Psalm 4—This psalm of David is a plea for help. We can apply
it to ourselves when we feel that we are in a hopeless situation, when all we
see around us seem bleak or evil, when we wonder what is the use of being
Christian. In the psalm, David first appeals to God for relief; then he warns
his enemies of the foolishness and futility of opposing God; next, he
encourages the faithful to remain patient, trust in the Lord, and await His
deliverance. Finally, in the key verse, verse 8, he expresses his confidence in
the Lord, and shows the peace of mind which results from that confidence: In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for
you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4 –
Talking to God and Man
This psalm is titled ‘To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.’
The title of the psalm indicates that it was directed toward the Chief
Musician, whom some suppose to be the Lord GOD Himself, and others suppose to
be a leader of choirs or musicians in David’s time, such as Heman the singer or
Asaph (1 Chronicles 6:33, 16:5-7, and 25:6). The title also tells us that the
song was deliberately written to be accompanied with stringed instruments. In
this psalm David poured out his complaint against slanderous enemies and found
peace and refuge in God.
David talks
to God and to men.
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. V.1
Hear me when
I call There was passion in David’s
cry. He didn’t want to just cast up words toward heaven. He needed God’s attention
to his present problem.
Often power in prayer is lacking because there is little passion in prayer. It isn’t that we persuade God by emotional displays, but God wants us to care deeply about the things He cares deeply about. The prophet Isaiah spoke with sorrow about the lack of this in Israel: And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You (Isaiah 64:7). This is a good example of David stirring himself up to take hold of God.
O God of my
righteousness David knew that his
righteousness came from God, and not from himself. He calls upon the God who
makes him righteous.
You have
relieved me…Have mercy on me. In a
familiar pattern, David used past mercy as a ground for future help. “God, I know You haven’t blessed me to this
point to abandon me, so please have mercy on me.”[1]
[2] Collect for Psalm 4, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. I © 1994 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
No comments:
Post a Comment