The Biblical Illustrator
Psalms 4:8
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Signs of a quiet spirit
In the text are two subjects. David’s privilege or happiness itself. The ground or foundation of this his happiness. In the letter and proposition of it, we have the comfortableness and advantage of natural rest. In the scope and drift of it, we have the comfortableness and advantage of God’s favour. The security and fearlessness of a godly person, who is in the love and favour of God, and hath this evidenced and made good to his soul. He is one that is free from all inordinate disturbance, and disquietness of spirit. Those who are reconciled to God, and in His love, have privileges beyond others, so as “in patience to possess their souls,’ in the midst of the greatest outward trouble. This is grounded upon that persuasion which they have of God Himself, and of His affections towards them. It is implied, that none can well thus compose themselves, but those which are thus affected. None can lie down in peace and sleep securely, but those who have made their peace with God, and are in favour with Him. A guilty conscience can never lie down in quiet. Great estates in the world are, for the most part, occasions of great distraction and disquietness of spirit, and such as are subject to break men of their natural rest. Why could David sleep with his estate, rather than his enemies with theirs? Because his was sanctified and sweetened to him by the love of God. Note the ground of the godly man’s composure. “Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” The blessing itself--a safe and secure habitation. As we desire to dwell safely, let us be careful to dwell holily: and that includes piety and religion; justice, honesty, and righteousness; peace, friendship, love and quietness of spirit; charity and giving to the poor. This blessing flows from God Himself. It is not a business of mere casualty, there’s a providence in it. Not a business of mere endeavour, it comes by the blessing of God. (T. Horton, D. D.)
How to close the day with God
This may be understood, either figuratively, of the repose of the soul, in the assurance of God’s grace, or literally, of the repose of the body, under the protection of His providence. The Psalmist having given the preference to God’s favour above any good, having chosen that, and portioned himself in that, here expresses his great complacency in the choice he had made. Those who have the assurances of God’s favour toward them, may enjoy, and should labour after, a holy serenity and security of mind. It is the privilege of good people that they may be thus easy and satisfied; and it is their duty to use the means appointed for the obtaining it. The Psalmist, after an anxious day, now retires to his chamber with the words, “I will lay me down in peace, and sleep.” Here we have David’s pious thoughts when he was going to bed. Observe his confidence in God, his composedness in himself Doctrine: As we must begin the day with God, and wait upon Him all the day, so we must endeavour to close it with Him. Let us retire to lay us down. Some sit up to do mischief to their neighbours; others sit up in pursuit of the world and the wealth of it; others sit up in the indulgence of their pleasures. But let us lay down with thankfulness to God, and with thoughts of dying; with penitent reflections upon the sins of the day, and with humble supplications for the mercies of the night. We should be convinced of it that we are still contracting guilt. We should examine our consciences, that we may find out our particular transgressions of the day past. We should renew our repentance, for whatever we find has been amiss in us. We should make a fresh application of the blood of Christ to our souls, for the remission of our sins, and the gracious acceptance of our repentance. We should apply ourselves to the throne of grace for peace and pardon. Let us also lie down with humble supplication for the mercies of the night. We must pray, that our outward man may be under the care of God’s holy angels, who are the ministers of His providence. We must pray, that our inward man may be under the influences of His Holy Spirit, who is the author and fountain of His grace. And when we lay down, our care and endeavour must be to lay us down in peace. Let us lie down in peace with God; for without this there can be no peace at all. Let us lie down in peace with all men: we are concerned to go to sleep, as well as to die, in charity. Let us lie down at peace with ourselves. But when may we lie down in peace at night? If we have, by the grace of God, in some measure done the work of the day, and filled it up with duty. If we have by faith, and patience, and submission to the Divine will, reconciled ourselves to all the events of the day so as to be uneasy at nothing that God has done. If we have renewed our repentance for sin. If we have put ourselves under the Divine protection. If we have cast all our cares for the day following upon God. Having laid ourselves down in peace, we must compose ourselves to sleep. It is by the power of God’s providence that we are kept safe in the night. (Matthew Henry.)
