Psalm 4

This psalm appears near the beginning of Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41). The preceding Psalm 3 speaks of waking in the morning (3:5), while this psalm ends with lying down to sleep. For this reason the two psalms are often read together as a morning psalm and an evening psalm. The superscription reads, "To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David." The "chief Musician" is the director who led the singing, and "Neginoth" indicates that the song was set to stringed instruments. Because the Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as verse 1, its verse numbers run one ahead of those in English Bibles.

Structure

• Verse 1 The psalmist calls upon the "God of my righteousness" and asks Him to hear his prayer now, just as He "enlarged me when I was in distress" in the past.
• Verses 2–5 The psalmist addresses the "sons of men." He rebukes them for loving vanity and seeking after falsehood, and tells them to know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself. He then urges them to "stand in awe, and sin not," to commune with their own hearts upon their beds, and to be still. Finally, he tells them to offer the sacrifices of righteousness and to put their trust in the LORD. "Selah" appears at the end of verses 2 and 4.
• Verses 6–8 Many are saying, "Who will shew us any good?" The psalmist prays that the LORD would lift up the light of His countenance upon them. He then confesses a gladness greater than that of a time when grain and new wine abound, and concludes that he will lie down and sleep in peace, for the LORD alone makes him dwell in safety.

Key Verses

• Psalm 4:4 "Stand in awe, and sin not": This verse is echoed in the exhortation of Ephesians 4:26 in the New Testament.
• Psalm 4:7 "Thou hast put gladness in my heart": A confession that the joy God gives surpasses material abundance.
• Psalm 4:8 "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep": This verse is the basis for calling the psalm an "evening psalm."

People and Places

• David: The king of Israel named in the superscription as the author of the psalm.
• No other people or places are named in the text.

Points for Reflection

• The superscription of Psalm 3 states that it was written when David fled from Absalom, but Psalm 4 has no such note. Assigning Psalm 4 to the same period is a conjecture on the part of interpreters.
• Interpreters differ on "my glory" in verse 2: some take it as the psalmist's own honor, while others take it as a reference to God. Likewise, "vanity" and "leasing" (falsehood) are read by some as lies or empty pursuits and by others as references to idols.
• The Hebrew word rendered "stand in awe" in verse 4 ("tremble" in the Korean Bible) can also be translated "be agitated" or "be angry." The Septuagint renders it "be angry," and Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry, and sin not," echoes this expression.
• The prayer in verse 6, "LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us," resembles the wording of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:22–27.
• In the monastic tradition of the Western church, the Rule of Saint Benedict is known to have assigned this psalm to Compline, the office of prayer that closes the day.