Psalm 4 — Deliverance and Thanksgiving

If after being deeply troubled, you cried out to the Lord and your prayer was heard and now you wish to give thanks, sing Psalm 4.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

This is another lament but one that caught my attention with the lines:

Be angry, but sin not; 
commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. 
Selah.

I like that acknowledgment that you can be angry. It is what you do with your anger that matters here. "Do not sin." And work it out in your heart (and in prayer). The "Selah" gives us the time to ponder that a bit, as we discussed in Psalm 3. The prize of the commentary on anger below comes from Jerome.

I also really like the points made about "hear my prayer." It signals a real honesty and personal relationship with God. We forget that, even in the far off days of the Old Testament, there were real people striving to know and love God better. I love finding evidence of it.

David is depicted as a psalmist in this 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld

4:2 Hear My Prayer

The imperative "Hear!" is regularly used as a call to attention. It means something like my old football coach's call, "Listen up, men!" It is the opening word of the traditional call to worship of the Jewish faith and provides the title by which it is known—the Shema: "Hear, O Israel. The Lord our god, the Lord is one" (Deut. 6:4). It is more than just a call to hear; it is also a call to respond in obedience. While this expression may seem a little presumptuous to use in addressing God, the psalmist is surely awre that Yahweh is free to act or not to act as he pleases. But in the midst of distress, the psalmist approaches God in no uncertain terms. The niceties of prerogatives and rank are set aside, and the psalmist approaches Yahweh directly, demanding his active response.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

4:4 Be Angry But Do Not Sin

Moderation Beneficial for Human Society. Lactantius: When he enjoined us to be angry and yet not to sin, it is plain that he did not tear up anger by the roots but restrained it, that in every correction we might preserve moderation and justice. ... For he has enjoined those things that are just and useful for the interests of society. Treatise on the Anger of God

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Especially Applicable to Rulers. Ambrose: He is not commanding us to be angry but making allowances for human nature. The anger that we cannot help feeling we can at least moderate. So, even if we are angry, our emotions may be stirred in accordance with nature, but we must not sin, contrary to nature. If someone cannot govern himself, it is intolerable that he should undertake to govern others. Letter 63

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The Christian Response. Jerome: To be angry is human; to put an end to one's anger is Christian. Letter 130

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.