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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,'1-');">Psa 4</a> - Talking to God and Men</h2>
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<p><i>This Psalm is titled, </i>To the Chief Musician. <span>With stringed instruments.</span> <span>A Psalm of David<i>.</i></span><i> In it David pours out his complaint against slanderous enemies and finds peace and refuge in God.</i></p>
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<p>A. David talks to God and to men.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,1);">1</a>) David talks to God.</p>
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<p class="c2">Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!<br>You have relieved me in <i>my </i>distress;<br>Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Hear me when I call</span></b>: There is <i>passion</i> in David's cry. He doesn't want to just cast up words towards heaven. He needs God's attention to his present problem.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Often <i>power</i> in prayer is lacking because there is little <i>passion</i> in prayer. It isn't that we persuade God by emotional displays, but God wants us to care deeply about the things He cares deeply about. The prophet Isaiah spoke with sorrow about the lack of this in Israel: <i>And there is no one who calls on <span>Your</span> name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',64,7);">Isa 64:7</a>). This is a good example of David stirring himself up to take hold of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">O God of my righteousness</span></b>: David knew that his righteousness came from God, and not from himself. He calls upon the God who makes him righteous.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">You have relieved me...Have mercy on me</span></b>: In a familiar pattern, David uses past mercy as a ground for future help. "God, I know you haven't blessed me thus far to abandon me, so <b><span class="c3">have mercy on me</span></b>."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "This is another instance of David's common habit of pleading past mercies as a ground for present favour." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,'2-3');">2-3</a>) David talks to men.</p>
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<p class="c2">How long, O you sons of men,<br><i>Will you turn </i>my glory to shame?<br><i>How long </i>will you love <span>worthlessness</span><br><i>And </i>seek falsehood? Selah<br>But know that the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has set apart for Himself him who is godly;<br>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> will hear when I call to Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">How long</span></b>: David asks a valid question. Just <b><span class="c3">how long</span></b> will the ungodly keep to their way? They can't keep to it forever, so they may as well abandon it <i>now</i> and be blessed.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If we find ourselves on a compromising course, it is valid to ask, "<b><span class="c3">How long</span></b>? If I extend this course of action out to its logical and inevitable conclusion, where will I be? Knowing this, <b><span class="c3">how long</span></b> will I play around with this sin?"</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame?</span></b> Many try to connect <a onclick="return mV('Psa',3,'1-');">Psa 3</a> with <a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,'1-');">Psa 4</a>, thinking that this was also written in connection with Absalom's rebellion. This is probably incorrect because the focus in this psalm isn't David's physical safety or kingdom but his reputation. Wicked men slandered David.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "In this psalm the problem is one of malicious slander and lies. It is the psalmist's reputation rather than his person that is being attacked." (Boice)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Turn my glory to shame</span></b>: Jesus experienced what David experienced. Wicked men tried to turn almost every glorious thing in His ministry into shame.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has set apart for Himself him who is godly</span></b>: David knew that he and other godly people were set apart for God. There are many reasons why we set things apart.</p><ul class="c6"><li>We set things apart for our own enjoyment</li><li>We set things apart for greater purity</li><li>We set things apart for special service</li></ul>
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<p class="c5">i. For all these reasons and more, God sets us apart unto Himself.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> will hear when I call to Him</span></b>: The ungodly have a disaster waiting for them, but the <b><span class="c3">godly</span></b> have a great reward in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. This is why David knows <b><span class="c3">the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will hear when I call to Him</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Each Christian should have the same assurance. They should be confident that God will hear their prayers. When prayer seems ineffective it is worth it to take a spiritual inventory to see if there is a reason for unanswered prayer. The Bible tells us there are many reasons why prayer may not be answered.</p><ul class="c6"><li>Not abiding in Jesus (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,7);">Jhn 15:7</a>)</li><li>Unbelief (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',17,'20-21');">Mat 17:20-21</a>)</li><li>Failure to Fast (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',17,21);">Mat 17:21</a>)</li><li>A Bad Marriage Relationship (<a onclick="return mV('1Pe',3,7);">1Pe 3:7</a>)</li><li>Unconfessed Sin (<a onclick="return mV('Jam',5,16);">Jam 5:16</a>)</li><li>Lying and Deceitfulness (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',17,1);">Psa 17:1</a>)</li><li>Lack of Bible Reading and Bible Teaching (<a onclick="return mV('Pro',28,9);">Pro 28:9</a>)</li><li>Trusting in the Length or Form of Prayer (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',6,7);">Mat 6:7</a>)</li></ul>
