Psalms 4, written by King David, is a prayer, a poem, a song and a sermon all wrapped up in 8 short verses.
Verse 1 is a prayer that preaches. David is directing his prayer to God, yet publicly confessing his relationship with God and what God has done for him. David is intimately acquainted with God, “O God of my righteousness”, and David desires others to know God as he does, trying to convict and covert sinners through this Psalms 4 sermon.
Verse 2- The sermon is addressed to the sons of men. Men of high degree, family leaders, who were listening then and who would hear it in the future. Men who were not acquainted with God, for their conviction and conversion to the righteous God. If family and community leaders are converted to belief and trust in the righteous God, the family and community follow suit.
The actions of the ‘sons of men” were dishonoring to God, the men were walking in their own ways and doing their own thing, vanity and leasing. Vain and dishonest.
Verses 3 & 4 David is pleading with them to look at his life, his ‘set apart’ righteous life and how God hears his prayers, then to examine their own lives and stop sinning. David admonishes them to ‘commune with their own heart on their bed’…to take stock and inventory in the quiet recesses of their own heart. Selah, to calmly and quietly consider their own ways and where it is leading them and their families. David is hoping to convict and convert the ‘sons of men’ to a belief in the righteous God.
Verse 5- David counsels them to not only stop sinning, but to start doing what is right.
Verse 6 & 7 Tells us these ‘sons of men’ were looking to wealth to make them happy, their vanity and deceit lay in trying to increase their wealth their way and were not trusting God. David admonishes them that he is happier with God then they will ever be with only their worldly wealth. “Time of increase” indicates worldly wealth it is temporary, trusting God is eternal.
Verse 8- David can lay down and sleep at night peacefully, at peace with himself and with his God. Money can buy the best bed ever made, but only God can give a person the ability to sleep.
Psalms 4 is a prayer that still preaches today, the sermon the reaches out to a lost and dying world of people that are so deep in sin, vainly trying to make it on their own with every deceitful tactic. Not realizing that whatever they may gain without God is only temporary and will not give them true peace and happiness.
David was an extremely wealthy man who had a personal relationship with God. His sermon is trying to convert others to know the righteous God he knows and have the same peace and prosperity that he enjoyed.
