Psalms 4:1

to be heard, Psa 4:1; expostulates with the ungodly, Psa 4:2; exhorts them to turn to God, and make their peace with him, Psa 4:3-5; shows the vain pursuits of men in search of happiness, which he asserts exists only in the approbation of God, Psa 4:6, Psa 4:7; commends himself to the Lord, and then quietly takes his repose, Psa 4:8. This Psalm seems to have been composed on the same occasion with the preceding, viz., Absalom's rebellion. It appears to have been an evening hymn, sung by David and his company previously to their going to rest. It is inscribed to the chief Musician upon Neginoth, למנצח בנגינות lamnatstseach binginoth. Probably the first word comes from נצח natsach, to be over, or preside; and may refer to the precentor in the choir. Some suppose that it refers to the Lord Jesus, who is the Supreme Governor, or victorious Person; the Giver of victory. Neginoth seems to come from נגן nagan, to strike; and probably may signify some such instruments as the cymbal, drum, etc., and stringed instruments in general. But there is no certainty in these things. What they mean, or what they were, is known to no man. Verse 1 Hear me when I call - No man has a right to expect God to hear him if he do not call. Indeed, how shall he be heard if he speak not? There are multitudes who expect the blessings of God as confidently as if they had prayed for them most fervently; and yet such people pray not at all! God of my righteousness - Whatever pardon, peace, holiness, or truth I possess, has come entirely from thyself. Thou art the God of my salvation, as thou art the God of my life. Thou hast enlarged me - I was in prison; and thou hast brought me forth abroad. Have mercy on me - continue to act in the same way. I shall always need thy help; I shall never deserve to have it; let me have it in the way of mere mercy, as thou hast hitherto done. Verse 2 O ye sons of men - בני איש beney ish, ye powerful men - ye who are now at the head of affairs, or who are leaders of the multitude. Love vanity - The poor, empty, shallow-brained, pretty-faced Absalom; whose prospects are all vain, and whose promises are all empty! Seek after leasing? - This is a Saxon word, from falsehood, from to lie. Cardmarden has adopted this word in his translation, Rouen, 1566. It is in none of the Bibles previously to that time, nor in any after, as far as my own collection affords me evidence; and appears to have been borrowed by King James's translators from the above. Selah - Mark this! See what the end will be! Verse 3 The Lord hath set apart him that is godly - חסיד chasid, the pious, benevolent man. He has marked such, and put them aside as his own property. "This merciful man, this feeling, tender-hearted man, is my own property; touch not a hair of his head!" Verse 4 Stand in awe, and sin not - The Septuagint, which is copied by St. Paul, Eph 4:26, translate this clause, Οργιζεσθε, και μη ἁμαρτανετε; Be ye angry, and sin not. The Vulgate, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Arabic, give the same reading; and thus the original רגזו rigzu might be translated: If ye be angry, and if ye think ye have cause to be angry; do not let your disaffection carry you to acts of rebellion against both God and your king. Consider the subject deeply before you attempt to act. Do nothing rashly; do not justify one evil act by another: sleep on the business; converse with your oten heart upon your bed; consult your pillow. And be still - ודמו vedommu, "and be dumb." Hold your peace; fear lest ye be found fighting against God. Selah. Mark this! Verse 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness - Do not attempt to offer a sacrifice to God for prosperity in your present rebellious conduct. Such a sacrifice would be a sin. Turn to God from whom you have revolted; and offer to him a righteous sacrifice, such as the law prescribes, and such as he can receive. Let all hear and consider this saying. No sacrifice - no performance of religious duty, will avail any man, if his heart be not right with God. And let all know, that under the Gospel dispensation no sacrifice of any kind will be received but through the all-atoning sacrifice made by Christ. Because of sin, justice has stopped every man's mouth; so that none can have access to God, but through the Mediator. By him only can the mouth of a sinner be opened to plead with God. Hear this, ye who trust in yourselves, and hope for heaven without either faith or dependence on the vicarious sacrifice of Christ. Verse 6 Who will show us any good? - This is not a fair translation. The word any is not in the text, nor any thing equivalent to it; and not a few have quoted it, and preached upon the text, placing the principal emphasis on this illegitimate