Psalm 4
I am finding that as I study each Psalm some little gem or
nugget to take away. In Psalm 4 we see these words in verse 1 "Hear me
when I call O God" and again "hear my prayer." David was in deep
distress and he begged God to hear him. How often have we not been in that
situation? Then in verse 3 we read again "The Lord will hear when I call
unto him." What an assurance.
David throughout this psalm is reassuring himself in God. The previous Psalm
showed an attack by his son Absalom now this psalm shows that he was under
attack mentally and verbally.
In my margin from a previous study on this psalm I have this breakdown.
Verse 1 the blessing of enlargement
Verses 2 and 3 the blessing of encouragement
Verses 4 and 5 the blessing of enablement
Verses 6 to 8 the blessing of enjoyment
This is a psalm to be sung - it was given to the chief musician in the temple.
There is a lovely verse in verse 3 "But know that the Lord hath set him
apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him."
Is there something you are worrying about today- take it to God in prayer and
know that he will hear and answer you.
Reading Psalm 4 and what a promise but the Bible tells us
there are several possible reasons why prayer may not be answered.
·Not abiding in Jesus (John 15:7).
·Unbelief (Matthew 17:20-21).
·Failure to fast (Matthew 17:21).
·A bad marriage relationship (1 Peter 3:7).
·Unconfessed sin (James 5:16).
·Lying and deceitfulness (Psalm 17:1).
·Lack of Bible reading and Bible teaching (Proverbs 28:9).
·Trusting in the length or form of prayer (Matthew 6:7).
Throughout the Psalms in the bible we are given titles which
explain the situation, the reason why David wrote his psalms. Or there might be
instructions on how the psalm is to be handled. Psalm 4 falls into this
category. It is inscribed to the Chief Musician as a lot of the psalms are. In
the time these psalms were written the temple had special appointed singers
like Heman or Asaph in 1 Chronicles chapter 6 and 16. It was their job to put
these words to music and here it is for stringed instruments. Sometimes people
believe that the Chief Musician is God himself. It is like David is writing
this in response to God. He is giving back something of what God has given him.
A recognition of what God has done and means in his life at this particular
point in time.
It is so important to put scripture in context, to see it as it is. We can read
for the sake of reading but when we understand why things were written the way
they were it helps in understanding more of the text. Imagine it in the context
of our prayers to God as a result of something that has happened in our lives.
Sometimes it will be in praise and other times it will in terms of pleading for
something. We need to be able to tell God what we are experiencing as he will
hear and respond accordingly.
Psalm 4 verse 1 shows David's passion in his prayer.
"Hear me when I call O God." Sometimes we pray mechanically. We are
urgently seeking God, we like the idea of having power when we pray but if
there is no passion how will we see answers to our prayers? Our loud crying
does not persuade God because it comes from our emotions. The example is seen
in the incident between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The
prophets screamed and cried out, even cutting themselves but Baal was a
non-entity. Elijah on the other hand prayed passionately and sincerely. God
wants us to care deeply about the things that concern us. Our prayers must be
spirit led. Isaiah 64 verse 7 "And there is none that called upon thy
name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face
from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities." In Psalm 4 David
stirred himself to take hold of God. Can we?
In Psalm 4 David reflects on God's past mercies as a grounds for future help - "thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress." What a reminder - when we pray do we thank God for what he has done specifically for us in the past as a way of asking God to "do it again"?
In verse 2 we hear David's cry to those who are against him - "how
long" and he asks it twice. He is saying to them - you know you can't keep
this up forever. He knows that one of 2 things will happen - they will
eventually get to a point where they need to stop themselves or God will stop
them. So David says you might as well stop now. How long are you going to play
around with this sin? For David much of his problem was slander. People were
saying all sorts of things about David and they were on a path that has
parallels with Jesus himself. Remember how they said he was a drunkard and that
he ate with sinners? They tried everything in Jesus' day to mock him and bring
his "glory into shame". You know there is nothing new even today.
People will try to bring us down too and not just those who don't believe in
Jesus for themselves. Christians will do it and I speak from personal
experience. There is hope in these words - God sees and knows about it and he
will bring about its end.
There is a glorious promise given to us in verse 3 - we are set apart by God
for himself. Why? Because we have trusted in him. Sometimes we set things aside
for our own enjoyment or for greater purity. The idea is one of isolation. We
are set apart for God's own enjoyment today, for a special service for God
alone. How wonderful!
Do you ever talk to yourself? Well in Psalm 4 David shows us
how to talk to ourselves and in doing so gain confidence and assurance. He
reminds himself that whilst it is good to be angry at what was happening around
him he needs to remember not to sin whilst being angry. That is so easy to do
isn't it. We say something or do something out of anger and in the midst of it
all we are actually sinning. Instead we should find comfort in meditating on
God and his word. There is a difference between meditation which seeks to empty
ourselves of all that is in us and the meditation David talks about here. We
need to think deeply upon God's word again and again. David knows the value of
specific religious exercises such as we do today in attending church but these
cannot replace trusting in God more deeply. Too many do this today, believing
that if they attend church or give to charity or help someone out that this is
faith. Faith is trusting that God has done it all in sending his Son to die for
our sins on Calvary. We need to draw near to God and he will draw near to us.
Challenging!
In Psalm 4 verses 6 to 8 we have the idea of the ungodly cynic
whispering in David's ear. But David responds with great confidence. He asks
God to shine his face on him! In other words "Lord let me see your smile
of approval." We all have known that look of anger and disappointment from
individuals - it's hard not to forget it isn't it? Despite what people might
say of us, God delights in us. David uses the words of the Aaronic blessing
from Numbers 6 in this Psalm as a way of assurance and promise. When we know
God's face shines on us we will be glad. David reflects that the gladness he
feels is so much better than what people feel when they have brought in the
money from corn and wine production. Instead of trying to chase happiness in
material things he looked to the Lord. He knew he could lie down in peace and
sleep because the Lord kept him in safety. This is safety from people or
circumstances.
Remember Peter in Acts when he was put in prison and about to be executed the
next day and the angel came to him. How did he find Peter? Sleeping. He trusted
the Lord to work things out even though he was under sentence of death.
David knew this same assurance. He found safety in his solitude in God.
Where do we see Jesus in Psalm 4?
Well we see him as the ultimate example of wicked people who tried to turn his
glory into shame. Throughout his life the religious leaders tried their utmost
to bring him down.
Secondly we can know he will hear us when we call to him.
Jesus was the ultimate example of one who was angry and did not sin. That day
in the temple when he turned over the tables of the money changers showed his
anger but he did not sin.
Jesus is the expression of the light of God's countenance. How can I know that
God looks on me with a pleasant face? Because of what God has done in Jesus. I
can stand on his grace if I trust in him, repent of my sins and be made right
with God. Then his countenance will shine on me.
What confidence we have because of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.
I found this short summary of Psalm 4 and thought it was so good I had to share it. A title for this psalm could be Rest In Peace. And the question asked is - how?
Verse 1 by asking for help from God
Verses 2 to 5 by reasoning with yourself
Verses 4 and 5 by calling for repentance
Verses 7 and 8 by hoping for God's deliverance
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