1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my
distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my
prayer.
2How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to
shame?
How long will you love
worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
3But know that the Lord
has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord
will hear when I call to Him.
4Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on
your bed, and be still. Selah
5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.
6There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the
light of Your countenance upon us.
7You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine
increased.
8I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Commentary
Vs.
1
“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my
distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my
prayer.”
This Psalm begins with a cry for help by first declaring God’s righteousness. For it is our God who not only imputes His Righteousness to us all who believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus makes us who trust in Him justified in His sight, but He also hears us and judges us and all our cause in His Righteousness. For God is the only One who will always render a just and righteous judgment in this fallen and corrupt world. Therefore, the righteous who live and seek to live righteous lives in His sight can always turn to Him in their time of mistreatment and distress. For He alone can always be trusted to render a just and righteous verdict. Having then appealed to the One who alone is Righteous, we can find relief in our distress because we have committed our cause to Him, to have mercy on us and to hear our prayer and remember us in our distress, just as He has done so many times before.
Vs. 2 How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to
shame?
How long will you love
worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
It appears that David was the victim of some very cruel and evil slander, being spoken and forwarded by some very unprincipled Godless men and women who had taken it upon themselves to try to ruin him, by openly speaking all kinds of evil lies about him so as set people against him. Now this they did ever so cunningly, knowing that in making him out to be someone others would naturally fear or hate, people would want to side with them against him, and thus ultimately, they too would want to harm him (or kill him) and overthrow him, just as they themselves desired to do. David’s words here then are his rebuke to them, that they should not turn his reputation of glory to shame, that they should not love worthlessness, that will only assure their own judgment in the end, that they should not seek falsehood and lying false testimonies against him. For neither their idols, nor their lies, nor the numbers of their men will deliver them when God judges all of them! (Prov. 16:15; Luke 1:51)
Vs. 3 “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.”
David’s confidence then was not with his own strength, or with some skillful scheme, or with the numbers of men who would side with him, but with His Lord and Savior who has set him apart for Himself because he is a Godly man. For the unchanging and incorruptible Lord will always hear everyone who is Godly when we call to Him! Their confidence then is a false and fleeting confidence, and their end will be ruin!
Vs. 4 “Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah”
In the midst of his distress David now calms himself, reminding himself that it is right to be angry when wronged, yet one must not let ones own anger turn into sinful words or deeds. Therefore, he reminds himself to meditate within his heart on his bed; but not on vengeance schemes as the wicked do; but on the Lord and His Word, and let that still him and quite him.
Vs. 5 “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.”
Therefore, instead of plotting evil or harm against others, David now counsels us all to offer the sacrifices of righteous; to put on practical righteousness and make that our offering to the Lord. Having done so we are to put our trust in the Lord, who will never allow the righteous to moved (Ps. 55:22), but He will bring forth our righteousness and plead our cause before all. For He will bring forth His justice for us, just as He brings forth the bright shinning sun in the noon day sky! For the Lord loves the righteous, He loves all of those who do what is right in His sight, He loves everyone who trusts in Him!
Vs. 6 There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
Many people who do not know God, are cynical of God, or look at God as if he were to be their servant, as if He should answer their prayers as they wish and bring them His blessing and His goodness according to their will and desires. Instead, the right approach is to ask the Lord to lift up the light of His countenance upon us, to shine forth his goodness and mercy and truth upon us, so that we might be better able to follow Him.
Vs. 7 “You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.”
Even in our darkest times the Lord Jesus Christ is the Source of our joy, for He is our Savior and Keeper (John 10:28-30). Therefore He puts gladness in our hearts, “More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.” For He is the ongoing Source of our joy and fulfillment long after all the treasures of this world have long ceased to satisfy them. Therefore, we are forever thankful, and not only for what He has done to save us; put what He continues to do in always sustaining us and keeping us, joy and hope filled in Him.
Vs. 8 “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
David then having put to rest his anxieties and fears ’s, now makes a finial declaration of security and safety, of being absolutely sure that the Lord is watching over him (and us), so much so that he can confidently assert: “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Therefore, though evil people were surrounding him on all sides, he was confident of his forever place with the Lord, just as you and I can be because we believe in Him (Isaiah 32:18).
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