The Word Made Fresh
(To the worship leader; a psalm to be accompanied with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.)
1I’m crying out to you, God! Please answer me!
You rescued me before when I was threatened –
please answer me now!
2Listen, everyone – how long will you question my honor?
How long are you going to listen to lies being broadcast about
me?
3Understand that the LORD heeds the pleas of the faithful,
and the LORD will surely hear my plea.
4Don’t let anger cause you to sin.
Think things over while you’re in bed and hold your peace.
5Make the appropriate sacrifices and trust the LORD.
6A lot of people long to see some good;
they long to be in the presence of God’s light.
7You, LORD, have made my heart glad much more
than just having plenty to eat and drink.
8And so, I can lie down and sleep peacefully,
because you, LORD, are keeping me safe.
Commentary
Superscription: the “leader” is most likely a reference to the priest in charge of the chorus or the band of instrumentalists. This is another “psalm of David,” and clearly is intended to be used in worship with musical accompaniment.
1: This psalm is another plea for divine intervention, based on the author’s prior experiences of being sustained by God in times of distress.
2-3: His honor is being attacked. He responds by insisting that he is in the right and that God will hear his plea for help.
4-5: Some good advice when you are beset upon: don’t respond in kind. Keep your peace and trust God.
6-7: Do you wish for things to be better? Well, then, remember how God has been good in the past.
8: Then you can stop worrying. Again, we read that trust in God allows one to sleep in peace. That’s why bedtime prayers are a good thing.
Takeaway
Over and over, we will find in the psalms the wisdom of putting everything in God’s hands when we go to bed at night. Bedtime prayers can take away the stress of the day, and night by night our trust in God will be reinforced and grow stronger through the years.