PSALM 1 “Understanding your Standing“

 

“The Psalms can and should be part of the constant practice of the presence of God. Regularly read from beginning to end, they lead us again and again to consider aspects of life and of God’s will that we might not otherwise choose to remember or confront—let alone to embody in our living. Memorized in chunks the Psalms can provide ready response to the pressing realities of our days. When I have wakened in a panic in the darkness of the early morning hours—submerged in fear, self-pity, or self-doubt—the Psalms have often provided the assurance that my anxieties are known by God, who enlightens my dark places. So, I encourage you to make the Psalms your constant companion. Keep a copy at hand, and keep their words in your mind and heart and on your lips as you meet the challenges of your days and nights.” …  so writes Gerald Wilson in the NIV Application Commentary (Psalms Vol. 1)

Preliminary Observations

This Psalm divides all of humanity into two categories: the blessed man and the wicked man.   This is  a  familiar  division in the Scriptures. 

The Bible knows only 2 kinds of people

·       The righteous  and the wicked (as in our Psalm)

·       children of God and children of the devil

·       saved and lost

·       light and darkness

·       sheep and goats

This division is as ancient as the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman in Genesis 3:15.  

We must hold to these two categories in our preaching and at the end of our sermon we must  be very conscious as to what category we belong to. The theme of this Psalm is all about this distinction between the present and future blessedness of the righteous person, and the present and future misery of the wicked person. 

The structure of this Psalm is very simple: it divides into two parts: 

(i) 1:1-3  the blessed man, and 

(ii) 1:4-6  the wicked man. 

The blessed man stands, for he is firmly rooted. The wicked man, though he thinks he stands, will not stand up to the final judgement of God.

1 . THE BLESSED MAN  (1:1-3)

The word “blessed” (Hebr. ‘baruch’) carries the idea of having a deep-seated joy, delight, satisfaction, and contentment in God. It is a “holy happiness.” It is a happiness deeply rooted in knowing our standing with God – hence my title, “Understanding your standing!”  How then is it that a blessed man  or woman finds themselves in this frame of mind?

Negatively:  V.1   What a godly, happy man does not do and where he does not go.

a.  “he does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly” -  the blessed man  is not a follower  of the  counsel or teaching of the  wicked. The basis of our knowledge is very important. What we listen to and what we believe leads to what we do and what we become. (Epistemology always gives birth to ethics).  When we begin in the wrong place we will end up in the wrong place.  Your starting point is important.  The place of departure for a godly person  is the counsel of God, fuelled  by the knowledge of God’s Word.

b.  “he does not stand in the way of sinners” -  the blessed  man  is not one  who desires to hang around  with  the wicked, the sinners, the scoffers. This does not mean that he   spends no time in their company - in that case he would have to leave the world (1Cor. 5:10). It is just that he knows that the counsel of the ungodly is not attractive to him. They find no fundamental agreement with them. With that in mind the godly person will be careful as to what he/ she sees, where they go, what their hearts desire and where they spend their time.

c.  “he does not sit in the seat of scoffers” -  A scoffer is one who  mocks  and despises. Here the Psalmist has in mind those that mock, despise and scoff at   God’s Word, God’s cause in the world and God’s people. A righteous person cannot sit around their fire. He cannot do both, bless God and curse God. Peter tried to do that and found himself weeping bitterly afterwards (Lk 22:62).  It is impossible to bless God and curse God with the same tongue. James wisdom asks, “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?“  (Jas. 3:11)

Please note that there is a downward progression in verse 1: walk, stand, sit.  You cannot help walking through an ungodly world.  You cannot avoid the wicked man, the sinner and the scoffer.  But when at once you  stand still and sit and  camp among  ungodly people  and when you begin to  take your direction for life  from there,  then you  will be tempted  to  lose  the  experience  of blessedness. This however, we are assured,  is  not where the blessed man finds himself.  

