² O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The Lord hears when I call to Him.

⁴ Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the Lord.

⁶ Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
⁷ You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

There seems to be a connection between Psalm 3, the morning prayer and Psalm 4, the evening prayer.  In both chapters, David is in distress, but the evening prayer of Psalm 4 seems to show us a David that is calm, at peace and fully trusting God.  He starts right out in verse one acknowledging that God has relieved his distress.

We see David’s confidence in his relationship with God as he is emphatic that God has set him apart.  In verse 1, he shows his reverence for God in asking humbly that his prayers be heard, but in verse 2, he is bold towards his enemies declaring that The Lord hears when I call to Him indicating that he has a favored position before God.  In Christ, we also have a favorable position before God as Jesus intercedes for us having made peace for us through the blood of His cross.  We, like David, can declare with the same confidence that the Lord hears our prayers because we too have been set apart by God for God (Romans 8; Ephesians 1).  David further addresses his mockers pointing out their worthless pursuits, contrasting their trivial pursuits with his pursuit of God.

In verse 4 and 5, we have a picture of rest, but not just physical rest, the actual peace of God.  Similar to Psalm 46:10, here we see the admonishment to trust God in His sovereign governance of circumstances.  The sacrifice of righteousness is this trust to not be a restless child, but to be still and have confidence in providential will.  When we worry, when were anxious, when we are afraid, we are actually sinning (v.5) because we are questioning the goodness of God, the character of God, the sovereignty of God, the ability of God and doubting the promises of God that He is in control and His plans for us are good.

Lastly, David will lay down to sleep with complete trust that he is safe because he actually believes that the Lord is governing his life.  In the midst of every circumstance, good or bad, the gladness of our heart must be rooted in our relationship to God and His eternal governance of our well being.  When we lose sight of this foundational truth, life can get very precarious.  But when we live by faith in the things in which God has set forth, He puts gladness in our hearts that transcends every circumstance, every temporary problem and every temporary comfort (grain and wine, v.7).  Then we can also declare with confidence that we do not despair because we know we will see the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 27:13-14).

(Additional reading: John 14 and 15; Habakkuk 3; Isaiah 40)