Psalm 4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 4[a]
Trust in God
1 For the leader;[b] with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Answer me when I call, my saving God.
When troubles hem me in, set me free;
take pity on me, hear my prayer.(A)
II
3 How long, O people, will you be hard of heart?
Why do you love what is worthless, chase after lies?[c](B)
Selah
4 Know that the Lord works wonders for his faithful one;
the Lord hears when I call out to him.
5 Tremble[d] and sin no more;
weep bitterly within your hearts,
wail upon your beds,(C)
6 Offer fitting sacrifices
and trust in the Lord.(D)
III
7 Many say, “May we see better times!
Lord, show us the light of your face!”(E)
Selah
8 But you have given my heart more joy
than they have when grain and wine abound.
9 (F)[e]In peace I will lie down and fall asleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me secure.
Psalm 5[f]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; with wind instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
understand my sighing.(G)
3 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my king and my God!
For to you I will pray, Lord;
4 in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I will plead before you and wait.(H)
II
5 You are not a god who delights in evil;
no wicked person finds refuge with you;
6 the arrogant cannot stand before your eyes.
You hate all who do evil;
7 you destroy those who speak falsely.(I)
A bloody and fraudulent man
the Lord abhors.
III
8 But I, through the abundance of your mercy,[g]
will enter into your house.
I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary
out of fear of you.(J)
9 Lord, guide me in your justice because of my foes;
make straight your way before me.(K)
IV
10 For there is no sincerity in their mouth;
their heart is corrupt.
Their throat[h] is an open grave;(L)
on their tongue are subtle lies.
11 Declare them guilty, God;
make them fall by their own devices.(M)
Drive them out for their many sins;
for they have rebelled against you.
V
12 Then all who trust in you will be glad
and forever shout for joy.(N)
You will protect them and those will rejoice in you
who love your name.
13 For you, Lord, bless the just one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalm 6[i]
Prayer in Distress
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments, “upon the eighth.”[j]
A psalm of David.
I
2 Do not reprove me in your anger, Lord,
nor punish me in your wrath.(O)
3 Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shuddering.(P)
4 My soul too is shuddering greatly—
and you, Lord, how long…?[k](Q)
5 Turn back, Lord, rescue my soul;
save me because of your mercy.
6 For in death there is no remembrance of you.
Who praises you in Sheol?[l](R)
II
7 I am wearied with sighing;
all night long I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch with weeping.
8 My eyes are dimmed with sorrow,
worn out because of all my foes.(S)
III
9 Away from me, all who do evil!(T)
The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
10 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord will receive my prayer.
11 My foes will all be disgraced and will shudder greatly;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.(U)
Footnotes
- Psalm 4 An individual lament emphasizing trust in God. The petition is based upon the psalmist’s vivid experience of God as savior (Ps 4:2). That experience of God is the basis for the warning to the wicked: revere God who intervenes on the side of the faithful (Ps 4:3–6). The faithful psalmist exemplifies the blessings given to the just (Ps 4:7–8).
- 4:1 For the leader: many Psalm headings contain this rubric. Its exact meaning is unknown but may signify that such Psalms once stood together in a collection of “the choirmaster,” cf. 1 Chr 15:21.
- 4:3 Love what is worthless…lies: these expressions probably refer to false gods worshiped by those the psalmist is addressing.
- 4:5 Tremble: be moved deeply with fear for failing to worship the true God. The Greek translation understood the emotion to be anger, and it is so cited in Eph 4:26. Weep bitterly…wail: weeping within one’s heart and wailing upon one’s bed denote sincere repentance because these actions are not done in public or with the community but in the privacy of one’s heart and one’s home. The same idiom is found in Hos 7:14.
- 4:9 In peace I will…fall asleep: the last verse repeats two themes in the Psalm. One is the security of one who trusts in the true God; the other is the interior peace of those who sincerely repent (“on [their] beds”), whose sleep is not disturbed by a guilty conscience.
- Psalm 5 A lament contrasting the security of the house of God (Ps 5:8–9, 12–13) with the danger of the company of evildoers (Ps 5:5–7, 10–11). The psalmist therefore prays that God will hear (Ps 5:2–4) and grant the protection and joy of the Temple.
- 5:8 Mercy: used to translate the Hebrew word, hesed. This term speaks to a relationship between persons. It is manifested in concrete actions to persons with some need or desire. The one who offers hesed has the ability to respond to that need of the other person. Other possible ways to translate hesed include “steadfast love” and “loving kindness.”
- 5:10 Their throat: their speech brings harm to their hearers (cf. Jer 5:16). The verse mentions four parts of the body, each a source of evil to the innocent.
- Psalm 6 The first of the seven Penitential Psalms (Ps 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), a designation dating from the seventh century A.D. for Psalms suitable to express repentance. The psalmist does not, as in many laments, claim to be innocent but appeals to God’s mercy (Ps 6:5). Sin here, as often in the Bible, is both the sinful act and its injurious consequences; here it is physical sickness (Ps 6:3–4, 7–8) and the attacks of enemies (Ps 6:8, 9, 11). The psalmist prays that the effects of personal and social sin be taken away.
- 6:1 Upon the eighth: apparently a musical notation, now lost.
- 6:4 How long?: elliptical for “How long will it be before you answer my prayer?” cf. Ps 13:2–3.
- 6:6 A motive for God to preserve the psalmist from death: in the shadowy world of the dead no one offers you praise. Sheol is the biblical term for the underworld where the insubstantial souls of dead human beings dwelt. It was similar to the Hades of Greek and Latin literature. In the second century B.C., biblical books begin to speak positively of life with God after death (Dn 12:1–3; Wis 3).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.