An Unexpected Path to Peace

Psalm 4 can be classified as a psalm of lament as well as a psalm of confidence.

The psalm begins with the psalmist, who it identified in the title as King David, calling out to the LORD God to hear him and answer him: “Answer me when I call, O my righteous God…be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” For his own comfort, David remembered that God had previously relieved his distress. That remembering, like we saw in Psalm 3, gave David that much more confidence to call out to God when distress struck again.

If we skip to the last two verses of the psalm, verses 7 and 8, we can’t help but notice a dramatically different attitude on the part of the Psalmist. In verse 7 he declared the joy God had given him, and in verse 8 he was able to profess trust in the LORD from whom David received peace, peace that would allow him to sleep well at night.

With the Psalm beginning with distress and ending with peace, we must ask ourselves, “What happened in the middle that made such a difference?” for the answer to that question will not only help us to understand the journey of the Psalmist, but it will also help transform our lives and bring us peace.

A Quick Note

Before I dive into the middle section of this psalm, verses 2-5, I need to quickly point out something important about the psalm you may or may not have noticed. David begins the psalm by addressing the LORD in verse 1, but verses 2-5 are different. In these verses, David addresses wealthy men of Israel. And at the end of the psalm in verses 6-8, David specifically addresses God again. He addresses God, then men, then God again as he closes. Noting this pattern has been key to interpreting and apply this psalm and it works to powerfully communicate the psalmist’s message.

With that said, let’s discover the awesome truth from verses 2-5.

The Path to Peace

A Call to Repentance

Verse 2 begins David’s address to men or sons of men depending on your translation. These are no ordinary men but rather wealthy men of Israel who possess power and influence. But there’s a problem: these men are bringing shame to David as King by pursuing vain, worthless, and false things. We can infer that these men and the difficulties they are causing David are the reason for David’s cry out to the Lord in verse 1. We don’t know exactly what the problem is but wealthy people of influence and power who pursue ungodliness will always bring trouble for a leader. But instead of cursing these men or calling upon God to reign down His judgement upon them, David took an unexpected course. He called them to repentance.

Verse 3 says, “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.” This verse is the turning point of the whole Psalm.

In verse 3, David first reminds these men, and by consequence I think he reminds even himself, that God is in sovereign control. God is the one who sets someone apart for a special divine purpose and benefit. In this context, the reminder is primarily that David was set apart by God to be the anointed King of Israel. But I also think that the language of being set apart would have reminded these men that the nation of Israel herself had been set apart by God from the rest of the nations of the world. God chose Abraham out of all the people of the world to be the founding father of the nation of Israel which was to be a nation of priests who would declare to the world that YAHWEH is supreme (Exodus 19:6). David then proclaimed the sovereignty of God to set apart those whom He also calls to be godly, like David himself.

Then at the end of verse 3 David reminds the men that because he is both set apart and godly, the LORD hears him whenever he calls. That the LORD hears the godly like David does not simply mean that He is aware of the prayers made to him but is carries the idea that special regard and affection is given to those whom God has set apart and who practice godliness.

Now, in this one verse, David accomplished two things. First, he warned the ungodly who are causing him trouble by reminding them that God personally set him apart as King and that God has a special regard and affection to those set apart like himself who live godly lives. He essentially told them, “God is on my side and has my back. Watch out.”

Secondly, out of his concern for the spiritual state of those opposing him, David described the ideal relationship a Jew can have with God in an effort to bring these men to repentance. God set apart the people of Israel as His own and certainly bestows to them a unique affection given only to His chosen and faithful people. According to the Covenant Promise, pursuit of godliness for Israel would result in blessing through personal and national prosperity in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28). The implication then would be that the men bringing shame to the King of Israel with their ungodliness were in danger of both being personally rejected by God and of bringing God’s judgement upon the nation. This concerned David.

At this point, we should take a moment to consider what has happened so far in this psalm. In the first verse, David was distressed by the ungodliness of wealthy and powerful Jewish men who were likely causing trouble for him as King. He cried out to the LORD for help, making the plea for God to hear and regard his prayers. But then he turned his attention to those very men who were the cause of his distress. Out of concern for their spiritual welfare, David reminded them of God who hears the prayers of those like himself who are godly.

