CONFIDENT IN CRISIS | Psalm 4

Psalm 4

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

¹Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (run after delusions, love delusions. Today it is money, sex, and Pride (fame)).

³Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

The Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

⁵Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

⁶ Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

⁸In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Lord,

make me dwell in safety.

This is a Psalm of David. David is now the King of Israel. He is in a crisis. He is in trouble.

Three exhortations as to how David faced his crisis:

• The Call; v1
• The Trust; v-5
• The Peace; v7-8

David’s Address in this Psalm:

V1: David’s address to God.

V2-5: David’s address to noble men.

V6: People’s address to God.

V7-8: David’s Address to God.

David’s Address to God: He prays that God would answer his prayer, be gracious to him, and hear and bring relief from the distress.

David’s Address to the Nobles: He rebukes them and gives them admonition. The rebuke is they have been faithless to the king and to the true God.

David’s Final Address to God: Lord, in you I find my peace.

What is the trouble in which he finds himself?

CRISES OF DAVID

Crisis #1: There was a drought.

There is no rain. There is no harvest. There is no wine. There is no wheat, barley or any grain.

Psalm 4:6-7

⁶ Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

Prosperity they are asking for is probably rain and harvest; (Ps. 85:12).

Prosperity is the produce of the land.

Immediate cause of prosperity is the land. God does give good through the land. The ultimate cause of the good is the Lord. The Lord brings rain.

The agrarian society depended on the crops every year to life. If they go a year without the rain they struggle. The nation is in deep trouble at this point. Probably there was a drought as per 2 Samuel 21:1

Look at Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple:

2 Chronicles 6:26-27

²⁶“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, ²⁷then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

Sin is believed to be cause of insufficient rain.

During a drought crisis, they seek refuge in the temple.

Crisis #2: The King is responsible for Rain.

The king is responsible for the rain. If there is no rain, the king is responsible.

In ancient days, if there was no rain and the economy was poor, the king was blamed. In this Psalm, Israel’s king fails to produce rain and their leaders turn to Baal, the Canaanite god. Remember during the time of Elijah, there was no rain in the land for 3-1/2 years and there was a prayer held on top of mount Carmel. They Canaanites prayed to Baal and Elijah Prayed to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.

Psalm 4:2

²How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

The false gods are the Baal who they thought brought rain. They are turning now from the true God to Baal.

They questioned the kingship of David.

Crisis #3: King David is Potent in prayer.

Every ancient kings believed that their God would hear their prayer.

Pharaoh said: “Everything proceeding from the lips of his majesty, his father [the god] Amon causes to be realized there and then.”

In other words, the Egyptian religion was “name it and claim it.” Immediate response. As soon as I pray, I get the answer. That is bad theology. It is just not true. There is always a gap between virtue and its rewards. There is always a gap. Jesus prayed and did not get the answer on the cross.

If God rewarded virtue immediately, it would destroy us spiritually.

If God rewarded prayer immediately, it would destroy us spiritually.

We would use God. We are that selfish. We then would use God as a genie in the Allaudin’s lamp. This is what I want. So God delays it and gaps it, so we are not destroyed, so that we will not use God for our pleasure.

However, I have also seen sometimes God answering right away. We learn obedience through the crises of unanswered prayer sometimes. It develops our spiritual life. But then we are sure, we will not be put to shame.

The nobles reasoned, “The Egyptian king gets answer immediately, the Assyrian king gets answer immediately, but the prayer of Israel’s king is not answered. David’s prayers are not answered.”

Crisis #4: David’s nobles are defecting from him.

Psalm 4:2

How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

• David’s leadership is losing faith in him, so they are turning away from him.
• They are turning his glory into shame.
• They are not only turning away from David, but they are turn away from God as well.
• They love delusions and seek false God, Baal.

How do we behave when we are in a crisis? Do we go elsewhere and we no longer trust Jesus, we turn his glory into shame? And we are loving a delusion instead of loving God who is our true hope and true security. David is now facing apostacy within his own leadership.

The king is God’s representative for Israel. So when they are turning away from the king, they are turning away from his God. If you turn away from God, you are going to another going and serve another master.

Transition: David has been facing these crises for a long time now. There is a long unanswered royal prayer. David is facing a life-threatening, gut wrenching, heart-rending trouble.

How Do We Address Our Crises?

Derek Kinder in his commentary on Psalm 4 says that there are three different groups that David addresses. These are the three different kinds of responses people do when they are hurt:

Fickle Group: v3

They change frequently. They are those that are willing to compromise and give in rather quickly. These are people who turn back immediately when the going gets tough. They are so fickle minded that any lie is acceptable, every false god is tried, every new trick is welcome; and when trouble comes, they abandon all commitment.

When you are in trouble, there will be plenty of people around you who will basically tell you, ‘You are a fool for believing in this God. I gave up on God a long time ago, and you should give up on God as well.’ David says, ‘I will trust God no matter what others do.’

God knows his own, and he does not abandon them. God had set his love on you; you are his daughter, you are his son, and he says, ‘I know you and I love you, and I will never let go of you.’ He knows his own; he has set you apart.

