Bible verse wall art
Psalm 4: an evening prayer for safe sleep
Psalm 4 is one of the oldest bedtime prayers in the world. It begins with distress and ends with a person turning out the light, at peace enough to fall asleep.
Psalm 4 print
Psalm 4 · King James Version
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety
A song for stringed instruments
The heading gives it to the chief Musician on Neginoth, a term usually understood to mean stringed instruments, and names David as the author. It sits right after Psalm 3, a morning psalm in which David says he laid down, slept and woke again because the LORD sustained him. Psalm 4 is the evening pair, and the two are often read together.
David opens by calling on the God of my righteousness, remembering that God had given him room when he was in distress. Then he turns to people around him who love vanity and seek after falsehood, and asks how long they will turn his glory into shame.
Be still upon your bed
Verse 4 gives advice for a sleepless night: Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Paul seems to echo the Greek version of this line in Ephesians 4, be ye angry, and sin not, followed by the counsel not to let the sun go down on your wrath.
Many people ask who will show them any good. David answers with a prayer drawn from the priestly blessing of Numbers 6: lift up the light of thy countenance upon us. God has put more gladness in his heart than others feel when their grain and wine increase.
What does Psalm 4:8 mean?
The last verse is the one on our poster: I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. The word both matters. It is one thing to lie down; it is another to actually fall asleep. David can do both because his safety does not depend on locks, walls or guards. God alone is the reason he can let go of the day.
The psalm does not deny that the troubles are real. The enemies of verse 2 are still out there in the morning. What has changed is where the sleeper puts his trust.
A psalm for the end of the day
Psalm 4 has been prayed at night for centuries, and it has long been one of the psalms of Compline, the last prayer of the monastic day. Our Sleeping Child print turns it into a nursery picture, a child tucked in under a window full of night sky. It is gentle Christian wall art for a crib wall, a baby shower or a baptism, and a comfort for older children afraid of the dark.