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Psalm 4 For the director of music. With stringed instruments A psalm of David.
1Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
2How long, O men, will you turn My glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Selah
3Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
4In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent Selah
5Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord 6Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of Your face shine upon us, O Lord.
7You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. 8I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
In this Psalm, David seeks hope for the future by turning to God in prayer. As prayer should be, this prayer is a dialogue between the one who is praying (David) and God. Also, as often happens in prayer, the one praying was initially distressed, but, through prayer, acquired God’s peace. From the inscription, we learn that David wrote this psalm for “the director of music”. David understood the importance of music in the worship of God, as evidenced by the many psalms of music that he wrote. Music enables us to express praise and worship to God that mere words cannot convey. The goodness of God often transcends our vocabulary; the depth of His mercy cannot be described. Yet our worship through music can involve our whole body and being, so that our worship reaches beyond the words we speak. What a thrill it would be to hear the inspired music that David wrote to accompany his psalms. I am sure his music would serve to interpret his psalms better than the most exhaustive scholarly commentary.
David’s Plea
1Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
In this verse, David, in his seemingly hopeless situation, states his plea. He cries out for God to answer his prayer in his time of need. We are fortunate that David faced many trials, because, through them, he wrote many Psalms that bring us encouragement, comfort and instruction in our time of trouble. David turned to God in his time of distress. We face trials and troubles of many kinds, but there is only one God who can give us comfort and relief through them all. David addressed the Lord as his “righteous God”. It was, most certainly, the ungodly who caused David so much distress. So here, David is asking of God something that is consistent with His nature: to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. As David pointed out in Psalm 1: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6). We are always on safe ground asking God something that is consistent with His nature. On the other hand, it is an affront to come to God for any request that is not a righteous request. Such a request cannot be answered; it is contrary to God’s nature to answer such a request. David’s specific request is for “relief from [his] distress”. David realized that for a righteous God to answer his prayer would be an act of mercy, so he asks, in the same breath, for God to “be merciful”. Indeed, all of us need God’s mercy: the rich and the poor, the proud and the humble, the best and the worst. David then ended his request by saying “hear my prayer”. David did not say this because he thought that there was a chance that God would not be aware of his prayer, or that God would be asleep, or some such thing. God literally hears all prayers. But David wanted more than God to be just aware of his prayer. David wanted positive feedback concerning his prayer, observable evidence in response to the prayer, preferably in the form of deliverance from his distress. We all desire concrete, tangible proof that our prayers have been heard. Moreover, we desire that the result of the answered prayer be exactly as we have asked, as if we know the best way to resolve the situation. And when the answer to the prayer does not come about exactly as we had desired, we lose faith and wonder: “Did God really hear my prayer?” But God is not fickle. If He hears one prayer, He hears them all. Whatever the resolution, His will is done. In prayer, rather than attempt to persuade God that we know exactly how to resolve the situation, we should seek to discover and to be content with God’s perfect resolution of the situation.
God’s Response
2How long, O men, will you turn My glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Selah 3Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. 4In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent Selah
Here, God responds to David’s cry by stating the problem, in general, with man. Man turns the “glory” of God into “shame”; man “loves delusions and seeks false gods”. Man’s sin is the primary reason that the prayers of men are not heard: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:2) and “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps. 66:18). Man’s chief sin is the rejection of Christ and the rejection of Christ is the chief manner in which man turns God’s glory into shame. The question posed is “How long?” The posing of the question, in itself, demonstrates God’s long-suffering and forbearance. God could righteously judge us immediately but, instead, He asks “How long?” in order to give man a chance to repent so that He can save him. The answer to the question “How long?” is each man’s choice. Each man can choose to repent in his lifetime and turn to God by accepting the forgiveness of sin available through Jesus Christ and, in doing so, receive the benefit of God’s forbearance, which is eternal life; or he can choose not to repent and, in doing so, reject God’s long-suffering mercy, a decision which has eternal consequences in hell. Instead of accepting Christ, men “love delusions”. They reject Christ and seek happiness and fulfillment in the things of this perishing world. They continually deceive themselves. Men from all stages and walks of life strive after things that they believe will lead to a happy and fulfilled life. “The young expect to find it when grown up and their own masters. Parents, when their children are settled and provided for. The merchant, when wealth is acquired and independence secured. The laborer, when his day’s or week’s toil is ended. The ambitious, in gaining power and reputation. The covetous, in gaining money to supply all his wants. The lover of pleasure in earthly enjoyment. The sick, in health. The student, in gaining knowledge. The self-righteous, [in their own righteousness].”