Psalm 4, An Evening Song

Psalms 4 and 5 form a pair, an evening song and then a morning song.  These fit together, modeling the Hebrew concept of the "day" beginning with evening.  In Psalm 4 we begin our evening with request and concerns, transitioning into trust and then in Psalm 5 we enter the morning in the same way.

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

"For stringed instruments" is based on a Hebrew word which might be translated "melodies" and might allude to "plucking" an instrument.  (The exact instrument is not clear but I'm certain an accurate translation should be "for the electric Gibson guitar." The instrument is certainly not an old church piano....  But then I'm not a Hebrew scholar.)

Psalm 4: 1-2, Relief, please!

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. 

Give me relief from my distress; 

be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

  

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?  

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?  

Selah.

David calls on God, describing God as righteous and asks for mercy and aid.  Briefly there is an aside to the public, pleading for his personal prestige (glory) to be respected and not be tainted and shamed.  (This may coincide with the time of the previous psalm, where if David is fleeing Absalom, he has endured a political campaign against his character.) 

In verse 2 David accuses mankind of seeking delusions and going after false gods.  Replace "false gods" with idols, obsession, greed ... and he would be describing any age.  (See Tim Keller's book on modern false gods.)  If the psalm dates to Absalom's coup, the "delusions" in verse 2 are the lies of Absalom.  

The passage which the NIV translates as "Give release to my distress", Alter translates  as "in the straits You set me free".

Psalm 4: 3-5, Set apart

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; 

the LORD will hear when I call to him.  

In your anger do not sin; 

when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 

Selah.

Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

David presses on -- if the public will not defend him, if the people "love delusions and seek false gods", then David will turn to God who defends the righteous and has "set apart the godly for himself."  (The parallelism in verse 3 implies that David is one of the "righteous" set apart by God.)

David begins the psalm with a request.  Years ago, I recall someone saying that prayer should begin with praise.  But David's psalms tend to break any model one attempts to enforce on religious worship.

Psalm 4: 6-7, Joy

Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" 

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.  

You have filled my heart with greater joy 

than when their grain and new wine abound.  

"Grain and new wine" speak to a good harvest and celebration.  But David's joy is in God.  Only because of God will David sleep peacefully.

Psalm 4: 8, Peace

I will lie down and sleep in peace, 

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

In verse 8, David finally has peace and sleep.  The last word of the psalm is "safety"; David is resting in safety.

Summary: This is an evening song to follow Psalm 3.  It is a call for help and a reminder of God's protection, as the evening turns dark and one attempts to lie down and sleep.

David is angry and upset.  Night is falling, inviting gloom and depression.  But David will trust God, lie down and be silent.  (In my experience, this is not an easy process!)

David's practice at night of lying quietly on his bed and searching his heart has long been practiced by believers over the ages.