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<p>B. David talks to himself.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,'4-5');">4-5</a>) David calms himself before the Lord.</p>
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<p class="c2">Be angry, and do not sin.<br>Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah<br>Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,<br>And put your trust in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a</span>. <b><span class="c3">Be angry, and do not sin</span></b>: With the ungodliness around him, David had reason to <b><span class="c3">be angry</span></b> but he had no reason to <b><span class="c3">sin</span></b>. He reminds himself to not sin in his anger, and to find solace in meditation before the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Meditate within your heart</span></b>: David speaks of the Christian practice of meditation, not the eastern practice of meditation. In Christian meditation we <i>fill</i> our heart and mind with God's word. In eastern meditation the idea is to <i>empty</i> the heart and mind, leaving it open for deceiving spirits.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord</span></b>: David knew the value of religious observance (<b><span class="c3">offer the sacrifices</span></b>), yet he also knew that they could not replace <b><span class="c3">trust in the Lord</span></b>. When religious observance is coupled with true trust in God, we draw near to God and experience the benefits of drawing near.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',4,'6-8');">6-8</a>) David receives blessing from God.</p>
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<p class="c2"><i>There are </i>many who say, "Who will show us <i>any </i>good?"<br><span class="c6">Lord</span>, lift up the light of <span>Your</span> countenance upon us.<br>You have put gladness in my heart,<br><span>More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.</span><br>I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;<br>For <span>You</span> alone, O <span class="c6">Lord</span>, make me dwell in safety.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Who will show us any good?</span></b> The voice of the ungodly cynic echoes in David's ear. After continual disappointment from man, one begins to doubt if God <b><span class="c3">will show us any good</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="mscap">Lord</span><span class="c3">, lift up the light of <span>Your</span> countenance upon us</span></b>: Despite what the cynics say or think, David trusts that the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will show him good.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. He claims it upon the Aaronic promise of blessing in <a onclick="return mV('Num',6,'24-26');">Num 6:24-26</a>:</p>
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<p class="c5"><i>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> <span>bless</span> you and keep you;</i></p>
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<p class="c5"><i>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> <span>make</span> His face shine upon you, </i></p>
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<p class="c5"><i>And be gracious to you;</i></p>
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<p class="c5"><i>The <span class="c6">Lord</span></i> <span><i>lift</i></span><i> up His countenance upon you, </i></p>
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<p class="c5"><i>And give you peace.</i></p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">You have put gladness in my heart</span></b>: When we know that the face of God shines favorably on us, it puts <b><span class="c3">gladness</span></b> in the heart. Though David was in distress, vexed by ungodly men all around he could still have <b><span class="c3">gladness</span></b> in his heart, because the <span class="c6">Lord</span> put it there.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">More than in the season that their grain and wine increased</span></b>: The ungodly can be happy when the money is coming in and everything is prosperous. David can be happy even in distressing times because the <span class="c6">Lord</span> <b><span class="c3">put gladness in</span></b> his heart.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">I will both lie down in peace, and sleep</span></b>: David can sleep well at night, even in distressing times and surrounded by the ungodly. He sleeps well because his safety is from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, not from circumstances or even feeling.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We can imagine a man lying down to sleep, tormented by all of what his enemies or pretended friends say about him. David could be that man, but he trusts in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. He has a gladness that the world can't take away, even with all their slander and lies.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. In his proverbs from <i>Poor Richard's Almanac</i>, Ben Franklin had some good advice: "Since I cannot govern my own tongue, tho' within my own teeth, how can I hope to govern the tongues of others?"</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">For <span>You</span> alone, O <span class="c6">Lord</span>, make me dwell in safety</span></b>: G. Campbell Morgan points out that the idea here is not that it is the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and none other. Instead, the idea is that David finds safety in solitude with God.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "The thought of the word <i>alone</i> is '<i>in loneliness</i>,' or as Rotherham renders it '<i>in seclusion</i>'; and the word refers to the one going asleep. This is a glorious conception of sleep. Jehovah gathers the trusting soul into a place of safety by taking it away from all the things which trouble or harass...the tried and tired child of His love is pavilioned in His peace." (Morgan)</p>
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