word. The place is sufficiently emphatic without this. There are multitudes who say, Who will show us good? Man wants good; he hates evil as evil, because he has pain, suffering, and death through it; and he wishes to find that supreme good which will content his heart, and save him from evil. But men mistake this good. They look for a good that is to gratify their passions; they have no notion of any happiness that does not come to them through the medium of their senses. Therefore they reject spiritual good, and they reject the Supreme God, by whom alone all the powers of the soul of man can be gratified. Lift thou up the light of thy countenance - This alone, the light of thy countenance - thy peace and approbation, constitute the supreme good. This is what we want, wish, and pray for. The first is the wish of the worldling, the latter the wish of the godly. Verse 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart - Thou hast given my soul what it wanted and wished for. I find now a happiness which earthly things could not produce. I have peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost; such inward happiness as they cannot boast who have got the highest increase of corn and wine; those Two Things in the abundance of which many suppose happiness to be found. To corn and wine all the versions, except the Chaldee, add oil; for corn, wine, and oil, were considered the highest blessings of a temporal kind that man could possess. Verse 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep - Most men lie down, and most sleep, daily, for without rest and steep life could not be preserved; but alas! how few lie down in peace! peace with their own consciences, and peace with God! David had then two great blessings, rest by sleep, and peace in his soul. He had a happy soul; and when he lay down on his bed, his body soon enjoyed its repose, as the conscience was in peace. And he had a third blessing, a confidence that he should sleep in safety. And it was so. No fearful dreams disturbed his repose, for he had a mind tranquillized by the peace of God. As to his body, that enjoyed its due rest, for he had not overloaded nature either with dainties or superfluities. Reader, are not many of thy sleepless hours to be attributed to thy disordered soul - to a sense of guilt on thy conscience, or to a fear of death and hell? Pray incessantly till thou get the light of God's countenance, till his Spirit bear witness with thine that thou art a child of God. Then thy repose will do thee good: and even in thy sleep thy happy soul will be getting forward to heaven. ANALYSIS OF THE FOURTH PSALM There are THREE parts in this Psalm:- I. An entrance, or petition for audience, Ps 4:1. II. An apostrophe to his enemies, which is, 1. Reprehensive, Ps 4:2, 3. 2. Admonitory, Ps 4:4, 5. III. A petition for himself and God's people, Ps 4:6-8. I. He proposes his request and suit for audience. "Hear me when I call;" and this he founds on four arguments: 1. God has promised to hear me when I call: "Call upon me in trouble, and I will hear thee." I call; hear me, therefore, when I call. 2. His own innocence: "Hear me, O God of my righteousness." 3. He requests no more than what God had done for him at other times: Thou hast enlarged me in trouble, and why not now? 4. It was mercy and favour to answer him then; it will be the same to do it again: "Have mercy on me, and hear." II. His petition being thus proposed and ended, he proceeds to the doctrinal part; and, turning himself to his enemies, 1. He sharply reproves them; 2. Then warns them, and gives them good counsel. 1. He turns his speech from God to men; the chief but the worst of men. beney ish, "ye eminent men." Not plebeians, but nobles. The charge he lays to them, 1. They "turned his glory into shame." They endeavoured to dishonour him whom God had called and anointed to the kingdom. 2. "They loved vanity." A vain attempt they were in love with. 3. "They sought after falsity." They pursued that which would deceive them; they would find at last that treachery and iniquity lied to itself. 4. That this charge might have the more weight, he figures it with a stinging interrogation, How long? Their sin had malice and pertinacity in it; and he asks them how long they intended to act thus. And that they might, if possible, be drawn from their attempts, he sends them a noverint, know ye, which has two clauses: 1. Let them know that God hath set apart him that is godly for himself. 2. That God will hear, when either he or any good man calls upon him. 2. The reproof being ended, he gives them good counsel:- 1. That though they be angry, they ought not to let the sun go down upon their wrath. 