Psalm 4:8-9 Conscious of G-d’s constant presence

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“נָתַתָּה שִׂמְחָה בְלִבִּי מֵעֵת דְּגָנָם וְתִירוֹשָׁם רָבּוּ.
בְּשָׁלוֹם יַחְדָּו אֶשְׁכְּבָה וְאִישָׁן כִּי אַתָּה יְהֹוָה לְבָדָד לָבֶטַח תּוֹשִׁיבֵנִי”

“You gave joy into my heart from the time that their corn and their wine increased.
In peace together, I would lie down and sleep, for You, O Lord, would make me dwell alone in safety.”

What makes us more satisfied than the falls of our opponents? Malicious joy.

King David finds joy and happiness even when his opponents are prospering. Obviously the joy doesn’t come because of them, but has to do with David’s realization, maybe mindset.

Being chased after by enemies that are strong and successful, David.. ‘lies down and sleep’ .
What is his secret for this serenity? – ..“for you, O Lord, would make me dwell alone in safety”.

Conscious of G-d’s constant presence, I can sleep peacefully feeling wholeness. Not afraid from any enemy, never troubled from attacks.  You, G-d are the only thing that really exist. When I know you put me in the place I am, in the condition and circumstances I face, there is no need to refer to those who chase after me and try to harm me.

 

We mentioned the phrase ..”Raise up over us the light of Your countenance, O Lord.” in the previous verse.

In the current verse (psalm 4:8-9), David shares his perspective to things that happen in his life. In this case, the subject is not ‘enlightenment’, but more ‘point of view’, perspective and consciousness to Hashem’s presence.

Briefly about ‘enlightenment’, meditation and the Buddha’s zen:

First, here is a summary from a Buddha colleague:

My teacher, Zenkai Taiun (Michael Elliston) Roshi explains the difference between enlightenment and awakening by saying that we are already enlightened in the first place.  In the Soto school of Zen, the practice of meditation is not considered a means to an end.  Enlightenment is the aspiration to clarify the problems of birth, death, selfhood, and suffering through the practice of meditation.
 
Awakening, on the other hand, is the undeniable realization of the truth of Buddhist teaching.
– There is a core difference between the Buddha meditation towards ‘enlightenment’ and the Jewish one that is mentioned few times in the Bible – G-D.
When the ‘Bnei Ha Nevi’im’, sons of the prophets were meditating in the time of the Bible, they praying and waited for Hashem to reveal himself to them, whereas in the Buddha there is no reference to any sort of G-d at all. The closest to that is one’s self, therefor the enlightenment comes from within the individual’s self.

Another meditation in Judaism (can be found in the time of the Talmud and more focused in the different branches of the Chasidut) is preparing oneself before starting the services. One might also see the structure of the Jewish services, which includes also first part of preparation / meditation – usually in the form of Psalms (psalm 144:15, P’sukei D’ Zimra).
This is not completely opposite to the meditation of the Buddha, described above. Although it is ‘preparation’ on the way to the services, it has also self-sufficient significance, so that a person is trying to form a change (in a good manner) within himself, so he will be ‘closer’ to G-d, this way will have better prayers. Still the change itself has an independent meaning.