[Bickersteth, in Plumer, 75]] The result of “loving delusions” is, invariably, to “seek false gods”. Men are not content merely to reject the true and living God; they must put their hope for salvation in idols. They develop a philosophy of life that reflects their own carnal desires and serves to further their pursuit of these desires. They erect gods in their lives to worship, icons for the ruling philosophies of their lives: the god of money for the philosophy “he who dies with the most toys wins”; the god of pleasure for “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”; the god of self for “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul”. However, as God attests of Himself: “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you” (Isa. 43:10-11). Despite the rebellion of man in general, God has specifically “set apart the godly for himself” (vs. 3). Note that it is “the Lord” who sets the Godly apart, not the Godly who set themselves apart. Try as we may, we cannot, by our own will, sanctify ourselves. Peter describes those who have been “set apart” as ones “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:2). This passage details who is involved in our being “set apart”: not us, but the three persons of the Trinity. Note also that the Lord sets them apart “for Himself”. We are chosen and set apart to serve the Lord. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:9). Our being chosen by God should result in our doing His work. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?” (James 2:14). Our being chosen should result in a changed life, living for God rather than ourselves. Can the world tell by your behavior that you are chosen by God? The Godly are set apart in many ways: they have accepted Christ; they are born of God; they are justified in God’s eyes; they are under God’s protection; they are in His service; they are to be glorified; etc. What an honor that the God of the universe grants us such privileges! Our being set apart in so many ways is evidence of God’s love for us. Just as we set apart things that are precious to us, so the Lord sets apart His treasure. Since the Lord has set us apart, He certainly desires that we relate to Him through prayer; thus, to encourage this, “the Lord will hear when I call to him” (vs. 3). The advantage of the Godly is prayer. The Godly and the ungodly alike often have trials and troubles, but the Godly can turn to God in prayer and He will hear. The Lord here prescribes self-inspection as a means of getting right with Him, clearing the way for Him to answer our prayers. We should examine ourselves daily and “search our hearts”, discovering the sin we have committed, so that we may confess it to God and be cleansed.[see I John 1:9] As suggested in this verse, a good time to examine ourselves is as we lie on our beds in the evening. When we are furthest from the haze of the world, we can see more clearly to commune with God. Then, after we discover and confess our sins to Him, we can awake in the morning at peace with God, with a clear conscience and a cleansed heart, ready to face the day in service to Him. Indeed, any time of solitude is appropriate for self-examination. We would never be bored if we used our solitude for self-examination, repentance, confession and prayer. This work is never finished. “When ye have none to speak with, talk to yourselves. Ask yourselves for what end ye were made, what lives ye have led, what times ye have lost, what love ye have abused, what wrath ye have deserved.”[Swinnock, in Spurgeon, pg. 40] The result of self-examination, as pointed out here, is to “be silent” before God. We no longer say to God, “It is my right to be blessed! You promised it! You must answer my prayers!” but rather “Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner.”
Sacrifice and Trust, then Joy and Peace
5Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord 6Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. 7You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. 8I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
The response to the exhortation of self-examination is to “offer right sacrifices”. Searching our hearts makes us recognize our depravity before God, thus making us aware of the need atone for our sins by offering “right sacrifices” to the Lord. In the Old Testament times, atonement for sin came through the blood sacrifices prescribed in the Law. For us, Jesus’ death is the “right sacrifice” to make atonement for our sins; we need only to accept His sacrifice. In addition to offering “right sacrifices”, we are to “trust in the Lord”. We are to trust that the “right sacrifice” will indeed atone for our sins and amend our relationship to God. Many after accepting Christ and confessing their sins still feel that God may condemn them. We must “trust in the Lord” that the method He prescribed for atonement is sufficient. As Paul says: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1,2). Those who have not offered “right sacrifices”, realizing the depravity of man, are asking: “Who can show us any good?” (vs. 6). In this world, apart from God, we may find many riches, much fame, abundance of pleasure but not much good. How necessary it is that we make the plea: “Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord” (vs. 7). The evidence that this plea of David is answered is found in verse 7, where David says: “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound”. David was filled with the joy of the Lord; certainly the light of the Lord’s face was shining upon him. David realized that the pleasures of this world hold no comparison to the riches of the joys of the kingdom of God. The pleasures of this world are temporary; the joy of the Lord is eternal. The “grain” of the world satisfies for only a season, the Bread of Life, Jesus, satisfies for eternity. The “new wine” of the world brings happiness for an evening, the new wine of the Lord brings joy for eternity. In the end, given this joy, David slept “in peace”, recognizing God’s protection in making him “dwell in safety”. The child of God can indeed “sleep in peace”, and not let the cares of this world disturb them. Yes, the child of God does face trials, but the Lord says to him: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isa. 43:1-3). In summary, this Psalm can be viewed as a model of a new believer’s growth in the Lord. In verse 1, he cries out, desiring to be heard by God. Then, in verse 2, the Holy Spirit convicts him of sin. In verse 3, he realizes that one must be holy, set apart, to be one of God’s people. Next, in verse 4, through self-examination and confession of sin, he clears the way to atone for his sin. In verse 5, he accepts the right sacrifice, through Christ, and begins to trust in the Lord for his salvation. Finally, in the remaining verses, he experiences the light of the Lord, the joy of the Lord and the peace of the Lord.
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