Positively (v.2)

a.  “his delight is in the law of the Lord” -  Again, please note that apart from avoiding the  company of the ungodly, he also does  not first seek  the company of godly   people,  as good as that may be.  His first companion is the God of the Word and the Word of God! Jeremiah writes: “Your words were found and  I ate them, and your words became to me  a joy and the delight of my heart.”  (Jer. 15:16). Psalm 119 is a Psalm of delight in the Word of God: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps 119:103). Delighting in God and delighting in the Word of God is essential. What is it essential for?  For our salvation.  If we do not delight in the Word of God at all, we have no reason to believe that we are saved. To delight ourselves in the Lord is essential for our happiness, for our fruitfulness, for our perseverance, and for our prosperity (all in verse 3).   The danger of camping in the company of the godly, without being a healthy feeder yourself, is that you live off the spirituality of others, and the danger is that when they crash, you crash. You yourself must  develop healthy feeding habits  upon the Word of God,   develop  a robust relationship with  the God  of  the Word, so that you can say, “A thousand may fall at your side… because  you have made the LORD your dwelling place, the Most High your refuge… no evil shall be allowed to befall you…” (Psalm 91:7-10).

b.  “on his  law he meditates  day and night ” -  Here that thought is intensified. This man’s life is clearly directed by one Word! All the issues of life are settled for him by this one Word. He makes it his aim to be a man of one word. When you prick him,  you will find that his blood is bibline. This was said of John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress!  

The man of God finds many  challenges along life's highway. He faces the the wicked, the sinner and the scoffer, and often he is wounded  in his engagement with the world, but he finds  himself returning (even after failure) to the law - the  Word of God again and again.

c. “This man  is like a tree planted by  streams of  water….”. He is planted in an environment that will produce fruit. This is true biblical prosperity (cf. Lk. 18:29). Dear friend if  you  are rooted in Christ, if you walk daily with Jesus,  even though you have forsaken  all things in order to follow Him, you will lack no good thing in this life and in the age to come, you will inherit  eternal life and heaven will be yours.

2. THE WICKED MAN (1:4-5)

 With regard to this person we observe the following …

a. He is spiritually bankrupt. The wicked  person’s  greatest  deficiency  is not only  in the moral sense  (he walks in the counsel of the wicked; stands in the way of sinners; sits in the seat of scoffers); his greatest deficiency  is his absence of delight in the law of the Lord (the Word of God).

b. The consequence  is that he has no weight  to hold him down  when  the issues of life  begin to  unsettle him. The Psalmist says  that  “he is like chaff that the wind drives away “ (1:4). The New Testament analogy  may be found  in Matthew 7:24-27.   This person’s  foundations are woefully insufficient to withstand the ultimate tests of life. He finds himself unable to stand  because his insufficient  foundations  cannot uphold him. A man or woman may be naturally strong, but  when something happens -  a crisis moment, or perhaps  the day  when their bodies will become frail,  when they will be reduced to nothing,  they will find themselves woefully unprepared for  that final meeting with God  whose law they have spurned in this life.  This leads us to the next thought in 1:5.

c. The downfall of the wicked man: “the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous “ (1:5).  Two things are worth considering here:  A  wicked man (better  described as a  godless man), strong and capable as he was in this life, suddenly finds that he has  no advocate  before the  Great White Throne Judgement of Jesus.  He suddenly will find that he has no basis for admission into heaven. He has  no   place in the congregation of the righteous, for the  righteous  on earth  ALONE  will  constitute  the congregation of the righteous  in heaven. The  blood of Christ  - the  sign and seal of the eternal covenant, received by Grace ALONE through Faith  ALONE  provides for our access into  heaven. 

3. THE BOTTOMLINE  (1:6)

The Lord knows the destinies of both – the righteous, blessed man and the  wicked man.

Everything begins  with what we make of the law of God  -  and therefore, what we do with the God of the law - Christ being the end of the law.

If you love  the  world  and worldly ways and worldly wisdom more, you will not stand before God  in the judgement. You will not be found in the congregation of the righteous.  But if you love the law of God and the God of the law – the end which is the Lord Jesus, you  will  stand in the judgement.  

You will not be accused and  you will not  be eternally separated.  You will not hear these words   -  “depart from me you evil doers, into the fire prepared for the devil and his demons…”.  You will stand in the  congregation of  the righteous.

Who  and what is shaping your  thinking?  Where is your heart rooted?

 Your eternal destiny depends upon  an accurate , honest answer  to this question !

