Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 4:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 4:1: The petition “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” belongs to the prayer “An evening appeal for hearing and secure rest,” not to an isolated command.
Read It With
- Psalms 4:1–8
- Psalms 4:1–8
Read Psalm 4:1 with 4:1–8 and the whole of Psalm 4. Psalm 4:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. The lament-confidence form, parallel lines, voice, and Book I placement keep the selected line from becoming a contextless slogan.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalm 4:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. This verse belongs at this precise point because it advances “An evening appeal for hearing and secure rest” between the preceding and following poetic lines; the entire Psalms 4:1–8 controls its force.
What Remains True
The lasting force of “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” comes through Psalms 4:1–8 and Book I, not isolation. Trust can be voiced within danger and delay without becoming a guarantee of immunity or a reason to reject practical care. The local movement is “An evening appeal for hearing and secure rest.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Confidence in peaceful sleep is prayerful trust, not a guarantee that faithful people will never face insomnia, danger, or trauma.
How It Can Shape Life
- Keep the movement “An evening appeal for hearing and secure rest” in view. Speak the trust in “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” alongside the actual danger, then use every wise source of shelter, counsel, treatment, or community support available. The textual reason is this verse's role: Psalm 4:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness” rather than turning the line into a command against another person.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 4:1–8 — An evening appeal for hearing and secure restSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 4:1–8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 4:1–8
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 4:1–8.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 4 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 4:1–8
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