As I read Psalm 4, I find myself trying to connect the dots. Whereas in Psalm 3 we are given the exact circumstances surrounding its composition, in Psalm 4 we are not privy to the details of the situation in which King David finds himself in this particular season of his life. We do know that he wrote this song for the choirmaster, with stringed instruments and that some Bible versions title it, “An Evening Prayer.” It’s actually the evening prayer designation that finally helped me to frame this psalm in a way that made sense in my own mind, but I’ll get back to that in a bit.
Here is all of Psalm 4 in the ESV:
1Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men,[a] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry,[b] and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
When our family moved in 2022, we felt like we were moving to our permanent home. So we bought a house with a tiny bit of money and lots of hopes and dreams, with the expectation that even though things would be difficult for a while we’d finally made it to a place where could settle in for the long haul. We had no idea that everything would steadily fall apart in nine short months. Illness. Humiliation. Job loss followed by prolonged unemployment. Overwhelming debt. Financial ruin. Then, in the wake of this state of affairs, my husband Harry found a job out of state.
In short, I can’t tell you what was happening in King David’s life, but I can tell you what’s happening in mine. For the last 18 months, I’ve been living in the house of hopes and dreams while my husband goes it alone nine hours away trying to dig us out of an impossible financial hole. We hope he can pave the way for our family to be reunited again soon, but in the meantime, I cannot count how many times I have cried out to God with these very words of Psalm 4:1:
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
I have cried and waited and fasted and begged for God to answer me with a solution to this deeply distressing situation I find myself in. So now, King David has my attention. I KNOW this starting point. Where will it lead?
David remembers all the times God has responded to his distress, and pleads with Him to hear him once again. “You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”
Life lesson #1: When you find yourself crying out to God in sorrow, remind yourself that He is trustworthy and that you are in good hands.
In the next few verses the focus of the psalm turns outward. Who is David addressing when he asks, “O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” Some think he could have again been referring to Absalom’s rebellion, and others think he is speaking more generally. Whatever the case, David is experiencing shame, dishonor, and the defamation of his character. If I were in David’s shoes I might be tempted to conclude (and have!): “Surely God has abandoned me! If he loved me he wouldn’t allow me to be treated this way!” But instead, David confidently asserts, “3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.”
Life lesson #2: When God hears your cries He might not respond with the solution you want, instead He sets you apart for Himself.
That’ll preach right there! Instead of giving us what we think we want, He chooses to give us what we didn’t know we needed- Himself. I confess that I have longed for solutions and begged for results far more often than I have turned to Him for the comfort of His presence–where, Psalm 16:11 reminds us, there is fullness of joy.
I have to say that the next part of the psalm makes more sense to me now. We naturally respond to unjust situations with petty retaliation and a desire for revenge, but here David reminds us, “4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.” It’s interesting that anger isn’t the problem, it’s what we do with it that gets us into trouble. King David wisely suggests, “ponder in your heart, and be silent.” And then he takes it a step further and says we need to “make right sacrifices,” (referring to the sacrifices the people of Israel would have offered in order to be in right standing with God), and then put your trust in the Lord. It’s in the midst of our anger and frustration that David suggests we lay down our compulsion for vengeance and quietly put our trust in God.
At this point in Psalm 4, King David mentions that there are many who are looking for a good and gracious person to show favor and kindness to them: “6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?” He immediately answers the question with his own testimony. “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord! 7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
This Psalm is such a beautiful picture of David’s trust in God. In spite of his distress, feelings of desperation, unmerited dishonor, and righteous anger, nothing kept him from expectantly declaring his faith in a trustworthy God. Here is a God who answers our cries, who meets us in the darkest moments, and even sets us apart for Himself!
At the end of the day, when I’m replaying the heartaches, struggles and frustrations of my life, I can turn to this evening prayer and discover that God is waiting to listen to my cries for help, to carry my aching burdens, and comfort my deepest sorrows. I may not have solutions; I may not have the answers I want, but the deepest and most profound peace is available to me when I trust the Lord with my life. And that brings us to the final verse:
“8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
I am so grateful for God’s loving care for us! I hope and pray that you experience His peace and trust in the moments that matter.
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Beautiful Balance 