One of the joys of this blog is the opportunity to wring out passages into my own devotional bucket and then scoop out some thoughts and sentences on this site. Therefore, I’ll be posting some short devotional posts on the 4th Psalm in the next couple of weeks as I continue to chew on it.
The 4th Psalm is a song that arises out of the context of difficulty. The Psalmist is encountering unspecified but nonetheless, troubling circumstances. His approach to this is neither bitterness, frustration, nor isolation. Instead, it is prayer to God, words to the oppressors, and words to other believers.
What is striking about this Psalm is his quiet confidence in God while amid the blaring siren of conflict. Let’s not forget that he is singing this confidence. His heart is tuned by grace. This is so very practical.
Here are some practical principles in light of verses 1-3
Be confident amid difficulty because of God’s past works of Grace: The Psalmist cries to God for help but quickly reminds himself (and others) that God is a God who hears our prayers. This is evidenced by God’s previous acts of grace toward him. All he has to do is consider the previous circumstances to be reminded of God’s timely, powerful, overwhelming grace. This posture of happy dependence as a result of grace is liberating and praise evoking.
(Psa 4.1) Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
Be confident among slanderers because of God’s Covenant Keeping: If and when people say things that are untrue and painful, the righteous are to run to the truth. Here the Psalmist takes refuge in the truth that God is faithful. In particular, it is his faithfulness to his covenant people. The word used here for ‘the godly’ is hasid the adjectival form of hesed which is often rendered ‘steadfast love’ and refers to God’s covenant keeping love.
(Psa 4.2-3) O men, 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 call to him.
The temptation is to find discouragement in the fact that particular people are not ‘for’ you, and quite the opposite, they are ‘against’ you. However, the Psalmist will have none of this, he reminds his opponents (and himself) that God is in fact ‘for him’ and that he hears him.
What better comfort to the one whose ears are ringing with slander than the heart stirring truth that God is for you and hears you?
I often think of the Savior and how the religious jackals and bloodhounds chased and barked at him at every turn. They sought his demise with every syllable. Satan himself aimed to tempt and discourage him. His own friends turned on him. His family thought he was mad. However, he was convinced of his own Father’s commitment to him and the mission. He knew that this was what he was called to do. He knew what lay before him, why it was there, and what comes later. It is the God-centered, redemptively informed, perseverance of Jesus where this Psalm finds its fitting crescendo. It is in and through Christ that believers may truly have quiet confidence amid difficulty. This is a cause for rejoicing. It is a model and motivation for a heart tuned by grace.
(to be continued…)