Today's psalm, Psalm 4, is a psalm of confidence. And what this means, is that this is a psalm that God has given to his people for when life is hard. It's designed to help you pray to God, and give voice to your problems. But the other thing that psalms of confidence are designed to do, is move you, when you pray them. Psalms, in general, are designed to leave you in a different place after praying them than when you started. You come out of them feeling differently about God, and the world, and yourself. The reason this psalm is called a "psalm of confidence" is because this is a psalm that's designed to give you a boost of confidence. Not in yourself, but in your God.
Verse 1 (in Hebrew) is the heading (following Hebrew numbering, sorry):
(1) Of/For the leader/director with stringed instruments. A psalm of/for David.
This heading doesn't necessarily mean that David wrote the psalm. The preposition "of/for" can mean this. But it could also mean that the psalm was written for David, or for David's collection. We simply don't know.
So when we read Psalm 4-- or another other psalm-- it would be a mistake to dig through David's life and try to come up with a historical context for when it was written. (1) We can't even be sure David wrote it. (2) It's inspiration doesn't depend on who wrote it. (3) The psalms came to be used in Israel's wider worship, and were used by everyone. In the psalms, it's the text that matters, and not the author.
In verse 2, the psalmist opens his prayer with a call to God, to get his attention (an "invocation"). Many psalms start this way-- they have a brief description of trouble, and an opening call to God. These openings are designed to get God's attention. It's like we are waving our hands over our heads, looking up to the heavens, and saying, "God! Hear me! See me! Help me!"
Verse 2:
(2) When I call, answer me, my righteous God.
In the tight/narrow place, make space for me.
Be gracious to me,
and hear my prayer.
When we find ourselves facing difficulties, what do we need? What we need, is for God to answer us when we call to him. We need God to hear us when we pray. There are times in life where God seems very far from us. We pray on our beds, or wherever, and it feels like our prayers bounce off the walls. They don't make it all the way to God. God doesn't hear them.
Now, sometimes we feel this way, and we know, objectively, that this is true. We are living wickedly toward God, and God is hiding his face from us. Deuteronomy 31:15-18:
15 Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent. 16 And the LORD said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’ 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
If we are living in unrepentant sin, seeking other gods, we shouldn't assume that God listens to us when we ask him for help. It may be, objectively, that He has shut his eyes to us, and closed his ears, until we repent.
But at other times, we know we have been living rightly toward God. We have been loyally serving God. We have been keeping our half of the covenant. That's where this psalmist is. And so what he wants, and needs, is very simple. "When I call, answer me, my righteous God."
Now, when the psalmist says, "my righteous God," what does this mean? We tend to think of "righteousness" in terms of a legal standard. It's like a ruler we have to measure up to. But "righteousness," in both the OT and NT, is a relational word. To be righteous is to act rightly toward someone within an existing relationship (Genesis 38:26; 1 Samuel 24:17). And so when the psalmist calls God, "my righteous God," the psalmist is affirming his confidence that his God-- our God-- is a God who acts rightly toward his people. God is faithful; God is committed to you. He can be trusted. He is the kind of God who, when you call to him, will answer.
I feel like I'm making a mess of verse 2, so let's reread it and then focus on the second line:
(2) When I call, answer me, my righteous God.
In the tight/narrow place, make space for me.
Be gracious to me,
and hear my prayer.
When we find ourselves in difficulty, we often talk about it in terms of pressure, right? We feel constricted. We feel hemmed in, surrounded. We feel this weight pressing down on us. When we are in a tight place, what we need is for God to make us a space. We need God to give us some relief-- some breathing room. So this is a psalm for people who need God's help.
In verses 3-6, the psalmist then turns to address the people who are oppressing him. We shouldn't assume that they are in the temple, or that they are actually hearing the psalmist's words. But the psalmist is imaginatively speaking to them, as though they are present. These are the words his oppressors need to hear and understand. I'll read through these verses, and then unpack them:
(3) Humans, how long will my honor be as shame,?
will you love empty things?,
will you seek lies? Selah.
(4) but know that Yahweh has set apart the loyal ones for himself.
Yahweh hears when I cry out to him.
(5) Be agitated/restless,
and don't sin.
Speak in your hearts on your beds,
and be silent. Selah.
(6) Offer righteous sacrifices,
and trust in Yahweh.
Verse 3:
(3) Human sons, how long will my honor be as shame?,
will you love empty things?,
will you seek lies? Selah.
The psalmist begins his challenge to his oppressors by highlighting their human nature. His foes are not elohim/gods. They are just mortals, with all of mortals' limitations. The psalmist challenges them with 3 questions, and these questions together show that the issue here is one of honor and reputation. The psalmist is surrounded by people who are trashing his name. They are spreading lies; they are bringing him to a place of shame.
There are times in your life, when you know you are being talked about. You know your name is being whispered when your back is turned. You know people are criticizing you. You know people are being unfair toward you. You aren't being given any benefit of the doubt. Your reputation is being steadily trashed.
And there is nothing you can do about. You're helpless.
In verse 3, the psalmist challenges the ones spreading these lies. "Mere humans, how long are you planning to do this to me?" How long until you get tired of spreading these lies? How long until you stop loving empty things?
Verse 4:
(4) but know, that Yahweh has set apart the loyal ones for himself.
Yahweh hears when I cry out to him.
Some people think that God loves everyone equally, and treats everyone equally. And that's just wrong. People who think this about God, usually assume that God doesn't actually do anything.
The truth is that God has two groups of people. If you are committed to God, and have given him your loyalty, God has set you apart for himself. You are his holy/dedicated ones. And part of what this means, is that God hears you when you cry out to him.
So the psalmist says, "Know this. Know that I'm part of God's favored group. God hears me when I cry out to him-- and I'm crying out to him about you."
