◄ Psalm 5:3 ►
In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.
Study Bible
In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;
This phrase emphasizes the importance of starting the day with prayer, a practice seen throughout Scripture. Morning prayer is a recurring theme, as seen in the lives of biblical figures like Abraham (Genesis 19:27) and Jesus (Mark 1:35). The morning symbolizes new beginnings and the renewal of God's mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). The psalmist's assurance that God hears his voice reflects a personal relationship with God, highlighting His attentiveness and faithfulness.

at daybreak I lay my plea before You
The act of laying a plea before God suggests a deliberate and thoughtful approach to prayer, akin to presenting a case before a judge. This reflects the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel, where petitions were often made to kings or judges. The psalmist's plea is not just a request but an act of worship and submission, acknowledging God's sovereignty and justice. This mirrors the practice of presenting offerings at the temple, a central aspect of Israelite worship.

and wait in expectation.
Waiting in expectation denotes faith and trust in God's response. This reflects a deep-seated belief in God's providence and timing, as seen in other scriptures like Isaiah 40:31, which speaks of those who wait on the Lord renewing their strength. The expectation is not passive but active, involving hope and confidence in God's promises. This anticipatory waiting can be seen as a type of Christ, who perfectly exemplified trust in the Father, especially in His prayers and during His time of trial (Matthew 26:39).

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The author of Psalm 5, David was the second king of Israel and a man after God's own heart. He often expressed his reliance on God through prayer and worship.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal presence and faithfulness to His people.

3. Morning/Daybreak
The time of day when David chooses to pray, symbolizing a fresh start and the importance of beginning the day with God.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Morning Prayer
Starting the day with prayer sets the tone for a God-centered day. It aligns our hearts with His will and prepares us for the challenges ahead.

Expectation in Prayer
David not only prays but waits in expectation. This teaches us to trust that God hears us and will respond according to His perfect will.

Consistency in Communication with God
Regular prayer, especially in the morning, fosters a deeper relationship with God and helps us remain steadfast in our faith.

Laying Our Pleas Before God
We are encouraged to bring our requests and concerns to God, trusting in His wisdom and timing.

The Role of Faith in Prayer
Waiting in expectation requires faith. We must believe that God is attentive to our prayers and will act in His perfect timing.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does starting your day with prayer impact your relationship with God and your daily life?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a heart of expectation when you pray, as David did?

3. How can the practice of morning prayer help you deal with the challenges and decisions you face throughout the day?

4. What other biblical examples can you find of individuals who prioritized prayer, and what can you learn from their practices?

5. How does understanding the original Hebrew context of "waiting in expectation" deepen your understanding of this verse and its application to your life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 55:17
This verse highlights the practice of praying at different times of the day, reinforcing the idea of consistent communication with God.

Lamentations 3:22-23
These verses speak of God's mercies being new every morning, connecting to the theme of morning prayer and expectation of God's faithfulness.

Mark 1:35
Jesus Himself prayed early in the morning, setting an example for believers to seek God at the start of the day.
Sermons
How Go Begin Every Day with GodMatthew Henry.Psalm 5:3
Morning DevotionW. G. Barrett.Psalm 5:3
Morning PrayerHomilistPsalm 5:3
Morning PrayerJames Hamilton.Psalm 5:3
The Protective Power of PrayerJames Hamilton.Psalm 5:3
The Upward LookThomas G. Selby.Psalm 5:3
Prayer for Deliverance from Wicked MenC. Short Psalm 5:1-7
A Morning PrayerW. Forsyth Psalm 5:1-12
A Morning Prayer: for Sanctuary Service: in Evil TimesC. Clemance Psalm 5:1-12
David's State of Mind in Relation to God and SocietyHomilistPsalm 5:1-12
Prayer to GodThomas Wilcocks.Psalm 5:1-12
The Inward and Outward Sides of the Divine LifeA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
The Oratory GateMarvin R. Vincent, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
The Poverty of Speech in PrayerPsalm 5:1-12
The Prayerful and UnprayerfulF. B. Meyer, B. A.Psalm 5:1-12
The Unspoken Part of PrayerB. Gregory, D. D.Psalm 5:1-12
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Address, Array, Direct, Eagerly, Expectantly, Expectation, Forward, Hearest, Lay, Morning, Myself, O, Order, Prayer, Prepare, Requests, Sacrifice, Voice, Wait, Watch
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 5:3

     4954   morning
     5196   voice
     5873   habits
     8618   prayerfulness
     8620   prayer, practicalities
     8636   asking
     8678   waiting on God

