Psalms 5:2
in Psalms 5Attend to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I pray.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; For unto thee do I pray.
KJV
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
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This verse in Psalms 5
Commentary
14 notes on this verseMy King and my God. He has truly dared to say, My King and my God, in whom sin does not reign in his mortal body. My King and my God. Because Thou reignest in me, and sin does not reign, therefore Thou art my God. Thou art my God, because the belly is not my god, because gold is not my god, because lust is not my god. Since Thou art virtue, and I desire to have virtues, therefore Thou art my God, that is, my virtue.
This site's exposition
Give ear to my words
on Psalms 5:1-3
Gill read the cry of verse 2 as the loud outcry of a man in great distress. In verse 3 the verb behind lay my plea means to set things out in order. The verb behind wait means to lean forward and watch, and the Hebrew says morning twice.
This site's exposition
my King and my God
Verse 2 adds two titles to the plea, my King and my God. Charles Spurgeon marked the pronoun in each title as the heart of the prayer. David, himself a king, calls the LORD his King.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
If one grants that indeed each animal recognizes the cry of its own offspring in the largest and most crowded flocks, that though a thousand calves may cry, the mother knows the cry of her own young, that though a thousand lambs may bleat, the …
"Attend Thou to the voice of my supplication;" that is, to that voice, which he maketh request that God would understand: of which what the nature is, he hath already intimated, when he said, "Understand my cry. Attend Thou to the voice of my supplication, my King, and my God" (ver. 2). Although both the Son is God, and the Father God, and the Father and the Son together One God; and if asked of the Holy Ghost, we must give no other answer than that He is God; and when the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are mentioned together, we must understand nothing else, than One God; nevertheless Scripture is wont to give the appellation of King to the Son. According then to that which is said, "By Me man cometh to the Father," rightly is it first, "my King;" and then, "my God." And yet has not the Psalmist said, Attend Ye; but, "Attend Thou." For the Catholic faith preaches not two or three Gods, but the Very Trinity, One God. Not that the same Trinity can be together, now the Father, now the Son, now the Holy Ghost, as Sabellius believed: but that the Father must be none but the Father, and the Son none but the Son, and the Holy Ghost none but the Holy Ghost, and this Trinity but One God. Hence when the Apostle had said, "Of whom are all things, by whom are all things, in whom are all things," he is believed to have conveyed an intimation of the Very Trinity; and yet he did not add, to Them be glory; but, "to Him be glory."
The Medieval Church1 voice
Above, the Psalmist set forth a prayer against those who persecute openly; here he prays against the deceitful, lest he be deceived. And concerning this he does two things. First, he sets forth a petition against the deceitful, lest he be deceived. Second, that the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hearken unto the voice of my cry,.... Which seems to intend more than groans or words, even a loud outcry, as of a person in great distress; such as the strong crying of Christ, in the days of his flesh, when on the cross, forsaken by God, deserted by his friends, and surrounded by his enemies, Heb 5:7; and such, in some measure, was the case of David.
We have then most need of prayer, considering the dangers and temptations of the day to which we are exposed, and against which we are concerned; by faith and prayer, to fetch in fresh supplies of grace.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(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," Heb. xii. 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.
David's prayers were not his words only, but his meditations; as meditation is the best preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation. Meditation and prayer should go together, Ps. xix. It is when we thus consider our prayers, and then only, that we may expect that God will consider them, and take that to his heart which comes from ours.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"The voice of my cry." In another Psalm we find the expression, "The voice of my weeping." Weeping has a voice—a melting, plaintive tone, an ear-piercing shrillness, which reaches the very heart of God; and crying hath a voice—a soul-moving eloquence; coming from our heart it reaches God's heart. Ah! my brothers and sisters, sometimes we cannot put our prayers into words: they are nothing but a cry: but the Lord can comprehend the meaning, for he hears a voice in our cry.
