Psalm 4

Some see Psalm 3 as a morning hymn (3:5, he has slept in peace) and Psalm 4 an evening hymn (4:8, he is about to sleep).  But the Psalms are also comparable in the words of David’s antagonists.  In 3:2 they say there is no help for him in God; in 4:6 they ask, ‘Who will show us good?’  A third connection between the two Psalms is that in 3:3 the LORD is “my glory”; in 4:2 he asks how long the sons of men will shame “my glory”.  Thus in one David assures himself and his enemies that God is his glory; God will honor David so as to honor Himself.  In the other David chides his enemies for continuing to shame the LORD, David’s glory, by their verbal arrows.  It is possible that the story of Absalom’s rebellion is the setting not only for Ps. 3 (see the heading) but also for Ps. 4.

David has 3 conversations in this Psalm.

I. A cry to God for mercy, v1.

II. A call to the sons of men to seek the LORD, v2-5.

III. A consultation with God for serenity, v6-8.

Verse-by-verse consider some thoughts.

·        v1: David prays to the “God of my righteousness.”  By this he means the same as when he refers to the “God of my salvation.”  God provides for and is the source of David’s righteousness.  David understood the idea of “imputation” (Psalm 31:1-2).  Certainly the godly in Israel understood from the story of Abraham that righteousness came from God (Gen. 15:6).  In the end God’s provision of righteousness would involve the Messiah, the “Branch” of David, who would be called “the LORD our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6; 33:11).  New Testament believers understand this, that Christ has become to us righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30).  “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

·        v2: Here is a “how long” cry of the Psalmist that is not directed at God but at the sons of men.  They shame God continually.  How do they (we) do this?  By our love of things that are worthless and the seeking of the lie!  Believers are to set their affection on Christ who is above (Col. 3:1-4), on eternal things that bring glory to God (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

·        v3: Here the Psalmist communes with his own soul as he speaks to those around him.  The words of assurance that the Lord will hear those He has set apart will calm David’s heart; but they also should encourage the sons of men to hear and respond properly to David’s next words.

·        v4-5: The writer exhorts the sons of men to come wholeheartedly to the LORD.   By wholehearted he means that they should first respect the LORD in a way that is fitting for who He is.  The term “angry” can be translated tremble or agitated.  The exhortation is to fear God.  Failure to understand the depth of our sin prevents us from genuinely putting our trust in the LORD, which is the second aspect to wholehearted seeking of God.  If we have not meditated on the matter of our guilt before the Creator we will likely harbor some thought that we have something of value in ourselves.  We may think we only need to trust God for the things we cannot do ourselves.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Bible’s description is of a humanity that is desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9), with none that do good or that seek God (Rom. 3:10-18).  With a proper understanding of sin we will then realize why coming to God in faith involves a sacrifice.  Before Christ the offering of sacrifices were a means by which people could express their faith in God and in the future provision of the Savior from sin.  Since Christ has paid in full the guilt-price of His life for ours, we now offer “sacrifices of righteousness” as a thanksgiving for what He has done!  In other words, it is still an expression of faith in Jesus Christ as the only pardon for sin.

·        v6-8:  David’s conference with God is an expression of faith in several ways.  First, in response to the desperation suggested by those around him (who will show us any good?  how can there ever be sense made out of this hard life?) David prays for what is promised in the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:24-26).  “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”  These are words God told the priests to use to bless Israel.  So David prayed for what God said He would do, in contradiction to those around who said no one could do what they needed!  Then David thanked God for the fact that He had already bless him with gladness of heart.  Thus David would be able to lie down in security; his trust was in the Lord. 

This is a great “evening prayer”, the kind of pillow talk that will make us fit to serve God in the coming day.  First, don’t go to bed with the discouragement of unbelief often expressed by those around us.  Instead think God’s word, God’s promises, and pray them back to Him.  Then give God thanks for the blessing of the day.  Don’t give in to the practice of glorifying our problems; consciously acknowledge God’s goodness in the day.  Then as your head hits the pillow, recognize that night is not to be feared; the LORD will enable you to dwell in safety.