Psalm 4
The next Psalm attributed to David is Psalm 4. Many scholars believe this Psalm to be connected to the same events of Psalm 3 (when David had to flee Jerusalem on account of his son Absalom’s rebellion). They are very similar in structure and content and from understanding their connection, many have said that Psalm 3 is a morning prayer (Psalm 3:5) and Psalm 4 is an evening prayer (Psalm 4:8). This Psalm is also labeled as a Psalm of Trust (of which I will cover more extensively as we walk through David’s Psalms). The tone of this Psalm shifts from being in a crisis in Psalm 3 to more of a tone of trusting in the Lord through all things.
Psalms 4
Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (Selah) Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. (Selah) Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord. Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
There are four key themes that we don’t want to miss. I will cover the first theme today. By trusting in the Lord, the first thing David did was he…
1) Resisted the temptation to brood over past wrongs. How many times have I done this myself? How many times have you? You replay, over and over the wrong done to you in your mind. You rehearse your hurt and recount it for anyone who will listen. When we do this we are reflecting that we do not really understand what it means to trust in the Lord.
Jesus told us you are going to be wounded. Not just by people that don’t believe. You are going to get wounded by other followers of Jesus. The church will always be the fellowship of the fouled. And while we rarely get to choose our wounds, we always get to choose how we will respond to being wounded. We basically have two choices. The writer in Hebrews says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15)
So when you get fouled you can choose to get bitter and that will poison you and hurt people around you or you can CHOOSE to be better.
PRAY
Father help us to rise in the morning and cry out to you and to repeat it as we lay our head down to sleep. Help us to resist the temptation to hold a grudge, to brood over our own wounds. Help us to trust in You.