In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; for thou, Jehovah, alone makest me to dwell in safety.
The psalm ends at nightfall, with the enemies of the earlier verses still there and nothing changed. What is left is a man lying down to sleep — and his reason is not that the danger has passed, but that God alone keeps him.
An Evening Psalm
The last line belongs to the end of a day. Commentators note that this psalm is paired with the one before it, and that the two mark different hours.
The fourth Psalm is linked to the third. The third is "a Morning Psalm" and the fourth "an Evening Hymn."
Sleep of Faith, Not of Exhaustion
There is a kind of sleep that comes from being worn out. This sleep is different. One writer contrasts it with the restlessness of people who have plenty.
For this reason the psalmist can say, "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety" (v.8). This is not the sleep of exhaustion, but that of confiding faith. Those whose riches grow are more likely to lie awake at night. They worry about how to keep their wealth, or how to spend it.
What Comes First: Gladness
The rest spoken of in verse 8 does not come from nowhere. It follows the gladness of verse 7, where the psalmist weighs God's favour against the wicked's rich harvest and finds it better.
Faith sees that God shines His face on a small group of suffering people who stay true to Him. That favour is far better than the outward success of the wicked. God's favour brings a gladness into the heart that is far greater than the enjoyment of things we own here and now. Enjoying this favour, the soul can lie down in peace and safety. The evil of the world no longer keeps it anxious.
Another writer names the same three gifts, and notes that when we tell others about them, the order runs backwards.
And then we can tell of the gladness and peace and safety, which have been brought to us by the gospel. Only perhaps we should reverse their order, and speak of safety, peace and gladness.
The Weight of "Alone"
The little word "alone" carries the verse. It shuts out every other guarantee.
Third, the presence of the Lord kept him safe. Others might threaten him and put him in danger, but the Lord, and the Lord alone, made him dwell in safety.
Commentators differ on what the word "alone" goes with. One writer reads it as describing the man, not God: he is kept safe even when nobody else is around. That writer sees a picture of it in the prophet Elijah, whom God sent to hide by a stream, where birds brought him food.
David wrote in Ps. 4:8: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." One older translation puts a different sense in its margin: "You, Lord, though I am alone, make me dwell in safety." Elijah at the brook Cherith could have said the same. No wild animal or enemy could harm him. He was alone, but he was there because the Lord had told him to be, and he stayed under the Lord's watchful eye.
The Man Who Slept in the Storm
Earlier in the psalm, the psalmist tells others to lie on their beds and search themselves. He himself lies down and sleeps. One writer points to the clearest example of that rest.
The godly man, as here, can go to bed and sleep (v. 8). But he tells others to go to bed and there talk with their own hearts and search themselves (v. 4). He knows he has every right to rest in God, undisturbed, for "He gives to His beloved sleep." The Lord Jesus lived this out. He slept while wind and waves tossed the boat on the Sea of Galilee. (See Mark 4)
The Same Pillow Offered to Us
The same rest is open to believers today. And we know something more: who God is to us.
Christian, He gives that pillow to us, and we may find sweet rest in the middle of trouble. He says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27), and He also said "My Father and your Father, my God and your God" (John 20:17). And if fear rises in the heart, and the cry breaks out, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?", the answer is this: "casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Summary
- Evening. This is the closing hour of a hard day. The psalm before it is a morning psalm, this one an evening hymn — and the enemies have not gone anywhere.
- Gladness. The rest in verse 8 grows out of verse 7. God's favour brings a joy that outweighs the wicked's full harvest. Only then can the soul lie down untroubled.
- Faith. The sleep is of "confiding faith," not exhaustion — the opposite of the rich man lying awake over how to guard what he owns.
- Alone. Others could threaten, but the Lord alone made him safe. One reading even puts the safety in being alone, as Elijah was at the brook.
- Christ. Jesus asleep in the tossing boat is the perfect example. He offers us the same pillow: His own peace, and His word to cast all our anxiety on Him.