A Study in Psalms - Psalm 4

I think everybody knows that Psalms per chapter is the longest book in the Bible with 150 chapters But if you were to look at the longest book in the Bible by Hebrew words The longest book would be Jeremiah with thirty three thousand and two words Genesis would be number two with thirty two thousand and forty six words And then Psalms would be the third longest book in the Bible with thirty thousand one hundred forty seven words Psalms is one of the few books used by both Christians and Jews in worship.

I Told you a few weeks ago that Psalms took approximately 1,000 years to complete the right to put together Jesus Christ quotes from the book of Psalms more than any other book of Scripture nearly half of the direct quotes taken from the Old Testament and quoting the New Testament come from Psalms and Jesus began his ministry quoting Psalm 69 in John 2 17 and he finished his ministry quoting Psalm 31 5 in Luke 23 46. So Christ is all through the Psalms Mentioned the superscription tonight Psalm 4 does not have one and we'll talk about that But when you have a superscription or a title above it people wonder are those accurate?

Well when they found the Dead Sea Scrolls They had them then and that was 200 years before Christ. So they're accurate The author's names are included Mentioned that King David wrote at least 73 Psalms but Acts 2 25 says that he wrote Psalms 2 and Psalms 2 doesn't have an author. So that would be another one and in Hebrews 4 7 confirms that that David wrote Psalm 95 so David wrote at least 75 of the 150 Psalms that we have In addition to David we have six other authors Moses wrote Psalm 90 interesting if Moses wrote Psalm 90 Before he wrote Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers in Deuteronomy Psalms 90 would be the oldest scripture in our Bible if he did we don't know King Solomon wrote to Psalm 72 and Psalm 27 127 ASAP wrote 12 Psalms and the sons of Korah the worship leaders wrote 11 Psalms and then Ethan the Ezra light wrote Psalm 89 I mentioned last year when we we looked at saw the song of ascents there are 15 Psalms Psalms 120 the Psalms 134 that we call this song of ascents and Those would be sung by the Jewish pilgrims when they would go to Jerusalem three times a year They would make their way up to Jerusalem and they would sing those 15 song of ascent Psalms Some other things the key word in Psalm is praise and it appears 211 times Psalm 88 we preached on that.

Maybe you don't remember that one. That's one of the most interesting Psalms It's the only Psalm that ends just it just ends and there's no praise. No adoration. No answer to prayer No hope in God anything. It's a weird song. We did preach on that if you want to get a tape on that But it's the only song that ends with some ends without any kind of praise in it you see the word Sela quite often 71 times throughout the Psalms and it means forever and most Commentators say that when you see the Sela in the psalm, it's a pause The they would stop singing there and pause for a moment of reflection During the Passover celebration the Jews would recite and sing Psalm 136 I think we looked at that one last year and then they would sing Psalms 113 to Psalms 118 So it's believed that the night before Jesus went to the cross.

He would have recited these Psalms during the Last Supper We've mentioned that there are seven so-called penitential Psalms These are Psalms that are widely used to confess sin and those are Psalm 6 Psalm 32 Psalm 38 Psalm 51 Psalm 102 Psalm 130 which we'll look at in a few weeks and Psalm 143 The book of Psalms can be aptly summarized in five key words.

First word would be praise The second word would be prophecy The third word would be pain the fourth word would be petition and The fifth word would be poetry we mentioned that Psalms 90 is the oldest psalm and Then the latest psalm would probably be Psalms 137 after the Babylonian captivity the unsure everybody knows that Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm with two verses and Psalms 119 is the longest with 176 verses Probably the two most famous Psalms are Psalm 91 we preached on that one dial 9-1-1 Because people call on 9-1-1 for the Lord's protection that says whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty and then of course, I hope everyone here can recite Psalm 23.

Can you I hope so I think everybody knows that Psalms is split into five in books and So far we've only been in book 1 Book 1 is Psalm 1 to 41 and the Jews would tell you that corresponds to Genesis And if you study that like Psalm 19 talks about Natural revelation there is some accuracy to that book 2 is Psalm 42 To Psalm 72 and that would correspond to Exodus book 3 is Psalm 73 to 89 that corresponds to Leviticus and Book 4 is Psalm 90 to 106 that corresponds to the book of Numbers and Lastly book 5 is Psalm 107 to 1 To 150 corresponds to the book of Deuteronomy and if you go to the last book Psalm 41 Psalm 72 Psalm 89 Psalms 106 and Psalm 150 they all in with the doxology by the way, so, you know, but that before they start the new book So that's just a little bit of facts about Psalms tonight as we're not seeing but let's look at Psalm 4 tonight Psalm 4, okay Call this the evening Psalm Psalm 3 is the morning Psalm.

