Psalms How Do You Spell Relief? Psalm 4 L ouis L Amour died the week I originally wrote this. Many of us found this a great loss, for he was truly a great American story teller. His stories of the west were authentic, well written, and filled with the historical morality that is sadly missing from today s society. Mr. L Amour was certainly an American success story. He had written over one hundred books, many which I have read. His name on a book guaranteed its success. Many of his stories have been recorded. He was highly respected by many, and rightly so. But the death of L Amour was also very sad. Here was a man or traditional morality who wrote enjoyable books without the necessity of adult language and gratuitous sex. I wouldn t be concerned about recommending his books to anybody. Why was his death sad? Was it because the loss of an American heritage? Yes! But his death was sad for another reason. He died suffering from a condition he wasn t aware of, not the cancer that killed him, for he was aware of that. He died suffering from a distress affecting many today: idolatry, placing something, anything, ahead of the Lord. If you read his books carefully, especially The Haunted Mesa, you will find L Amour was a mystic, probably even a pantheist. Unwilling to accept God, but needing some answer to life, like the modern theologian, he was a proponent of religious mysticism. How sad that a man who brought such joy to so many had no idea of the source of true joy. He was a man suffering from distress without even being aware of it. If he had only asked: "HOW DO YOU SPELL RELIEF? David was also suffering from distress. It wasn t that he had eaten to much, or that he had a headache from trying to keep his wives happy or his mother-in-laws placated. But he was clearly suffering. The questions to be asked are: What was the cause of the pain? What was the cure for it? What was the source of relief? Psalm 4 deals with the answers to these questions. It answers the question: HOW DO YOU SPELL RELIEF? First we need to look at the text and then we will examine its focus and how we can apply it to our own situation, but first I would again like to read a different translation, from the Anchor Bible. PSALM 4 For the director; with stringed instruments. A psalm of David. When I call, answer me, O God of my vindication; in distress, set me at large;
O men of rank, how long must my Glorious One be insulted? How long will you worship inanities or consult idols? Selah And recognize that Yahweh will work wonders for the one devoted to him, Yahweh will hear me when I call him. Be disquieted, but do not sin, examine your conscience, upon your beds weep. Selah Offer legitimate sacrifices and trust in Yahweh. Many keep saying, "Who will show us rain? The light of your face has fled from us, O Yahweh. Put happiness in my heart; now let their wheat and their wine increase. In his peaceful presence, I shall lie down and sleep; For you alone, O Yahweh, make my repose secure. 1 Introduction: There seems to be no clear understanding of the background of this psalm. We don t know the circumstances of David s life which caused him to pen it. Leupold 2 speculates it directly follows Psalm 3 and was written in the same context, that is, while David was in flight from Absalom, while on the other hand Dahood 3, who translates verse 6; Many keep saying, Who will show us rain? sees the entire psalm as a prayer for rain. He sees the thrust as a challenge to those seeking relief from nature deities versus the call to trust God. Clearly what we can see from this is any attempt to identify the circumstances that lead to the writing of the Psalm are purely speculative, no matter how well thought out. Therefore since we can t identify the context, let s examine the text. Verse 1: First, the psalmist was in distress. His response to this condition was to cry out to the righteous God. The natural response of the believer when he finds himself in distress should be to turn to God. Unfortunately, it appears that many in Israel turned elsewhere for their aid. It was this situation, the people s idolatry, that was the source of David s consternation. He was overwhelmed by the sin of the nation, her rejection of God. As a result, his life had become meaningless. Verse 2: David identifies the specific problem. Many of the nation followed after false gods, going to them as the source of solace, instead of looking to the Lord. Verses 3-5: And so David goes to the Lord. Yes, he was in pain, but at the same time trusting God, based on his experiences in the past. It was the relief provided by God in the past that 1 Mitchell Dahood, The Anchor Bible, Psalms 1, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978, p. 22. 2 H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Psalms, Baker Book House, 1969, p. 66. 3 Dahood, p. 23. ) 2 (
confirmed David s trust in the present. It is absolutely vital we understand his faith wasn t an unreasonable faith, a faith in faith, a concept David couldn t have even understood. Instead it was a reasonable position grounded in the reality of God s righteousness. O Lord, God of Israel, you are righteous (Ezra 9:15). David first expresses his trust to God. Then he speaks to the unrighteous, spelling out what was their sin. David was outraged because of the affront to the Lord, the moving away of God s people. As with modern man, these individuals had chosen to live in foolishness, in lies. They were impressed with their own importance, having rejected the place of God. They were living a life of delusion by choice. They would call themselves godly, but they had placed others ahead of the Lord. David was furious at the indignity to God expressed through the lives of these men. It was this same righteous anger expressed by Jesus in the Temple. Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. It is written, he said to them, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:12-13). David tells them God has sent apart, sanctified, the godly. They may cry to their gods, that is, have their confidence in things other than the Lord, but they wouldn t receive a response. In contrast David knew the Lord would hear him, for his trust was in the One True God. God is the one who chooses the godly and rejects those who reject Him. David challenged the people to be aware of the presence of God, to stand before Him with fear and trembling. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10). He called them to turn from the direction they were going. This call is the same as later given by John and Jesus: The call to repent. They should have examined their hearts in order to recognize how far they had moved from the Lord. They needed to move from a position of rejection to acceptance of Him. This repentance needed to be demonstrated by the offering of right sacrifices. Where there had once been sacrifice to idols now there must be to God. Verses 6-8: It becomes clear David had moved from distress to peace. The ungodly don t look to anyone to meet their needs, but in contrast David knew God looks upon him and gives him peace and joy. The unrighteous cry out for someone to fill their needs, but their needs can never be met, because they have rejected the only true need, the need for God. Where the ungodly received a type of joy from material prosperity, David received true joy and peace, through obedience to God. Adam Clarke said regarding man s demand for good. There are multitudes who say, Who will shew us good Man wants good ; he hates evil as evil, because he has pain, suffering, and death through it; and he wishes to find that supreme good which will con- ) 3 (
