“[To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.] Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.” (Psalm 4:1–2)
David was being insulted and slandered by people. Yet before trying to prove his righteousness before them, David first went to God.
“O God of my righteousness, hear me when I call.”
David entrusted the final judgment of whether he was right or wrong not to people, but to God. And he remembered how God had helped him in the past. The confession, “thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress,” carries the meaning that God opened a spacious place for him when he was in a narrow and confined place. Remembering the God who had made a way when there seemed to be no way, David once again sought His mercy.
David’s Adversaries: The Condition of Man Who Has Departed from God
Those who opposed David turned his glory into shame, loved vanity, and sought after falsehood. Those who depart from God also appear in the same way.
Just as the Israelites, seeing that Moses delayed coming down from Mount Sinai, made a golden calf and said that it was the god that had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, those who depart from God exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for images made like corruptible man, birds, beasts, and creeping things. (Romans 1:23)
They also love things such as money, honor, power, and pleasure more than God, thereby forsaking God, the fountain of living waters, and digging for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Furthermore, just as Adam and Eve followed the serpent’s lie, “Ye shall not surely die,” rather than God’s word, “Thou shalt surely die,” they love falsehood more than truth.
As a result, Romans 1:28 says:
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”
God Who Has Set Apart the Godly
God gave those who practiced evil over to their reprobate minds, but He did not abandon them until they perished. Just as God chose David for the people of Israel and established him as their king, He established Jesus as the Savior of all people.
“But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.” (Psalm 4:3–4)
Here, “godly” is the Hebrew word hasid (חָסִיד), which primarily refers to David, whom God had set apart for Himself. Yet David, who was chosen by God and established as king, foreshadows Jesus Christ, the true King whom God would establish.
Stand in Awe, and Sin Not
David, who had been chosen by God, warned those who opposed him, “Stand in awe, and sin not.” He was telling them not to recklessly oppose the one whom God had established, but to fear God and turn away from sin.
This warning becomes even more solemn before Christ. To oppose Jesus, whom God in His mercy established as the Savior of mankind, is to despise and disregard the God who has shown mercy to them.
Therefore, David tells them not to act according to their intense emotions, but to lie upon their beds at night, examine their hearts, and be still before God.
Offer the Sacrifices of Righteousness
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 4:5)
David tells those who opposed him to turn away from sin, offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God, and trust in the LORD. Here, “the sacrifices of righteousness” does not simply mean observing the outward form of sacrifice. It means offering right sacrifices with a heart that believes in God and obeys His will.
Samuel also said to King Saul:
“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)
What God desires is not merely the outward form of sacrifice, but a heart that believes in God and obeys His Word. Just as those who opposed David, whom God had established, needed to turn to God and trust in Him, we also must believe in Jesus Christ, whom God established as Savior, and obey His Word.
LORD, Lift Thou Up the Light of Thy Countenance upon Us
“There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:6–8)
Regarding those who say, “Who will bring us something good?” David says to God, “LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.” David knew better than anyone that when God bestows His grace, our hearts become filled with a joy that the world cannot give. Moreover, he knew that even his ability to lie down and sleep in peace came from God, who caused him to dwell in safety.
Therefore, David tells people not to pursue only the good things that the world gives, but to seek the face of God, who is the source of all true joy and peace.