PSALM 5 - PRAYER : THEOLOGICAL AND EXPERIENTIAL

 

This Psalm, like so many other Psalms, is a prayer of David. And like so many of these personal prayers of David they were collected and compiled into this “hymnbook of Israel“.  This happened under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that generations to come would find heavenly wisdom, counsel and comfort in these words.

Jesus regarded the Psalms as inspired, for in them He, the Greater Son of David, would find the fulfilment of His life and ministry:

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms  must be fulfilled.” (Lk. 24:44)

In the NT we are encouraged to sing “Psalms, Hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16)

 A reason why the Psalms remain so popular is that many people find their own experiences reflected in them.

Many of these Psalms were sung, directed by a choirmaster, and as in this case, also accompanied by flutes (In Psalm 4 – stringed instruments).  Singing the Word is one of the most wonderful tools for our collective worship of God, and a great aid to scripture memorization.

 So, what is this Psalm all about?

1.      5:1-3 –  A Prayer – a pouring out of the soul

2.  5:4-12 - A Prayer undergirded by Theological Convictions and Practical Experience

 1.      5:1-3 It is a Prayer – A pouring out of the soul.

“Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch”.

 (i) it teaches us  something about  the biblical forms in which prayer may be expressed. David speaks   here of…   

a. my words

b. my groaning

c. my crying

These are all forms of prayer. Sometimes prayer is words - an outpouring of our souls in words, such as we find here. At other times prayer is simply wordless groaning. Ex. 6:5 I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves;

Rom.8:26 “…The Spirit  helps us in our weakness. For we  do not know what to pray for  as we ought, but the Spirit himself  intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…)  or crying  (see examples  in Ex 3:7 “ I have surely seen  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry…”  so also in Ex 3:9 ;8:12; 14:10;15:25; 17:4 etc). Hannah, the mother of Samuel did both.  She prayed to the Lord in words (1 Sam 1:10,11)  and then she prayed in her heart  with groans  (1 Sam 1:12-13).  In both forms she poured out her soul before the Lord (1 Sam.  1:15)

 (ii) it is forceful, demanding, bold, and yet  not arrogant.  Give ear … consider, give attention ….This is a prayer of holy boldness. When last did you pray like this?  Such prayer is based upon an intimate knowledge of the character of God and of the promises  of His Word. David knows the God to whom he prays: “my King and my God, for to you do I pray“.

 (iii) the timing of this prayer:  “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice  for you (lit. “I arrange or set in order “ – and the object must be  inferred from the context. Hence  another translation: “I direct my prayer to you”) … and watch”. He comes to His King and God with his sacrifice of prayer in the morning.  According to C.H.  Spurgeon, “an hour in the morning is worth two in the evening“[1].  Prayer takes concentration and alertness. The morning is best for this.

Surely our earliest thoughts should rise to heaven, our earliest words should speak to God. Happy the life when every day begins with Him! The First should have our first employ. (Matthew Henry)

We find here a form of prayer which is rarely used and heard in our churches: A prayer of holy confidence and therefore of strong argumentation.  I want to quote something that C.H. Spurgeon had said in a sermon (entitled “Order and Argument in Prayer” - preached on the Lord’s Day, July 5^th 1866 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle): 

“The best prayers I have ever heard in our prayer meetings have been those which have been fullest of argument. Sometimes my soul has been fairly melted down where I have listened to the brethren who have come before God feeling the mercy to be really needed, and that they must have it, for they first pleaded with God to give it for this reason, and then for a second, and then for a third and then for a fourth and a fifth until they have awakened the fervency of the entire assembly “[2].

This form of prayer is one that we should desire to see among us.   From the testimony of Scripture we find  that God  is pleased to answer  strong, believing  and urgent prayer, because it  comes from a believing, trusting, earnest, expectant heart. We hardly hear passionate prayer like this in our church prayer meetings.  Let us take hold of God and ask Him to give us hearts like that.

Why is this kind of prayer so rare  among modern  Christians?

Firstly, it may sound too much like the modern ‘name it and claim it’  brand of Christianity,  by which  healings  and prosperity are   demanded  from heaven. We are intensely suspicious of anything that is loud and demanding. However, we must be careful not to engage in knee jerk reactions, and thus to lose a biblical boldness in prayer. Our enemy is very crafty in this area. There is a holy boldness with which we may come to God (see James  5:13-18)  and by which we may expect great things from God.