2. That they commune with their own hearts-their conscience. That they do this on their beds, when secluded from all company, when passion and self-interest did not rule; and then they would be the better able to judge whether they were not in an error, whether their anger were not causeless, and their persecution unjust? 3. That they offer the sacrifice of righteousness-that they serve and worship God with an honest, sincere, and contrite heart. 4. That they put their trust in the Lord; trusting no more to their lies, nor loving their vanities, but relying on God's promises. III. The third part begins with this question, Who will show us any good? 1. Who will show us that good which will make us happy? To which David, in effect, returns this answer, that it is not bona animi, intellectual gifts; nor bona fortunae, earthly blessings; nor bona corporis, corporeal endowments: but the light of God's countenance. 2. Therefore he prefers his petition: "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us." God's countenance is his grace, his favour, his love, and the light of his countenance, the exhibition and expression of this grace, favour, and love; in which alone lies all the happiness of man. Of this David expresses two effects, gladness and security:- 1. Gladness and joy far beyond that which may be had from any temporal blessings: "Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn, and wine, and oil increased; gladness beyond the joy in harvest; and this joy is from the light of God's countenance. Thou puttest. THOU, by way of eminence. 2. Security, expressed under the metaphor of sleep: "I will lay me down in peace, and sleep;" just as in a time of peace, as if there were no war nor preparation for battle. 3. To which he adds the reason: "For thou Lord, alone makest me to dwell in safety." I am safe, because I enjoy the light of thy countenance. Introduction

O God - The witness and defender of my righteous cause.

Expostulation with Sinners. 1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord . The title of the psalm acquaints us that David, having penned it by divine inspiration for the use of the church, delivered it to the chief musician, or master of the song, who (according to the divine appointment of psalmody made in his time, which he was chiefly instrumental in the establishment of) presided in that service. We have a particular account of the constitution, the modelling of the several classes of singers, each with a chief, and the share each bore in the work, 1 Chron. xxv. Some prophesied according to the order of the king, v. 2 . Others prophesied with a harp, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, v. 3 . Of others it is said that they were to lift up the horn, v. 5 . But of them all, that they were for song in the house of the Lord ( v. 6 ) and were instructed in the songs of the Lord, v. 7 . This psalm was committed to one of the chiefs, to be sung on neginoth—stringed instruments ( Hab. iii. 19 ), which were played on with the hand; with music of that kind the choristers were to sing this psalm: and it should seem that then they only sung, not the people; but the New-Testament appoints all Christians to sing ( Eph. v. 19 ; Col. iii. 16 ), from whom it is expected that they do it decently, not artfully; and therefore there is not now so much occasion for musical instruments as there was then: the melody is to be made in the heart. In these verses, I. David addresses himself to God, v. 1 . Whether the sons of men, to whom he is about to speak, will hear, or whether they will forbear, he hopes and prays that God will give him a generous audience, and an answer of peace: " Hear me when I call, and accept my adorations, grant my petitions, and judge upon my appeals; have mercy upon me, and hear me. " All the notice God is pleased to take of our prayers, and all the returns he is pleased to make to them, must be ascribed, not to our merit, but purely to his mercy. "Hear me for thy mercy-sake" is our best plea. Two things David here pleads further:—1. "Thou art the God of my righteousness; not only a righteous God thyself, but the author of my righteous dispositions, who hast by the grace wrought that good that is in me, hast made me a righteous man; therefore hear men, and so attest thy own work in me; thou art also the patron of my righteous cause, the protector of my wronged innocency, to whom I commit my way, and whom I trust to bring forth my righteousness as the light. " When men condemn us unjustly, this is our comfort, It is God that justifies; he is the God of a believer's righteousness. 