A Path Through Chapter 4

 

There's a path, let's follow it It has been great to begin down the path of the Psalms, there is so much to open up through these songs of old. Today it's chapter four which is a prayer and request to God from David.    We'll break down this chapter, have some songs together, and hear from our guest speaker. This week our guest is a former Rector at St. Mary's Overton who started here the same summer I moved to Overton. We get to hear from my friend Ian Smale on chapter 4. So lets...  get on the path Psalm 4 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David. 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. 2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?     How long will you love delusions and seek false gods 3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4 Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds,     search your hearts and be silent. 5 Offer 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. 7 Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord,     make me dwell in safety.  When I read this psalm this is one of the first songs that came to mind. It was the beginning, 'you hear me when I call' it's a response to David's request at the beginning of our psalm today. Here is 'Whom Shall I Fear' by Chris Tomlin.  "Mr. Watson, come here -- I want to see you." 10th March 1876 This is not the most exhilarating quote but they are the first words ever transferred through a telephone.  That day in the lab Alexander Graham Bell confirmed what he thought, the human voice could be carried over a wire and his assistant Thomas Watson heard, and came into the room. To be heard is what we all desire, to know that our voice is not muted.                                              We find David writing a song which is essentially a prayer, a speech, an internal conversation and statements of trust in God. Eight verses  which encompass all of this from the man who was after God's heart, David. It starts by asking God to answer him when he calls. 'Can you hear me, can you hear me now' or 'You're still on mute' these are lines so often heard on our now everyday life Zoom calls. We are somehow worried that our voice is not carrying, that the people on the call can't hear us, nothing has changed as David had this same concern thousands of years ago.  Answer me when I call to you. It all starts here with God hearing, the rest is what God could do for David, but it all starts with hearing his voice. We all want to be heard by God, and we too need to hear. A phone conversation is not a conversation unless both people talk, a zoom call can be unengaging if there isn't some talking and some listening. This is a hallmark of prayer, it's talking and listening.  When we last saw David  in chapter 3 he was on the run, he was looking for relief from his distress. If you look back at your last few weeks there's a good chance that you too were looking for some relief. It's a prayer that we are used to praying, 'Lord help'. It can come in many words or just those two, sometimes those two are the best ones to say.  The other night we had some trouble with a tantrum downstairs with one of our girls and I was with Rose (our youngest) in the bedroom after her bedtime bath. We could hear the commotion and she cut right through it all with some simple words. She said 'Jesus help me' that's all, she was troubled by the noise downstairs. We held each other and prayed, and God heard our cry as quickly all was at peace and she was so calm she went right to bed (that's not always the case:)  So we see in this first part of the psalm that David is out to be heard and is looking for an answer. That's why we come to God because we know that he hears and answers. Not always with yes, sometimes it's no, sometimes it's wait, then wait and maybe wait a bit longer. It's like I tell our girls you can ask but you may not like the answer, but we'll talk and think about it.  Verses 2-3 is where David is talking to others, who are the others? That were not sure, some have said it's the people who were present when he ran from Absalom, but that is not clear. So it's likely more a general group of people, where he is sharing his frustration. How long? This is the question he's asking, how long are you going to do this? How long will the people not put God first, how long will they need reminding that it's God who's there when we call to him. You and I need reminding, just today I was pleased to see a reminder of a meeting with the details I needed. I too need reminding that God is the one who's there, that's what hit me like a ton of bricks with Rose's statement 'Jesus help me' she knew from where her help comes.  Very quickly David goes from the one asking the questions (verse 1) to the one bringing the encouragement and teaching in verse 3.  Gone is the worry that God won't hear and it's replaced with 'the Lord hears when I call to him' Had he already felt 'heard' by God, it's likely, so often when we come to Father God in prayer, just the act of opening up to Him lifts us. Let's pause and listen to a song which expresses what David knew that God was to him. This is 'Sure of This' (Psalms 4) by the talented Shiyr Poets, well known worship leader Brian Doerksen is part of this project.  Vs 4-5 we get to hear the internal thoughts of David. We all talk to ourselves, sometimes to encourage ourselves, other times to reassure us that we'll be ok or we remind ourselves. We probably get tired of hearing ourselves think, I know I do! He's telling himself to not sin, to meditate on God, to search his heart and simply listen. He reminded himself to fill his mind with the things of the Lord and to have his heart full of God.  Trust in the Lord is one of the lines that he utters to himself all throughout the psalms, no matter the situation trust. No matter how desperate or lonely he may feel, trust in the Lord. That's the landmark he's going to return to, trust in the Lord. One of the main points we are to glean from walking down this path is to in all situations; trust in the Lord. Prosperity is one of those words which can cause us all kinds of trouble. We want to prosper, we want to see our family and children prosper as they mature and have families of their own. The propsperity that our Psalm is speaking of though is not a fat back account with a third car parked in the garage used just for special occasions. A very simple definition of prosperity from the Bible is to be in the will of God. To be close to Him, in relationship and doing what He has asked of you.  It's not that we don't have troubles or that we aren't able to live through adversity. Of course we don't want to be on the breadline or see those we know and love struggle with sickness and financial troubles. We can however expect trials, tribulations and trouble, not because we are out of the will of God but because we're human, living in a fallen world full of strife.  I think that when the light of God shines on us we are in fact prospering. Admittedly that's not easy to quantify, but how much of faith is?   This is something to think about, take stock in your own faith walk with Jesus. Do you feel as though you are prospering, meaning are you in His will?  Our guest speaker today, Ian Smale has a very interesting perspective on this chapter. Let's listen to his thoughts as we think about chapter four.  As we finish this Psalm we see David writing about the joy and peace that God brings. Joy which fills the heart and peace which fills the soul. How good it is to rest in this peace and to enjoy this joy. Let's finish with a rollicking song and a prayer.  Wouldn't it have been fun to see David playing a song like this on his stringed instrument? Here's 'Joy' by the duo of For King and Country.  This Psalm is another one that is perfect to take, pray and make your own. Take the time to say the Psalm aloud, it's you and God. Lord hear us as we call to you, after all is said and done we will have joy in our hearts, peace in our souls and be able to rest in your presence.