Psalms 4:1 (WEB)

Passage

Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

Nearby Context

Psalms 4:1 Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

Psalms 4:2 You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.

Psalms 4:3 But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "answer", "call", "righteousness", "give", "relief", "distress", and "hear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "answer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "You sons of men how long shall...", so "mercy" and "answer" should be read forward into that movement. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "answer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.