Psalm 4
A sudden increase of breaths. Shallower, and almost desperate for more. Eyes wide open, refocusing to the dim surroundings. The first thought: did you even manage to get any sleep? Was there any benefit in dipping into sleep, only to be frightened awake by haunting thoughts? You know the taunts all too well. Why does this ring again in your ears? You focus on the past, digging into your memories. The Lord has heard your cries before, and He did answer. He helped you. He helped you then — He will again. He will. You cry out to the Lord to help you once more. You plead with your Lord to hear your prayer.
David opens Psalm 4 by claiming that the Lord hears his cries for help. He is calling on historic faithfulness. He recalls the character of the living God, and it is from this remembering that he calls out once again — leaning not on the strength of his own case, but on the faith he has in who God is. Any request made to God is rooted in this same ground: His character. For us, this is revealed in memory — in the times He responded to us, the times He was faithful and good. Even this very call, “Listen to my cry for help, have mercy on me,” will one day become a foothold for the next prayer. His character is being revealed to us, prayer by prayer.
David calls out once again to God, standing on this same basis of faith — but now his words turn toward mocking scoffers, calling them to repent. He warns them plainly: his Lord hears him. He is giving them time to turn back before God answers his plea. And this warning is no mere rebuke. Because of David’s trust that God will help him, he is moved by the same compassion God has shown him, and it spills over toward his enemies. David wants to extend this same goodness even to those working against him. This is why he calls out the blessing to be found in following the Lord, urging them to leave behind their wicked, lying ways. “I know what it is to struggle for sleep,” he might say to them. “I know the pang of lying awake, tormented by my own thoughts. So think on this, even now, and call on the Lord — turn from your sin into His rest.” David does not merely warn his enemies from a distance. He becomes an example to them, ending his own case not in vindication, but in sleep — the very rest he is inviting them to find.
Standing on this faith, David tells them of the blessing that awaits — even as they lie awake scheming, they could instead be thinking of the goodness of God. He proclaims that the joy found in God outweighs anything else this world offers — more than grain, more than wine. He tells them that they too can know peace in the Lord. And so David ends where the psalm itself resolves: he goes to rest, sleeping easily, because he knows the Lord alone keeps watch over him.
We are called to live our lives on this same foundation. Everything we do must be rooted in the work already done by our God. Whatever we face — every fear, every weapon raised against us, sword or arrow or accusation — we know that we do not walk by what we see around us, but by faith in Jesus Christ. It is this same faith that gives us confidence in what is unseen, precisely because we have already seen Christ’s faithfulness (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:1). How much bolder can our confidence be, knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)?
Remember the work Christ has done for us. Remember the desperate times we called out, pleading for help. Remember the times He answered — the times He stepped in and saved us. It is from this same position that we, too, can call out boldly once more — with a boldness that even reaches toward our enemies, calling them to repentance. This is the heart of the gospel. We have been saved, and even while trouble claws at us, we can call for the repentance of those against us. It is from this same faith that we, like David, can lie down and fall peacefully asleep.
Your cry is followed by silence as your voice trails into stillness. For a small moment, you stay quiet, reminiscing on the faithfulness of the Lord. A soft smile breaks the tension. A deep, steady breath fills your lungs with relief. You turn and settle into your bed. Your eyes close softly as a peaceful sleep settles over you. For your God is a faithful God.