Psalm 4:3

Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

The Lord hears when I call to him.

2 Timothy 2:19

The Lord knows those who are his.

Spurgeon said, ‘God’s elect shall not be condemned, nor shall their cry be unheard, since God chose to love us, he could not but choose to hear us.’ God says, ‘You’re mine; I’ll hear.’[1]

So when you are in that grip of trouble and time is running out and the pressure is on, we need to say, ‘I don’t care what others do, I will trust God no matter what.’

What voices are you listening to? Is it those that are fickle, those that have no commitment?

The Angry group: v4

Psalm 4:4

Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

There’s another group that responds in verse 4; it’s the angry group.

A lot of times when we are in trouble, we have a tendency to become angry:

• In our anger, strike out and we hurt those around us.
• In our anger we will do some crazy things.
• In our anger, we get bitter with God.

I want to ask you: How do you respond when pressure is on? Do you throw a tantrum? Do you lash out at God? Do you lash out at God’s people?

It is amazing to see how little children respond when they don’t get their way or they feel some pressure somehow, and we’ve all seen children at home and in stores just lay down on the floor and scream and holler and yell. And yet, some of us do that in our relationship with God.

I think that’s what David says:

Psalm 4:4

Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

Stop your anger and keep trusting God. Instead, what do you have to do?

Psalm 4:5

Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

Now, of course, we don’t have physical sacrifices to bring, but I think the truth still applies to us. We don’t have to understand what’s happening to us, but we do have to trust. Trust yourself in Him, search your heart, to be faithful, no matter what anybody else does, and do what God’s word says.

Well, there’s another group;

The Pessimists:

These are the pessimists, the defeatists. These are the people who feel like their situation is hopeless. Their faith has turned to fear; their hope has turned to despair, and basically, they’re saying, ‘God has forsaken us; we might as well just give in, throw in the towel; we’re defeated, and God is nowhere to be found.’

And I think all of us at times struggle with this defeatist attitude. Sometimes we just want to quit and walk away.

• The fickle group, characterized by compromising easily, walking away from God.
• The angry group, prone to emotional outbursts under pressure.
• The pessimists, mired in hopelessness.

How Does David Deal With His Crises?

1. CALL – Call Upon The Lord.

Call upon the Lord When you are in trouble. Call upon the Lord when you are in hard times.

Psalm 4:1

Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

David was in distress. The word distress means to be in a tight corner, to be in a spot where you desperately need space.

Three Requests:

• Answer me.
• Give me relief.
• Have mercy on me.

Prayer here is:

• God evaluate my situation.
• Make a decision about my situation.
• Intervene in my life and the kingdom.

Application:

“I don’t know what trouble or hardship you’re in today. It may be a broken relationship, a family crisis, a failure in your exam, a break in your career, a sudden death of a loved one; a struggle that you never saw coming, but now it is upon you. It could be something that came suddenly or something that has gradually overwhelmed you, but you know that you’re in that crisis time. You call upon God in that kind of trouble.

Illustration: “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a tale into the psychological torment endured by Edgar Allan Poe in the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478.

In this, Edgar Allan Poe is trapped in a dark dungeon, unsure of why he’s there or what awaits him. As he explores, he discovers a deep pit in the centre of the room and a terrifying pendulum hanging from the ceiling, slowly descending.

The pendulum inches closer to the narrator, threatening to kill him. He manages to escape its deadly swing by using food to attract rats that chew through his restraints. However, his relief is short-lived as the walls begin to close in, pushing him toward the pit. Just before falling into the abyss, the French army arrives and saves him. [2]

The story ends with Edgar Allan Poe rescued, but he is haunted by the harrowing experiences in the dungeon.

Application: Do you know what it’s like to be in that kind of trouble, running out of time and space? What do you do when you’re there?

I encourage you this morning to call on God.

Notice the basis of his prayer:  Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.

Do you see that? That is why he’s calling on God.

• God answers prayers.
• God is righteous.

He knows that God is the author of his righteousness, the possessor of righteousness, and whatever righteousness that David possesses, he possesses in God. Whatever righteousness he’s looking for, he’s looking for in God. God is righteous and we can trust him. He will do what is right. So he comes to God not based on who he is, but on who God is. That’s the God you’re going to call on.

Application: I want you to think about your life. God has brought you through some very difficult times. Think about all the times that you thought, ‘I don’t know if I could make it, take another step,’ and yet God says, ‘I am with you. I will take care of you.'”

“He has never failed you, and he will not fail you today. Be encouraged, call on God because of who he is – First, he is a prayer answering God. Secondly, he’s righteous and because of what he’s done – he has never left you, never let you down.

• God is merciful. And then our God is a merciful God, “have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”

Sometimes God allows us to go through a situation.

Sometimes we get into a mess because of choices we have made.

But do you notice, David says, ‘Be gracious to me?’ David does not say, ‘Lord, I’ve done no wrong.’ He remembers that it’s not his righteousness to start with, it’s God’s righteousness. I want you to call on God even if you’ve got yourself in the mess, he is righteous, and you can call on him, he is gracious as well.