2. " Thou has formerly enlarged me when I was in distress, enlarged my heart in holy joy and comfort under my distresses, enlarged my condition by bringing me out of my distresses; therefore now, Lord, have mercy upon me, and hear me. " The experience we have had of God's goodness to us in enlarging us when we have been in distress is not only a great encouragement to our faith and hope for the future, but a good plea with God in prayer. " Thou hast; wilt thou not? For thou art God, and changest not; thy work is perfect." II. He addresses himself to the children of men, for the conviction and conversion of those that are yet strangers to God, and that will not have the Messiah, the Son of David, to reign over them. 1. He endeavours to convince them of the folly of their impiety ( v. 2 ). " O you sons of Men " (of great men, so some, men of high degree, understanding it of the partisans of Saul or Absalom), " how long will you oppose me and my government, and continue disaffected to it, under the influence of the false and groundless suggestions of those that wish evil to me?" Or it may be taken more generally. God, by the psalmist, here reasons with sinners to bring them to repentance. "You that go on in the neglect of God and his worship, and in contempt of the kingdom of Christ and his government, consider what you do." (1.) "You debase yourselves, for you are sons of men " (the word signifies man as a noble creature); "consider the dignity of your nature, and the excellency of those powers of reason with which you are endued, and do not act thus irrationally and unbecoming yourselves." Let the sons of men consider and show themselves men. (2.) "You dishonour your Maker, and turn his glory into shame. " They may well be taken as God's own words, charging sinners with the wrong they do him in his honour: or, if David's words, the term glory may be understood of God, whom he called his glory, Ps. iii. 3 . Idolaters are charged with changing the glory of God into shame, Rom. i. 23 . All wilful sinners do so by disobeying the commands of his law, despising the offers of his grace, and giving the affection and service to the creature which are due to God only. Those that profane God's holy name, that ridicule his word and ordinances, and, while they profess to know him, in works deny him, do what in them lies to turn his glory into shame. (3.) "You put a cheat upon yourselves: You love vanity, and seek after leasing, or lying, or that which is a lie. You are yourselves vain and lying, and you love to be so." Or, "You set your hearts upon that which will prove, at last, but vanity and a lie." Those that love the world, and seek the things that are beneath, love vanity, and seek lies; as those also do that please themselves with the delights of sense, and portion themselves with the wealth of this world; for these will deceive them, and so ruin them. "How long will you do this? Will you never be wise for yourselves, never consider your duty and interest? When shall it once be? " Jer. xiii. 27 . The God of heaven thinks the time long that sinners persist in dishonouring him and in deceiving and ruining themselves. 2. He shows them the peculiar favour which God has for good people, the special protection they are under, and the singular privileges to which they are entitled, v. 3 . This comes in here, (1.) As a reason why they should not oppose or persecute him that is godly, nor think to run him down. It is at their peril if they offend one of these little ones, whom God has set apart for himself, Matt. xviii. 6 . God reckons that those who touch them touch the apple of his eye; and he will make their persecutors to know it, sooner or later. They have an interest in heaven, God will hear them, and therefore let none dare to do them any injury, for God will hear their cry and plead their cause, Exod. xxii. 23 . It is generally supposed that David speaks of his own designation to the throne; he is the godly man whom the Lord has set apart for that honour, and who does not usurp it or assume it to himself: "The opposition therefore which you give to him and to his advancement is very criminal, for therein you fight against God, and it will be vain and ineffectual." God has, in like manner, set apart the Lord Jesus for himself, that merciful One; and those that attempt to hinder his advancement will certainly be baffled, for the Father hears him always. Or, (2.) As a reason why they should themselves be good, and walk no longer in the counsel of the ungodly: "You have hitherto sought vanity; be truly religious, and you will be truly happy here and for ever; for," [1.] "God will secure to himself his interest in you." The Lord has set apart him that is godly, every particular godly man, for himself, in his eternal choice, in his effectual calling, in the special disposals of his providence and operations of his grace; his people are purified unto him a peculiar people. Godly men are God's separated, sealed, ones; he knows those that are