Psalm 4:3 Study Bible: But know that the LORD works wonders for his faithful one; the LORD will hear when I call to him.

◄ Psalm 4:3 ►

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.

Know
The Hebrew word used here is "yada," which implies a deep, intimate understanding or recognition. In the context of Psalm 4:3, it is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but a profound awareness of God's actions and character. This word invites believers to move beyond superficial knowledge and into a relationship where they are fully aware of God's presence and His workings in their lives. It is a call to trust in God's sovereignty and His intimate involvement in the lives of His people.

that the LORD
The term "LORD" is translated from the Hebrew "YHWH," the sacred and personal name of God revealed to Moses. This name signifies God's eternal existence and His covenantal faithfulness. It is a reminder of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. In the context of this verse, it emphasizes that it is not just any deity, but the covenant-keeping God of Israel who is acting on behalf of His people.

has set apart
The Hebrew word "palah" is used here, meaning to distinguish or separate for a special purpose. This indicates that God has chosen His faithful ones for a unique role or mission. It is a reminder of the believer's identity as God's chosen people, set apart for His glory and service. This setting apart is not based on human merit but on God's sovereign choice and grace.

the godly
The word "godly" is translated from the Hebrew "chasid," which refers to those who are faithful, pious, and devoted to God. It describes individuals who live in a covenant relationship with God, characterized by loyalty and love. This term underscores the importance of living a life that reflects God's character and values, as those who are set apart by Him are called to embody His holiness and righteousness.

for Himself
This phrase highlights the personal and relational aspect of God's choice. God sets apart the godly not for their own sake, but for His own purposes and glory. It speaks to the intimate relationship between God and His people, where they are called to live in a way that honors Him and fulfills His divine plan. This is a reminder that the ultimate purpose of being set apart is to bring glory to God and to participate in His redemptive work in the world.

The LORD will hear
The assurance that "the LORD will hear" is a profound promise of God's attentiveness and responsiveness to the prayers of His people. The Hebrew word "shama" implies not just hearing, but listening with the intent to act. This is a comforting assurance that God is not distant or indifferent, but actively engaged in the lives of His faithful ones, ready to respond to their cries and petitions.

when I call to Him
This phrase emphasizes the personal nature of prayer and the confidence that the psalmist has in God's willingness to listen. It is an invitation for believers to approach God with boldness and assurance, knowing that He is attentive to their needs and concerns. The act of calling upon God is an expression of faith and dependence, recognizing that He is the source of help and deliverance. This encourages believers to maintain a vibrant prayer life, trusting in God's faithfulness to hear and respond.

Persons / Places / Events

1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 4, David is expressing his confidence in God's protection and favor towards the godly.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His personal relationship with His people.

3. The Godly (Chasid)
Refers to those who are faithful and devoted to God, often translated from the Hebrew word "chasid," which implies kindness, piety, and loyalty.

Teaching Points

God's Special Relationship with the Godly
God has a unique and intimate relationship with those who are devoted to Him. This relationship is characterized by His setting them apart for Himself, indicating a special purpose and protection.

Assurance of Being Heard
Believers can have confidence that God hears their prayers. This assurance should encourage a life of prayer and reliance on God, knowing that He is attentive to the cries of His people.

Living a Godly Life
The call to be "godly" involves living a life of devotion, kindness, and loyalty to God. This lifestyle sets believers apart and aligns them with God's purposes.

Trust in God's Sovereignty
Understanding that God has set apart the godly for Himself should lead to trust in His sovereign plan, even amidst trials and challenges.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does understanding that God has set apart the godly for Himself impact your daily walk with Him?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a life that is more aligned with the characteristics of the "godly" as described in Psalm 4:3?

3. How does the assurance that God hears your prayers influence your prayer life and relationship with Him?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to ensure that you are living a life that is set apart for God?

5. How do the connections to other scriptures, such as 2 Timothy 2:19 and 1 Peter 3:12, enhance your understanding of God's relationship with the godly?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Psalm 17:6
This verse also speaks of God hearing the prayers of the righteous, reinforcing the idea that God is attentive to those who are devoted to Him.

2 Timothy 2:19
Paul echoes the theme of God knowing those who are His, emphasizing the foundation of God's truth and the call to depart from iniquity.

1 Peter 3:12
Peter reiterates that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayers, aligning with the assurance given in Psalm 4:3.

Sermons

The Godly Man	George Fisk, LL. D.	Psalm 4:3
A Cry for Deliverance	C. Short	Psalm 4:1-5
A Gentle Remonstrance	A. Maclaren, D. D.	Psalm 4:1-8
An Appeal for Mercy to the God of Righteousness	James Owen.	Psalm 4:1-8
An Evening Song in Perilous Times, Showing Us the Secret of Happiness	C. Clemance	Psalm 4:1-8
Enlargement in Distress	J. G. Lambert, B. D.	Psalm 4:1-8
Prayer and Answer to Prayer	Thomas Horton, D. D.	Psalm 4:1-8
Quieting Thoughts for a Time of Trouble	W. Forsyth	Psalm 4:1-8
Spiritual Enlargement	W. M. Statham.	Psalm 4:1-8
The Great Trials of Life	Homilist	Psalm 4:1-8

People

David, Psalmist

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Apart, Calling, Cry, Ear, Godly, Heareth, Hears, Mercy, Pious, Saintly, Separated

