A Righteous Anger
Psalm 4
David is voicing distress to the Lord. The language in Hebrew David is using attributes the tense nature of the situation to being a kin to a tight and enclosed space. Like being between a rock and a hard place. The specific events causing such a mass turning to false gods in the people of Israel is speculation by most commentators. However, the Psalm is more fixed on the internal dialogue of David, or rather, the faithful servant.
Notice how he moves through the song. Beginning with earnestly seeking the attention of the Lord, David then addresses his current reality: how the people of Israel are turning away from God and to false idols (most likely literal idols; gods and goddesses, deities, etc.), and how this makes him feel. David’s anger here is righteous, as he desires not for his people to fall victim to idolatry, but to rely on God instead and seek Him for answers. And David’s reliance further solidifies his servanthood to the Lord, and consequently resolves this moment of frustration with peace.
Transitioning into self-talk in verse 4 and 5, there is both a physical reality (feeling angry) and a spiritual reality which David is attacking this issue with. Offering right sacrifices and trusting the Lord are two fronts of the issue. Going on we see the peace David receives is both physical in the rest he receives as well as spiritual in the peace he is abiding in.
On the college campus, and especially large cities some of us are living in, there are cultural moments we see that ours, when deeply desiring the Lord’s will for the people, get angry at. Whether we see our disciples and peers run straight back to old sin when things get hard (and they will get hard), or witness entire groups of people embody rebellion to the Lord. There are times to get angry. For us to stay this way isn’t and shouldn’t necessarily be our default state as a Christian though, as David is praying for greater joy and delight to be in the Lord, and for His peace to be felt as relief from this distress.
The challenge we are left with is to voice what’s getting us frustrated and distressed to the Lord who hears. Personally some of the most immediately impactful moments of prayer have been alone, engaging in moments like this. God uses our emotions when we let Him. So would our prayer lives not be identical to David’s, because we aren’t David… but would they embody the same transparency and deep trust presented in Psalm’s like this. As mentioned above, this is when we are drawn closer to the Lord, and solidified as His faithful servant. Faithful in prayer and confession behind closed doors, that our desires would be aligned with His truly, as we step forth into whatever the Lord has for us.