We preached on that. I think in 2021 Psalm 4 is the evening Psalm and we'll read it and pray Psalm 4 says to the choir master with the stringed instruments of Psalm of David answer me when I call Oh God of my righteousness You have given me relief when I was in distress Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Oh Man, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah, but know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord hears when I called to him Be angry and do not sin Ponder in your own hearts and on your beds and be silent Selah Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say who will show us some good Lift up the light of your face upon us. Oh Lord You have put more joy in my heart than when their grain and new wine abound in peace I will both lie down and sleep for you alone. Oh Lord. Make me dwell in safety. Let's pray Father as we look at Psalm 4 may we learn tonight That when we lay our head on our pillows tonight No matter what the trials are going through no matter what the sickness is no matter what's going on in the world May we lie down and sleep in peace because you are a sovereign God and we can trust in you because you know exactly what you're Doing and what's going on?

Give us that peace in Jesus name. Amen Let me begin tonight by asking a question. Have you ever been? slandered So bad that your reputation was left in tatters Have you ever been a victim of malicious lies? That cost you dearly Have you ever been falsely accused of something? That almost destroyed your life and there was little you could do about it Has someone tried to destroy your reputation perhaps? Maybe not yet if you're lucky or hopefully but it could happen in the future You need to remember Psalm 4 if that happens One commentator said there are days in the lives of all human beings which require a psalm like this I'm pretty sure nobody here in this this auditorium has been slandered attack and had the reputation destroyed as Badly as someone called Richard Jewell.

You remember him? Now there's a movie that Clint Eastwood make I don't recommend it because there's a lot of bad language But Richard Jewell was the security guard at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 he was a wannabe cop kind of a strange guy, but he saw a backpack that had three pipe bombs in it and he alerted the police and He got all the people helped get all the people out there before the bomb went off and killed one person He was initially hailed as a hero For a few days but then the FBI did what they call a I guess it's a suspect based on psychologically profiling the Lone Ranger guy and then the FBI leaked some news and then the news media got a hold of it and For 88 days this guy went through hell on earth They searched his house took everything out.

They drove his mother crazy. The media were outside his house for three months It took a toll on his personal life and his professional life After 88 days, he was finally cleared didn't actually catch the bomber till about eight nine years later a guy named I can't remember his name Eric Rudolph finally in 2005 confessed but Richard Jewell got a letter they came out and said based upon the evidence developed to date Richard Jewell is not considered a target of the federal criminal investigation in the bombings on July 27th 1996 at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta He didn't get an apology from anybody from the news media from the FBI And he actually didn't live too long after that that man went through a lot But tonight's psalm is about a man in the Bible Who experienced something different similar his name is King David?

He was maliciously attacked His honor was destroyed everyone in Jerusalem was talking bad about him Yet how he responds is a great lesson for you and me to know how to handle Situations when you're slandered when you're attacked when you're falsely accused The type of psalm here is a lament okay, we're in book 1 and book 1 is psalm 1 to 41 and 37 of them are written by David. And so this is written by David Excuse me trying to get over a cold and but I get through it It says to the choir master with stringed instruments a psalm of David This would be the first mention in the Psalms about the choir master and 53 of them have that superscription The choir master would be the worship leader The stringed instruments would be the harp or the lyre David would take this ordeal.

He would write it down into a beautiful song and 2nd Samuel 23 1 calls David the sweet psalmist of Israel Some commentators believe that psalm 4 is a harvest psalm because if you look at verse 7 verse 7 says You have put more joy in my heart Than when their grain and wine abound now, there are harvest psalms in 150 psalms But I think Spurgeon Leopold and others are right and saying that it's not a not a harvest psalm So Spurgeon and Leopold said to refer to this psalm to the dates when David fled before Absalom Certainly fits the words of this psalm in a number of striking ways The author is obviously in distress his honors assailed.

