Psalm 4

To the end, among the psalms; a song for David

When I called to him

the God of my righteousness

he heard me

Through distress

you have enlarged me

have mercy on me and hear my prayer

Sons of men

how long will your hearts be burdened?

why are you in love with foolishness and chase after lies?

~ pause ~

And, know this

the Lord has shown that his holy one is wonderful

The Lord will hear me

when I cry to him

be angry but do not sin

say these things in your heart

be pierced in your chamber

~ pause ~

Offer a sacrifice of righteousness

and hope in the Lord

Many say

who will show us good things?

The image of the light of your face is impressed upon us

you have put gladness in my heart

From the harvest of the corn, wine and oil

they have been multiplied

I will lie down and sleep in peace

For you, Lord 

have settled me down

in solitude

in hope 

To the end, among the psalms, a song for David

“Christ is the end of the law of righteousness, for all who believe” (Rom 10:4). Here the end does not mean a finality of existence, but it is the aim of perfection.  However, we can ask the question, is every song a psalm, and is every psalm a song? Perhaps there are some songs which cannot be psalms, and, likewise, some psalms that are not songs. If the scripture says it is a song then this must be accepted, even if the song does not bring joy (Ps 137(136)). A psalm is a song accompanied on a psaltery. History tells us that the prophet David used this otherwise obscure instrument (1 Chr 13:8, 16:5). There is much else which could be learned and discussed, but this not the place.

Let us now turn to consider these words, which are either about the resurrected Lord Man, Jesus Christ, or for they concern a person in His Church who believes and hopes in Him.

When I called to him, the God of my righteousness, he heard me

The psalmist says, when I called God heard me, whose righteousness is mine.  

Through distress you have enlarged me

God has taken me from the distressing path of sorrow into the wide road of joy, since “troubles and sorrow are in the soul of everyone who does evil” (Rom 2:9). However, those who can say, “we rejoice in our sufferings for we know that suffering produced patience”, and, “because God’s love has been poured into our heart” (Rom 5:3,5). Such a person does not have a heart that is distressed, for this distress that the psalmist writes about comes from outside a person and is from people who persecute them.   

Note the change in the text, from the third person (he heard me) to the second person (you have enlarged me). This could be a poetic feature which we see here, but, this is strange. Why does the psalmist say to the reader that he has been heard and his heart has been enlarged, and following this he speaks to Him that heard him? It could be that when he declared that he had been heard and his heart had been enlarged, he now wanted to speak to God. Yes, he spoke of how his heart had been enlarged by having God poured into his heart, but he now wanted to the God who is within him. This is spoken clearly by someone who has been illuminated by their faith in Christ, who is the Lord Man, filled by the Wisdom of God.

But, this doesn’t appear to be a correct interpretation of the text for He has never been without this light. When He prays against trouble this is not out of weakness, this is a pointer. When he prays here with a sudden enlargement of heart it may be that He is speaking on behalf of the faithful; He is setting an example for us to follow. Such as when He said, “I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink” (Matt 25:42). There are other examples. And so here He says you have enlarged me, speaking on behalf of the littlest Christian as we talk to God, whose loves been poured into our heart by the Holy Spirit.

have mercy on me and hear my prayer

Why does the psalmist now ask this, for he has already stated that his heart had been enlarged? He does so for our sake. For this was written about us, “but if we hope for something we have not yet seen, we wait patiently” (Rom 8:25). Or it may mean that, what we have begun we believe will reach a perfect conclusion (Phil 1:6).

Sons of men, how long will your hearts be burdened?

The psalmist says, since we were burdened only up until the Son of God came, then why do you still carry burdens in your heart? Given that the truth is now in you, why don’t you give up all your wrong ways of living? 

why are you in love with foolishness and chase after lies? 

Why would you wish to be ‘blessed’ by such base actions? You can be blessed only by truth and everything that comes from it!  As the Preacher says, “vanity is from liars, it is all vanity”, and, “what does a person gain from all his hard work in the sun?” (Eccles 1:2,3). Why do you allow yourself to be gripped by these temporary things? Why do you chase after the worst stuff and as if it were the best. You already know that this is all vanity and lies. Why would you want to live with these? They will all come to nothing, like shadows at nightfall.

And, know this: the Lord has shown that his holy one is wonderful

Who could this be other than the One that He raised from the grave and has placed at His right hand side in heaven. This us why He berates the human race, telling us that it is high time we put aside our love for this world and instead start loving Him.  

