"Answer 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, how long shall my honour 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, 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."
Psalm 4
Psalm 3 is a morning hymn, after a night spent safely in the midst of danger; this is an evening hymn, when the danger, though less imminent, has not yet passed away. The frame of mind gained in the previous Psalm, of confidence, trust and detachment, is maintained and developed here. In 1 we have the Psalmist's prayer, the ground of which is first of all the reality of his covenant God, the 'God of my righteousness' and secondly, the reality of past deliverances. Remembrance of past grace always gives confidence in present need, and the remembrance of the grace given the previous day (3:5), and of the sustaining presence of God gives him confidence for the night that had now come upon him. It is this that explains the confidence expressed in 8. Next, from appealing to God, David turns to remonstrate with his enemies (2-5). This he does from the standpoint of faith, a standpoint reached through prayer (1). Prayer is always the first need, it is thus that we are enabled to see things in their true perspective. Already he is confident that the rebellion is vanity and lies (this is the same sort of thought as in Psalm 2, 'Why do the heathen rage...?'). His enemies might save themselves their trouble for God will set them at naught. Why he is so sure of this is revealed in 3 - God has set apart the godly for Himself, and his care and protection are ever about him. They must therefore realise that in attacking and opposing him they are in open revolt against God Himself. This is the real crux of the matter, and the key to what follows. It is highly dangerous to touch the Lord's anointed and he therefore warns them to have done with their revolt. It is as if he were saying, 'Let this knowledge of what you are doing bring an awe upon your hearts: think upon your position and meditate quietly on its implications. Be ye reconciled to God'.