Psalm 4 is an evening prayer. David is retiring to sleep in the bosom of God. He is confident that the Lord will hear when he calls upon Him (verse 3); he stresses the fact that we should put our trust in the Lord (verse 5); he thanks the Lord for the gladness that is in his heart (verse 7); and for the peace of mind that comes from knowing God (verse 8).
Psalm 5 is an evening prayer. David is beset by treacherous enemies and prays and shouts for joy in the confidence that God will protect him. David must have had many enemies, for he refers to them over and over again. Many of the most magnificent Psalms were born of David's troubles.
Psalm 6 is the first of the Penitential Psalms and is the cry of a broken heart. This Psalm was perhaps occasioned by David's sin with Bathsheba and records a time of sickness, bitter grief, tears, humiliation, shame, and reproach by David's enemies.
Psalm 7 is another prayer for protection, as David is in grave danger. In verse 3 David avows his own righteousness. Cush, the Benjamite, could have been one of Saul's officers in pursuit of David.
When a Psalm is quoted in the New Testament and applied to Christ, it is known as a Messianic Psalm. Psalm 8 is applied to Christ in several places in the New Testament (Matthew 21:16; Hebrews 2:6-9; I Corinthians 15:27; and Ephesians 1:22). As Son of man, Christ appears in humiliation, a little lower than the angels, to taste death for every man, and is now crowned with glory and honor (verses 1-5). Man was given dominion over creation, which was lost by sin, and which is to be restored only by the second Adam (Christ), verses 6-9.