Did you notice what happened? When David’s concern moved away from himself and toward those who opposed him, he spoke highly of God’s character and ended up regaining confidence in God who can and does hear him when he calls out and prays.

Let me put this another way: by proclaiming the glory of God to others, the psalmist himself was helped in his own spiritual distress.

Blessed Through Concern for Others

I have often found that it’s easier for me to speak the truth and hope of Jesus to others in an effort to help them than it is for me to speak the truth and hope of Jesus to myself when I need help. There just seems to be something unique about our own distress that makes us forget or doubt God’s goodness. When troubled, we feel strongly the anxiety and fear and despair that so often comes and we naturally think most about ourselves. We pity ourselves and we want others to pity us. We don’t want to ask for help because we want someone else to notice our pain and come to us; we want to be noticed and loved and valued. While these things are perhaps not unjustified, they are certainly self-seeking, for how often does our own struggle drive us to help others that much more? When we feel hurt by someone, do we lay aside our own sense of entitlement to seek the benefit and blessing of the one who hurt us? Most often we do not, yet that is precisely what the psalmist did, and he was spiritually blessed.

The psalmist earnestly desired his detractors to repent trust in God. He recognized that their main problem was with God and not with him as King. This is why he said in verse 4, “Be angry and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the LORD.”

The Hebrew word translated be angry would best be translated tremble or quake. It’s a call to repentance and so David does not want them to be angry. Rather, instead of loving vain words and seeking after falsehood, he wants them to ponder their sin and be silent. Because YAHWEH sets apart the godly for himself, they should offer right sacrifices for their sin and to worship the LORD, and because the LORD hears and regards the godly with affection, they should turn from their ungodliness and put their trust again in the Lord. David calls them to ultimately do what Paul said in Romans 12:1 – they are to give themselves completely to the LORD as holy and acceptable living sacrifices for that is true spiritual worship.

That the psalmist could love his enemies so much to consider their spiritual welfare over his own is truly a selfless and honorable act. And as a result of his concern for others amidst his own distress, he himself remembers the LORD and experiences joy and peace! “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

Conclusion

When we first began, we set out to ask ourselves, “What happened in the middle of the Psalm that made such a difference?” The answer is that David was reminded of God’s loving affection for those whom He sets apart for Himself, and he was reminded of this when he demonstrated more concern for others than for himself.

This Psalm reminds me of Jesus when He was on the cross. Jesus was despised and rejected by men and a man of sorrows who was nailed to a tree with the burden of the world’s sin upon His soul. His own people were mocking him, soldiers were laughing while gambling away his clothes, and yet, Jesus’ concern was not first for Himself. Instead, Jesus cried out and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This one prayer from Jesus is perhaps the greatest illustration of God’s affection for us and of the selfless love which should define every Christian. Jesus prayed for you and I then on that cross. We put Him there and we continually demonstrate so often that we do not in fact know the depths of what it is we do against our Lord. And yet we are still loved.

Psalm 4:2-5 was written by David to people living in ungodliness in an effort to bring them to repentance. I believe this portion of Psalm 4 was also written for us. If God wrote these verses with us in mind, it might sound something like this:

O my children, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?

But know that I have set apart the godly for myself;

I hear when you call to me.

Tremble with fear and stop sinning;

Ponder in your own hearts and on you beds and be silent.

Offer yourselves as living sacrifices

And put your trust in me.

Run to Jesus. Don’t wait another moment! There is no life worth living outside the loving affection of God our Father who hears our prayers and brings joy and peace to those who trust Him.

Do not hesitate to wage war against pride and selfishness for those things only bring pain and hurt to ourselves and those around us. When you feel attacked and distressed by others, consider Jesus who though He was put to death because of our sin asked for our forgiveness anyway. If you truly desire to have joy and to be at peace and to live without fear or worry, then turn to Jesus and put your trust in Him.