Psalm 4 KJV
King James Version, Holy Bible
Psalm 4 KJV
- 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 you turn my glory to shame? How long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing? Selah.
3. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is holy 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.
6. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
7. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
8. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makes me dwell in safety.
Key Takeaways from This Psalm:
Psalm 4:8
Verse: בְּשָׁלוֹם אֶשְׁכַּב וְאָנוּחַ כִּי-אַתָּה יְהוָה לְבָדָד
Transliteration: B’shalom esh-khav ve-anuakh ki atah Adonai levadad
English: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Focus Word: שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)
- Root: ש-ל-ם (Shin-Lamed-Mem)
- Meaning: “Peace,” “wholeness,” “completeness,” “well-being.”
- Deeper Insight: More than absence of conflict, “shalom” conveys harmonious relationship with God, which produces inner stability and spiritual rest.
More On This Psalm: Commentary From Biblical Scholars
| Scholar | Paraphrase of the psalm |
|---|---|
| John Kitto (University of London, 1804–1854, Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature) | Kitto sees this psalm as a prayer for God’s help in times of distress and a call for trust in His protection. |
| Alexander Maclaren (University of Manchester, 1826–1910, Expositions of Holy Scripture) | Maclaren emphasizes that the psalm encourages believers to seek God’s guidance and find peace in Him. |
| Charles Hodge (Princeton University, 1797–1878, Commentary on the Psalms) | Hodge points out that the psalm teaches reliance on God rather than on human strength or advice. |
| F.D. Maurice (King’s College London, 1805–1872, Theological Essays) | Maurice interprets this psalm as expressing both trust in God’s justice and the joy of being heard in prayer. |
| George Adam Smith (University of Aberdeen, 1856–1942, The Book of Psalms, Commentary) | The psalm, Smith notes, highlights confidence in God’s protection and the calm that comes from faithfulness. |
| Scholar & Work | View |
|---|---|
| Jerome – Prefaces and Remarks on the Psalms | Jerome reads this evening prayer as the voice of the righteous one seeking repose in God amid slander and distress. He notes the contrast between those who run after “vain things” and the suppliant who seeks the light of God’s countenance. For Jerome, the peaceful sleep at the close signifies a conscience at rest under divine protection. |
| Origen – Homilies on the Psalms (fragments) | Origen hears in this psalm the cry of the soul that has been enlarged by trial and discipline. He spiritualizes the “sons of men” who love vanity as the passions that distract the inner life from God. The final tranquility represents the soul’s repose when it turns entirely to the Lord as its dwelling place. |
| Basil the Great – Homilies and Ascetical Writings | Basil takes this evening psalm as a pattern for Christian prayer at the close of day. He emphasizes self-examination on one’s bed, aligning it with the practice of scrutinizing thoughts and actions before sleep. Joy in God’s face surpasses the joy of worldly abundance, marking a distinctly Christian valuation of true good. |
| Gregory of Nyssa – Treatises and Sermons | Gregory of Nyssa views the movement from distress to inner peace as emblematic of the soul’s ascent. The turning from the love of vanity to the light of God’s countenance is the turning from illusion to truth. He reads the final sleep not merely as physical rest but as participation in the divine calm. |
| Ambrose of Milan – Exposition of the Psalms (select) | Ambrose uses this psalm to teach that the just man, though surrounded by calumny, finds security in God alone. He urges believers to “stand in awe and sin not,” seeing this as a call to holy fear and repentance. The gladness given by God is richer than all harvests of grain and wine. |
| John Cassian – Conferences | Cassian cites this evening prayer as a model for monastic night devotion and watchfulness. The call to commune with one’s own heart on one’s bed aligns for him with the practice of interior recollection. Sleeping in peace becomes an image of abandoning anxious care to the providence of God. |
| Bede the Venerable – Explanatio in Psalmos | Bede interprets the righteous petitioner as both David and Christ, with the Church joining in His voice. He contrasts the carnal desire for earthly goods with the spiritual desire for the light of God’s face. The lying down and sleeping in peace signifies, for Bede, both nightly rest and the final rest of the saints. |
| Peter Lombard – Gloss on the Psalms | Lombard sees this evening piece as a moral instruction in confidence and detachment from earthly vanities. He notes that the sacrifice of righteousness and trust in the Lord stand opposed to empty ritual and unbelief. The closing serenity expresses the fruit of justified trust in divine guardianship. |
| Hugh of St. Victor – Spiritual Works and Glosses | Hugh takes the exhortation to “be still” as a summons to interior silence before God. The contrast between worldly gladness and the joy of God’s countenance becomes a lesson in rightly ordered love. The secure sleep at the end is, for him, an image of contemplation resting in God. |
| Bonaventure – Collationes in Psalmos (tradition) | Bonaventure reads this psalm as a journey from anguish to seraphic peace in God. He emphasizes that true joy is infused when the heart turns away from created goods toward the uncreated Light. The final repose prefigures the sabbath rest of the soul united to the divine will. |
