Psalm 4
Remsen Bible Fellowship, Online, 04/19/2020
Introduction
Good morning, and welcome to our second Youtube live sermon. I deeply, deeply, look forward to the day when we are meeting again in person, but until that time I trust the Lord will be using his word and these sermons to encourage and strengthen you. Let’s pray before we get rolling.
Father God, thank you for your word. Please speak through this poor stammering tongue, and work your word down deep into the hearts of your people. We are saved, not by perishable seed, but imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. As that word, the Gospel, is preached this morning, transform hearts, Father. Make fretting hearts peaceful. Make rebels into children. Fix our eyes on Christ we pray. Amen.
Where do you look for peace? We tend to think of peace as an absence. The absence of conflict, of hostilities, of war. I’ve heard the history of the world described as the history of conflict temporarily interrupted by moments of pause, and we call those pauses peace. But is that what peace means in the Scriptures? In a sense, yes. The whole world longs for a peaceful existence as described in Revelation 22:4, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Who doesn’t want that? Tears, pain, mourning, death-all gone.
Yet in this world that peace is a future hope, not a present reality. Jesus promises his disciples in John 16:33 that, In this world you will have tribulation (or trouble). So is peace just something we have to forget about? Paul didn’t think so. He wrote in Philippians 4:7 of the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding which will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul had a category for a peace that not only existed in the midst of pain and trial, but that actually could guard the people of God through those times. That’s the sort of peace I want to have. And it’s the sort of peace you need. We find a peace like that in Psalm 4. (Read the Psalm)
We don’t know the exact circumstances in which David wrote this Psalm. Unlike Psalm 3, where enemies are breathing down his neck, and his life is in danger, Psalm 4 seems to be a situation where the enemies are hurling insults, slander, or perhaps false accusations toward David. The tone of this Psalm is also fascinating. It opens with David pleading in prayer. It closes with him again praying, this time less from a sense urgency, and instead from a position of resting trust. But there is an interlude where David, at least for the purposes of his writing, interacts with his accusers. All three of these sections have application for us today, so let’s begin at the beginning.
Pleading in Prayer, v1
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
How does this prayer open? A rather desperate sounding call. God, answer me! I’m calling, are you listening? Have you ever felt that way when you’ve prayed? That you’re calling and there is no one on the other end of the phone? David exclaims, God, I need you!
The place this immediately situates him, and us if we pray this way, is in a position of dependence. People who think they are strong, sufficient, or good enough on their own will not pray in this sort of desperate and dependent manner. Yet David knows he is none of those things. His righteousness, his character and honor are being called into question, and rather than immediately defending himself, he turns reflexively to God. His first reaction when faced with an accusation is to take it to the Lord in prayer. And how does he refer to God? O God of my righteousness. It could also be translated, God of my vindication. What court does David want to be vindicated in? The court of public opinion? No. He knows he needs to be clean, righteous, in God’s eyes. And that can only happen when God himself cleanses him and vindicates him. In Jeremiah 23:6 we read the prophet foretelling a day when God would be called by this name: the LORD is our righteousness. And if you’re familiar with the writings of Paul you might recall what he says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. All those in Christ can look to God and know that we are clean in his sight, not because of what we’ve done, but because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Which gives us solid footing for approaching any circumstance.
You have given me relief when I was in distress. David is pleading with God to show up, and he is doing so while remembering all those times when God has shown up before. The word distress in this sentence carries with it the idea of being shoved into a tight spot, we might say I was between a rock and a hard place, or the walls were closing in around me. But he remembers not only the difficulty, but the relief God brought. The rock gave way, the walls opened up. In the past I faced pressed difficulty that choked the air from my lungs-but God, you made it so that I could breathe again. You’ve saved me before, do it again! He grounds his present request in God’s prior faithfulness. And so we hear him pray at the end of verse 1, Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
David’s reflex is to take this hard situation, and like the persistent widow in Luke 18, he’s just going to keep bringing it to God. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. But in the meantime, he has a few words for his adversaries.