He seeks to set his erring son and those that air with him are right It's a paternal type of admonition and it's used that David might well have used against the rebel son So lastly the author manifests a courageous faith such as often used in the life of David So many commentators believe that Psalm 3 4 were once one song So look at Psalm 3 Psalm 3 We looked at this and I think 2021 and it says at the top of Psalm 3 a psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom and When you look at verse verse 5 it says I lay down and slept So they call Psalm 3 the morning psalm and they call psalm for the evening psalm Or 8 says in peace I will both lie down and sleep So Psalm 3 is devotional for the morning.

Psalm 4 is devotional for the evening So when you look at Psalm 3, which we looked at before It's about when David fled from Absalom so psalms are connected Psalm 3 is about David being in physical danger and Psalm 4 is the problem of malicious lies and slander the psalmist reputation has been attacked here in Psalm 4 and What he needs is a sense and presence of approval of God rather than physical deliverance like Psalm 3 This psalm shows us how we ought to respond in times of crisis it gives us a battle plan exactly what to do When you've been falsely accused maliciously attacked slandered or rumored I hope you all have an outline simple four-point outline the request the rebuke the rebuttal and the relief Let's begin with the request verse 1 we could spend an hour on verse 1 Teaching us how to pray There are five appeals there, let's look at one first off the appeal to answer answer me when I call in the midst of his trial David is desperate and he seeks an immediate audience with God It's an urgent plea to God.

He has nowhere to turn and it's not the first or last time. I'll cry out to God in the Psalms At least 23 times the psalmist says answer me Psalm 13 3 says consider and answer me. Oh, Lord Psalm 17 6 says I call upon you and you will answer me Psalm 23 times. It says answer me verse 1. May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble Verse 6 now.

I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with saving might of his right hand and Psalm 20 verse 9. Oh Lord save the king. May he answer us when we call You know, it teaches us here first that we need to speak to God before we speak with men David goes to God first and not lastly like we often do Often when we're in a crisis we forget to pray right?

It's a good thing to take your problems to God immediately Go to God before you go to your pastor elders Go to God before you go to your doctor Go to God before you go to your lawyer your friend Consult heaven first and seek human counselors and comforters later And then we have to an appeal to God's righteousness He says Oh God of my righteousness.

This is the only place in Scripture. We have this title for God Nowhere else in Scripture is it found if you have an IV Bible, it says my righteous God It's significant for the psalmist to use that name of God David knows that man is unjust and not righteous and The world is full of injustice But David knows the character of God God is a righteous God is righteous man is a sinner and the only righteousness that we have comes from God Notice that this is the first attribute we have in prayer When we go to God in prayer, it's always nice to remember God's attributes whether they're love grace mercy omnipotence omniscience Remember that you'll see here in this first one.

He has three attributes of God. This is the first one He's appealing to God's righteousness. And when we pray we need to appeal to God's righteousness This is an Old Testament verse but in the New Testament 2nd Corinthians 521 happens to be my favorite Bible verse Says for our sake he that's Jesus made him to be sinned who knew no sin So that in him we might become the righteousness of God So David appeals to God's righteousness secondly David appeals to God's faithfulness He says you have given me relief when I was in distress The word distress means tight place and the word for relief means open place So David is saying to God get me out of this tight place and into an open place Thanks David has a good memory.

He doesn't forget the past He remembers when he fought the bear when he fought the lion and when he fought the giant Goliath So he puts his faith in God and reminds him how God had delivered him in the past David is confident that God will help him again Now remember where we at This is the night before the battle. They've crossed the Jordan River. David has fled Jerusalem His people are hungry. They're starving and some of David's friends have brought him food but the battle will be the next day and The armies of Israel will come to fight David the next day So but our memory is often bad and forgetful.

Do we remember God when we remember his faithfulness to us? In times of trouble and persecution we need to remember that God has always stood by his people and his faithfulness fails us not So here you have the second attribute Faithfulness Hebrews 13 5 says I will never leave you or forsake you Number four he appeals to God's mercy Now my Bible says be gracious to me, but maybe your New King James or NIV says mercy So mercy is the third kind of attribute we have in verse 1 when we call out to God David knows he's a sinful man and he asked God to bestow mercy upon him You know God knows the situation very well Have you ever been in a prayer meeting or have you ever asked a friend?