The term and know this can be difficult to follow in the flow of the psalm, but it is a way of speaking which is widely used by the biblical prophets. In the same way we can read elsewhere “and the Lord said to him” or “and the word of the Lord came to him”. Why does the writer begin with and when clearly there is no logical link between the texts that come before and after the and? This may be because this is meant to make it clear to the reader that what follows is a truth which comes from a vision within the heart. If this is the case then the text why are you in love with foolishness and chase after lies? should be read as do not love foolishness and chase after lies, and this is then to be followed immediately by And, know this: the Lord has shown that his holy one is wonderful.

But this reading cannot be right due to the pause between these two statements.  Some say that in the Hebrew text the word should be translated by so be it. In the Greek text it clearly means a break in the recitation of the Psalm. So this indicates that the Psalm is to be sung in such a way that there is a pause which indicates where there should be a short time of silence in the singing. In Greek we would call a point in a Psalm where it is to be sung by more than person as σύμψαλμα (sympsalma: a psalm, together); and here the pause is written as διάψαλμα (diapsalma: a psalm, apart). The pause (diapsalma) indicates that the Psalm is not to be read as a single recitation. Perhaps the Hebrew explanation is true, or it might be the Greek, or even another understanding. In any case we know that the sentence preceding the pause cannot continue after it.

The Lord will hear me when I cry to him

I believe that what we read here is a deeply felt warning from the heart of the psalmist. We must cry out to God for help from the depths of our inner being. In the same way that we must pray for the light to allow us each to live. We must pray also for rest after this life. Whether this word comes to us from a faithful gospel preacher, or from the Lord himself, this must be accepted: the Lord will hear you if you cry out to Him.

be angry but do not sin

This thought may occur to you: but who can be heard? surely a sinner can’t actually call to the Lord? Hence the text be angry but do not sin. This could be read in two different ways. First, even in you feel angry, do not sin. Perhaps you are feeling in emotional turmoil which is punishment for your sin and is beyond your power to control. Even then, do not lose your mind; God will regenerate your mind to allow you to serve His law (Rom 7:25). For now we simply have to live with the fact that we each must, for now, serve the law of sin. The second interpretation is that we should each repent, that we should get angry with ourselves for our past sins, and cease to sin from now on.

say these things in your heart

This is to be understood as the instruction: say these things. We are not to be the kind of people who the Lord speaks to when He says, “they honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Is 29:13).

be pierced in your chamber

The psalmist speaks again of the heart. The Lord warns us to go into and pray behind the closed doors of the chamber of the heart (Matt 6:6). be pierced may refer the the pains of repentance as the soul is punished by its own piercing. This must happen if the soul is not to be condemned and tormented in God’s judgement. Or this may refer the soul being woken up to see the light of Christ, as if it had been painfully woken by the prick of a pricking.

However, this could also be translated as be opened. Perhaps this is a better rendering of the Greek word κατανύγητε than be pierced. This may indicate an enlargement of the heart in order to receive the pouring in of the Holy Spirit.

Offer a sacrifice of righteousness

The psalmist writes elsewhere, “the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit” (Ps 51(50):17). It may well be that here the sacrifice referred to is one that is offered through repentance. What could be more righteous than our own anger at our personal sin (and not of the sins of others) as we punish ourselves and offer ourselves to God. This may also be understood as our good works following repentance; for the pause may indicate the transition from the sinful old life to the new righteous one. Repentance weakens and destroys the old Adam by the sacrifice of righteousness. The new man is regenerated as an offering to God. The soul, now clean, offers itself on the altar of faith to be consumed by the holy fire of the Holy Spirit. So the passage (Offer a sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord) can be understood to mean: live correctly, in hope of the gift of the Holy Spirit, who you have really believed in, that He may shine on you.

and hope in the Lord

This is stated by the psalmist without further explanation. But, what is there to be hoped for - good things? Can we each expect from God the good things we love? It is hard to find people who love the good interior things, things which are good for the inner person. These things, and only these, are to be loved. Other, external things, are merely necessities, not to be consumed for our pleasures. This is why we read here hope in the Lord. Many say: who will show us good things? This is the regular way of speaking and the daily quest of unrighteous fools. They long for a peaceful and quiet life in this world, but cannot achieve this due to the contrariness of other people. They even dare to put it all down to the times they live in, which, they say are always worse now than they were in the past. Some doubt or disbelieve that there is a life yet to come - who knows if this is true? Has anyone ever come back to confirm this?