Sleep
Sleep is the image of death. Jesus Christ abolished the terrors of the first death, the death of the body. In the text is not a prayer of David, but a determination on his part. To a certain extent, peaceful sleep depends upon ourselves. A peaceful state of mind has a great deal to do with the power of enjoying God’s gift of sleep. And, similarly, a peaceful death depends on ourselves. There is such a thing as the quietness of a stupefied conscience. How may we, as far as conscience is concerned, carry out the resolution that we will lie down in peace?
1. By doing all that in us lies to preserve a peaceful conscience during the day. Begin the day with earnest prayer. Our morning prayers may show us what we wish to be, but the temptations of the day show us what we are. Our consciences cannot but be injured, if we are guilty of faults and errors during the day, and take no account of them at the dose of the day. Self-examination gives an earnestness and a reality to the prayer for pardon. If it be true that the last sleep of all makes the sleep of each night more solemn, it is also true that each night’s sleep makes the last sleep of all less strange. What is each day but a picture of the whole life, and each night but a picture of death? Then we must do all that in us lies to preserve a peaceful conscience during the years of life. (W. H. Ranken, M. A.)
The Christian good night
This is one of the many verses in the Bible, especially in the Psalms, which, must come home to every heart of man, if read with any degree of simple faith. It sets full before us the most comfortable and refreshing picture or a devout, sober, honest person, after his day’s work is ended, his passions kept in order, his sins repented of, and his prayers seriously said, laying himself down to his night’s rest, in the full consciousness that he is neither alone nor unguarded; that as there has been a merciful Eye watching over him, a mighty Hand stretched out to guard him, through the dangers and temptations of the day, so it will be with him in the night also. This entire rest and tranquillity of God’s faithful servants, when they lay them down on their bed at night, is beautifully expressed in the text, “I will lay me down ‘all together’”; all my powers of mind and body agreeing, as it were, one with another; not torn by violent passions, by desire on the one hand, and remorse on the other. How catholic, how universal is the thought expressed by the Psalmist. There is no one condition of life that it suits better than another. The need of taking rest is an universal law of God’s providence over men here in this lower world. As death, so sleep may be truly called a great leveller. As sleep is the image of death, and as the slumber of every night is a kind of sacramental token of that last long sleep, these words may be used for a dying Christian also. Only a Christian has a warrant from Holy Scripture to regard death as no more than a quiet sleep. The Father, acknowledging them as His children, receives them at their death into the everlasting arms. As all the blessings which we have or hope for depend on the Passion of our Lord and Saviour, so this blessing of taking our rest, whether in our bed or in the grave, seems to bear an especial relation to the mystery of the burial of Jesus Christ. Our warrant for our hope is that the Son of God died for us, bought us to be His own in such sort, that we should be really joined to Him, mystically made members of His body. As members, inseparable members, of the Man Christ Jesus, we hope to have our bodies buried with Him; and for our souls, our true selves, we hope that when they pass away from our bodies they may be with Him that day in Paradise. Except we have this hope in us, we cannot apply to ourselves the comfortable words of this Psalm. How is it that in sleep, and still more in death, Christian men may humbly depend on a peculiar presence of our Lord Jesus Christ to guard them?
1. Because He is King, who has promised, “He that keepeth thee will not sleep.”
2. In this act of lying down comes in the remembrance and the power of our Lord’s sacrifice. That deep sleep of His, on the Cross and in the grave, has sanctified and blessed the sleep of all penitent Christians for all time to come, whether in their beds or in the bosom of the earth. Sin and its punishment, disease and misery, is the great disturber of sleep. Then to have a reasonable hope, grounded on a good conscience, that blemished as you are with many infirmities, you have not forfeited the blessing of Christ’s death; this is the secret of good nights, and a comfortable death time. Again, we are taught in Holy Scripture to regard the Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ as one very especial safeguard for the sleeping, until they wake, and for the dead, until they rise again. (Contributors to “Tracts for the Times.”)
A good night watchman
I have noticed in the books of travellers, this observation, “We found it exceedingly difficult to obtain a tent keeper who could keep awake at night.” One gentleman speaks of discovering a thief in his tent, and when he went outside to call the watchman he found that the man had gone so soundly to sleep that he could only be aroused by one or two gentle kicks. When a man has been travelling with you all day, it is unreasonable to expect him to keep awake through the night to, take care of you. Hence the beauty of the words, “Behold He that keepeth Israel.” etc. (C. H. Spurgeon.).