his, and has set his image and superscription upon them; he distinguishes them with uncommon favours: They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my jewels. Know this; let godly people know it, and let them never alienate themselves from him to whom they are thus appropriated; let wicked people know it, and take heed how they hurt those whom God protects. [2.] "God will secure to you an interest in himself." This David speaks with application: The Lord will hear when I call unto him. We should think ourselves happy if we had the ear of an earthly prince; and is it not worth while upon any terms, especially such easy ones, to gain the ear of the King of kings? Let us know this, and forsake lying vanities for our own mercies. 3. He warns them against sin, and exhorts them both to frighten and to reason themselves out of it ( v. 4 ): " Stand in awe and sin not " ( be angry and sin not, so the LXX., and some think the apostle takes that exhortation from him, Eph. iv. 26 ); " commune with your own hearts; be converted, and, in order thereunto, consider and fear." Note, (1.) We must not sin, must not miss our way and so miss our aim. (2.) One good remedy against sin is to stand in awe. Be moved (so some), in opposition to carelessness and carnal security. "Always keep up a holy reverence of the glory and majesty of God, and a holy dread of his wrath and curse, and dare not to provoke him." (3.) One good means of preventing sin, and preserving a holy awe, is to be frequent and serious in communing with our own hearts: "Talk with your hearts; you have a great deal to say to them; they may be spoken with at any time; let it not be unsaid." A thinking man is in a fair way to be a wise and a good man. " Commune with your hearts; examine them by serious self-reflection, that you may acquaint yourselves with them and amend what is amiss in them; employ them in solemn pious meditations; let your thoughts fasten upon that which is good and keep closely to it. Consider your ways, and observe the directions here given in order to the doing of this work well and to good purpose." [1.] "Choose a solitary time; do it when you lie awake upon your beds. Before you turn yourself to go to sleep at night" (as some of the heathen moralists have directed) "examine your consciences with respect to what you have done that day, particularly what you have done amiss, that you may repent of it. When you awake in the night meditate upon God, and the things that belong to your peace." David himself practised what he here counsels others to do ( Ps. lxiii. 6 ), I remember thee on my bed. Upon a sick-bed, particularly, we should consider our ways and commune with our own hearts about them. [2.] "Compose yourselves into a serious frame: Be still. When you have asked conscience a question be silent, and wait for an answer; even in unquiet times keep you spirits calm and quiet." 4. He counsels them to make conscience of their duty ( v. 5 ): Offer to God the sacrifice of righteousness. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Those that were disaffected to David and his government would soon come to a better temper, and return to their allegiance, if they would but worship God aright; and those that know the concerns that lie between them and God will be glad of the Mediator, the Son of David. It is required here from every one of us, (1.) That we serve him: " Offer sacrifices to him, your own selves first, and your best sacrifices." But they must be sacrifices of righteousness, that is, good works, all the fruits of the reigning love of God and our neighbour, and all the instances of a religious conversation, which are better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices. "Let all your devotions come from an upright heart; let all your alms be sacrifices of righteousness." The sacrifices of the unrighteous God will not accept; they are an abomination, Isa. i. 11 , &c. (2.) That we confide in him. "First make conscience of offering the sacrifices of righteousness and then you are welcome to put your trust in the Lord. Serve God without any diffidence of him, or any fear of losing by him. Honour him, by trusting in him only, and not in your wealth nor in an arm of flesh; trust in his providence, and lean not to your own understanding; trust in his grace, and go not about to establish your own righteousness or sufficiency." In singing these verses we must preach to ourselves the doctrine of the provoking nature of sin, the lying vanity of the world, and the unspeakable happiness of God's people; and we must press upon ourselves the duties of fearing God, conversing with our own hearts, and offering spiritual sacrifices; and in praying over these verses we must beg of God grace thus to think and thus to do.