Rebutting His Persecutors, v2-5
In verses two through five we have David addressing these foes. And we’re going to see his words to them come in two stages: The first is argument and the second is admonishment.
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
Here’s where we learn the nature of David’s complaint. These people, these men, have been turning his honor or his glory to shame. This is where it would be fascinating to know the exact situation, but it’s not hard to imagine that a king would have people attacking and slandering him unjustly. Frankly, with David, there were times he gave them just reason to speak poorly of him. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here, because he asks how long with you love vain words and seek after lies? David doesn’t give any credence to what they are saying.
It’s interesting that the word translated as lies at the end of verse two can also mean false (or pagan) gods. David makes a link between the fact that they are seeking to steal the glory of the king with the fact that they are in hot pursuit of any lie or false god they can get their hands on. And he is not impressed.
He finishes this sentence with a word we find throughout the Psalms and we discussed a couple of weeks ago: Selah. Again, we don’t know exactly what this Hebrew word means, but it likely was a musical or liturgical term used to indicate a pause. And perhaps this is a good place for us to pause: are you chasing after lies? Are you seeking after gods which cannot satisfy? It’s so easy to read the Psalms and identify with the heroes, the protagonist: but what if you’re actually the bad guy? What if you have been chasing things which aren’t God and it’s jacking up your life, and the life of those around you?
3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
David has a firm confidence that the Lord hears when David prays. That seems a slight change of tune from the opening verse, doesn’t it? It’s as if the act of countering the errors of his accusers reminds David of what the truth is, and who is the One Person he can count on.
Here is the logical sequence David’s confidence in the Lord: 1, the Lord sets apart the godly; 2, I am among the godly (not godly as in perfectly sinless, but godly as in those who have received the forgiveness of God, and desire to be obedient to him); 3, therefore, if God sets apart the godly and I’m among them, the Lord will hear my prayer. Can the wicked have this sort of confidence? They are counting on the effectiveness of their slurs to bring David down. Yet he can rest assured that because he belongs to God, God will hear him, regardless of what is happening with and among other human beings. Do you live with that sort of assurance? That kind of rock solid confidence? God has set apart his people, he’s chosen them and I’m among them, therefore I know he’s listening. That’s the kind of confidence we need to navigate hard decisions, especially when they’re unpopular.
So here is David’s argument: you guys are obsessed with lies, and you need to give it up because you’re not scaring me or fooling God. In fact, God is listening to me and not you. So let’s flip the tables and instead of you mocking me, let me lay some facts before you. David now turns from argument to admonishment-it’s an almost paternal, or fatherly sort of move.
4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah There is an enormous amount of debate among scholars as to the meaning of verse four, especially the beginning, Be angry and do not sin. The idea of being angry could also be translated as trembling or standing in awe. And that would seem to make sense in the context. Give up your lies, and stand in awe of God. And trembling before him will drive you away from sin. As J.C. Ryle often says in his commentaries, that is good doctrine, but I don’t believe it’s the doctrine in this text. Why not? Because of how the apostle Paul quotes this verse in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:26, Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and verse 27 continues, and give no opportunity for the devil. Paul is clearly not speaking of a trembling or an awe before God (though he would agree you ought to have that!). He seems pretty plainly to be addressing how to deal with anger. Now put yourself back in the shoes of David’s enemies. How are they going to respond to what David is saying? Will they be thrilled, jumping up and down because he is rebuking them and reminding them that God listens to him and they are chasing after empty things? I would imagine, in that scenario, that I would be angry. And when you’re confronted with that sort of reproof you have two options: on the one hand, get angrier still. Lash out, or quietly plot how you can get even. Or simply allow that bitterness to bubble and rage. Which is precisely what Paul told the Ephesians not to do.
But the other option is to actually consider the rebuke. Ponder in your own hearts on your bed, and be silent. Lay in bed quietly before God and pray this prayer: to what extent is this rebuke true? How do I need to repent and to change?
