Psalms
Today we will continue our series through Psalms. We will be in chapter four. Last
week we went through David’s thoughts and prayers while he was being pursued
by his son Absalom who sought to kill him in chapter three. Today, what we have,
is a continuation of this narrative where we can catch an even greater glimpse at
the heart of David and his complete dependency upon God, the Creator of the
universe, his provider and his sustainer and his protector. Remember last week,
we described what it meant for God to be a shield about us. That if God is our
shield, nothing will ever be able to stop us.
If you notice in your Bibles, this psalm is for the choirmaster, and it is to be sung
with the accompaniment of stringed instruments. And so, what we are going to be
reading today is a song, a psalm of David meant to be sung and to be enjoyed by
those who choose to participate. And as we move through this psalm, I want us to
always keep in the back of our minds the idea that I presented to us last week,
that oftentimes, we sing the loudest when our hearts are the heaviest. Just as we
did last week, let’s pay close attention to what is written here in our text.
Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
The first thing I want us to look at is this phrase, “Answer me when I call.” When
we are reading something, let’s be careful to not read something into the text that
is not there. This happens a lot whenever we send text messages to each other.
Whenever we read a text, we tend to add a certain tone to it. I saw on social
media, a post that said, if you don’t end your text messages with lol, the recipient
of that text will think you’re either mad at them, or yelling at them or that you’re
upset in some way. Now, I don’t use lol in my texts, but I recognize that it has
almost become a necessity. Why? Because we understand how easily one couldbe misunderstood through a plain reading of a text. That leaves the door open to
whatever tone one attributes to it, changing its whole meaning.
So, when we read psalm 4:1, let’s not read it like, “Answer me when I call, God.”
(Or else). No, we have to remember the context in which this phrase is being
uttered. Remember last week, I mentioned that content plus context equals
meaning. If you have one without the other, you will have potentially missed its
intended meaning. The context for our psalm is that David is in a time of
desperation (not despair), but desperation. He is completely dependent upon God
for his well-being and care for his soul that could so easily be trapped in
hopelessness. And so, this phrase, answer me when I call, is not uttered as a
command, but as a request.
I just want to take a moment here to remind us about our approach and posture
when we pray to God. We are in no place to make demands of God. “God do this.”
“God do that.” That would be a foolish thing to do. The wise tree will say, “the
wind moved me”. The foolish tree will say, “I moved the wind.”
We are completely and utterly dependent upon God. With this in mind, when we
pray, we do not pray prayers of declaration (i.e. declaring or commanding God to
do something), but rather we ought to pray prayers of petition (i.e. making
requests of God). There is no greater example of this than our Lord and Savior
praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
David begins this psalm with requests to God. “Answer me when I call, O God of
my righteousness.” “Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.”
And sandwiched in between these two requests, David says, “You have given me
relief when I was in distress.” This is very important for us to see that David
mentions this in his prayer. Remember, David is on the run. His life is being
threatened. The hearts of the people of Israel have turned against him. But in his
prayer, David reflects and remembers what God had done for him in the past.
I’m sure he remembered standing alone in the Valley of Elah, standing in the
shadow of Goliath (except for the fact that he wasn’t alone). I’m sure he
remembered being on the run from King Saul who attempted to take his life on
multiple occasions, but God saw him through that. I’m sure he remembered,when just taking the throne as King over all Israel at the age of 30, when the
Philistines deployed themselves in the valley of Rephaim, how God made a way to
victory. These were the instructions God gave David that day.
2 Samuel 5:24
And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then
rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army
of the Philistines.”
It is in the remembering of what God had already done in his life, that David
found his confidence and assurance that God can see him through the present
circumstance.
We would do well to remember all that God has done for us, to get us to where
we are today. I think one of the reasons why a lot of us get stagnant or sedentary
in our faith is because we have forgotten, or we have suppressed the things that
God has done for us. And when the fires of our faith are no longer stoked by our
passion for God, we become timid and weak. Our faith, if not exercised,
experiences what I call spiritual atrophy. When this happens, we are no longer a
threat to the enemy. And we find ourselves on the sidelines. And then we just wait
for our time to go to heaven.
