Psalm 4

Psalm 4

A PSALM OF DAVID: AN EVENING PRAYER OF TRUST IN GOD

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: You have enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer (this Psalm was composed by David on the same occasion as Psalm 3, when Absalom rebelled; as David cried to the Lord, likewise, the Lord Jesus cried to God in the same manner when the Scribes and Pharisees, in the spirit of Absalom, came against Him).

2 O you sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame? how long will you love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. (Leasing means lying. The sins listed in this Verse are the reason that Absalom rebelled against his father; the Scribes and Pharisees rebelled against Christ; and all men rebel against God.)

3 But know that the LORD has set apart him who is Godly for Himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto Him (the Lord has set aside Christ as His very Own — made Him a special subject of Grace and Providence; He will do the same for all who properly follow Christ).

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. (This was perhaps addressed to David’s faithful followers, advising them to check their wrath [II Sam. 16:9; 18:5-15]. As well, when reviled, Jesus did not revile again [I Pet. 2:23].)

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD (in effect, Jesus is saying that He counsels the Pharisees to commune with their own hearts, to be silent in true conversion, and to offer righteous sacrifices and not vain oblations).

6 There be many who say, Who will show us any good? LORD, lift You up the light of Your Countenance upon us (men are always seeking for good while not actually knowing what their true good is; the true good is to have the light of God’s Countenance shining on us).

7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased (the greater Blessings are spiritual rather than material).

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for You, LORD, only make me dwell in safety (even in the face of acute trouble, David did, and the Lord likewise, lay down in perfect peace, and went immediately to sleep, for He was the Prince and Perfecter of Faith [Lk. 21:37; Heb. 12:2]).