Which brings us to verse 5, Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. What would be the proper consequence of considering and pondering this rebuke? Repentance, which in Davd’s time would have been expressed by the offering of sacrifice. But while that sounds pretty Old Testament-y, the fundamental sacrifice that God wants doesn’t ever change. David, after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, pens these words in Psalm 51:17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
When you are confronted by your sin-be that in reading the Bible, listening to teaching like this, through the loving rebuke of a friend, through the harsh words of an opponent, or simply through the working of your conscience-how should you respond? Honestly ponder and consider, repent where you have been wrong, and here is the final piece of David’s admonishment: Put your trust in the LORD. You can see your errors and try to white-knuckle your way to a better you. But that better you is still always going to fail. Your only hope is to place your trust in a help from outside. In the perfect work of Christ finished for you on the cross, on the basis of which he offers you grace. And not only the grace necessary to enter into his presence upon death, but the grace necessary to walk through each day. Put your [daily] trust in the LORD.
David’s rebuttal of his persecutors has a lot to teach us-because we need to hear the same message they did. But it also instructs us, in that his perspective was not to see them as irreconcilable enemies, but as those who potentially join him in coming before a gracious and peace-giving God. Which brings us to our final section, where David shifts his focus back to the Lord.
Praying in Peace
In this final section of the Psalm, David recalls how many people speak and pray, contrasts this with his own feelings toward God, and then closes with a final note of confidence.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
There are plenty who will say, show yourself, God! And only trust when they see his provision laid out before them. When they ask God to lift up his face on them, they are asking to see tangible evidence of his blessing in their lives. And this is not a wrong prayer to pray, in and of itself. Aaron prays it over the people in Numbers 6:24-26, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. It is good to see the blessing of God! But brothers and sisters, when you have a God who moves in mysterious ways, you need a faith that moves beyond what you can see with your eyes.
7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. Here David draws his contrast. They are praying, show us some good! Let us see your blessings, God! And it’s almost as if, when you read their prayer, that they are searching for anyone who will come through for them, and as a last resort they turn and ask God. Like, if he’ll show up for us, then sure we’ll trust him. But if your confidence is in God himself, and not just the goodies he may or may not give, then you have a firm footing for your hope.
What’s wrong with putting your hope in blessings that come from God? Here David speaks of an abundance of grain and wine, which draws our minds to places like Ecclesiastes 9:7, Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved of what you do. To have an abundant harvest of grain, to have had sufficient wine-these would have been very legitimate reasons for rejoicing. But what happens when the locusts come and demolish the barley? Or the weather is wrong and the grape harvest fails? What then?
David says, you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. The joy David has in God, even in the midst of being persecuted and slandered, is a greater joy than their situationally dependent joy-even when their situation is great. The problem with a joy based on circumstance is that the other shoe is always going to drop. And if you live with any sort of realism, that will then taint and present joy, because you know less abundant times are coming. And what are you to do when things do go bad? But a joy based in an unchanging and eternal God who is always there for the good of those who love him is a joy that, in the midst of any circumstance, can be called inexpressible and filled with glory.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
David has a joy in the LORD that isn’t situationally dependent. And it when your joy is in the LORD, when you’re trusting Jesus and vindicated by his righteousness rather than your own, you don’t have to lie awake at night in fear. The need to fret and worry about what others think is gone. The desire to prove yourself and show you really matter diminishes, because God himself values you, has chosen you, has sent his Son to die for you. You are chosen. You are loved. You are safe. None can snatch you from his almighty hand.
Where does an infant feel safest? I wonder if you’ve ever been at a concert or sporting event, something where there is tons of noise, all sorts of chaos, and seen a young child peacefully sleeping away in the arms of mom or dad. And here is where a child of God can rest-in the arms of your loving heavenly Father, the One who shelters, protects, and comforts you. This is a peace that isn’t dependent on a lack of outward conflict-it’s a peace that flows from being right with God. Do you know that peace this morning?
In peace I will both lie down and sleep-for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. He will give safety-all the safety you need. Trust in him.