"The voice of my cry." In another Psalm we find the expression, "The voice of my weeping." Weeping has a voice—a melting, plaintive tone, an ear-piercing shrillness, which reaches the very heart of God; and crying hath a voice—a soul-moving eloquence; coming from our heart it reaches God's heart. Ah! my brothers and sisters, sometimes we cannot put our prayers into words: they are nothing but a cry: but the Lord can comprehend the meaning, for he hears a voice in our cry. To a loving father his children's cries are music, and they have a magic influence which his heart cannot resist. "My King, and my God." Observe carefully these little pronouns, "my King, and my God." They are the pith and marrow of the plea. Here is a grand argument why God should answer prayer—because he is our King and our God. We are not aliens to him: he is the King of our country. Kings are expected to hear the appeals of their own people. We are not strangers to him; we are his worshippers, and he is our God: ours by covenant, by promise, by oath, by blood. "For unto thee will I pray." Here David expresses his declaration that he will seek to God, and to God alone. God is to be the only object of worship: the only resource of our soul in times of need. Leave broken cisterns to the godless, and let the godly drink from the Divine fountain alone. "Unto thee will I pray." He makes a resolution, that as long as he lived he would pray. He would never cease to supplicate, even though the answer should not come.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry - We may easily find the process through which David’s mind was now passing: 1. We have seen from the preceding Psalm that he lay down in a very happy frame of mind, and that he had enjoyed profound repose. 2. As soon as he awakes in the morning, his heart, having a right direction, resumes its work. 3. He meditates on God’s goodness; and on his own happy state, though pursued by enemies, and only safe as long as God preserved him by an almighty hand and especial providence.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hearken unto the voice of my cry - My cry for assistance. The word “voice” refers to the utterance of his desires, or to his “expressed” wishes in a time of trouble. My King, and my God - Though he was himself a king, yet he acknowledged his subjection to God as his supreme Ruler, and looked up to Him to protect him in his dangers, and to restore him to his rights. He was, at the same time, his God - his covenant God - to whom he felt that he was permitted to come in the hour of trouble, and whose blessing he was permitted to invoke. For unto thee will I pray - He had no one else to go to in his troubles, and he felt that he “might” approach the living God. It was his fixed purpose - his regular habit - to pray to him, and to seek his favor and friendship, and he felt that he was permitted to do so now.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Give ear to my words, O Lord when I have strength to ask before You and, when I have no strength to pray before You and the worry is confined to my heart.. consider my meditation Heb. בינה. Consider the meditation of my heart.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
on nehiloth Menachem interpreted all of them: nehiloth, alamoth, gittith, jeduthun, that they are all names of musical instruments, and the melody of the psalm was according to the melody fit for that instrument. However, [in the] Midrash Aggadah (Mid.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַקְשִׁ֤יבָה׀ | hakshivah | pay attention ! | H7181 → | 46 times |
| לְק֬וֹל | lekol | to [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שַׁוְעִ֗י | shavi | cry for help my | H7773 → | |
| מַלְכִּ֥י | malki | O king my | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וֵאלֹהָ֑י | velohai | and God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶתְפַּלָּֽל׃ | ʾetpalal | I pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
הַקְשִׁ֤יבָה׀pay attention !
hakshivahH7181 →46 times
לְק֬וֹלto [the] sound of
lekolH6963 →506 times
שַׁוְעִ֗יcry for help my
shaviH7773 →
מַלְכִּ֥יO king my
malkiH4428 →2525 times
וֵאלֹהָ֑יand God my
velohaiH430 →2601 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
אֶתְפַּלָּֽל׃I pray
ʾetpalalH6419 →84 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 65:2O You who listen to prayer, all people will come to You.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Isaiah 66:23
From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
- Psalms 66:19
But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Through
Psalms 3:4To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
- Psalms 34:4
Through
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
it leads to
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Acts 5:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Asterius of Cappadocia, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 10:5; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 2, on Psalm 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.