Day 24: Night night, sleep tight. - Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations?  How long will you continue your lies? (Interlude) 3 You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.

4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. (Interlude) 5 Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.

6 Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. 7 You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. Psalm 4 New Living Translation.

“Night night, sleep tight.” I wonder if you remember hearing that in childhood, or if you’ve said it to a child? It’s usually a great comfort to them. In a way, that’s the safety David felt as he finally got into bed. (vs 8). Yet if you look at vs 2 David had every reason to be having sleepless nights! There were people determined to destroy his reputation by telling lies about him. So how is it that he felt so secure?

What does vs 1 tell us David did when facing ugly situations?

Did he believe God would hear his cries for help? (vs 3)

What sort of person does vs 3 say can look forward to God’s help? (Note: to be godly, or God-fearing, does not mean to be perfect. But it does mean we seek to live as God calls us to live.)

What do verses 4-5 suggest David also sought to do in life (which I think also led to a more restful sleep)?

Seems he’d learned to not go to bed with a bad temper but to rather talk to God about who or what was upsetting him. In Ephesians 4 vs 26 Paul says: “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” And James 1 vs 19 says:”Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, for human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” Losing out temper with people (that includes in our homes) isn’t going to solve anything - probably only make the problem worse.

But David had another ‘secret’ too. He’d learned to not be cynical about life! (Vs 6-7). There are folk who say ‘life sucks’ and ‘no-one can ever be truly happy in life’. Does David sound like such a person in vs 6-7? Who had given David such joy in his life? (Vs 7).

So David’s thoughts as he went to bed were: “I have a great God who hears my prayers and I can tell Him about the people or things that have made me frustrated and cross. He has made my life joyful and given me a reason for living. Therefore I will lay down and sleep in peace.”

Have you ever been ‘tucked into bed’ by God in this way? Perhaps verse 5 is the key.

(‘Housekeeping note’. As the plan going ahead is to post a Psalm each Sunday - see the ‘Psalms for Sunday’ page - next week’s Tuesday post, and the ones thereafter, will be from the book of Proverbs.)