Verse 1 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. 1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Nehiloth comes from the Hebrew word “nachiylah” and the meaning is uncertain, but it may possibly be a musical instrument. It is only found in the title of this Psalm. The writer of this psalm is identified as King David.
King David asks the LORD to listen to what he is about to say and to pay attention to his thoughts as he meditates.
Verse 2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
His requests get a little more intense as he really wants to be sure God is hearing his prayer. He acknowledges that God is King. Remember that this is the king of Israel speaking. He knows what it means to be a king and he is humbling himself before the King of the universe. He acknowledges that God is his God and therefore King David will pray to his God and to no other fake god or goddess.
Application: The Hebrew word translated as “God” is “elohiym” and it is plural and means rulers, judges, divine ones, and gods. It is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1. In this chapter “God” is written 31 times using the Hebrew word elohiym. So from the very first verse in the King James Bible, God is letting the readers of His Word know that He has a plural aspect to His character. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26 This does not mean there are three gods. It does not mean there are three persons. It means that the one true God manifests Himself in three ways. He is Father God, the only begotten Son, and the comforter or Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Verse 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
David starts his day with prayer to God. He was wise enough to know that without the LORD, he could do nothing. He needed His guidance and help to run the country and to run his personal life. David was not looking to other people or things each day, but looking to God. The Hebrew word translated as “LORD” is “Yahovah” and it is one of the names of God and it means “the existing One”. The Hebrew word translated as “look up” is “tsaphah” and it means to look out or about, to keep watch, to observe or to watch closely. Perhaps King David prayed looking upwards instead of bowing his head. No one knows, but the inference is that after praying, David observed and watched closely for an answer to his prayer.
Verse 4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
David expresses the character of God. He is perfect in every way and He hates sin.
Application: To be Christ like, we have to be perfect in God’s eyes and hate sin. That does not mean we don’t make mistakes. We have to acknowledge mistakes and ask God for forgiveness. It means we walk in the Spirit of Christ and avoid sin. We learn to think like the LORD and not like the world.
Verse 5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
The foolish are defined in the KJV as those who say there is no God and who refuse to humble themselves and seek His presence in their lives. They are not necessarily of low intelligence, in fact foolish people can be very intelligent. They are foolish because they are proud and reject God. Notice that the psalmist states that God hates. Since most mainstream organized evangelical establishment churches tend to teach only the love of God, it may be difficult for Christian believers to understand and accept that although God/Jesus is loving, He has very negative attitudes and emotions towards sin and the people who commit sin. The Hebrew word translated as “hate” is “sane” and it does mean to hate. And the psalmist also states that the hate is directed toward ALL workers of iniquity or people who are wicked.
Application: The church establishment of today preaches the love of God and often fails to preach the entire character of Him as revealed in the Bible. God also hates certain things. This verse says He hates all workers of iniquity. That means He hates the people that are involved in sin and unrighteousness. If you have been told that “God hates the sin and loves the sinner,” you have been lied to. This verse and many other passages in Scripture teach the opposite. God is perfect. He created a perfect world and put man in it to enjoy His perfection. Man chose to rebel and sin. That ruined God’s creation. He cannot be happy or love people that deliberately choose to rebel against Him and His authority. God provided a way to get right with Him through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Those who refuse to accept this gift are destined for judgement and eternal damnation and cannot be loved by a perfect God.
Verse 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
The Hebrew word translated as “leasing” is “kazab” and it means a lie, untruth, falsehood or deceptive thing. So according to this verse, those people who lie and who are deceptive will be destroyed. Why? Because they lead others astray and away from the truth of the Gospel. “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” Ephesians 5:6 They are serving their father the Devil. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44
Verse 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.
Application: Before the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ, the Temple system was in place for the worship of God. Today, because of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit, a temple or building and a priest is no longer necessary and all Christian believers have direct access to the very throne room of God.
Verse 8-9 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.
King David had many enemies starting with Satan, members of his own family, and men in his cabinet and military. His reign, although lengthy and successful, was accompanied by enemies dissatisfied with his leadership. So many of the Psalms written by King David are prayers to the LORD to deal with his enemies. The verses above are examples of this. King David wanted to remain righteous and blameless before God when confronted by his enemies. It would have been easy for him to send out his fighting men to kill all those who opposed him, but he wanted to do the right thing and follow the leading of the LORD. In essence, God was the commander and chief in the government of King David. “Their throat is an open sepulchre” is metaphor describing people who use their tongue and mouth to spew forth misinformation and harmful speech that doesn’t encourage joy and life but that harms and causes spiritual death.
Verse 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.
The Hebrew word translated as “destroy” is “asham” and it means to be held guilty, to suffer punishment, or to be desolate. The Hebrew word translated as “fall” is “naphal” and it means to fall, be cast down or to fail, to fall of violent death, to prostrate oneself, or to fall into the hand of someone. The Hebrew word translated as “counsels” is “mowetsah” and it means counsel, plan or device. King David did not feel it was inappropriate or unloving or, as said today, un-Christian to pray for wicked people to be removed by God using the plans or devices these wicked people use against others to harm, take advantage of, or to kill. Why? Because these wicked people had/are sinned/sinning against God. King David was asking God for judgement against his enemies and for the appropriate sentence to be carried out as punishment for their rebellion against him, the LORD’s servant, and against Him, God Almighty.
Verses 11-12 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.
Application: It is very easy to become affected by the bad news being broadcast every day and by the dismal condition of the Earth and mankind. Depression and anxiety is the state of being of many people in the world today. But the Christian believer can avoid these negative things by remembering that the LORD God is defending each believer and is a shield against the “fiery darts of the wicked”. By being joyful because of being a child of the King, Satan and the other devils get irritated and move on to other people who do not have the protection of the LORD. Satan doesn not want to hear praise, worship and thanksgiving offered up to God by His people. So perhaps it is time for the children of God to ignore the bad stuff and dwell on the good stuff, and find joy in their lives through faith in the LORD Jesus Christ.