🎵WEB · Psalms 5:7
What does Psalms 5:7 mean?
"But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you."
— Psalms 5:7 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can’t live with you.
The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.
You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.
Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.
Explanation
Psalm 5:7 has David making a striking contrast. The psalm opens with him crying out to God for help against enemies who are deceitful and hostile, and in the verses just before this one he describes how the wicked cannot stand in God's presence because of their arrogance and lies. Then in verse 7 he pivots with the words "but as for me" — setting himself apart not because he is righteous on his own merit, but because he depends entirely on God's mercy. He says he will come into God's house, and bow toward the holy temple, in reverence and awe.
The historical context is important. David wrote this psalm, likely during a time of danger or betrayal, possibly while fleeing enemies or dealing with treacherous accusers within his own court. At this point in Israel's history, the temple in Jerusalem had not yet been built by Solomon — David is likely referring to the tabernacle, the tent-sanctuary where God's presence dwelt among Israel, or he is speaking prophetically/poetically of God's dwelling place in a more general sense. Regardless, the "house" and "temple" represent the place where God's presence was manifest and where his people came to worship and seek him.
Theologically, this verse highlights two things held together: access and reverence. David does not earn his way into God's presence through his own goodness; he explicitly says it is "in the abundance of your loving kindness" — that is, God's steadfast covenant love (Hebrew: chesed) — that grants him entry. This is grace, not merit. Yet that grace does not produce careless familiarity; it produces worship marked by
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