Remsen Bible Fellowship, Online, 04/19/2020
Introduction
Good morning, and welcome to our second Youtube live sermon. I deeply, deeply, look forward to the day when we are meeting again in person, but until that time I trust the Lord will be using his word and these sermons to encourage and strengthen you. Let’s pray before we get rolling.
Father God, thank you for your word. Please speak through this poor stammering tongue, and work your word down deep into the hearts of your people. We are saved, not by perishable seed, but imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. As that word, the Gospel, is preached this morning, transform hearts, Father. Make fretting hearts peaceful. Make rebels into children. Fix our eyes on Christ we pray. Amen.
Where do you look for peace? We tend to think of peace as an absence. The absence of conflict, of hostilities, of war. I’ve heard the history of the world described as the history of conflict temporarily interrupted by moments of pause, and we call those pauses peace. But is that what peace means in the Scriptures? In a sense, yes. The whole world longs for a peaceful existence as described in Revelation 22:4, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Who doesn’t want that? Tears, pain, mourning, death-all gone.
Yet in this world that peace is a future hope, not a present reality. Jesus promises his disciples in John 16:33 that, In this world you will have tribulation (or trouble). So is peace just something we have to forget about? Paul didn’t think so. He wrote in Philippians 4:7 of the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding which will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul had a category for a peace that not only existed in the midst of pain and trial, but that actually could guard the people of God through those times. That’s the sort of peace I want to have. And it’s the sort of peace you need. We find a peace like that in Psalm 4. (Read the Psalm)
We don’t know the exact circumstances in which David wrote this Psalm. Unlike Psalm 3, where enemies are breathing down his neck, and his life is in danger, Psalm 4 seems to be a situation where the enemies are hurling insults, slander, or perhaps false accusations toward David. The tone of this Psalm is also fascinating. It opens with David pleading in prayer. It closes with him again praying, this time less from a sense urgency, and instead from a position of resting trust. But there is an interlude where David, at least for the purposes of his writing, interacts with his accusers. All three of these sections have application for us today, so let’s begin at the beginning.
Pleading in Prayer, v1
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
How does this prayer open? A rather desperate sounding call. God, answer me! I’m calling, are you listening? Have you ever felt that way when you’ve prayed? That you’re calling and there is no one on the other end of the phone? David exclaims, God, I need you!
The place this immediately situates him, and us if we pray this way, is in a position of dependence. People who think they are strong, sufficient, or good enough on their own will not pray in this sort of desperate and dependent manner. Yet David knows he is none of those things. His righteousness, his character and honor are being called into question, and rather than immediately defending himself, he turns reflexively to God. His first reaction when faced with an accusation is to take it to the Lord in prayer. And how does he refer to God? O God of my righteousness. It could also be translated, God of my vindication. What court does David want to be vindicated in? The court of public opinion? No. He knows he needs to be clean, righteous, in God’s eyes. And that can only happen when God himself cleanses him and vindicates him. In Jeremiah 23:6 we read the prophet foretelling a day when God would be called by this name: the LORD is our righteousness. And if you’re familiar with the writings of Paul you might recall what he says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. All those in Christ can look to God and know that we are clean in his sight, not because of what we’ve done, but because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Which gives us solid footing for approaching any circumstance.
You have given me relief when I was in distress. David is pleading with God to show up, and he is doing so while remembering all those times when God has shown up before. The word distress in this sentence carries with it the idea of being shoved into a tight spot, we might say I was between a rock and a hard place, or the walls were closing in around me. But he remembers not only the difficulty, but the relief God brought. The rock gave way, the walls opened up. In the past I faced pressed difficulty that choked the air from my lungs-but God, you made it so that I could breathe again. You’ve saved me before, do it again! He grounds his present request in God’s prior faithfulness. And so we hear him pray at the end of verse 1, Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
David’s reflex is to take this hard situation, and like the persistent widow in Luke 18, he’s just going to keep bringing it to God. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. But in the meantime, he has a few words for his adversaries.
