2 Ye sons of men, till when is my glory [to be put] to shame? [How long] will ye love vanity, will ye seek after a lie? Selah.
As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.
Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: Jehovah abhorreth a man of blood and deceit.
Wherefore, having put off falsehood, speak truth every one with his neighbour, because we are members one of another.
and turn ye not aside; for [it would be] after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
that according as it is written, He that boasts, let him boast in [the] Lord.
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Hath a nation changed [its] gods? and they are no gods; -- but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Thus saith Jehovah: What injustice have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and become vain?
Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, unto the ages of ages.
And they shall be terrified and ashamed of Ethiopia their confidence, and of Egypt their boast.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to do evil.
How long, simple ones, will ye love simpleness, and scorners take pleasure in their scorning, and the foolish hate knowledge?
He will judge thy people with righteousness, and thine afflicted with judgment.
But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
{To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam.} Is righteousness indeed silent? Do ye speak it? Do ye judge with equity, ye sons of men?
My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down [among] them that breathe out flames, the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Ye have shamed the counsel of the afflicted, because Jehovah [was] his refuge.
Why are the nations in tumultuous agitation, and [why] do the peoples meditate a vain thing?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 4
Commentary on Psalms 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 4
David was a preacher, a royal preacher, as well as Solomon; many of his psalms are doctrinal and practical as well as devotional; the greatest part of this psalm is so, in which Wisdom cries to men, to the sons of men (as Prov. 8:4, 5), to receive instruction. The title does not tell us, as that of the former did, that it was penned on any particular occasion, nor are we to think that all the psalms were occasional, though some were, but that many of them were designed in general for the instruction of the people of God, who attended in the courts of his house, the assisting of their devotions, and the directing of their conversations: such a one I take this psalm to be. Let us not make the prophecy of scripture to be of more private interpretation than needs must, 2 Pt. 1:20. Here
To the chief musician on Neginoth. A psalm of David.
Psa 4:1-5
The title of the psalm acquaints us that David, having penned it by divine inspiration for the use of the church, delivered it to the chief musician, or master of the song, who (according to the divine appointment of psalmody made in his time, which he was chiefly instrumental in the establishment of) presided in that service. We have a particular account of the constitution, the modelling of the several classes of singers, each with a chief, and the share each bore in the work, 1 Chr. 25. Some prophesied according to the order of the king, v. 2. Others prophesied with a harp, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, v. 3. Of others it is said that they were to lift up the horn, v. 5. But of them all, that they were for song in the house of the Lord (v. 6) and were instructed in the songs of the Lord, v. 7. This psalm was committed to one of the chiefs, to be sung on neginoth-stringed instruments (Hab. 3:19), which were played on with the hand; with music of that kind the choristers were to sing this psalm: and it should seem that then they only sung, not the people; but the New-Testament appoints all Christians to sing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), from whom it is expected that they do it decently, not artfully; and therefore there is not now so much occasion for musical instruments as there was then: the melody is to be made in the heart. In these verses,
In singing these verses we must preach to ourselves the doctrine of the provoking nature of sin, the lying vanity of the world, and the unspeakable happiness of God's people; and we must press upon ourselves the duties of fearing God, conversing with our own hearts, and offering spiritual sacrifices; and in praying over these verses we must beg of God grace thus to think and thus to do.
Psa 4:6-8
We have here,
In singing these verses, and praying over them, let us, with a holy contempt of the wealth and pleasure of this world, as insufficient to make us happy, earnestly seek the favour of God and pleasingly solace ourselves in that favour; and, with a holy indifferency about the issue of all our worldly concerns, let us commit ourselves and all our affairs to the guidance and custody of the divine Providence, and be satisfied that all shall be made to work for good to us if we keep ourselves in the love of God.