Psalm 4

Abandon Temporary Glory for Lasting Joy

As I am once again between studies, I will turn back to the Psalms. This time, Psalm 4. The opening of this Psalm states: For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Davidic psalm. The Hebrew describes the person as the chief musician and it is to be played on a stringed instrument(s). The theme is one we face daily – can we abandon the deceptiveness of a temporary glory for everlasting joy with our Father in heaven? It is the question David asks of us.

Have you ever sacrificed a long term benefit for a short term pleasure? I know I have. It’s hard to think of the future when something great is staring you in the face – like that piece of Boston cream pie I had last week – which I am now paying for on the scale! The other day, I was watching a documentary on Dezi Arnez. One of the things that struck me was a statement someone said about his long term smoking and drinking habits, which eventually caused his death. He had been warned by several doctors to curb them, but he chose to continue anyway. One of his friends said Dezi couldn’t see a life without his Cuban cigars and rum no matter what the cost might be. I think a lot of of are that way. We continue to settle for the short term pleasures instead of looking at the long term consequences. In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus reminds us we should count the cost: “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ How many times have we heard about buildings collapsing because they cut corners, and how many times have we witnessed the disastrous consequences of sin in people’s lives. In Psalm 4, David reminds us that the lasting joy God has for us outweighs all the temporary glory and riches we can attain.

Vs. 1 Answer me when I call, God, who vindicates me. You freed me from affliction; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

What I love about David is his relationship with God. He doesn’t feel the need to hold back when it comes to talking with God, he just lets it all go. There is no subtlety or timid requests, he gets right to the point. “Answer me when I call, God who vindicates me.” It is an impassioned plea. He doesn’t just throw up a prayer and hope for the best. He actually demands an answer from God. I think we often feel like we can’t “demand” anything from God, but this is exactly what David is doing. He is comfortable in his demand, because he knows it is God who vindicates. The Hebrew word for vindicates is tsedeq, which means righteous or righteousness. David is requesting an answer from God who is righteous, and he understands his righteousness comes from God, not from himself. David also knows that a righteous God will give him a righteous answer. He understands that God is gracious and merciful so his prayer will be heard. I believe we sometimes come to God rather timidly. We lack power in our prayer because we do not pray in faith that God will answer. We pray in such a way that even gives God an “out”. I’m sure you’re wondering what I mean by that statement. Have you ever heard people pray – “if it be your will?” We always want to pray in the will of God, but, I believe we often pray this way because we are afraid God will not answer us. It gives our faith an pass if things don’t go the way we expect. We can always say, “I guess it wasn’t God’s will.” I believe we do know what God’s will is – He tells us in His word. We just hesitate to pray that way because of our lack of faith. (I am speaking to myself here as much as everyone else reading this) I know and believe God is righteous and will answer us as a righteous and merciful God. So I don’t have to give my faith or my God a pass – I pray in faith, knowing His will. And David does just that. He knows God will answer him and that he will have the final say against those who would come against him. Why does he know that? The next part of the psalm tells us – because the Lord sets apart the faithful for Himself.

Vs 2-4 How long, exalted men, will my honor be insulted? How long will you love what is worthless and pursue a lie? Selah Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah

In the next line, David addresses the problem he is seeing: Men who have insulted his honor, settle for what is worthless and they pursue lies. While David is concerned about his own honor, he is equally concerned about what these men are pursuing. They are looking for a temporary glory instead of something that will last. They are believing the lies instead of God’s truth. Whether we like it or not, there are absolute truths in the world and we know that Satan is the father of lies. Jesus speaks to this in John 8:42-47, ”Jesus said to them (the Pharisees), “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me. Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Who among you can convict Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe Me? The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.” There is truth – absolutes. We want to live in a gray world, but there are some things that are written in stone. We can believe Satan and his lies or we can be those God has set apart and listen to His voice. In turn, we are to “be angry” and not sin. The Hebrew word for the phrase “be angry” is ragaz. The word ragaz means to tremble or be agitated, so what David is trying to get across here is we should tremble at the very presence or thought of sin to the point that it should be a traumatic experience. Sin should agitate us. It should repel us so our hearts will meditate and be still before God.

Vs 5-8 Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the Lord. Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?” Look on us with favor, Lord. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety.

David continues to implore these men to trust God. He says, “offer sacrifices in righteousness”. In other words, accompany your offerings with genuine repentance. Jesus always said, your sins are forgiven, now go and sin no more. In His sermon on the mount he said, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” If we trade the temporary glory or imaginary benefits of sin for the truth, we will be filled. There are a lot of people out there praying for God to show them something good. They focus on earthly riches and glory. I think we’ve all seen believers go down that road to an empty end. Once you begin pursuing things of this earth, you take your eyes off Jesus and think you have everything you need. The next thing you know, you are alone with all your earthy “wealth”. One of the things I’ve learned the past couple of years, is nothing in this world is going to last. Jobs may go, life is fragile, money can be depleted, and the stuff of this earth is only temporary. Everything can slip through our fingers in a blink of an eye. But God is forever and, even if I have nothing to show for all my hard work here on earth, I am content and can sleep in peace knowing God is with me. God promises even more joy in our hearts if we fix our eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith than we could with the riches and power of this world. Why? Because it will last. We can sleep in peace because we are not constantly pursuing more and more and more… God will provide everything we need. So abandon those things that will only give you temporary happiness and prosperity. Instead, seek after the One who gives everlasting peace, joy and ultimately, the riches of heaven.