Day 279: 'The sleep of a saint' - 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 heard that in your 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 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?

He turned to God who knew the true situation with earnest prayer. We see from vs 3 that he firmly believed God would hear his cries for help? But what sort of person does vs 3 say it is who can have such confidence in prayer?

Perhaps that’s why we may feel God might not take note of our prayers. Are we really godly? But we need to keep in mind that godly, or God-fearing, doesn’t mean being perfect. In our generation it describes the man or woman who has called upon the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour and is seeking 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 and nursing our anger (that includes in our homes) isn’t going to solve a situation and will probably only make the problem worse.

But David had another ‘secret’ too. He’d learned to not be cynical about life! There are folk who say ‘life sucks’ and ‘no-one can ever be truly happy in life’. What was it that gave David a different outlook on life to the cynics? (vs 6-7)

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, or even angry. God 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.

The apostle Paul put it this way. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1

For a musical version of this Psalm the link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn727Y0QSHQ&ab_channel=KarlKohlhase