Perhaps this morning you just need to say, ‘Lord, what I have done, and the mess I’m in, is large to leave my own making, but I need your mercy, and I need your grace. I’ll meet you where you are, even I am reaping the consequences of your own choices.’ If you are in trouble either way, call on God, be encouraged.’

2. TRUST – Trust in the Lord.

David’s address to the Nobles: Trust in the Lord.

Remember, his nobles have left him, turned David’s glory into shame, and have left the LORD and gone after Baal. David is asking them to trust in the Lord in their difficult times.

David is trying to restore their confidence:

David has 7 imperatives

Psalm 5:3-4

³Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

The Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

⁵Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

David’s 7 admonition to the nobles:

1. The Lord has set apart his faithful servant. Know your king. Know that God has set me apart. Don’t lose faith in the king in the crises.
2. The Lord hears me when I call.
3. Do not sin.
4. Search your hearts.
5. Be silent.
6. Offer the scarifies of the righteousness.
7. Trust in the LORD.

The nobles left David, but there were the common people who rallied around David and prayed with him. They trusted God.

People’s Prayer:

Psalm 4:6

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

There are people in the land who are praying with David. They are asking for prosperity or good and asking the face of God to shine upon them. The People said, ‘Let the light of your face shine on us.‘ The people knew the God of light, and they continued to believe that the God who made the light shine out of darkness was able to shine in his heart.

So David and the people are seeking God. He persists in his faith even when he sees nothing.

David’s conclusion:

3. PEACE – Rest in Joy & Peace.

David’s address to God:

Psalm 4:7

Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

David finds joy in the presence of God. He has joy even when the enemy prosper. God has filled his heart with a greater joy than can be found in pleasant circumstances.

God’s joy is not at the mercy of your circumstances.

So, you call on God, are you doing that?

You’re trusting God, no matter what anybody else says or does.

You find joy and you rest in God’s peace.

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Lord,

make me dwell in safety.

In peace I will lie down.

In fact, we know one of the greatest instruments of torture is sleep deprivation. If you can deprive somebody of sleep long enough, they will break down physically, emotionally, psychologically. We all know how important sleep is, and yet in our culture, there’s not a whole lot of sleep nor rest. But that’s not what David says; he says, ‘In peace I will lie down and sleep.’

Context for Peace: I want you to notice as you look at verse 8, the trouble has not disappeared; the enemies are still threatening, the walls are still closing in, the nobles are still screaming at him. But I love what David says. David says, ‘I’m going to bed; I plan to rest in God’s care.’ A better translation would be unafraid; make me dwell unafraid.

You call on God in trouble; you trust Him, no matter what anybody else does, and then you rest in His peace.

CONCLUSION

You can cast your care on Him, for He cares for you. How much does He care? It always goes back to the cross. If Jesus Christ took care of your biggest problem, how will He not graciously give you all things? His grace is sufficient. Find your rest in Him.

ILLUSTRATION

Church history gives us a stunning example of such rest. Nicholas Ridley, the Bishop of London was condemned to die, to be burned at the stake for his faith by Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Tudor in 1554. And the night before was to be martyred, Ridley’s brother offered to remain with him through the night, and Ridley said, ‘No.’ In fact, he looked at his brother and said, ‘I plan to go to bed and sleep as quietly as I ever had in my whole life.’ This is a man who says, ‘I’m trusting in God; I have called on God, and now I will rest in Him, no matter what, unafraid.’

So this morning, the message is simple: Call on God when you’re in trouble.

Stop trying to please everyone or be like everyone and to follow everyone’s advice. The writer of Hebrews is trying to encourage people who are ready to quit, and he’s always pointing them to Jesus. Jesus is better than the Angels, he’s better than the prophets, he’s a better mediator of a better covenant, everything Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And then he says these words that you’re familiar with: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

You look to Jesus, and you’re able to endure because he endured, and he endured for the joy that was set before him. In John 17, Jesus is speaking to the Father, and he says, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

Jesus’ ultimate joy was doing the Father’s will, glorifying the Father. And as you stay focused on him, you will be able to say, “Oh God, you know me. I call on you. I will trust you no matter what, and I will find my rest in you.”

Let me pray for us, “Oh God, you are so good to us and kind and gracious, and you know all about us, and you know the trouble that we’re in. This hard time is overwhelming, but it has not taken you by surprise. And Lord, even when we can’t understand what’s going on, we will trust you, Lord Jesus. We will look to you, the author, the perfecter, the finisher of our faith. Let us seek to glorify you in all things. It is in Jesus’ precious name we pray, and all God’s people said, ‘Amen’.”

ILLUSTRATION

Think about the story of a pilot navigating through a storm. They trust their instruments and manuals to guide them safely to their destination. Similarly, in life’s storms, we must trust in God’s guidance and promises.

Some of us today need to say, “God, I don’t understand, and it’s all dark around me, but Lord, I’m going to trust in you, and I will not listen to those that say, ‘Just quit.’ But I will call upon you and rest in you.”

[1] ‘Treasury of David—Psalm 4’, accessed 11 August 2023, https://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps004.php.

[2] Allen Edger Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum (England: Penguin Group, 2009).