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Psalm 4:3

     1065   God, holiness of
     1210   God, human descriptions
     7155   saints
     8265   godliness

Psalm 4:1-3

1125 God, righteousness

Library

Out of the Deep of Death.
My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death has fallen upon me.--Ps. iv. 4. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart.--Ps. lxiii. 25. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.--Ps. xxiii. 4. Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.--Ps. cxvi. 8. What will become of us after we die? What will the next world be like? What is heaven like? Shall I be able …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Prayer Out of the Deep.
Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. 1, 2. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, and complain unto my God; so shall He hear my voice out of His holy temple, and my complaint shall come before Him; it shall enter even into His ears.--Ps. xviii. 5, 6. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. 18, 19. In the day when I cried …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Of the Love of Solitude and Silence
Seek a suitable time for thy meditation, and think frequently of the mercies of God to thee. Leave curious questions. Study such matters as bring thee sorrow for sin rather than amusement. If thou withdraw thyself from trifling conversation and idle goings about, as well as from novelties and gossip, thou shalt find thy time sufficient and apt for good meditation. The greatest saints used to avoid as far as they could the company of men, and chose to live in secret with God. 2. One hath said, …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

How we must Stand and Speak, in Everything that we Desire
"My Son, speak thou thus in every matter, 'Lord, if it please Thee, let this come to pass. Lord, if this shall be for Thine honour, let it be done in Thy Name. Lord, if thou see it good for me, and approve it as useful, then grant me to use it for Thy honour. But if thou knowest that it shall be hurtful unto me, and not profitable for the health of my soul, take the desire away from me'! For not every desire is from the Holy Ghost, although it appear to a man right and good. It is difficult …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Shadow of his Wings
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. iv. 8 The evening comes, the sun is sunk and gone, And all things lie in stillness and in rest; And thou, my soul, for thee one rest alone Remaineth ever, on the Father's breast. The wanderer rests at last each weary limb; Birds to their nests return from heath and hill; The sheep are gathered from the pastures dim-- In Thee, my God, my restless heart is still. Lord, gather from the regions dim and far Desires and thoughts that wandered far from Thee; To home and rest lead …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

An Evening Thought. --Ps. Iv.
An Evening Thought.--Ps. iv. While many cry in nature's night Ah! who will show the way to bliss? Lord, lift on us thy saving light; We seek no other guide than this. Gladness Thy sacred presence brings, More than the joyful reaper knows; Or he who treads the grapes and sings While with new wine his vat o'erflows. In peace I lay me down to sleep; Thine arm, O Lord! shall stay my head, Thine Angel spread his tent, and keep His midnight watch around my bed. …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

My God Will Hear Me
"Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee."--ISA. xxx. 18, 19. "The Lord will hear when I call upon Him."--PS. iv. 3. "I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God!"--PS. xvii. 6. "I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."--MIC. vii. 7. The power of prayer rests in the faith …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Some General Uses from this Useful Truth, that Christ is the Truth.
Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak of the way of believers making use of him as the truth, in several cases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But ere we come to the particulars, we shall first propose some general uses of this useful point. First. This point of truth serveth to discover unto us, the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth; and oh, if it were believed! For, 1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Fourth Sunday after Easter Second Sermon.
Text: James 1, 16-21. 16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Christian Graces.
FAITH. FAITH! Peter saith, faith, in the very trial of it, is much more precious than gold that perisheth. If so, what is the worth or value that is in the grace itself? Faith is so great an artist in arguing and reasoning with the soul, that it will bring over the hardest heart that it hath to deal with. It will bring to my remembrance at once, both my vileness against God, and his goodness towards me; it will show me, that though I deserve not to breathe in the air, yet God will have me an heir …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

Rules to be Observed in Singing of Psalms.
1. Beware of singing divine psalms for an ordinary recreation, as do men of impure spirits, who sing holy psalms intermingled with profane ballads: They are God's word: take them not in thy mouth in vain. 2. Remember to sing David's psalms with David's spirit (Matt. xxii. 43.) 3. Practise St. Paul's rule--"I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also." (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) 4. As you sing uncover your heads (1 Cor. xi. 4), and behave yourselves in comely reverence as in the …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Religion Pleasant to the Religious.
"O taste and see how gracious the Lord is; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."--Psalm xxxiv. 8. You see by these words what love Almighty God has towards us, and what claims He has upon our love. He is the Most High, and All-Holy. He inhabiteth eternity: we are but worms compared with Him. He would not be less happy though He had never created us; He would not be less happy though we were all blotted out again from creation. But He is the God of love; He brought us all into existence, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Fifth Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to the Fruits of Faith.
Text: 1 Peter 3, 8-15. 8 Finally, be ye all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tender-hearted, humble-minded: 9 not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile: 11 And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Covenanting Adapted to the Moral Constitution of Man.
The law of God originates in his nature, but the attributes of his creatures are due to his sovereignty. The former is, accordingly, to be viewed as necessarily obligatory on the moral subjects of his government, and the latter--which are all consistent with the holiness of the Divine nature, are to be considered as called into exercise according to his appointment. Hence, also, the law of God is independent of his creatures, though made known on their account; but the operation of their attributes …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Letter Xl to Thomas, Prior of Beverley
To Thomas, Prior of Beverley This Thomas had taken the vows of the Cistercian Order at Clairvaux. As he showed hesitation, Bernard urges his tardy spirit to fulfil them. But the following letter will prove that it was a warning to deaf ears, where it relates the unhappy end of Thomas. In this letter Bernard sketches with a master's hand the whole scheme of salvation. Bernard to his beloved son Thomas, as being his son. 1. What is the good of words? An ardent spirit and a strong desire cannot express …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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