Psalm 4 - The Evening Psalm

Find peace by boldly calling out for God to listen.

Psalm 4

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

¹ Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

² How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? 

³ Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.

⁴ Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

⁵ Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the LORD.

⁶ Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷ Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 117

Q. How does God want us to pray

so that he will listen to us?

A. First, we must pray from the heart

to no other than the one true God,

who has revealed himself in his Word,

asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for.

Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery,

hiding nothing,

and humble ourselves

in his majestic presence.

Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation:

even though we do not deserve it,

God will surely listen to our prayer

because of Christ our Lord.

That is what he promised us in his Word.

Summary

I'm always stunned at how aggressively David so often begins his prayers. Psalm 4 is most certainly a prayer, one that's often referred to as the 'evening psalm' because of the peace that David finds which allows him to finally lie down and sleep in its final verse.

Each day here as we read the Bible together, we pray portions of it back to God using the AAA Prayer Pattern, which is modeled after the Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught us. We begin by acknowledging who God is, because as we express our Father's sovereign majesty, it not only honors Him, but soothes our own souls as we take those words on our lips.

David does that too, and quite often, but not here. You can feel the angst as he begs God for relief from his distress, likely tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. He begins his prayer by simply blurting out to the supreme Creator and Ruler of all things, Answer me when I call to you!!!!

Would you dare speak to your Heavenly Father that way? David here gives you permission to do so - and not just David, but the Holy Spirit Himself, who inspired David to write these words. Don't make it your regular practice - David didn't either - but do know that on those long and sleepless nights as the world presses down on you, you can aggressively cry out to God. Praying Psalm 4 back to God in those moments is a great way to do so!

  Dig Deeper  

We've already seen this year that Hebrew writers love a literary tool called chiasm. Rather than put the primary meaning at the end of a poem, as we normally would, the Hebrews placed it in the middle. Psalm 4 is an excellent example of it.

It's good and right to refer to Psalm 4 as the Evening Psalm because of how it ends, but being able to sleep well isn't really David's primary point here. Notice the symmetry and structure:

v1 - David's distress that causes anxiety

v2-3 - David contrasts the wicked from the righteous

v4-5 - Prescription for peace: tremble and do not sin, silently search your heart and be silent, trust in the LORD

v6-7 - David contrasts the wicked from the righteous

v8 - David's peace that allows him to sleep

David's primary point comes in the middle: shut off the world's distractions, and as you silently meditate (chew on) God's Word, put your trust in the LORD.

When stress and anxiety keep you awake, reach for Psalm 4.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Cry out to the LORD as David did: Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer!

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: tremble and do not sin; search your heart and be silent; trust in the LORD;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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