Psalm 4 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 4 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
Verse 2How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
Verse 3But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Verse 4When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Verse 5Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
Verse 6There are many who say, "O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!"
Verse 7You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
Verse 8I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Devotion
How seldom we return God's favors! God gives us room when we are in distress; we denied him such at his birth in Bethlehem. God puts gladness in our hearts; our shout of "Crucify Him" broke his own heart. God hears us when we cry. Golgotha's agony we only fled.
God seems to know, even here in the Psalms, that this human bunch among whom He dwells will continue to bring shame to Holy honor. Yet God continues in goodness, undeterred by our failings, inviting us again and again to "lie down in safety."
It is a good thing God's favors do not depend on our own. It is perhaps the one thing that allows us any rest at all.
Prayer
O Lord, may we, like the Psalmist, be able to lie down and sleep in peace, trusting your invitation to safety in your name. Amen.