Psalm 4 – Day 1

“You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him." – Psalm 4:3 NLT

More than likely this Psalm was written shortly after Psalm 3. David has had to abandon Jerusalem because his son, Absalom, has taken over his kingdom. David is in hiding somewhere in the wilderness outside Jerusalem. His own son has been spreading lies about him, ruining his reputation and turning the hearts of the people against him (2 Samuel 15:1-5). These are difficult days for David. He is facing one of the toughest moments of his life, having to listen to false accusations against himself, and watching as his kingdom is taken over by his own son. The natural response would have been anger. But instead, David turns to God. In spite of the circumstances, David knew that his God was still for him. He reminds himself and us, "You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him" (Psalm 4:3 NLT). The Hebrew word translated "set apart" means "to show special favor." It conveys the idea of God distinguishing or to show to be different. David knew that God was going to deal with him differently because he belonged to God. David refers to himself as "godly." That word simply means "faithful one." David is saying that he has been faithful to God. He is not claiming perfection or sinlessness, but only that he has not abandoned God. He continued to trust in and on God. He belonged to God, so he knew that God would hear him when he called.

The people who accompanied David when he fled Jerusalem were asking him, "Who will show us better times?" (Psalm 4:6 NLT). They were distraught and wondering what was going to happen to change their circumstances. They wanted to know when things were going to get better. David knew that God was the key to their hope. He knew through experience that God was the source of joy. God had given David more joy than any amount of success or affluence could ever bring. "You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine" (Psalm 4:7 NLT). David knew that God alone could hear him when he called, declare him innocent, free him from all his troubles, show him mercy, and keep him safe even in his sleep. No matter what was going on around him and to him, David knew that he could trust God.

Father, I want to trust You more. I want to have the confidence in You that David expressed. He had found You to be faithful in the past, so he could confidently trust You for the future. He did not let the conditions around him determine His faith in You. He trusted in Your character, not his circumstances. He recalled all the wonderful things You had done for him and realized that You had set him apart for Yourself. David belonged to You, so he knew he could trust You. Amen