Rebutting His Persecutors, v2-5
In verses two through five we have David addressing these foes. And we’re going to see his words to them come in two stages: The first is argument and the second is admonishment.
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
Here’s where we learn the nature of David’s complaint. These people, these men, have been turning his honor or his glory to shame. This is where it would be fascinating to know the exact situation, but it’s not hard to imagine that a king would have people attacking and slandering him unjustly. Frankly, with David, there were times he gave them just reason to speak poorly of him. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here, because he asks how long with you love vain words and seek after lies? David doesn’t give any credence to what they are saying.
It’s interesting that the word translated as lies at the end of verse two can also mean false (or pagan) gods. David makes a link between the fact that they are seeking to steal the glory of the king with the fact that they are in hot pursuit of any lie or false god they can get their hands on. And he is not impressed.
He finishes this sentence with a word we find throughout the Psalms and we discussed a couple of weeks ago: Selah. Again, we don’t know exactly what this Hebrew word means, but it likely was a musical or liturgical term used to indicate a pause. And perhaps this is a good place for us to pause: are you chasing after lies? Are you seeking after gods which cannot satisfy? It’s so easy to read the Psalms and identify with the heroes, the protagonist: but what if you’re actually the bad guy? What if you have been chasing things which aren’t God and it’s jacking up your life, and the life of those around you?
3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
David has a firm confidence that the Lord hears when David prays. That seems a slight change of tune from the opening verse, doesn’t it? It’s as if the act of countering the errors of his accusers reminds David of what the truth is, and who is the One Person he can count on.
Here is the logical sequence David’s confidence in the Lord: 1, the Lord sets apart the godly; 2, I am among the godly (not godly as in perfectly sinless, but godly as in those who have received the forgiveness of God, and desire to be obedient to him); 3, therefore, if God sets apart the godly and I’m among them, the Lord will hear my prayer. Can the wicked have this sort of confidence? They are counting on the effectiveness of their slurs to bring David down. Yet he can rest assured that because he belongs to God, God will hear him, regardless of what is happening with and among other human beings. Do you live with that sort of assurance? That kind of rock solid confidence? God has set apart his people, he’s chosen them and I’m among them, therefore I know he’s listening. That’s the kind of confidence we need to navigate hard decisions, especially when they’re unpopular.
So here is David’s argument: you guys are obsessed with lies, and you need to give it up because you’re not scaring me or fooling God. In fact, God is listening to me and not you. So let’s flip the tables and instead of you mocking me, let me lay some facts before you. David now turns from argument to admonishment-it’s an almost paternal, or fatherly sort of move.
4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah There is an enormous amount of debate among scholars as to the meaning of verse four, especially the beginning, Be angry and do not sin. The idea of being angry could also be translated as trembling or standing in awe. And that would seem to make sense in the context. Give up your lies, and stand in awe of God. And trembling before him will drive you away from sin. As J.C. Ryle often says in his commentaries, that is good doctrine, but I don’t believe it’s the doctrine in this text. Why not? Because of how the apostle Paul quotes this verse in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:26, Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and verse 27 continues, and give no opportunity for the devil. Paul is clearly not speaking of a trembling or an awe before God (though he would agree you ought to have that!). He seems pretty plainly to be addressing how to deal with anger. Now put yourself back in the shoes of David’s enemies. How are they going to respond to what David is saying? Will they be thrilled, jumping up and down because he is rebuking them and reminding them that God listens to him and they are chasing after empty things? I would imagine, in that scenario, that I would be angry. And when you’re confronted with that sort of reproof you have two options: on the one hand, get angrier still. Lash out, or quietly plot how you can get even. Or simply allow that bitterness to bubble and rage. Which is precisely what Paul told the Ephesians not to do.
But the other option is to actually consider the rebuke. Ponder in your own hearts on your bed, and be silent. Lay in bed quietly before God and pray this prayer: to what extent is this rebuke true? How do I need to repent and to change?