There’s a quote that goes like this.
“Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.”
I am inclined to agree with this. Although we can look forward to heaven, let us
not be more concerned about heaven than we are about the kingdom. While we
still draw breath, we are commissioned by God to make disciples. Yes, there’s a
thing called retirement when it comes to our jobs, but if you’re a Christian, there’s
no such thing as retirement. For those of you who are retired, or are about to
retire, I want you to know the opportunity you have that not many others have.
That’s time, and resources and capacity to devote yourselves fully to Kingdom
work. I’m proud to say that we have people like this right here in our congregation
who are retired, but aren’t tired of serving God. What an example we have to
follow.If we find ourselves today, struggling to see past the present challenges, or
recognize that, hey, my faith isn’t where it ought to be, I would encourage us to
remember and reflect on the times that God has shown up for us in our time of
need. Let that be the spark that rekindles our souls for the work God has called us
to. If we’re still breathing, we’re not done.
Psalm 4:2
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
David is addressing the men who are seeking do him harm. This is yet another
example where the ungodly have set themselves against those who seek the Lord.
This would’ve taken on the form of slander. Remember, that Absalom had stolen
the hearts of the people of Israel. Imagine the things that were being said of
David. “Maybe, wasn’t that great of a king after all.” Maybe there were doubts
regarding David’s anointing. Had he fallen out of favor with God just as Saul had?
If he was God’s anointed, would God have let him lose the throne?
If this happened in the modern day, all the late night talk show hosts would be all
over this. I can see the headlines now. “Another one bites the dust…God’s
Anointed, or Fraud?” And David is feeling this deep in his core and he asks, “How
long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” In other words, how long will
you love delusions?
In Jeremiah 2:13 we see a rebuke of people who are guilty of the same thing.
Instead of holding fast to faith in God, people started going after other gods.
Trading truth for lies.
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.Do we not see this today in our own world? What Jeremiah is depicting here in
this word from God is that people are no longer depending on the true source of
life i.e. God, but are depending on a pitiful imitation of God that will inevitably fall
apart leading to their demise.
Studies from Pew Research and Barna Group show that over 60% of “Christians”
in America believe that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. Friends, if this is our
worldview, we’re not Bible-believing Christians. This is why I will never apologize
for doctrine-heavy sermons. In a world that is becoming more and more anti-
doctrine, I want us to hold tighter and tighter to the fact that doctrine does, in
fact, matter. Why?
Because, if we believe something to be true that is not true, that’s delusion. That
is trading the truth for a lie. We begin to worship this false picture of Jesus while
neglecting to worship the real Jesus. And as modern Christians continue down this
path, they go on digging those cisterns for themselves that can’t actually hold any
water. It is a path that does not lead to life. And if there is a hill I am willing to die
on, it is this one. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus.
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.
What David is writing about here is nothing new. It wasn’t new to him then, and it
isn’t new to us now. People will always find it more enticing to go after lies when
the truth is inconvenient. We have to guard ourselves from that ever happening to
us.
Psalm 4:3
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
This statement isn’t an arrogant boast. It is not a claim meant to insinuate a holier-
than-thou kind of attitude. This is merely a statement based in the reality that
those who choose to follow God have distinguished themselves from those whodon’t. We are set apart. For Christians today, if we are in Christ, our goals, our
aspirations, our desires are not the same as those outside of Christ. We exist to
honor and glorify God.
For David, he is drawing a contrast between himself and those who have set out
to oppose him. Many of these men, these soldiers going after David, should have
known better. Some of these men would have been counted among those who
walked among the balsam trees with David in their victory over the Philistines.
How quickly we forget the things that matter most. David didn’t forget. His trust
was not in himself, but in God.
