Psalm 4 Summary

An outline of this Psalm:

I.        David begins with a short prayer (vs. 1)
II.     He directs his speech to the children of men (vs. 2 - 4)
      a) In God’s name reproves them for the dishonor they do to God and the damage they do to their own souls (vs. 2)
      b) He sets before them the happiness of godly people for their encouragement to be religious (vs. 3)
      c) He calls upon them to consider their ways (vs. 4)
III.   He exhorts them to serve God and trust in Him (vs. 5)
IV.  He gives an account of his own experiences of the grace of God working in him
      a) Enabling him to choose God’s favor for his felicity (vs. 6)
      b) Filling his heart with joy therein (vs. 7)
      c) Quieting his spirit in the assurance of the divine protection he was under, night and day (vs. 8) MH

¨ After David in the beginning of the psalm has prayed to God to help him, he immediately turns his discourse to his enemies, and depending on the promises of God, triumphs over them as a conqueror. He, therefore, teaches us by his example, that as often as we are weighed down by adversity, or involved in very great distress, we ought to meditate upon the promises of God, in which the hope of salvation is held forth to us, so that defending ourselves by this shield, we may break through all the temptations which assail us. JC
¨ David was a preacher, a royal preacher, as well as was Solomon; many of his psalms are doctrinal and practical as well as devotional; the greatest part of this Psalm is so, in which Wisdom cries to men, to the sons of men, to receive instruction. This title does not tell us, as the former did, that it was penned on any particular occasion, nor are we to think that all the psalms were occasional, though some were, but that many of them were designed in general for the instruction of the people of God, who attended in the courts of his house, the assisting of their devotions, and the directing of their conversations: such a one I take this Psalm to be. MH

Here we stand concluding the study of another beautiful Psalm. As with the others there is much to be learned and applied to our hearts that we may lead more pious lives to the glory of God.

To start with we must consider the opening prayer of this Psalm, for this is a model for our own prayer life. In our prayers, especially during times of struggle, whatever they may be, we must remember that God has been faithful to us and His mercies have been plentiful throughout our lives, this is proven constantly by the Christian experience. Certainly this fact is well attested to throughout the word of God; but, God didn’t leave us with the witness of His word alone, although that would be sufficient, no, He has given us the experience of our own lives to testify to His faithfulness as well; not to mention that of all of the other saints throughout all of time. Honest reflection on the abundant mercy God has given you in your life can only lead to an emboldened faith which is readily reflected in how we pray. Based on the proven faithfulness of God we may come to Him now and cast our cares upon Him with an unwavering confidence that He is sovereign and will take care of us as His children, even where we seem to be without hope. For, when we are at our lowest point we are still dealing with a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God who delivered you in the past is the same God who will deliver you today and for the rest of your life. This is a confidence that we are able to take in prayer and then patiently wait on the Lord to see us through. Furthermore, we are to expect and answer from God as the Bible teaches us clearly to do. In the epistle of James we are told to ask in faith with no doubting. Charles Spurgeon says that the first sentence in this Psalm shows “that believers desire, expect, and believe in a God that heareth prayer.” Such is the relationship the Lord has led us to rely upon. We are His true children and when we have needs we are told to come before Him crying Abba, Father! Let us do so with the same great faith David had in making the petition to the Lord we have before us now.

Next we are shown in the next verses that the wicked hate God and they hate His people and they are continually making their foolish assaults on both. The wicked are here being yet again contrasted with the righteous. And yet again we see their depravity in all its pathetic splendor. Their wickedness knows no bounds, it is a perpetual. The world has never been totally eradicated of sinful men nor will it be until our Lord comes back. They pride themselves on their wickedness and revel in prosperity and perverseness. Sick with the sin of self-reliance and arrogantly content to stand opposed to God the wicked are doomed to face His wrath. For the saints, we must remember that apart from the grace of God we would be no different. David, even after suffering great affliction at the hands of his enemies exhorts them to repent and to trust in God (vs. 5) and so must we. We have been given that Great Commission wherein we are to proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and that apart from Him there is no hope and no salvation. Our burdens at the hands of these enemies is not what dictates whether or not we proclaim the word of God to them, it is the express command we are given in Scripture to share the Gospel with the world that is our motivating factor. In another paper I wrote on “Irenic Christianity” I was given a wonderful example of this from John Calvin. John Calvin, that great defender of orthodoxy and one of the leading voices of opposition to the Papists, those same Papists that would have readily burned him at the stake if given opportunity to do so, said this of his enemies, “Should it so happen in the providence of God, that the Papists should return to that holy concord which they have apostatized from, it would be in such terms as these that we would be called to render thanksgiving unto God, and in the meantime we are bound to receive into our brotherly embraces all such as cheerfully submit themselves unto the Lord.” Perhaps in witnessing to our enemies they will become brothers and the persecution we had faced at their wicked hands can now be done away with and replaced with sweet fellowship in Christ. Surely we see this just when Ananias ministered to Saul. Ananias, in spite of his apprehension, was faithful to the direction he had been given by the Lord and rather than being persecuted by Saul he was given a brother who was used as mightily by the Lord as any man to have ever walked the face of the earth.

Lastly, let us see, that our security and contentment comes from the Lord and it is all sufficient for us in our lives. The world rejoices in the plentiful harvest and the wealth that ensues. But when poverty comes they are left with nothing. Dear Christians we have so much more than this world can offer and are so much richer than the wealthiest of heathens, for we have God! We have a God who gives us a joy that cannot be compared with by anything else on this earth. Oh the poor estate of the wicked! To have never experienced a moment of joy in the Lord, to never know the contentment of a sanctified heart! Surely they are the most pitiable creatures on this earth. Yet we know the joy that only comes with serving the Lord and we know the peace and contentment He has given us and are able to rest on this earth confident in the fact that the Lord is on our side and that that is all we need. What a splendid God we serve! May He be glorified both now and forevermore, Amen.