Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 4:3

"But know that Jehovah hath set apart for himself him that is godly: Jehovah will hear when I call unto him." — Psalms 4:3 (ASV)

But know. —It is the privilege of true and heroic natures to rise to a consciousness of their strength and dignity in the hour of peril, and when they are victims of unjust persecution. Besides his innate greatness, David has a grandeur and dignity, derived from his deep sense of the covenant between God and His anointed, and his own imperfect but sincere endeavor to act worthily as God’s vice-regent on earth. His selection by Jehovah is an unanswerable reply to his calumniators, and the surest proof of his own uprightness.

Has set apart. —That is, has distinguished or honored. The Septuagint and Vulgate rightly render it this way. The Hebrew word occurs in Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:4; Exodus 11:7, referring to the severance between Israel and Egypt. .

Godly. —Heb. chasîd, properly, graced or gracious, depending on whether it is used in reference to Israel or to the God of Israel. The covenant relationship is more prominent in the word than a moral excellence, though this is presupposed. See Psalm 1:5, where the word appears to be defined. There is a difficulty in the construction: lô (to him) may go either with the verb or the object. By comparison with Psalm 17:7, we take it with the latter. Septuagint, “his holy one.”