Psalm 5:1-3

     8610   prayer, asking God

Library
A Staircase of Three Steps
'All those that put their trust in Thee ... them also that love Thy name ... the righteous.'--PSALM v. 11, 12. I have ventured to isolate these three clauses from their context, because, if taken in their sequence, they are very significant of the true path by which men draw nigh to God and become righteous. They are all three designations of the same people, but regarded under different aspects and at different stages. There is a distinct order in them, and whether the Psalmist was fully conscious …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Morning Hymn.
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord."--Psalm 5:3. "Morgen glanz der Ewigkeit." [35]Knov. von Rosenroth. transl., Jane Borthwick, 1855 Jesus, Sun of righteousness, Brightest beam of Love Divine, With the early morning rays Do Thou on our darkness shine, And dispel with purest light All our night! As on drooping herb and flower Falls the soft refreshing dew, Let Thy Spirit's grace and power All our weary souls renew; Sbowers of blessing over all Softly fall! Like the sun's reviving …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Morning Hymns
Morning Hymns. [2] My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3 …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

Moreover what is Written "Thou Wilt Destroy all that Speak Leasing...
35. Moreover what is written "Thou wilt destroy all that speak leasing:" [2360] one saith that no lie is here excepted, but all condemned. Another saith: Yea verily: but they who speak leasing from the heart, as we disputed above; for that man speaketh truth in his heart, who hateth the necessity of lying, which he understands as a penalty of the moral life. Another saith: All indeed will God destroy who speak leasing, but not all leasing: for there is some leasing which the Prophet was at that time …
St. Augustine—On Lying

But if no Authority for Lying Can be Alleged...
9. But if no authority for lying can be alleged, neither from the ancient Books, be it because that is not a lie which is received to have been done or said in a figurative sense, or be it because good men are not challenged to imitate that which in bad men, beginning to amend, is praised in comparison with the worse; nor yet from the books of the New Testament, because Peter's correction rather than his simulation, even as his tears rather than his denial, is what we must imitate: then, as to those …
St. Augustine—On Lying

A Great Deal for Me to Read Hast Thou Sent...
1. A great deal for me to read hast thou sent, my dearest brother Consentius: a great deal for me to read: to the which while I am preparing an answer, and am drawn off first by one, then by another, more urgent occupation, the year has measured out its course, and has thrust me into such straits, that I must answer in what sort I may, lest the time for sailing being now favorable, and the bearer desirous to return, I should too long detain him. Having therefore unrolled and read through all that …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

On the Other Hand, those who Say that we must Never Lie...
6. On the other hand, those who say that we must never lie, plead much more strongly, using first the Divine authority, because in the very Decalogue it is written "Thou shall not bear false witness;" [2306] under which general term it comprises all lying: for whoso utters any thing bears witness to his own mind. But lest any should contend that not every lie is to be called false witness, what will he say to that which is written, "The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul:" [2307] and lest any should …
St. Augustine—On Lying

What Then, if a Homicide Seek Refuge with a Christian...
22. What then, if a homicide seek refuge with a Christian, or if he see where the homicide have taken refuge, and be questioned of this matter by him who seeks, in order to bring to punishment a man, the slayer of man? Is he to tell a lie? For how does he not hide a sin by lying, when he for whom he lies has been guilty of a heinous sin? Or is it because he is not questioned concerning his sin, but about the place where he is concealed? So then to lie in order to hide a person's sin is evil; but …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Since the Case is So, what is Man...
19. Since the case is so, what is man, while in this life he uses his own proper will, ere he choose and love God, but unrighteous and ungodly? "What," I say, "is man," a creature going astray from the Creator, unless his Creator "be mindful of him," [2683] and choose [2684] him freely, and love [2685] him freely? Because he is himself not able to choose or love, unless being first chosen and loved he be healed, because by choosing blindness he perceiveth not, and by loving laziness is soon wearied. …
St. Augustine—On Patience

Second Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Brotherly Love.
Text: 1 John 3, 13-18. 13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Question of the Division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative
I. May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Augustine, De Consensu Evangelistarum, I., iv. 8 " Tractatus, cxxiv. 5, in Joannem II. Is this division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative a sufficient one? S. Augustine, Of the Trinity, I., viii. 17 I May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Gregory the Great says[291]: "There are two kinds of lives in which Almighty God instructs us by His Sacred Word--namely, the active and …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Covenanting a Duty.
The exercise of Covenanting with God is enjoined by Him as the Supreme Moral Governor of all. That his Covenant should be acceded to, by men in every age and condition, is ordained as a law, sanctioned by his high authority,--recorded in his law of perpetual moral obligation on men, as a statute decreed by him, and in virtue of his underived sovereignty, promulgated by his command. "He hath commanded his covenant for ever."[171] The exercise is inculcated according to the will of God, as King and …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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