Psalm 4

David warns his enemies not to wrong him, because God has him in protective care.

 


 

A WARNING FOR ENEMIES

(For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David.)

 

VERSE 1. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

Answer me when I call, God. This assumes the LORD God might not listen.

Give me relief from my distress. This is in the perfect tense. God had given David relief in the midst of his distress.

 

VERSE 2. You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.

how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? David might have had Absalom in mind. Absalom was attempting to tarnish David’s reputation.

In the Philokalia, St. Isaiah the Solitary cites this verse.

 

VERSE 3. But know that the LORD has set apart for himself him who is godly: The LORD will hear when I call to him.

godly. The Hebrew word is khaseed. It means an object of God’s covenantal loyal love.

has set apart for himself. The LORD shows special favor to godly people.

 

VERSE 4. Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.

be still. The challenge for a child of God is to BE STILL.

Our activity-prone culture prods us to keep going all the time. But throughout the pages of the Bible, God calls us to BE STILL.

Can you spend some time each day, sitting still in the presence of the LORD God?

 

VERSE 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in the LORD.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. If people trust in the LORD God, the next step is to offer the proper sacrifices.

 

VERSE 6. Many say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, let the light of your face shine on us.

 

VERSE 7. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.

gladness in my heart. In the LORD God, David experienced joy and contentment.

 

VERSE 8. In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, the LORD alone, make me live in safety.

live in safety. When we are with God, we can dwell in safety.

 


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PSALMS

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 1617, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 3435, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 5253, 5455, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 7071, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 888990, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104105, 106, 107108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148149, 150

Deuterocanonical chapter: 151

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, MemorizeDavid’s Fasting

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.