There seems to be a connection between this psalm and the
previous one — like a follow-up of Psalm 3.
David appears to be in distress again and he expects an imminent relief
that can only be received from a merciful God — the “God of his righteousness,”
indicating that any righteousness we have comes only from God. Any righteousness not from God is
self-righteousness — a self-deception of the kind. David knows that because God has relieved his
distress in the past, He will do it again.
So he calls upon God’s grace to be heard in his prayer.
In verse 2,
it appears that people who have not only turned from him, but have also turned
from God to pursue delusions, are dishonouring David. What sort of delusions? Useless kinds and lies. These can consist of anything. For example, there has been an ongoing
development of Christians turning from true doctrine and pursuing false ones
such as pursuing and/or supporting the homosexual lifestyle, in spite of what
God’s Word says against it. They abandon
God and His true Church. They dishonour
God’s true people by discriminating against them who choose not to abandon His
inerrant and infallible Word. Even
worse, they dishonour God by living unrepentantly in sin while simultaneously
redefining sin, as well as spreading false doctrine. As God set David apart from those who
abandoned him, so God sets His true Church apart from those who abandon Him to
chase after useless delusions such as homosexuality, and God will sort them out
at the Judgement. God hears us when we
call to Him, and His ears are closed off to those who abandon Him.
While there
are similarities between Psalms 3 and 4, there are also some differences. In Psalm 3, David prayed that God “break the
teeth of the wicked” (v. 7). In Psalm
4:4-5, however, he appeals to his enemies to not allow their anger to lead them
to sin and to repent and “offer right sacrifices,” as well as to trust in
God. Why the sudden change of heart —
from cold wishes to warm admonition?
Remember that David was a sinner like any of the rest of us — capable of
failure and being flawed (indeed, we see his human frailty in his sin with
Bathsheba and poor fathering skills in dealing with his sons’ poor
behaviour). Perhaps he realised his
harshness and regretted it. Or perhaps
it’s the desperate plea of a father to a wandering son (Absalom). Whatever the reason, we can all take his
advice here. Even the apostle Paul
borrowed his advice in Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the
sun go down on your anger.” Never go to
bed angry. When night falls and you find
that you’re still angry about something, eliminate that anger before you go to
bed. Whether it’s through prayer,
confronting and resolving the issue, or talking to someone to help calm you
down, do whatever you need to do to get rid of that anger (so long as it’s done
healthfully, of course). If you don’t do
this, it doesn’t mean that you’re sinning.
Getting rid of your anger before you go to bed at the end of the day
just makes living your life that much easier and stress free.
When we
desire goodness, only God can give it to us.
When we ask for good providence in our lives, only God can supply
it. In verse 7, David acknowledges that
god gives greater joy than the joy that people have when they lavish in their
material riches. The joy of the Lord is
eternal; the joys of materialism perish.
Just like in Psalm 3, David can sleep assured that god will keep him
safe, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b).
Psalm 4 Prayer
O Lord, You
never fail to preserve me. It is by Your
strength alone that I need not worry under cover of night. For those who have separated themselves from
You, I ask that You guide them back to You — help them to conquer their sins as
You have helped me, as Your will be done.
Silence my anger — calm the raging seas of my desire for vengeance. Bless me with Your joy so that it may infect
others around me. In the name of Jesus I
pray, amen.
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