Secondly, we do not hear such prayer because we know God and His Word (the promises of God) so little. Therefore we lack confidence in speaking to God. We are not sure what to say, or what to ask. We have no “words to take with us“ (Hosea 14:2).  We need the confidence expressed in 1 John 5:14. This confidence is well expressed in what follows in Psalm 5:4 etc.

2.       5:4 - It is a Prayer undergirded by Theological Convictions and Practical Experience.

 

Why did David begin with this urgent plea in the first 3 verses?  David’s life was always threatened by enemies, both without and within. If it was not an external threat from the enemies of Israel, it was a threat from within i.e. from the house of Saul, and sadly, even members of his own family (e.g. Absalom). There is nothing that strengthens our prayer life as much as needing to depend upon God for survival.  So, David’s theology of prayer was formed in two ways: (i)                 Through his objective  knowledge of the Word of God  (ii)   Through the subjective experience of the truth of God’s Word.

 In prayer David always kept in mind these twin realities:

(i)                 the ever present  reality of wickedness (evil) around us  and

(ii)               the righteousness imputed to him by God.

 Concerning these, David’s theology is clearly expressed in prayer:

Concerning the wicked (5:4-6). 

David reminds himself, “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” He saw them as people unable to stand in the presence of God. His was a holy presence, a just presence, a sin-hating presence, a fearful presence, and that is how David looked on them. Furthermore, concerning the wicked, David has this to say (5:9), “For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. He reminds himself of the fact that the wicked possess no real truth. Their destiny is self- destructive. Their speech is deceptive and consists of lying.

Before we admire the world in which we live and which we love so often more than the God who made us, let us remind ourselves of what God thinks of this world (5:4-6) and what the reality and destiny  of such people is.

The most difficult aspect of David’s prayer concerning the wicked is found in 5:10: “Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.”

This is called imprecatory prayer[3]. Imprecatory prayers are prayers that curse the enemies of God in no uncertain terms. This is not as a result of David feeling threatened or assaulted himself. He is praying this because he is zealous for his God. These rebellious people are continually insulting the God who made them.  Such people have ultimately no one   left to appeal for them, because they have insulted the Only One who can save them. Him they have rejected. They ultimately get what they desire and deserve.

 

Concerning the righteous, David was encouraged by the love and the righteousness  he had received from God: (5:7 - 8a) 

“But I, through the  abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me”.

David knew God’s steadfast (covenantal) love. He knew the fear of the Lord. He knew  the righteousness  of God   (imputed to him) upon which he stood – despite the fact that his enemies kept on accusing him of  all sorts of things, even  that God had forsaken him (3:1,2). An understanding of the  righteousness of Christ,  imputed to a believer, is a wonderful  help  when we  are overcome by the fear and intimidation of  the world of enemies  within and without  (the world, the flesh and the devil).

In this regard the house of God  (regular public worship) had a major role to play in David’s life. (5:7b)  “ …I will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you”.

The  result of a heart set free is  “joy”  (5:11,12),  “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,  and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favour as with a shield.”

When Martin Luther was summoned to the papal court at Worms in Germany, one of the cardinals mocked him. “Where would you find shelter when all the world was gathered against you, if your patron, the Frederik, Elector of Saxony, should desert  you?”  Luther said, “I’ll be safe under the shield of heaven.” And it is true for us who trust in Jesus. Greater is He that protects us than all the forces that oppose us.

 SUMMARY

This is the nature and experience of true prayer. This is the theology of David’s prayer. And it is rooted in David’s practical experience of God’s steadfast love.  It is not an unsure,  doubting …“I wonder if God is able …” mindset. 

David knows the God to whom he directs His prayer. David knows God’s views on the wicked and the righteous. And therefore verses 1-3, the introductory bold prayer, is based on theological certainties and experience.  May we learn to pray like this!  To that end we must make it our goal to get to know God, both theologically and  experientially. 

That will certainly embolden   and strengthen our prayer life. Amen.

---

[1] C.H. Spurgeon : Treasures of David , p. 46

[2] A sermon  on Job 23:3,4 , entitled  “Order and Argument in Prayer “

[3] See my exposition on Psalm 69 : Psalms that curse

PSALM 4 : Is God Really There When We Need Him?

