{"id":3627,"date":"2015-10-25T04:00:54","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T10:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=3627"},"modified":"2023-12-21T07:11:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T13:11:26","slug":"psalm-41-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=3627","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 4:1-8"},"content":{"rendered":"

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!<\/span><\/em>
\nYou have relieved me in my distress;<\/span><\/em>
\nHave mercy on me, and hear my prayer.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

2 How long, O you sons of men,<\/span><\/em>
\nWill you turn my glory to shame?<\/span><\/em>
\nHow long will you love worthlessness<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd seek falsehood?<\/span><\/em>
\nSelah <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe Lord will hear when I call to Him.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

4 Be angry, and do not sin.<\/span><\/em>
\nMeditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.<\/span><\/em>
\nSelah <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd put your trust in the Lord.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

6 There are many who say,<\/span><\/em>
\n“Who will show us any good?”<\/span><\/em>
\nLord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

7 You have put gladness in my heart,<\/span><\/em>
\nMore than in the season that their grain and wine increased. <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;<\/span><\/em>
\nFor You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.<\/span> <\/em><\/h3>\n

This psalm is directed to the menasseah<\/em> (“choir director,” “chief musician”), which term occurs 55 times in the psalm headings and once at the end of Habakkuk, and probably signifies the conductor of the entire company of musicians and singers.<\/span><\/h3>\n

This psalm emphasizes both the source and the blessing of trust in the Lord by adopting phraseology from the Aaronic and Mosaic benedictions (v.1: “be gracious to me” [cf. Numbers 6:25b]; v.5: “offer sacrifices of righteousness [cf. Deuteronomy 33:19]; v.6: “lift up the light of Thy countenance upon us” [cf. Numbers 6:25a]; v.7: “When their grain and new wine abound … sleep” [cf. Deuteronomy 33:28; Numbers 6:26]). \u2014 Wechsler, page 28.<\/span><\/h3>\n

relieved me (v.1) = lit. “made room for me in tight places”<\/h3>\n

God of my righteousness (v.1) \u2014 God as the source of righteousness \u2014this title for God is found only here<\/h3>\n

The specific wording here (v.1) is significant, for it indicates that, based on his past experiences, David does not expect that God will fully remove the distress, but rather that He will extend relief to David in the midst of it (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:6<\/span><\/a>; 2 Timothy 1:8<\/a><\/span>; 1 Peter 4:19<\/span><\/a>; 5:10<\/span><\/a>; 1 Corinthians 10:13<\/a><\/span>). David’s request that God “hear” him refers not to the act of listening (for God knows what we need even before we ask; Matthew 6:8<\/a><\/span>), but rather \u2014 as typically when this verb is applied to God \u2014 to the act of providing what is most needed by the petitioner. \u2014 Wechsler, page 29.<\/span><\/h3>\n

sons of men (v.2) \u2014 probably men of wealth and standing \u2014 Israelites, as seen from the injunction to sacrifice (v.5)<\/h3>\n

Be angry, and do not sin (v.4) \u2014 “be angry” can also mean “tremble” \u2014 Ephesians 4:26<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

be still (v.4) = be quiet \u2014 paralleled with “be angry” (or “tremble”)<\/h3>\n

many (v.6) \u2014 the “godly” of v.3<\/h3>\n

Who will show us any good? (v.6) \u2014 not a question but expressing a wish \u2014 “O that someone would provide us what is good!”<\/h3>\n

show (v.6) = lit. “cause to see” \u2014 with the sense of God providing man what is best<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. 1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2 How long, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3627"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8639,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3627\/revisions\/8639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}