Psalm 4 Discourse

Psalm Overview

• Grammar
• Semantics
• Story behind the Psalm
• Discourse
• Poetics

Emotions

The intensity of the psalmist's emotions wanes as the psalm unfolds. The psalm begins in distress and impatience (vv.2-3) and ends in serene sleep (v.9), as anger (vv.3-5), met with trust (v.4), gives way to joy (vv.7-8) and peace (v.9). In this evening psalm, David does not let the sun go down on his anger (cf. Eph. 4:26).

Emotional Profile

Think-Feel-Do Chart

Notes

v. 2

• THINK
  • David refers to God as righteous (v. 2a) as an indication that David knows God's obligation to answer him.
  • The preterite semantics (v. 2b) shows that David knows Yahweh's likelihood to answer.
  • tsar is a metaphor for ‘distress’.
• FEEL
  • tsar is a metaphor for ‘distress’.
  • The imperatives indicate a possible event according the speaker's desire.
  • Lexically, mercy presupposes distress (Psalm 6:3; 9:14; 25:16; 56:2; 102:14).
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

v. 3

• THINK
  • The implicit answer of the interjection 'ad me is ‘far too long’, which reflects the Psalmist's evaluation of their actions.
  • Lexically, riq and kazav indicate the Psalmist's evaluation of their actions as reprehensible.
• FEEL
  • The Psalmist designates the people as ‘mortal men’ in order to (1) express their distance from God, and (2) assert his dominance since the king is God's ‘son.’ All of this suggests frustration and impatience on the Psalmist's part.
  • The rhetorical question ‘until when’ has ‘far too long’ as its implication. One of the purposes of this rhetorical question is to express impatience. David wouldn't be impatient at the people's turning away if he wasn't concerned for them.
  • The status of the proposition ‘you (will) love emptiness’, according to the speaker, is a certain one based on his knowledge of their character. This serves as an implicit critique—their love of idols is characteristic of them.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

v. 4

• THINK
  • David himself must know what he commands the people to know.
  • David refers to YHWH using the divine name, suggesting confidence in God's covenant promises.
  • YHWH has set apart David (v. 4a).
  • YHWH will hear when David calls (v. 4b).
  • David has been loyal to the covenant (hasid).
• FEEL
  • David considers himself a haṣīd, suggesting that he feels confident.
  • The imperative in this context presupposes compliance due to authority.
  • The waw here connects the speech-acts of vv. 3 and 4. A rebuke (v. 3) carries the implication of a command within it. Here the directive is explicit and serves corrective purposes. The emotion behind the illocution must also be carried over as well.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

v. 5

• THINK
  • This is explicit in the text. The Psalmist tells the people to stop sinning, suggesting that they are already sinning. (The 'al morpheme negates the propositional content.
• FEEL
  • Lexically, the psalmist wants the people to experience a sustained episode of fear.
  • The imperative in this context presupposes compliance due to authority.
  • The command to ponder on one's bed demonstrates the severity with which they have sinned. They are called not only to re-examine their actions but themselves, since the bed is where people often think their most private thoughts.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

v. 6

• THINK
  • ‘Right sacrifices’ presupposes wrong sacrifices
• FEEL
  • See v. 5
  • The Psalmist directs them to YHWH—the name of the covenant God who is faithful to forgive if they repent.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

vv. 7-8

• THINK
  • National calamity was perceived as a failure to provide for the national welfare (the people)
• FEEL
  • The Psalmist explicitly states that God had placed joy in his heart.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis
  • mi + yiqtol can express a wish in BH. This function is a result of the obvious answer to the rhetorical question—‘who will show us good? Nobody!’. Wish is the superordinate function because if they really believed that ‘nobody’ will show them good they would not sacrifice to other gods. The expression is being used as hyperbole.

v. 9

• THINK
  • The Psalmist knows that the Lord makes his life secure.
• FEEL
  • The Psalmist explicitly says that he is at peace.
  • The sound repetition and line lengths of this verse suggest a deep, peaceful rest-like state.
• DO
  • see Speech act analysis

Speech Acts

Speech Act Summary

Speech Act Chart

Verb Morphology

Repeated Roots

Chart

• v.6 is distinguished, by repeated roots, as the center of the psalm. The word צדק (v.6a) appears in the first line of the psalm (2a), and the root בטח (v.6b) appears in the last line of the psalm.
• Repeated words/roots are concentrated in the middle of the psalm (vv. 4-6). Three lexemes from vv.1-3 (בקראי, שׁמע, צדק) are here repeated, and four which are repeated in vv. 8-9 appear here for the first time (לב, שׁכב, בטח, אמר).
• Nearly every word in v. 5b (אמר, לבב, שׁכב) is repeated in the following verses (vv.7-8) in the order in which they appeared in v.5b. אמר (v.5b) recurs in v.7a; לב recurs in v.8a; and שׁכב recurs in v.9a. This reinforces the thematic significance of v.5b, which also happens to be the middle/longest line of the psalm.
• Recursion of רבב (vv.7a, 8b) forms an inclusion.
• Lexical recursion/repetition connects v.2 and v.4 (בקראי, שׁמע).

Story