 

The title of this Psalm: “To the chief Musician (Choirmaster) on Neginoth (stringed instruments). A Psalm of David.”

The title, “To the chief Musician,” occurs at the beginning of 53 Psalms, and at the close of Habakkuk 3:19. The Psalm is probably to be sung under his direction.

David was clearly in distress when he penned these words. It is the opinion of a number  of commentators that this Psalm is probably linked to  Psalm 3   which is subtitled “ A Psalm  of David, when he fled from Absalom his son” – along with Psalms 5 ,6 and 7.  

In Psalm 3 we saw that this situation, involving a palace revolt,   led by his son Absalom must have induced a lot of emotional pain in David.  You can read all about it in 2 Samuel 15-18. Whether it was this situation or other trials we do not know, but we do know that David was accustomed to conflict and trouble. We cannot exclude the trouble which he had experienced when persecuted by king Saul - from 1 Samuel 15 until the end of the book.  So, we don’t know what the exact situation in Psalm 4 is. It doesn’t matter. The question remains the same: 

Is God able to help you when you have come to your wit’s end? 

The testimony of David’s life is one of many, severe and kind providences.  Note then (Behold!) the  kindness and the severity of God... (Rom. 11:22).  God withheld His hands at time from David, and made him to see his end, and how fleeting his life was (Ps 39:4). At other times  this same God brought him out of many  difficult situations.

Thank God for the  Psalms, in which he pours out his heart  concerning these experiences,  for in  his experiences we  often find a mirror of our own soul.  

OUTLINE

4:1     :  David pleads with God for help.

4:2-5 :  He  addresses  his enemies

4:6-8 :  He contrasts  their  cynicism  with his  confidence in the keeping power of God.

4:1 David pleads with God for help. “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!”

David is distressed. That distress clearly relates to the men – the opponents in 4:2. This is not an uncommon experience for a believer. In my dealing with people I have  heard it frequently said, “ the more committed I want to be to the Lord, the more  spiritual responsibility I bear, the more opposition  I get and the more I  feel the heat !” The apostle Paul concurs. He once wrote to Timothy and said, “Indeed,  all who desire to live a godly life  in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  (2 Tim 3:12). Paul said that to Timothy, based on his own experience and  indeed  upon the word of our Lord Jesus Himself : Jn 15:18-21: 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Please take note how David responds to all of this in the first verse:

1.      David speaks first to God before he addresses the men (4:2) that give him grief. When trouble comes, God’s children must learn to run home!  Spurgeon says: “He who dares to face his Maker will not tremble before the sons of men.”

2.      He knows his status before God. David addresses God as “God of my righteousness” – i.e. the God who has declared me righteous. God had chosen David in eternity and in time He justified him by the merits of His greater Son – Jesus the Son of David!

3.      David remembers God’s past dealings with him: “You have given me relief when I was in distress.”  There were many times when David had been surrounded by his enemies and by armies, and every time God had delivered him.   (see his testimony in Psalm 37:25)

4.      On the knowledge of God’s past dealings, David bases his prayer: “Be gracious to me and hear my prayer”. David knows that God is really there when he needs Him.  His theology of God verified by his experience of God’s faithful dealings with Him in the past have taught him that.  So, David appeals again to the grace and mercy of God. God loves to be merciful and gracious to those who call on Him in their hour of need.

 

2. 4:2- 5   David  addresses his enemies

4: 2 David now turns from God to men – the footnote says “men of rank “ – i.e. powerful men. “O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

Here is the irony. Even though they are formidable men, great men, they are foolish men. 

·         Saul foolishly failed to see that he was forsaken by God, and that David was anointed to be the true king. He refused to give up on his throne, even when he knew that God had abandoned him.

·         Absalom, son of the king foolishly failed to see that in usurping his father’s throne he was really usurping God. In the end he was sadly killed, adding even more grief to his father! 

 

In regard to his enemies then David tells them that they love vain words and seek after lies. They can’t and won’t see the truth about him. They fabricate stories about him, and so he asks them, “how long do you intend to go on with this“? David is getting exasperated. Can’t you  see?

 

SELAH ! He solemnly pauses and inserts a Selah.

4:3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.  "But know." Fools will not learn, and therefore they must be told the same thing, again and again. This is what they must hear: that the godly are  chosen of God, and  therefore  set apart  from the rest  of  mankind.