You know, what's wrong and they give you a 500 word? dissertation of what's going on and By the time they're done. I'm not even sure what to pray for Notice what David does he just says God be merciful to me be gracious to me and it's a reminder to keep your prayers Short you don't have to give God all the details.

He knows it. Okay, remember in Luke 18 The tax collector said seven words to God God be merciful to me a sinner the Pharisee had 35 words, but God didn't listen to his words So God is called a righteous God and now David knows he's gracious and God will listen and answer the prayer according to his will and then number five Well, I didn't finish sorry Lamentations 322 says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never end One commentator said the life of a man on earth is a warfare in The midst of enemies we need a fortress where we may take refuge so number five an appeal to God's ear so David begins the prayer by saying answer me and he ends it by saying hear my prayer He's saying to God in my present trouble have compassion on me like you did in the past You know, all of us can look back to times when God answered your prayer and delivered you out of trouble We can go to him time and time again and confidence that will answer our prayer We should pray like David knowing we don't deserve any help from God But we pray on the basis of God's favor and mercy, you know, I love to study the great prayers of the Bible and you know We have Solomon David Ezra Nehemiah Hezekiah They always pray Reminding God of the past promises and deliverances in the past God provided for David relief and David knows Praise knowing God will provide leaf in the presence For us one of the great ways to strengthen your faith when you've been maliciously attacked slandered gossip Or had your reputation damaged is to look back and remember how God provided for you in the past And spent time for you in prayer Spurgeon said surely we should all speak to more boldly to men if we had constant conversation with God He who dares to face his maker will not tremble before the sons of men Prayer should be our first response Let's move to point to the rebuke Two points here men attack me and God protects me in Verse 1 David is speaking to God, but notice now he's gonna switch to speak to his enemies If he actually could talk to them, it's unlikely David could say these words to him But if he could talk to them, this is what he would want to say to him one commentator says in verse 1 David In verse 1 David prays in verse 2 he preaches He says oh men Now who are these men?

The SV says oh men the NSV says sons of men turn with me to 2nd Samuel Chapter 15 and we'll see who some of these enemies are got four categories of David's men enemies here 2nd Samuel 15 verses 1 to 6 2nd Samuel chapter 15 verse 1 to 6 says and after this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him and Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate and when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment Absalom would call to him and Say from what city are you and when he said your servant is of such-and-such a tribe of Israel Absalom would say to him see your claims are good and right, but there's no man designated the king to hear you Now that's obviously a lie like Psalms 4 says Then Absalom would say oh that if I were judge in the land and every man with the dispute or cause might come to me And I would give him justice and whenever a man came near to pay homage to him He would put out his hand take hold of him and kiss him thus Absalom did all of Israel who came to the kingdom for judgment so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel and if you go down to verse then so Absalom is the first one obviously he's David's son and David does not have a good relation to him with what's going on, but Absalom started this conspiracy look at verse 12 of the same chapter and While Absalom was offering a sacrifice as he sent for a fifth of will the Gideon I do a night David's counsel from the city of Gilo and the conspiracy grew strong and The people with Absalom kept increasing so who was a fifth of El well, if you look at 2nd Samuel 23 for it says that Elam was a son of a fifth of El and If you look at 2nd Samuel 11 3 Bathsheba is the daughter of Elam so a fifth of El is Bathsheba's granddad.

So if you put things together This guy a fifth of El who was David's chief counselor the most wisest man in all of Israel Has got a really deep-seated grudge and went on for quite a few years four five six years But now it's time for payback so Absalom calls for a fifth of El and a fifth of El joins Absalom not David So the second guy you have is a fifth of El Thirdly you familiar with the story turn to turn the page to 2nd Samuel 16 Verse 5 I won't read the whole story, but you remember the story of Shema It said when King David came to Borom there came out a man of a family of the house of Saul Whose name was Shema the son of Gera and he came and he cursed continually through stones And he threw rocks and David's and David's men wanted to go up and kill him and David said no no, no So you've got Absalom.

You've got a fifth of El You've got men from Shemi for used to be in Saul's house, but fourthly you'd have the wealthy people of Israel You'd have the the landowners. You'd have the prominent the powerful now remember David is fled So imagine you having a business or imagine you being a having some occupation in in Jerusalem You got a choice to make right gonna go but David or you're gonna follow Absalom Well, it's likely that most of the men forgot David was God's chosen vessel and appointed So most of these rich wealthy landowners prominent people they didn't just turn against David they turn against God So these would be some of those sons of men So here in this verse David is chiding them for their evil opposition to him How long would his enemies seek to destroy his honor?