On the other hand, this short passage offers a beautiful explanation for those who have the inner sight, what the good things are that should be our aim. The question is posed - who will show us good things? - and it is answered: The image of the light of your face, which, the psalmist says, is impressed upon us. This light is the only good thing which our heart should aim for. This is not ‘seen’ by the outer body’s eyes, but by the inner mind. This is is impressed upon us as a coin which carries the impression of the king’s head. For we are made according to the likeness and image of God (Gen 1:26), which has been defaced by sin. But we have each been stamped by the new birth- this is our one true and everlasting good. The Lord, looking at a Roman coin, said, “give to Cæsar what is Cæsar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matt 22:21). Imager with those who have understood in wisdom that in this He was saying: just as Cæsar demands tribute from you using the impression of his image, so does God also. The tribute offered to God, the payment, is the soul given to God, each one illuminated and stamped with the light of His image.

you have put gladness in my heart

Gladness cannot be found by those whose heart are burdened, or who love vanities and chase after lies. You find gladness on the inside, where the light of God’s face is impressed. As the Apostle says, Christ is to be found in the inner being (Eph 3:16-17). For He is the truth (Jn 14:6). And, as He again spoke though the Apostle, “Do you want proof of Christ? Who speaks through me?” (2 Cor 13:3). Of course He doesn’t speak from outside of a person, but right into the heart, the chamber where we are to pray. 

However, people (who are probably a lot) who go chasing after temporary things have little worth saying except who will show us good things? They cannot see what the real and reliable good inner things are. The psalmist writes about them, From the harvest of his corn, wine and oil they have been multiplied. The word his is necessarily here since the corn is God’s for He is the living bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:51). The wine is also God’s, as the psalmist also says, “they shall be intoxicatedly your house’s fatness” (Ps 36(35):8). The oil is also God’s; it is said, “you have anointed my head with oil” (Ps 23(22):5).

The people who say who will show us good things? don’t see that the kingdom of heaven is within them, as they have been multiplied From the harvest of his corn, wine and oil. Even though these have been multiplied this does not mean there is either sufficient or insufficient. The soul which has been handed over to temporary pleasures is always burning with desires and can never be satisfied. It is so distracted by so many anxious thoughts that it simply cannot see what is good for it. As it is written, “a perishable body is a burden for the soul and our tent of clay weighs down the active mind” (Wisd 9:25 CCB).

What can a soul like this do? It has become so in need of the arrival and departure of temporary good things From the harvest of his corn, wine and oil they have been multiplied. It is filled with innumerable empty pleasures, which have been multiplied. It cannot do what it has been commanded to do, “think rightly of God, seek him with simplicity of heart” (Wisd 1:1 CCB). For multiplicity is the enemy of simplicity. 

And so we must leave the many who have multiplied who are overwhelmed by temporary things. These people who say who will show us good things? 

I will lie down and sleep in peace

For the really good things are not to be found by using our eyes and looking around us. They are to be found inside of us, in a simple heart, so that we can rejoice and say I will lie down and sleep in peace. For those who look inside have a hope which goes far beyond all the temporary things of this world, and can also put out of their mind all the hurts of the world. This is indicated in prophetic beauty as lying down and sleeping. A perfect and uninterrupted peace far from the world’s noise. However, this state cannot be really found in this life today, it is our hope for the next. This is why the sentence is in the future tense; not I lie down and sleep, but I will lie down and sleep. When will this be? When “what is corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal self puts on immortality, then death will be stalled up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). For, “we hope for what we do not see, we wait in patience” (Rom 8:25).

For you, Lord, have settled me down, in solitude, in hope

Being consistent, the psalmist writes this final word.  He does not say that the Lord will settle him down, but that the Lord has done this. He has been settled down by the One who he has cast his hope on. And this, he says, has been done notably in solitude. This contrasts starkly with the multiplication of the many people by corn, wine and oil; these who said who will show us good things? For this multiplicity comes to nothing. Solitude is what is seen in the saints. As Luke says in the Acts of the Apostles, “and in the multitude of believers there was only one soul and heart” (Acts 4:32).

We live in solitude and simplicity, far from the mobs and crowds chasing after things, where the multitude are destined to die. Instead we should become whose love is on eternity and in unity, if we really wish to be one with the One God, our Lord.