Old Testament Commentary - Psalms 4

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 4 David pleads for mercy—He counsels: Put your trust in the Lord.
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.
1 ^aHear me when I call, O God^a of my ^brighteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in ^cdistress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into ^ashame? how long will ye love ^bvanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. God Hears All Prayers God hears all prayers offered unto him. And especially it is that the wicked must turn and pray unto the Lord. For how else will they obtain his forgiveness and mercy? Often one thinks, as Satan would have him think that he has commited such terrible sins that it is useless to pray unto God. That is the false teachings of Lucifer which will cause men to remain chained by their wickedness. Only in coming unto Christ, even the most wicked must so do, is there to be found the grace and mercies of the atonement. Every knee will and must bow. Every tongue must and will confess before the LORD sooner or later. The sooner that a man finds that he must so turn unto God, rather that continue in his sins, thinking himself unworthy to come unto Christ, thinking himself beyond the reaches of the atonement, the longer and deeper into sin will that man fall. Christ suffer for all the sins of the world. All will be forgiven in him eventually if they will turn unto him and not totally and complete turn there from in denying the Christ and his power to save. Thus the vilest of sinners must pray and be heard of God. Even the most wicked must come unto Christ, repent and be forgiven of their sins. All who do so will have their sins remitted. And then based upon their 'good works' will they be judges into the various kingdoms of God. It is a false concept that there will be sin in any of the states and kingdoms of God. Even that state in which there is no glory will their still be found righteousness and the lack of sin in the eternities of God. Only in the kingdom of the Devil, in outerdarkness, will there be wickedness still found. And only those who are of the sons of perdition, who forever continue to deny the Christ, will there be found no forgiveness. Therefore, ye most vile of sinners, repent and come unto Christ. All the sins of men will be forgiven and remitted and all will be resurrected unto Christ salvation as long as they do come unto him and call upon his name and recognize his power and position over them in the atonement of God. This is not to say that all will be receivers of the Celestial glory of exaltation. But it is to say that all will be raise in uncorruption and without sin.	1^a Hear me when I call, O God The whole course of the plan of redemption is to call sinners unto repentance and to hear their sincere petitions unto heaven. One might think that after David had commited murder and various other grievious sins, there was not sense in David still communing with God. This attitude is but hypocritical poppycock of the self presumed 'righteous'. For Christ came not unto the 'whole' but unto the sinners of the world. And the fact is that we are all wretched men of sin. And any who presume to be free of sin, that truth is not in them. As the true facts are, those who are steeped in sin are those who have the greatest need to continue to plead unto God. Not that they are to remain in their sins, but to turn from them and come unto God in righteousness. Even King David, one who would never be raise in the world to come to a kingdom of glory, needed to continue to pray unto God and work out that final state of his own salvation unto righteousness. That is, unlike the sons of perdition, who have totally turned from God forever more and sinned against the Holy Ghost by their denying Christ and his power to save, and who will be left in outerdarkness and subject unto Satan and wickedness for ever more; King David will be raised unto a state of righteousness out of the grasp of Lucifer in the final judgement. And though his state will not be a kingdom of glory for having been guilty of shedding innocent blood, he will be in a state of righteousness void of wickedness the the powers of Satan. Thus David rightly did continue to plead unto God, as should all sinners regardless of their sins, as all must come unto Christ and every knee bow before him and every tongue confess the Christ and be subject unto him to have his sins removed and avoid that eternal fate of the sons of perdition who will be cast off into outerdarkness with Lucifer and his angels for ever.
3 But know that the LORD hath ^aset apart him that is ^bgodly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy ^acountenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their ^acorn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in ^apeace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety^a.	8^a thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety There is no peace and rest except in the LORD. He only is the way of salvation. King David, who had commited grevious sins recognized that the only peace and rest for him was still to be found in the LORD and not in turning from him. In this King David is an example unto the very wicked, the very most sinful of men, that they must still seek unto God despite the greviousnous of their sins.