David had lived a life honoring God the Bible calls David a man after God's heart He had a life of success for God and now his personal honor and character have been attacked He says how long will you love vain words or seek lies? You heard some of the lies that Absalom was telling the people there Delusions the slanders attack him with and the crowd or the mob usually follows the lies, right? Some translators here say false gods instead of lies So David's enemies were despising the royal majesty of God's anointed servant How much more severe how much more severe punishment shall they receive who blaspheme the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Today, you've got blaspheming David is one thing but liberal theologians robbed Christ of his glory of God's only Son They try to put Jesus on the same level of Buddha Muhammad and other religious leaders The Colts deny his deity and make Christ a created being God has set forth Jesus Christ and those who fight against Jesus Christ are ultimately fighting against God so men attack him But God protects me David says we have a powerful verse here And I think this verse is very comforting that we could memorize But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself the Lord hears when I call to him David knows God placed him on the throne Okay, he's God's servant and he knows he's protected by God and even though he's had to flee and things don't look good He's gonna trust God so, you know in verse 1 to 2 David has high anxiety because his accusers have attacked him and Slandered him and taken his honor But prayer is David's therapy Prayer is David's therapy and it ought to be our therapy David could have attacked his enemies with vicious words.

Now. Remember one of them is his own son But in practice, he doesn't use there's notice. There's no imprecatory prayer here This would have been a perfect place where if I was writing the psalm, I would put an imprecatory prayer God kill him God destroy him God do this to them, but David doesn't do that. He chooses kind words actually David's enemy were despising the royal majesty of God's anointed Why should they persist in their opposition against him who God had chosen? To oppose David was to oppose God who was sovereignly elected and set him apart You know when you look at the end of the story, which we don't have here, but if you go to 2nd Samuel 17 and 18 20,000 soldiers of Israel would die Verse 3 should provide comfort for all believers in Jesus Christ Where it says the Lord has set apart the godly for himself.

Now notice is godly Psalm 66 18 says if I had cherished iniquity in my heart The Lord would not have listened if you have constant sin in your life God is not gonna listen to your prayer, but first John 1 9 says if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and you cleanse us from all unrighteousness And then you have that verse 1st John 5 14 that says this is the confidence we have toward him That if we ask anything according to his will he hears us Okay, and Matthew 7 11 says ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find Knock and it shall be open you for everyone who asks receives the one who seeks finds the one who knocks it will be open Which one of you if his son asked him for bread will give him a stone?

Or if he asked for a fish will give him a serpent if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your Children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? So, what do you do if you're maliciously attacked? What do you do when you get that letter or you get that text that just tries to destroy you? Well, I'll recommend that what we're going through Psalm 4 tonight, but turn with me to Psalm 26 Psalm 26 is Called the vindication psalm.

So if you're godly you confessed your sins and you prayed Remember Psalm 26 a few years ago a man came to me in church and he was very distraught He'd been falsely accused of something and it was really trouble because he couldn't prove To the person that was accusing him that he was innocent. I asked him. Have you read Psalm 26 and he read it and It calmed him down, let me just read it to you Psalm 26 says Vindicate me notice.

It's also a David vindicate me. Oh Lord for I've walked in my integrity. I have trusted in the Lord without wavering Prove me. Oh Lord and try me test my heart and my mind For your steadfast love is for my eyes and I walk in your faithfulness I do not sit with men of falsehood nor do I consort with hypocrites I hate the assembly of evildoers and it will not sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocent I go around your altar. Oh Lord Proclaiming Thanksgiving aloud and telling of all your wondrous deeds.

Oh Lord I love the habitation of your house the place where your glory dwells Do not sweep my soul away with sinners more my life with bloodthirsty men in whose hands are evil devices You use hands are full of bribes But as for me I shall walk in my integrity Redeem me be gracious to me. My foot stands on level ground in the great assembly I will bless the Lord. So remember Psalm 4, but also remember Psalm 26 Let's move to point 3 which is the rebuttal now commentators here are divided Some commentators say David is talking to his enemies or as David talking to himself and his fellow soldiers I'm gonna look at it from both perspectives.

