Psalm 4:3 LORD Sets Apart the Pious
Memory Verse
And know that the LORD has set apart the pious to Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3).
In this psalm, David cries out to the LORD for favor and to hear his intercession against the unrighteous (Psalm 4:1). He turns to the sons of men, asking how long they will turn their honor into shame. They love doing things that produce no value and seek out deceptive things (Psalm 4:2).
However, the LORD knows how to set apart those who are pious. Pious is holiness, being set apart unto God, in action. Thus, these are the ones who followed God’s commandments in their daily conduct. In Psalm 16:10, “pious” is used concerning the Messiah, predicting His resurrection. The LORD would not permit His pious one to see corruption. In Acts 2:27, when Peter declares the resurrection of Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem, he quotes Psalm 16:10, connecting the Hebrew meaning of the word to the Greek word for “pious”.
The pious today are those who belong to Christ. Therefore, the men are to lift up pious hands, apart from wrath and disputing, as they express a proper opinion of who God is and what He has done (1 Timothy 2:8). The women are to adorn themselves in a manner that honors that they belong to Christ and are to display their godliness in good works (1 Timothy 2:9). Thus, through their conduct, both the men and women of the Church display their holiness in Christ.
David continues by encouraging the pious of his day not to sin in their anger, but to speak in their hearts on their beds and be still (Psalm 4:4). Rather than speaking against the unrighteous, they are to sacrifice the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD (Psalm 4:5). He then notes that many ask who will show them good (Psalm 4:6).
In David’s day, Israel was under the Mosaic Law. As he writes this psalm, the burden of those who do not abide by the law to honor God sits on his mind. Rather than honoring God in their actions, they go after vain and deceptive things. In like manner, today we have many in our assemblies claiming to be Christians who do not honor God and live by grace. We are in the time of the Laodicean assembly, which describes the predominant condition of Christianity today as those who seek after wealth above proper doctrine (Revelation 3:17). Paul warns us that in these last days we will be in perilous times. Not times of great physical distress, but times marked by a lack of truth (2 Timothy 3:1–5). As in David’s day, the Church is also distressed by those who go after vain things such as worship services that are more characteristic of a worldly concert and messages that focus on good feelings and self-help rather than the truth of God’s word.
As David closes the Psalm, he knows he will lie down in peace in his death, for the LORD alone makes him dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8).