Psalm 4 Study Notes

Ps 4 title This is the first psalm in the collection to have musical instructions to the choir director. While there is no description of the specific setting of the psalm, its theme and content are similar to Ps 3.

4:1 God, who vindicates me (lit “God of my righteousness/justice”) is an appeal to God’s justice specifically as it relates to the psalmist’s just cause. Affliction pictures the idea of being hemmed in or trapped by enemies. In response, God freed me (lit “made a broad place for me”). The verb expresses completed action and probably indicates the confidence of the psalmist that God would rescue him.

4:2 How long is an expression that shows concern about the duration of one’s condition and is used in similar contexts in other psalms (79:5; 89:46). The enemies are called exalted ones. In Hebrew this is literally “sons of a man” and refers to people of high social status or influence (62:9) and is sometimes contrasted with the poor (49:2). The same expression is found in Egyptian and Babylonian texts to describe prominent and respected people who are to be distinguished from the poor.

4:3 Set apart is not the normal expression for “make holy” (Hb qadash) but is a word that means “distinguish” or “separate” (Hb palah). The Lord makes a clear distinction between the faithful (those loyal to him) and the “exalted ones” in how he relates to each of them (cp. Ex 11:7). Therefore, the psalmist could have confidence that the Lord would hear when he called out to him.

4:4 The Hebrew word translated be angry means to “shake” or “tremble” and is sometimes used literally for physical shaking (18:7; 77:18). When used of people it can mean trembling with fear (Ex 15:14; Dt 2:25), quarrelling (Gn 45:24), or a fit of rage (2Kg 19:27-28). It can also refer to provoking God to anger (Jb 12:6). The basic sense of the term when it is not used literally seems to be agitation. The Septuagint (LXX) translates it as “be angry” (from Gk orgizo), which is quoted by Paul in Eph 4:26. Though trembling with fear certainly works in the context of this psalm, the idea of anger also works if one assumes that this is a challenge to the angry enemies not to sin. In other words, their anger should not lead to attacks against God’s people.

4:5 A further challenge to the enemies is to offer sacrifices in righteousness, which means those that are in keeping with God’s righteousness that he has prescribed. The final challenge is for these enemies to turn from their ways by trusting in the Lord.

4:6 The quotation here seems to be coming from those who were restless and pessimistic about their own situation and fate. This is an example of those within the community of God’s people who were not trusting the Lord. The prayer for these people is that God would let the light of his face shine on the entire community. The Hebrew here is “lift up on us the light of your face” and is reminiscent of the Aaronic blessing in Nm 6:24-26.

4:7-8 The psalmist’s own experience is in contrast to the pessimist’s view in v. 6. He has both an abundance of joy and a sense of security because of his relationship with the Lord. The same description of lying down and sleeping occurs in 3:5.