But first I want to look at it that he's talking to his enemies David here is rebuking them for their foolish actions.

He's giving him a rebuttal Now in verses 4 and 5 David is not actually talking to his enemies But these are the words or the thoughts that he'd like to say to his son Absalom These are the words that he'd like to say to his enemies David has forgotten himself here and he's thinking and concerned about his enemies which are led by his son Absalom He knows war is coming But he wants to pass on wise and living counsel and you notice there's six things there number one Tremble before the Lord now most of your Bibles probably say be angry right be angry.

Okay But this word can also be translated tremble So Paul will take this verse and in Ephesians 4 26 translate it be angry and do not sin You're probably familiar with that verse, right? But that's one way of translating this verse the word or verb for angry can also mean tremble so Translations such as NIV NASB LSB all say tremble see Absalom's followers did not tremble David's telling them you need to tremble before the Lord stop what you're doing. Okay, you are not the rightful King Remember the the wicked things that that that the fell told Absalom when you get into Jerusalem go up and sleep with the concubines things like that They weren't trembling, but David's telling his enemies to tremble for God and stop sinning Leopold says here stand in awe of God and because you're in awe of him cease sinning as you have been doing So what David's saying to his enemies is the evil you're planning to do should be abandoned because God is against you You need to tremble for the Lord Secondly do not sin or don't sin When you tremble before a holy God and you stand in awe of him You will see sinning you'll stop the evil you're doing.

He's telling them stop the evil you're doing It's gonna result in the slaughter of 20,000 soldiers and much much evil He then says search your hearts your translation may say ponder in your own hearts or on your beds Would David's enemies do this? Probably not They're probably in Jerusalem enjoying the spoils of their their victory for just a day or two But he's calling them to repentance here. He's telling them think about what you're gonna do. Okay, and Then he says be still Be still is in most translations but one translation says be sorry for the things that you say in your own heart and Then he says offer right sacrifices literally means offer animal sacrifices Remember when Absalom entered Jerusalem and David fled The first thing that Absalom did at the advice of Ahithophel was to go to the temple and offer sacrifices That's in 2nd Samuel 15 12 He did that to impress the people not to impress God God didn't accept those sacrifices So David is saying if you indeed tremble before the Lord Stop sinning.

You need to offer right sacrifices for your sins And lastly he says put your trust in the Lord Absalom was trusting in his leadership in Ahithophel his advisors his military his Popularity, but he wasn't trusting in the Lord, but David was let's move to point for the relief We're David's enemies likely to follow his advice. Would they tremble before the Lord with the offer right sacrifices for their sin? Would they begin to trust in the Almighty? Probably not and the story tells us they did not It's not even likely that David could have spoken these words to his enemy because he had fled Because he didn't have the opportunity David's enemies did not trust in God, but David did he trusted in God the past and now he's in labor for God all the false accusations of the enemies and God's gonna provide goodness joy and peace in these three verses So number one, he says favor me with goodness in verse 6.

There are many who say who will show us some good David's with his men who fled and They're worried they're they're concerned that out there way outnumbered in the army, right? They don't have enough and many are starting complain and grumble with circumstances saying who can show us any good But David hasn't forgotten God like they have so David says those beautiful words Lift up the light of your face. So Lord Remember when we studied Psalm 67 and we quote in numbers six That high priestly prayer that God gave to Aaron you remember that prayer This is this is the second Psalm here in three weeks that we've gone to that high priestly prayer God brought to David's mind the words from number 6 24 to 26, which says The Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to Aaron and his son saying Thus you shall bless the people of Israel You shall say to them 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 So David wanted the light of God's face to shine upon him.

So I think this is the first of three pillar statements We have one in verse six one in verse seven and one in verse eight Only God can give good things right James 1 17 says every good gift and perfect gift comes from above Coming down from the father of lights whom there is no variation or shadow Only God can give joy in verse 7 only God can give peace in verse 8, but let's go now Let's look at verse 7.