Psalm 4:4-5
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
This is an odd phrase. “Be angry, and do not sin.” The Hebrew word for “be angry”
is “ragaz”. It means to quiver with violent emotion, especially with anger or fear.
Have you seen someone get so angry that their whole body shakes? Have you
seen someone be so afraid that their body shakes? Ragaz could be used for both
occasions. This is where we can employ our rule (content plus context equals
meaning). Let’s read the text again.
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
The context is undoubtedly one where David is striving to have his enemies turn
from their opposition toward reverence in God. Tremble (NASB), be afraid, stand
in awe (KJV) seem to be better translations for this particular verse. Fear God.
Have a posture of reverence about you. Think about these things as you lay down
at night and be silent. Offer right sacrifices. Well, there must be such a thing as
wrong sacrifices. This is used in the sense that these people’s hearts were turned
away from God or walking in a way opposed to God’s will. In quite the literalsense, some may have been offering sacrifices to false gods. So, turn from your
evil ways and put your trust, not in Absalom, not in idols, but put your trust in
God.
Psalm 4:6
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
David is setting up the next verse here. He’s stating that there are those who are
constantly waiting for God to bring them good fortune or to bring them relief from
their current distress. “Where are you God? I don’t see you.” “Show your face.”
Look at what David says next.
Psalm 4:7
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Although David finds himself in the midst of distress and has every reason to be
troubled and afraid, he says, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have
when their grain and wine abound.” David has his affections set right on target. A
lot of people hold out and wait for what God can do for them or for what He can
provide for them; and until then, are unsatisfied. David in contrast, says, I’m
satisfied in You and You alone. You are my joy. How the world would be cured of
its anxiety if we all shared this same outlook on life. It is so easy for us to think,
“Look how miserable I am.” “Oh this must be the thorn in my side that Paul talked
about.” “When will this ever end?” But imagine if we took on this mindset where
instead of focusing on ourselves, being inwardly focused, we shift our focus
externally and fix our eyes on God. And then we come to a realization that our joy
is not dependent upon our circumstances but in God. It’s saying to God, “You’re
good when life is good. And you’re good when life is not.”Psalm 4:8
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Here, we see a similar thing that we saw last week. It is because of David’s
steadfast faith in God that he can sleep peacefully at night.
In Mark chapter four, there is the account of Jesus on a boat with his disciples and
a storm brews up. All of the disciples are worried they’re going to die. What is
Jesus doing? He’s sleeping. And we think, just as the disciples thought, what in the
world is he doing sleeping during a storm that could kill everyone on the boat?
But when Jesus awoke, he calmed the storm by uttering these words, “Peace, be
still.”
I don’t know about you, but if I were there on that boat in that moment, I would
be feeling at least two emotions. I would be in awe of Jesus on the one hand. On
the other, I would be pretty terrified. I would be relieved that the storm was
calmed, but then another thought would pop into my head. If Jesus could do that
to the storm, what could he do to me? Thank goodness I’m on his side, right?
Then Jesus asks his disciples this question. “Why are you so afraid? Have you still
no faith?”
And I would just be like, “b-b-b-but Jesus, the storm.” And Jesus would probably
be like, “What about it?” “You’ve got me in the boat with you.”
I think it’s a great reminder to us, that whenever we find ourselves in troubling
circumstances, Jesus is in the boat with us. Even greater than that, we have the
Holy Spirit living inside of us. Wherever we go, he goes. Whatever trial we face,
he’s right there.
I firmly believe David, the writer of this psalm knows this. He knows that God is
with him in the dire straits. His God is bigger than his problems. And because he
knows this, he is able to sleep in peace.Charles Spurgeon
“How sweet are the Lord’s secret ways to a child of God when he can think about
them. He can look out into this world, and say, “However great my troubles are,
they are not as great as my Father’s power. However difficult my circumstances
may be, yet all things around me are working together for good.”
