Dwell in the Word: Psalm 4

Consider these questions as you dwell in Psalm 4 today:

1. How does the psalmist's acknowledgment of God's grace and sanctification impact the way we approach Him in times of need and distress? How does this understanding of God's character influence our prayers and requests?

2. The psalmist advises against reacting in anger or seeking revenge in moments of turmoil. Instead, he encourages introspection and trust in God. How can we practically apply this wisdom in our own lives when faced with challenging situations or conflicts?

3. The final verse of Psalm 4 speaks of finding peace and security in the Lord's care. How does this assurance of ultimate safety in Christ impact our daily lives and our ability to face uncertainties with confidence and trust?

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Transcript:

Landing in the fourth chapter of the psalter, we once again see the psalmist calling out for help. He expects God to come and to rescue him. We see this right away in verse 1, Answer me when I call, O God, of my righteousness. He understands who God is. He calls out to him, understanding that this God is the God of his righteousness. He doesn't have this on his own. He needs God. And he also acknowledges what has happened in the past. You have given me relief. When I was in distress, you have answered me before, so I am trusting you to answer me again. And there is this cry here, Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. In other words, the Psalmist knows that it is a gracious act of God that he hears the prayers of his people. We don't deserve an Almighty, righteous God to hear us, but creatures of the dirt who were in rebellion against him, but we know that he is gracious and he will listen because he has listened in the past. And we see also in verse 3 that we can know that God has a particular people that he cares for, that he looks after, that he does something special with. 

Verse 3, but know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself. In other words, that he has made them holy. That's what holiness means. Holiness means to be set apart. We know that God does this for His people, and that the Lord hears when we call to Him. Why? Because he has set us apart. He has made us holy. He is doing this for His people. And so, as this Psalm continues, this cry for help puts a trust in God. It tells people to not be angry or to be angry, but don't sin. In other words, in the midst of everything that you have going on, don't sin. Instead, trust in God. Ponder in your own hearts. Don't go after somebody, but on your beds, be silent and ponder what is happening. Don't sin, and instead, offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord. We can understand what this is saying here. There are times where we are upset, but we don't have to act in a sinful way towards that person. Instead, we can stop and we can trust that God is the one who gives us peace, that He is the one who takes care of these things for us. 

So instead of going after someone, instead of being angry, we are called to do what God has called us to do, and to have peace and to trust in Him instead of trying to do that which we think should be done on our own. We see what this piece looks like as this Psalm closes up in verse 8. In peace, I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Now, this is some similar language that we saw in verse 3, this idea of lying down and sleeping, this idea of trusting God and not going after the things that we desire on our own, but instead putting our trust in Him and having peace about that, trusting that He is sovereign, that He is good, that He takes care of His people. And in this final statement here, You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. God, you do this. I can't do this on my own. No other human can do this for me, but you are the one who causes me to dwell in safety. And once again, we see how Christ unlocks the Psalms for us because we know that because we have been given the gift of faith, because we put our faith and our trust in Christ alone, we know that for eternity we dwell in safety, that He causes us to be saved, that He gives us this gift of salvation. 

And so we can lie down, we can sleep, we can have a sure and certain trust in the protection that God gives us because we are in Christ. He has saved us. No matter what happens to us in this life, we can trust that we have this safety that we dwell in, in Jesus. So may we daily put that trust in Him and not rely on our own strength.