Okay, so he's asking God to give goodness Okay, then he says fill me with joy in verse 7 you know the Bible is full of a lot of metaphors because the Economy of Israel was an agricultural economy and here you've got a metaphor about the harvest time when the grain and wine about You know, I I don't think we can relate unless you're you're a farmer You've got a green thumb, but you know, the farmer would plant his crops Okay, he would patiently wait for the rains to come He would hope there would not be any locusts or any, you know drought and then but so when they harvest the first fruits It was that one of the greatest times of joy for Israel They have a feast of harvest actually for that and they would bring the first fruits to the temple and offer them I remember that one of the first times I went to Northern Thailand and it was at the heart rice harvest festival and the churches in CMA denomination there They would have a special Sunday where they would bring the pumpkins and the rice and the all the first fruits into the church They make up they make like a Christian holiday that because the Buddhists would have a satanic holiday about that But but it was great joy when they had the harvest but David is saying greater joy comes When our hearts are filled with God's blessing and favor fill me with your joy C.s.

Lewis said we will never know joy by seeking it You can't just go out can't wake up grump grump grumpy in the morning and say, okay, I'm gonna be joyful now Okay, joy is a byproduct of spending time with the Savior Joy is a byproduct of spending time in the Word of God in the presence of a living God So you can only have joy when you're with spending time with God So David says says, you know, his discouragement here is replaced by joy Romans 15 13 is a verse for us in the New Testament says may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in Believing so that the power of the Holy Spirit may abound in hope and then we have verse 8 the last verse flood me with peace and This is where you get the psalm is called an evening psalm because he says in peace I will both lie down and sleep for you alone or Lord make me dwell in safety David finishes his beautiful psalm Being able to sleep and have serenity in his sleep as mentioned this is why verse this psalm is called an evening psalm and What better way to go to sleep than to say this precious verse to the Lord?

God gave David peace even they know from the story in 2nd Samuel There would be a major battle the next day and David would end up crying because his son Absalom would be killed But David could go to sleep that night knowing who is in God's will and He could lie down in peace when we leave our problems with God He will shoulder them and he will enable us to sleep in peace You know, I have a quote here from Spurgeon This is probably one of my favorite quotes from Charles Spurgeon and I'll say it slow so you can get it the sovereignty of God is the pillow Which with the child of God?

Rests his head at night Giving perfect peace. I love that quote the sovereignty of God is the pillow Which the child of God rests his head at night? Giving perfect peace So we're talking about a man who's been gossip slandered his honor attack, but maybe you're going through a sickness today Maybe you're going through a trial. Maybe you're going through a family problem. Maybe you're going through a work problem Can you lie down and sleep in peace? Well, if you trust in the sovereignty of God, which I think is the most important attribute other than holiness That is a pillow which you can put your head at night and sleep peacefully Another verses I love is Isaiah 26 3 says you will keep in perfect.

Peace Those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you So at the end of the psalm He's seen that he's better off than his enemies are He's advised them to be still on their beds and he's attempted to curtail their evil Now David could lie down his bed and sleep in the only sleep the peace which comes from God David's basically saying the bottom line leave your problems with God So what does this psalm teach us? What does this psalm teach us? Two things first off it teaches us a lot about the character of God I mentioned when you go to God in prayer remember his attributes His faithfulness his righteousness his mercy just the three that David used in verse 1 That'll help you pray But God gives us the righteousness that only he Jesus and God can give God relieves the distress God sets the godly apart for himself God had set David apart.

He had not set Absalom apart God hears the prayers of the godly God is trustworthy and in verses 6 7 and 8 God gives good God gives joy and God gives peace Remember I said verses 4 to 5 David was probably talking to Absalom his enemies Well, there are other commentators like Weersbe who think he's talking to us So I thought tonight in our ending application. We just go back through those and think about it Maybe you've had your reputation attacked. Maybe you've been slandered. Maybe you've been gossip I've only been back from overseas for about four years, but occasionally occasionally as an elder we get a letter and sometimes there's some vicious attacks in there and a lot of Accusations and this is really good advice how to handle it But maybe someday you'll be attacked in your job being a Christian.

Maybe your neighbor will attack you remember these first off Tremble before the Lord Believers who fear the Lord will not fear anyone else Remember Absalom's followers neither feared David the king nor do they fear the Lord?