(ii)             He who chose us for Himself will surely hear our prayer. David was king by divine decree. In the same way we   who are God’s children are His responsibility. No weapon formed against us can stand. When our enemies fight against us, they fight against God. If we think of both Saul and Absalom then we know that they were fighting a futile battles against David. Sadly anger is one word short of ‘danger’. It is a wind that blows out the candle of the mind  and extinguishes  reason. That is why David makes the following  statement

4:4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah. 

There are two ways to read this: 

(i)                 From David’s perspective - One of the greatest temptations when we are tested is to become angry beyond reason with our enemies. Anger is one letter short of danger. Unrestrained anger causes us to lose our head, and when we do this we can make grave mistakes.

(ii)               (this is more likely)…  or it can be read from the  perspective of David who speaks  to his enemies  about their unreasonable anger, counseling them to be silent and to think  about their  angry accusations.  

 

The Selah follows again!  Pause and think about this , he says .

4:5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD

If David is speaking to his enemies here, then he would be calling them to repentance and trust in the Lord, followed by the appropriate animal sacrifices that were required when sincere repentance was shown. In the NT where animal are no longer required as  guilt offerings, our sincere repentance  would be  accompanied by a true forsaking of sin, by putting off everything that hinders,  and all the while trusting  the  sacrifice of our Lord Jesus  to cleanse us from all sin.  All this shows that David has a spiritual concern for his enemies. So must we!

3. 4:6-8 :  He contrasts  their  cynicism  with his  confidence in the keeping power of God.

4:6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”  We live in a cynical world in which many want to see rather than to believe. Jesus’ many opponents were like that.  We all fall into this trap at times. We tend to measure our success by our prosperity and outward results – and we very easily think that God has forsaken us when for a moment God removes all that opens and shuts from us in order to test us.  It is in such times that we think that God is not there for us. People must have looked at David at times when he had to flee, and they would have said, “Where is your God?” He seemed forsaken, but when we look at the testimony of Scripture we must ask,

·         Was Joseph forsaken in Egypt?

·         Was Daniel forsaken in the lion’s den?

·         Was David ever ultimately forsaken in his kingly career? No! He died as king of Israel! 

·         Was Jesus ultimately forsaken on the cross?

Again David prays in such moments, “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!” …  and see what follows … The light of God's  face  is enough for him.  See the result in 4:7

4:7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

When we have seen God’s face  again after  times of trial,   it means more than   having all the riches of the world at our disposal.  Spurgeon says,

"Christ in the heart is better than corn in the barn, or wine in the vat. Corn and wine are but fruits of the world, but the light of God's countenance is the ripe fruit of heaven…Let my granary be empty, I am yet full of blessings if Jesus Christ smiles upon me; but if I have all the world, I am poor without him.

From this follows verse 8 …

4:8 “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety”. God’s people can sleep at night because God is really there when we need Him.   If we have perspective, we have joy restored, and therefore   we will sleep well at night. God’s sense of peace in the heart is better than bolts, bars or burglar alarms in the home.  How many of our sleepless hours may  be traced to being preoccupied  with what our enemies do and say to us.

Application and Conclusion

Dear  struggling, fearful believer: Never lose sight of the Lord Jesus while reading this Psalm.

·         He is the Lord your righteousness (1a) 

·         He is your Saviour in distress (1b)

·          He hears your prayer now, and intercedes for you (1c) .

·         Let the world mock you for your Christian convictions   (2)

·         Know that by His blood He has set you apart for Himself. (3a)   and remember again that He hears your prayer when you are being sorely tempted  (3b)

·         When you are angry be careful that you do not trespass into sin. As for those that sin against you leave room for the wrath of God (Rom. 12:19). If your enemies are angry with you  pray that they  may ponder their reasons  in their own hearts (4) and repent  (5) 

·         Do not give in to the cynicism of the world – particularly when the evidence of God’s favours are not abundant. Pray that the Lord will show the light of His face again (6). Pray for the light of Christ to illuminate their dark world, and pray not for wealth, but   for the joy of the Holy Spirit.

·         Look for true joy (7)

·          Let these truths help you to sleep well! (8) (cf. also 3:5).  

God is really there when you need Him!