John Calvin Commentary Psalms 5:7

"But as for me, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house: In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." — Psalms 5:7 (ASV)

Some think that the word and, by which this sentence is joined to the preceding, is used for 'but'; as if David, comparing himself with the ungodly, declared and assured himself that God would be merciful to him, while He abhorred and would destroy the wicked. But I leave it to my readers to judge whether it does not suit the passage better to consider this verse as an inference from what goes before, which might be put in this form: “O Lord, you cannot bear with the wicked; when, therefore, I am saved out of their hands by your power, I will come to present myself before you in your temple, to give you thanks for the deliverance which you have granted to me.” If the former interpretation is preferred, then the prophet, by simply commending his own piety towards God, separates himself from the class of whom he spoke.

The scope of the passage leads us to understand him as promising to give thanks to God. He had previously spoken of his enemies as hated by God; and now, being persuaded that God will keep him in safety, he calls himself to the exercise of gratitude. I will come into your temples, he says, in the multitude of your mercy; as if he had said, I may now seem to be in an almost desperate condition, but by the favor of God, I will be kept in perfect safety.

This passage, therefore, teaches us that when we are afflicted by the most distressing temptations, we should set the grace of God before our eyes, in order to be supported with the hope of divine intervention in the midst of the greatest dangers. Further, as our carnal minds either wickedly undervalue the grace of God or assign it the low value that the world commonly does, let us learn to extol its wonderful greatness, which is sufficient to enable us to overcome all fears.

David's primary objective was to encourage himself in the assured hope of preservation through the mercy of God. At the same time, he shows that upon obtaining deliverance, he will be grateful to God for it and keep it in remembrance. And since hypocrites, in giving thanks to God, do nothing but profane His name, because they themselves are unholy and polluted, he therefore resolves to come in the fear of God, in order to worship Him with a sincere and upright heart.

Again, we may draw from this the general truth that it is only through the goodness of God that we have access to Him, and that no one prays rightly except the one who, having experienced His grace, believes and is fully persuaded that He will be merciful to him. The fear of God is at the same time added to distinguish genuine and godly trust from the vain confidence of the flesh.