This morning, our Pastor, Dr. Ken Shaddox preached a great message on Psalm 4. Truthfully I’d never really paid much attention to the 4th Psalm before this morning. I’m familiar with Psalm 1 and 23 and Psalm 37 is a favorite. I love Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God.” Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and is a love song dedicated to God’s word, but I don’t guess I’ve ever really noticed Psalm 4 until today.
In my Bible Psalm 4 is described as “A Psalm of David”, ‘an evening prayer for deliverance’. Apparently, when David wrote this Psalm he was troubled. David was on the run from his son Absalom. Absalom was seeking to overthrow his father (and even kill him) and take the throne for himself. According to 2 Samuel 15:6, “Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel”. So David’s son and his people had turned away from him and David was forced to flee.
WOW, this is David’s own son. Can you imagine how David must have felt? To say that he was troubled is an understatement. I’m sure David must have felt like a failure – a failure as a father and as a King. Maybe David felt that he had let God down. Maybe he felt like God had let him down. Have you ever felt like this?
How do we respond when we are feeling down and troubled? Sometimes we get angry. Sometimes we are ‘in denial’ – we just pretend that the circumstances that got us here just don’t exist. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol or food or sex – something, anything to escape from their troubles. Some of us kick it into overdrive and try to ‘fix’ the problem on our own. Psalm 4 is a lesson for us about what to do in times of trouble. Psalm 4 reveals to us a model – how did David (the man that the Bible calls ‘a man after God’s own heart) respond when he was troubled and ‘in distress’?
1. The first and most important thing that he did was turn to God.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Thou hast relieved me in my distress: Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Ps 4:1
David KNEW that God hears his prayers so it was natural for him to turn to God. David had seen God’s actions and answers in the past – so knew he could turn to God in his time of difficulty.
Why do we fail to look to God first? We look to ourselves, to others, to the government and even to things, before turning to God. We should look to God first – He has the ability and the inclination to help us in times of need.
Look at verse 3 – “The LORD hears when I call to Him!”
Of course calling on God is the answer but if we continue to read Psalm 4 there are other things we should do in times of trouble.
2. “Tremble, and do not sin.”
Verse 5 starts out with the words “Tremble and do not sin”. That sounds awfully Old Testament to me but it is critically important (especially when we are having a hard time). When we turn to God for help we need to do it with a humble attitude. ‘Tremble’ here means to ‘Fear the Lord’ – have respect for and reverence for God when you go to him for help. And “do not sin”! Here David means ‘get your life right’. How can we go to God seeking his help if we are not abiding by His commands? If we are in trouble because of our own actions – because we’ve done something wrong… well, we need to quit doing that!
3. “Meditate and be still”
Unlike Eastern Religions and New Age meditation, Christian meditation is not simply emptying our minds but filling our minds with God’s truth. How do we do that? Focus on the Word!
David tells us to “Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still”. Find a place away from the distraction of life and focus on God – focus on His Word – and Be Still.
“Be Still” means that it not enough to just meditate, we need to listen to what God wants to tell us. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call upon the Lord and He will answer thee and tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
4. “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.”
Again, this sounds very Old Testament. What does this mean? Let’s look at what the New Testament says about sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” This could be a whole ‘nother sermon but suffice it to say that what we are supposed to sacrifice to God is… our lives, our bodies, our actions, our behavior.
‘Offer the sacrifices of righteousness’ means – “Do the Right Thing!” Sacrificing what we might want to do in order to do that which we should do.
5. “And Trust in the LORD.”
This is good advice at all times but especially when we are struggling. This is how we recognize that God is in control. Let it go… recognize that “God’s ‘got this’.” You’ve done all you can do
You’ve humbled yourself and gotten your life right,
You’ve meditated and listened for God’s voice,
You’ve offer your life up as a living sacrifice…
Now Trust that the Lord will intervene. God will do what’s right for you. Know that God has your best interest at heart.
David wraps up his Psalm strongly saying, “Lift up the light of Thy countenance upon us, O LORD! Here David is saying “show us your face, God.” When we see the ‘Light of God’s countenance’ all our difficulties pale in His glory.
Notice the difference in David from verse 1 to verse 7. In verse 1 David talked of ‘my distress’ but now in verse 7 David says, “Thou hast put gladness in my heart.” In the final verse David credits God with providing peace and safety.
Psalm 4 is a model for how to deal with troubles and stress in life. It makes me think of the old Carole King song in a whole new light…
When you're down and troubled
and you need a helping hand
and nothing, no, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.
and nothing, no, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.
You just call out my name,
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running,
to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got a friend.
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running,
to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got a friend.
If the sky above you
should turn dark and full of clouds
and that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
and soon I will be knocking upon your door.
should turn dark and full of clouds
and that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
and soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
all you got to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
all you got to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?
People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.
Well they'll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but don't you let them.
People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.
Well they'll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but don't you let them.
You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don't you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you've got to do is call.
Lord, I'll be there, yes I will.
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
I'll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don't you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you've got to do is call.
Lord, I'll be there, yes I will.
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Next time you’re struggling with something in your life – when you’re under pressure – when you’re “down and troubled”. Go “Old School”. Heed the advice of David in Psalm 4 and then enjoy the peace and safety that only God provides.