So what should you do, if you are the psalmist's enemies? Starting in verse 5, the psalmist gives them some free advice:
(5) Be agitated/restless,
and don't sin.
Speak in your hearts on your beds,
and be silent. Selah.
(6) Offer righteous sacrifices,
and trust in Yahweh.
The psalmist says, "It's fine if I bother you. You want to be upset with me, or think terrible thoughts about me? Sure. Go ahead. But in your agitation, don't sin. Think your evil thoughts in the privacy of your own home, on your beds where no one can see you. But don't give voice to them.
Instead, live rightly toward God-- offer him the sacrifices he desires. And do so, living rightly toward God yourself (Psalm 50). Place your trust in him."
Verse 7:
(7) Many are saying,
"Who will show us good?"
Lift up over us the light of your face, Yahweh.
The psalmist is not alone in his difficulty. Many are wondering, "Who will show us good?" Many are looking around, wondering who will help. But the psalmist looks up. And he partially quotes the blessing of Aaron that's found in Numbers 6:24-26:
"May Yahweh bless you,
and may He keep you;
May Yahweh make his face shine on you,
and may He show favor to you;
May Yahweh lift his face to you,
and may He give to you peace."
If God is looking at you from heaven, paying attention to you, you will be blessed. When life is hard, all we really need is to make sure God sees us, and hears us. God is faithful; God is righteous. If He sees what is happening to us, we can have confidence that everything will turn out okay.
This kind of thinking is hard for us, right? We think of God as all-knowing, and all-seeing. We would never think to pray like this. We assume, instead, that God already knows and sees what's going on.
Maybe, God's seeing and knowing is more dynamic than we think. Maybe, our prayers draw God's attention to us, in a way it wasn't there before. Our theology sounds very orthodox, and very safe. But it's not particularly biblical.
God encourages us to view Him, and our situation, differently.
Let's turn to Exodus 1:23-24:
(23) And then, during those many days, the king of Egypt died,
and the sons of Israel groaned from their work,
and they cried out,
and their cry for help went up to (the) God from their work,
(24) and God heard their groaning,
and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,
(25) and God saw the sons of Israel,
and God noticed/knew/paid attention to/cared for.
When did God decide to help them? When did God see the suffering of the Israelites? When did God "know," or "pay attention to" them? After they cried out to God. So if you find yourself in distress, don't take comfort in the fact that God sees you. Don't assume that God already knows, so you don't need to cry out to him. Call to your righteous God, so that he hears you. Call to him, so that he sees you, and has compassion on you.
And if your life is falling apart, and you haven't cried out to God, don't blame God. Don't assume that the problem is on his end, or that He is responsible for what's happening to you.
Verse 8:
(8) You have placed joy in my heart,
at the time of their grains,
and [when] their wine has abounded.
The people oppressing the psalmist are doing great. They are prospering, with plenty of grain and wine. And the psalmist, apparently, is not. But despite this, the psalmist is filled with joy. Why? Because God has put joy in his heart. Joy is not a matter of trying to have a good attitude, or putting on a brave face. Joy is something God gives to people when they live rightly toward him. If we were going to frame this in light of the NT, we'd say something like this: one of the results of walking in step with the Holy Spirit, is that we have joy. Joy is one of the fruits of a Spirit-led life (Galatians 5:22).
Verse 9:
(9) In peace/security I shall both lie down and sleep,
for you, Yahweh, alone, make me dwell with confidence.
Lots of people struggle to fall asleep at night. They get ready for bed, lie down, and just stare at the ceiling. They know that this world is filled with things to worry about. There's a lot of reasons to fear the future.
Objectively, the psalmist has plenty to worry about. It would be understandable if the psalmist couldn't sleep. We'd sympathize with him, if he looked like a new mom, up all night with a fussy baby.
But the psalmist sleeps great. When he lies down at night, he's out like a light. He doesn't toss and turn on his bed, filled with anxiety, worrying about whether all of this will turn out okay for him. The psalmist knows that when he calls to God, God answers. God has seen him. God has heard him. And things will turn out okay for him.
And how can the psalmist possibly know this? He knows this by faith. He knows that God acts rightly toward you, his loyal ones. God is faithful. God can be trusted.
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When you find yourself in distress in life, what do you do? Do you look around, wondering who will show you good and help you?
Or do you look up to God, and call out to Him for help?
Many of us naturally tend to look to others for help, or just rely on ourselves. But when you do that, you are making life much harder for yourself than it needs to be. God is very good at helping people. And God would like to do more to help you than He already is. But God answers people, when they call him. You have not, because you ask not (James 4:2). You are the limiting factor, not God.
So when you find yourself in distress, cry out to God. Know that God has set apart his loyal ones for himself. Know that God answers you when you call. Know that God acts rightly toward his people.
Have confidence in God. Have confidence, that God answers when you call.
Translation:
(1) For the choir director with stringed instruments. A psalm of/for David.
(2) When I call, answer me, my righteous God.
In the tight/narrow place, make space for me.
Be gracious to me,
and hear my prayer.
(3) Human sons , how long will my honor be as shame,?
will you love emptiness?,
will you seek lies? Selah.
(4) but know , that Yahweh has set apart the loyal ones for himself.
Yahweh hears when I cry out to him.
(5) Be agitated/restless,
and don't sin.
Speak in your hearts on your beds,
and be silent. Selah.
(6) Offer righteous sacrifices,
and trust in Yahweh.
(7) Many are saying,
"Who will show us good?"
Lift up over us the light of your face, Yahweh.
(8) You have placed joy in my heart,
at the time of their grains,
and [that] their wine has abounded.
(9) In peace/security I shall both lie down and sleep,
for you, Yahweh, alone, make me dwell with confidence.
