Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
Hearken unto the voice of my cry - My cry for assistance. The word "voice" refers to the utterance of his desires, or to his "expressed" wishes in a time of trouble.
My King, and my God - Though he was himself a king, yet he acknowledged his subjection to God as his supreme Ruler, and looked up to Him to protect him in his dangers, and to restore him to his rights. He was, at the same time, his God - his covenant God - to whom he felt that he was permitted to come in the hour of trouble, and whose blessing he was permitted to invoke.
For unto thee will I pray - He had no one else to go to in his troubles, and he felt that he "might" approach the living God. It was his fixed purpose - his regular habit - to pray to him, and to seek his favor and friendship, and he felt that he was permitted to do so now.
:Title
Upon Nehiloth - The title of Psalms 4:1-8 is, "upon Neginoth." As that refers to a musical instrument, so it is probable that this does, and that the idea here is that this psalm was intended particularly for the music-master that had special charge of this instrument, or who presided over those that played on it. Perhaps the idea is that this psalm was specially designed to be accompanied with this instrument. The word here, Nehiloth - ne chı̂ylôth , plural. ne chı̂ylâh , singular - is supposed by Gesenius, Lexicon, to denote a flute, or pipe, as being "perforated," from châlal , to bore." The word occurs only in this place. Very various opinions have been entertained of its meaning. See Hengstenberg, "Com." The Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint understand it as meaning "inheritance" - the same as nachălâh , and as being somehow designed to refer to the people of God "as" a heritage. Latin Vulgate: In finem pro ca, quae hereditatem consequitur, psalmus David. So the Septuagint - ̔̀ ͂ ́ huper tēs klēronomousēs . So Luther, Fur das Erbe . What was the precise idea affixed to this it is not very easy to determine. Luther explains it, "according to the title, this is the general idea of the psalm, that the author prays for the inheritance or heritage of God, desiring that the people of God may be faithful to him, and may always adhere to him." The true interpretation, however, is evidently to regard this as an instrument of music, and to consider the psalm as adapted to be sung with the instrument of music specified. Why it was adapted particularly to "that" instrument of music cannot now be determined. Horsley renders it "upon the flutes." Compare Ugolin. Thesau. Ant. Sac.; tom. xxxii. pp. 158-170.
A Psalm of David - See introduction to Psalms 3:1-8.
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