the righteous (Psalms 5:12; Psalms 5:12); for they put their trust in God, are well assured of his power and all-sufficiency, venture their all upon his promise, and are confident of his protection in the way of their duty; and they love his name, are well pleased with all that by which God has made himself known, and take delight in their acquaintance with him. This is true and pure religion, to live a life of complacency in God and dependence on him. 2. His prayer for them: "Let them rejoice; let them have cause to rejoice and hearts to rejoice; fill them with joy, with great joy and unspeakable; let them shout for joy, with constant joy and perpetual; let them ever shout for joy, with holy joy, and that which terminates in God; let them be joyful in thee, in thy favour, in thy salvation, not in any creature. Let them rejoice because thou defendest them, coverest them, or overshadowest them, dwellest among them." Perhaps here is an allusion to the pillar of cloud and fire, which was to Israel a visible token of God's special presence with them and the special protection they were under. Let us learn of David to pray, not for ourselves only, but for others, for all good people, for all that trust in God and love his name, though not in every thing of our mind nor in our interest. Let all that are entitled to God's promises have a share in our prayers; grace be with all that love Christ in sincerity. This is to concur with God. 3. His comfort concerning them, Psalms 5:12; Psalms 5:12. He takes them into his prayers because they are God's peculiar people; therefore he doubts not but his prayers shall be heard, and they shall always rejoice; for, (1.) They are happy in the assurance of God's blessing: "Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous, wilt command a blessing upon them. Thou hast in thy word pronounced them blessed, and therefore wilt make them truly so. Those whom thou blessest are blessed indeed." (2.) "They are safe under the protection of thy favour; with that thou wilt crown him" (so some read it); "it is his honour, will be to him a diadem of beauty, and make him truly great: with that thou wilt compass him, wilt surround him, on every side, as with a shield." A shield, in war, guards only one side, but the favour of God is to the saints a defence on every side; like the hedge about Job, round about, so that, while they keep themselves under the divine protection, they are entirely safe and ought to be entirely satisfied.

      In singing Psalms 5:7-12, and praying them over, we must by faith put ourselves under God's guidance and care, and then please ourselves with his mercy and grace and with the prospect of God's triumphs at last over all his enemies and his people's triumphs in him and in his salvation.