Which brings us to verse 5, Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. What would be the proper consequence of considering and pondering this rebuke? Repentance, which in Davd’s time would have been expressed by the offering of sacrifice. But while that sounds pretty Old Testament-y, the fundamental sacrifice that God wants doesn’t ever change. David, after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, pens these words in Psalm 51:17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
When you are confronted by your sin-be that in reading the Bible, listening to teaching like this, through the loving rebuke of a friend, through the harsh words of an opponent, or simply through the working of your conscience-how should you respond? Honestly ponder and consider, repent where you have been wrong, and here is the final piece of David’s admonishment: Put your trust in the LORD. You can see your errors and try to white-knuckle your way to a better you. But that better you is still always going to fail. Your only hope is to place your trust in a help from outside. In the perfect work of Christ finished for you on the cross, on the basis of which he offers you grace. And not only the grace necessary to enter into his presence upon death, but the grace necessary to walk through each day. Put your [daily] trust in the LORD.
David’s rebuttal of his persecutors has a lot to teach us-because we need to hear the same message they did. But it also instructs us, in that his perspective was not to see them as irreconcilable enemies, but as those who potentially join him in coming before a gracious and peace-giving God. Which brings us to our final section, where David shifts his focus back to the Lord.
Praying in Peace
In this final section of the Psalm, David recalls how many people speak and pray, contrasts this with his own feelings toward God, and then closes with a final note of confidence.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
There are plenty who will say, show yourself, God! And only trust when they see his provision laid out before them. When they ask God to lift up his face on them, they are asking to see tangible evidence of his blessing in their lives. And this is not a wrong prayer to pray, in and of itself. Aaron prays it over the people in Numbers 6:24-26, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. It is good to see the blessing of God! But brothers and sisters, when you have a God who moves in mysterious ways, you need a faith that moves beyond what you can see with your eyes.
7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. Here David draws his contrast. They are praying, show us some good! Let us see your blessings, God! And it’s almost as if, when you read their prayer, that they are searching for anyone who will come through for them, and as a last resort they turn and ask God. Like, if he’ll show up for us, then sure we’ll trust him. But if your confidence is in God himself, and not just the goodies he may or may not give, then you have a firm footing for your hope.
What’s wrong with putting your hope in blessings that come from God? Here David speaks of an abundance of grain and wine, which draws our minds to places like Ecclesiastes 9:7, Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved of what you do. To have an abundant harvest of grain, to have had sufficient wine-these would have been very legitimate reasons for rejoicing. But what happens when the locusts come and demolish the barley? Or the weather is wrong and the grape harvest fails? What then?
David says, you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. The joy David has in God, even in the midst of being persecuted and slandered, is a greater joy than their situationally dependent joy-even when their situation is great. The problem with a joy based on circumstance is that the other shoe is always going to drop. And if you live with any sort of realism, that will then taint and present joy, because you know less abundant times are coming. And what are you to do when things do go bad? But a joy based in an unchanging and eternal God who is always there for the good of those who love him is a joy that, in the midst of any circumstance, can be called inexpressible and filled with glory.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
David has a joy in the LORD that isn’t situationally dependent. And it when your joy is in the LORD, when you’re trusting Jesus and vindicated by his righteousness rather than your own, you don’t have to lie awake at night in fear. The need to fret and worry about what others think is gone. The desire to prove yourself and show you really matter diminishes, because God himself values you, has chosen you, has sent his Son to die for you. You are chosen. You are loved. You are safe. None can snatch you from his almighty hand.
Where does an infant feel safest? I wonder if you’ve ever been at a concert or sporting event, something where there is tons of noise, all sorts of chaos, and seen a young child peacefully sleeping away in the arms of mom or dad. And here is where a child of God can rest-in the arms of your loving heavenly Father, the One who shelters, protects, and comforts you. This is a peace that isn’t dependent on a lack of outward conflict-it’s a peace that flows from being right with God. Do you know that peace this morning?
In peace I will both lie down and sleep-for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. He will give safety-all the safety you need. Trust in him.