“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” - Psalm 4:1 (ESV)
Though we are not given explicit insight into the relationship of Psalms 4-6, they are placed in the Psalter as an initial unit of David’s Psalms with instructions “to the choirmaster”. These poignant prayers of David were clearly intended to be sung by those who would approach God’s temple to worship long after the king himself “had served the purpose of God in his own generation” and “was laid with his fathers” (Acts 13:36, ESV).
Psalm 4 is a prayer of confidence in the Lord’s merciful provision for godly people whom the Lord “has set apart… for Himself” (Psalm 4:3). Since God has already proven to David that He is righteous and that He relieves from distress those who turn to Him (4:1), David calls on Him yet again when men of “vain words” and “lies” seek to turn his honor into shame (4:2). Rather than allowing the attitudes and attacks of ungodly men to drive us to respond in anger, David teaches that the proper response is to trust in the righteous judgment of God, serving Him despite what others are saying or doing to try and deter us (4:4-5). David has learned that goodness, joy, peace, and security are the gift of God for those who call on Him to respond instead of taking matters into their own hands (4:6-8; cp also James 1:20; 1 Peter 2:19-23).
But David’s confident trust in the Lord is not merely momentary or borne of dire circumstance. David, though king over Israel, recognizes that it is truly God who is sovereign (Psalm 5:1-2), so he humbles himself to bow before Him! Because he knows that God is “not a God who delights in wickedness” (5:4-6, 9-10), David prepares his heart beforehand: “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (5:3, ESV; emphasis mine; see Hebrews 13:15). Surely David knows something of the value of “storing up” or “hiding” the word of God in his heart that he “might not sin” (cp Psalm 119:11). Therefore, he begins his day in this practice as he calls out to God for “the abundance of [His] steadfast love” (5:7, ESV) and as he begs for God’s righteousness to lead him in the presence of his enemies (5:8). For those who prepare their day and their walk in the “refuge” of God and His righteousness, there is cause for abundant rejoicing in the security of His blessings, no matter what evils the world assails us with (5:11-12; cp Romans 8:28)!
Yet even for those who are engaged with the Lord and seeking His favor from the dawn, there will be failures. David fully recognized God’s mercy even in the face of his own stumblings, which drove David to God and not away from Him! (Psalm 6:1-2) Though God has the power to judge in His wrath, He is also the only One who can heal and save us, though He may seem to “delay” while we suffer and cry out, “O Lord – how long?” (6:3) The sufferings that come with our sins and with the sins of others remind us that sin ultimately leads to death, from which only God can rescue us, to His glory and praise! (6:4-5) Just as David began his day calling out to the Lord for guidance, he also cried out from his bed at night great tears to God for his failings and for the oppression of his enemies (6:6-7). And, true to His loving nature, God responded to the earnest cry of His servant, vindicating him in the presence of those who would hold his sin against him (6:8-10).
As we face OUR “adversary the devil” (1 Peter 5:8), may we have the practiced assurance of David that God is for us as we stand in the truth. May the Lord hear our voices in the morning as we prepare our hearts to walk with Him each day. And may we cry out earnest tears of repentance each night on our beds for the times we fall short. In this way, may we be strengthened to rejoice in the goodness of God, knowing that He makes us “dwell in safety” (4:8), that He “blesses the righteous” (5:12), and that He has “heard our plea” and “accepts our prayer” (6:9). Amen!