tent his heart, and save him from evil. But men mistake this good. They look for a good that is to gratify their passions ; they have no notion of any happiness that does not come to them through the medium of their senses. Therefore they reject spiritual good, and they reject the supreme God, by whom alone all the powers of the soul of man can be gratified. Adam Clarke. Where David had been in distress, unable to sleep, he had found relief and was able to lay down. He was able to find peaceful sleep. How do you spell relief? T-R-U-S-T! Application: No matter what the problem, the circumstances, the distress, one can find comfort and peace by trust in the Lord. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? (Psalm 56:4). The Unbeliever: An application of this passage requires that we identify which category of men we fall into, for this affects the very nature of our distress. The unbeliever is suffering from the distress of foolishness. He looks everywhere but to God to find relief from the pain and emptiness of life. As we look around we can see that most of the activity of life is focused on either finding purpose separate from God or denying that there is any purpose at all. Mankind is expending phenomenal amounts of energy running around fighting against the reality of a God who is personal and interacts with men in the real world. The unbeliever often doesn t even understand He is in distress. He isn t aware there is purpose to life other than wealth, power, success and personal pleasure or maybe just survival. The more one has, the less it means and the greater the battle to continue to find satisfaction. Why do you think there are some many substance abusers. As one psychologist stated: The only way to get through life is by the use of drugs or alcohol. and I suspect that He s correct, that is if you leave the Lord out of the picture. HOW DO YOU SPELL RELIEF? T-R-U-S-T! The trust needed here is that the Lord is the only one who can provide purpose in life and to find this purpose it is first necessary to accept His solution to what truly is man s distress, separation from Him because of sin. as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all me so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men (Romans 5:18) The solution then is the death and resurrection of Jesus for that sin. To find relief first you must come the trust of God for salvation. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The message we must get to the unbeliever is that he will recognize who Jesus is at some point. The choice is, will he accept Jesus freely, having an eternity with him, or by force, resulting in separation from God for all eternity? As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God. (Romans 14:11). ) 4 (
Believers: Now what of the second group, the believers? Do we experience distress over the failures of those around us? Are we angered for the honor of God? Are we truly hurting by the realization of the fallen state of the world? I suspect that often the answer is no! We do not choose to see the world as the Lord sees it. We are often unaware of the reality of the state of men that caused Jesus to weep over Jerusalem. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God s coming to you. (Luke 19:41-44). While we need to be distressed by the condition of a fallen world, as Jesus was, we are not to be overwhelmed by life, by men s actions against God and against us. We are to find relief from the same source as David. T-R-U-S-T! Trust in a God who is in control over all things. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18). David s initial distress came not so much because of his concern for the honor of God, but from the oppression he felt from circumstances around him. He was looking at the waves instead of the Lord. While we should be concerned with the relationship between men and God more often than not, even as believers, the primary source of our distress is we too look at the waves. This is understandable and easy to do. When there is so little money one wonders how the house payment is to be made, or even if groceries can be purchased, it is easy to become distressed. When our children are making choices that could lead to a life time of pain it s hard not to be anxious. When our job is disappearing and we haven t got any other irons in the fire, then we can start to worry about what we are going to do. There are lots or reasons we can become overwhelmed by life, if we choose to let life affect us this way. And clearly understand, we do choose to become overwhelmed, for this is sin and we no longer have to sin, we choose to sin. How can I say this is sin, being overwhelmed by life? It is sin because we are not to respond this way. We are commanded not to respond this way. Do not be anxious then saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we clothe ourselves? For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:31-34). The fact of the matter is we too can have relief from the distress of daily living. Our relief comes from the same source as David. The source was and always will be trust in the Lord, because He knows our needs. He knows our pain. ) 5 (
In fact, we shouldn t live with the goal of avoiding pain, for it is God s choice we experience difficulties. Only in trials do we grow in our dependency on Him. The only acceptable goal in life is to grow in our relationship with the Lord and to bring under His control anything that could take first place in our lives. As we look to Him and depend on Him then, while our problems don t go away, we can finally place them in perspective, see them as opportunities for growth. We can be blessed because, as we have all observed, our very pain becomes the basis of our maturing, as God said regarding Paul s thorn in the flesh, his suffering; My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Paul then responds as we should; Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Let us call upon the Lord out of our distress, but in our trust and be able to say with David; Lift up the light of Thy countenance upon us. O Lord! Thou hast put gladness in my heart, In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety, and with Jesus; My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42). ) 6 (