Psalms 4: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

This psalm is a prayer sung to God at a time when the writer's good name is under attack. He asks God to answer him, reminds his accusers that the LORD sets apart the godly and hears their prayers, and tells them to be still, offer right sacrifices, and trust the LORD. It ends with the writer saying God has given him more joy than a good harvest gives, and that he can lie down and sleep because God keeps him safe.

Claim by Claim

1. 4:1
   • The speaker asks God to answer him when he calls.
   • The speaker addresses God as the God of his righteousness.
   • The speaker says God has given him room when he was in a tight place.
   • The speaker asks God to be gracious to him.
   • The speaker asks God to hear his prayer.
2. 4:2
   • The speaker addresses human beings.
   • The speaker asks how long they will turn his honor into shame.
   • The speaker asks how long they will love what is empty and worthless.
   • The speaker asks how long they will seek after lies.
   • The word Selah stands here.
3. 4:3
   • The speaker tells them to know that the LORD has set apart the faithful one for himself.
   • The speaker says the LORD hears when he calls to him.
4. 4:4
   • The speaker commands them to tremble, which may mean to be agitated with awe or to be angry.
   • The speaker commands them not to sin.
   • The speaker commands them to speak within their own heart upon their bed.
   • The speaker commands them to be silent.
   • The word Selah stands here.
5. 4:5
   • The speaker commands them to offer sacrifices of righteousness.
   • The speaker commands them to trust in the LORD.
6. 4:6
   • Many people say, Who will show us good?
   • The speaker asks the LORD to lift up the light of his face upon them.
7. 4:7
   • The speaker says God has put gladness in his heart.
   • The speaker says that gladness is greater than the gladness at the time when their grain and new wine increased.
8. 4:8
   • The speaker says he will lie down and also sleep in peace.
   • The speaker says the LORD alone makes him dwell in safety, though the wording may instead mean that the LORD makes him dwell in safety set apart by himself.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

4:1

"God who clears my name" translates a Hebrew phrase, "God of my righteousness", the God who declares the speaker to be in the right, as a judge would rule in a person's favor. The next line uses a standard Hebrew image in which trouble is a cramped, narrow place and rescue is being given wide open space; the King James "thou hast enlarged me" is that same picture.

4:2

The Hebrew addresses "sons of a man," a phrase that often means men of rank or influence rather than people in general. ("Selah" is a word left untranslated because nobody knows what it means; it appears mostly in the Psalms, usually at a break in the thought, and is generally taken as a direction to the musicians or the congregation.) The King James "leasing" is an old English word for lying, unrelated to the modern financial term.

4:3

The word behind "faithful to him" is *hasid*, from the Hebrew word for steadfast loyal love; it describes someone bound to God in that kind of committed loyalty, not simply someone who behaves well.

4:4

The Hebrew verb covers any violent inward agitation and can mean either "tremble with fear" or "shake with anger"; ancient translators into Greek took it as "be angry," and both readings are still defended. "Talk it over in your own heart" renders an idiom for silent inward speech, what we would call thinking something through.

4:5

Sacrifices were animals or produce brought to the sanctuary and offered on the altar, the ordinary form of worship in ancient Israel. The Hebrew phrase "sacrifices of righteousness" is open: it can mean offerings made correctly according to the rules, or offerings made by people whose conduct matches the ritual.

4:6

A face turned toward you and shining is a Hebrew idiom for favor and welcome, the opposite of a face turned away; the same wording appears in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:25.

4:7

Grain and new wine were the two staple harvests of the year and stand together as shorthand for prosperity. "New wine" is the freshly pressed juice of the new vintage, associated with the celebration at harvest time.