Psalm 4:4-5
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.
If you read biographies of novelists, you will no doubt see attempts to connect events in the novels to the author’s life, often without a shred of evidence. Scholars of the Psalms have been doing that with David’s life for thousands of years. Here in Psalm 4, we see David harassed by enemies, as we do in many of his psalms. It could be that David was on the run from King Saul, who was angered by David’s popularity and courage. It could also be that his son Absalom was trying to usurp his throne and was angry with David. At any rate, whatever the situation was, the above truisms read like proverbs, written for the benefit of his enemies. Do not sin rashly in the heat of anger but instead meditate on the Lord, serve him, and trust him.
That is sound advice for anyone, friend or foe. We don’t need to know who the audience was when David wrote because we know who the audience is now. It is us. Paul quoted this in Ephesians to exhort the church to settle disputes quickly and not retaliate hastily. Instead, we are to pray for those who make us angry, as if God put them in our lives to teach us something. Our response is to love, serve, and trust the Sovereign God. We don’t need the background of the psalms when we have God in the foreground.
O Heavenly Father, you teach us in ways we would not expect, through Scripture and even our enemies. May we hate sin and love the sinner. In Jesus’ name. Amen.