Psalm 4
A Song of Defiance
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.
4 Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.
6 Many, LORD, are asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’
Let the light of your face shine on us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD,
make me dwell in safety.
What is the first thing you lose when your peace or confidence is unsettled? Your sleep. You will know the feeling better than I can ever describe it. Your thoughts race at a hundred miles an hour and the brake won’t work. Fears and anxieties block out any shard of light. You feel trapped today by the anxieties of tomorrow.
It is into this storm of the heart that David wrote this Psalm.
This is a prayer of defiance. A song of resistance.
And this supreme act of defiance and rebellion is seen in a sound night’s sleep.
Due to a number of similar phrases and themes, I think this was written in the same context as Psalm 3. That means that David is singing this Psalm surrounded by those who have turned on him. Absalom, David’s own son, had turned on him. Whispering untruths that tickled ears, he had caused David’s own people to turn on him as well. The Deceiver has stolen the hearts of the world but the King refuses to allow him to steal his sleep.
That’s because the King pleads before the one who truly rules. His prayer is for God to hear and act. His prayer is that God would intervene as he did in the past. When he asks God for relief, the word literally means “enlarge me”. As we well know, distress restricts and squeezes. We feel hemmed in and can see few ways out. So David calls on God to relieve the pressure, to let the light into the darkness.
Did you notice that in vv2-5 that David moves from talking to God to addressing those who are hemming him in? We will notice as we travel through the Psalms that they are multi-directional. They can be to God, to each other, to the world or even to our own souls. And sometimes all in the same Psalm.
And so here, David defies the squeeze of his foes. They will not dictate his choices. Actually, he says “you are going to have to change your course!”
Essentially what he tells them to do is repent. He says they need to take a step back and consider the vanity of the lies they believe (v2). They need to think before they speak or act. Get into their beds and be quiet for more than a moment, and consider the consequences of who they are setting themselves against (v4). Once they have done that, trust and worship the LORD (v5). This is a picture of our ongoing repentance (see Ephesians 4.26-27).
Why is David so confident? God hears the prayer of his chosen King. In v3, David says he has set apart the faithful servant for himself and hears his prayer. This is God’s Messiah (Psalm 2.2,6-8). Ultimately this points to Jesus, the son of David, the one whose prayers are answered by God. It is as we abide in Christ that God hears our prayers (John 15.7-8). God does not hear our prayers because of our own religion or righteousness. But because we are united to Christ, the eternal King who sits at the right hand of our heavenly Father, interceding for us.
And so, in the final verses, we return our prayer and song to God. There are those who doubt God, but we know God will shine his radiant light on us in the darkness of the night (v6). And so we sleep in security. Because we have God’s peace. All who bring their concerns and fears to God, he will give the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4.6-7). This does not mean the threat isn’t real. But the peace he gives us is more certain.
The peace which guards our hearts and minds will also guard our sleep.
Glory be to the Father, who makes us dwell in unconquerable peace.
Glory be to the Son, who is the radiant light of God, shining on his people.
Glory be to the Spirit, who pours the joy of salvation into my heart.