Isaiah 66 2 says that we're to we're to tremble at God's Word Psalms 96 9 says worship the Lord in his splendor with holiness tremble before him all the earth Psalm 97 for says his lightnings light up the world the earth sees and trembles Psalm 99 one says the Lord reigns Let the people's tremble so if you get an attack if you get an email if you get a Call or you get something where you're you're slandered your gossip your attack number one tremble before the Lord Spend time with the Lord Number two don't sin Don't gossip Don't run your spouse and say look what somebody did don't text when you're angry Don't write a letter Stay calm in times of crisis, especially when someone has attacked you or hurt you Sinful anger leads to sinful words and actions up including murder Jesus says So don't sin number three search your hearts Remember the example of Nehemiah Nehemiah had the wall rebuilt in Jerusalem But in Nehemiah chapter 5 that things were going so well that Nehemiah's enemies They made a bunch of false accusations about him.

You're gonna become the governor You're taking over Jerusalem all these false accusations and in Nehemiah chapter 5 verses 6 to 7 Nehemiah says I was very angry. I Notice what it says in verse 7 I took counsel with myself Nehemiah didn't shout back He didn't write a letter and the man could have demanded things because he had the power to do that It says he took counsel with himself and that's what we need to do ponder your own hearts search your hearts I've taken some of those letters and I've read them once read them twice and I've said did I sin?

Did I do something wrong here? Is this a right accusation you search your hearts? And God gives you peace God gives you understanding the Hebrew word here when it says ponder your hearts means to consider to reflect so when times of crisis We can get angry at the sins of others Sometimes we can ignore our own sins and it's always important to remember Matthew 7 Jesus says judge not that you'll be not judged For anything tells on to talk about take the speck out of your brother's eyes, I'm sorry Take the log out of your eye before you take the speck out of your brother's eyes So you search your own heart?

Did I do something wrong? Did I handle the situation? Right, the Holy Spirit's with you. You have discernment you have wisdom and he'll give you peace So search your heart if there's any way I can handle it. Is there any way I can rectify the situation and number four be still When we search our hearts it leads to confession of sins if there's sins After we pondered on our pondered or meditated in our hearts The situation we must stop and be silent The peace of God which surpasses all understanding Guards your hearts and he gives us peace.

I don't need to argue. I don't need to fight I don't need to answer with an email or a text. Okay, I can be silent before God after my reflection Okay, it might be God might bring me a Bible verse he might give me a phrase from Scripture He might give me a directive. He might give me a command But what it does it calms my soul, even though I've been attacked I've been slandered and I can be at peace like King David was and go to sleep at God Number five offer right sacrifices here When you've spent time with God, you're gonna offer sacrifices of praise.

I Get the email from Tim every week and we get the songs to sing before we even sing them on Sunday Do you go through that list and you can even it goes to the YouTube so you can practice it for you So when you're when you're still with God and you read your Bible, it's a time to give him some sacrifices of praise And lastly you just trust the Lord Sometimes there's nothing you can do maybe in this life. Your reputation will not be ever given back Maybe you'll get fired from work because of a false accusation Remember Richard Jewell for almost three months There were people outside his house and calling him the bomber in the news and driving his mom crazy There wasn't a whole lot he could do now.

He's not a believer, but we're believers But all you can do is trust the Lord Does anybody know what the middle verse of the Bible is? There are thirty one thousand one hundred and seventy three verses in the Bible. So that's an odd number, right? So there's a middle verse It depends on your your Bible and if they left some verses in left some verses out from the different translations But my Bible the middle verse is Psalm 118 verse 9 and what's that say? It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man So I hope that helps you if you're ever gossiped Slandered attack maliciously remember what King David did in Psalm 4 be still I'm sorry tremble before the Lord Don't sin Search your hearts be still Offer right sacrifices Trust in the Lord.

Let's pray father. I just asked if there's anybody tonight who's undergoing a trial like David whose Reputation has been damaged Perhaps their honor has been damaged or attacked Perhaps they've been a victim of malicious lies or accusations and father. We all know that as our country increasingly Goes into pravity and wickedness and sickness that non-christians like Absalom Ithaca fell Shimi and they're out there in our world. They're in a workplace that our families and they will attack us for our Christian beliefs Help us father to tremble To not get angry to not sin to ponder in our hearts and Go and cry out to you in prayer To be still and offer you right sacrifices and trust you no matter what the situation is Father there may not be justice in this world, but there will be in the second world in the afterlife So help us handle the situations and remember what David did in Jesus name Amen