A Song For The Night

If you know very much about David's life, and I think probably all of you do know very much about David's life,

then you aren't surprised to find that his Psalms are really permeated with distressing circumstances, aren't they?

We are not very soon leaving off this really dramatic scene in Psalm 3 with his son Absalom

that we immediately pick right back up with another scenario in which he is in distress,

and he's crying out to the Lord once again.

Over and over, we see it. He cries out to God to intervene in troubling situations,

and very often in these Psalms, he expresses to us that God did just that.

He answers the prayer, and he delivers him. Not always, but very often we see that, and it's quite helpful.

We learn through David's example here, through the Psalms, that an exit from one trial is actually very often the entrance into another one.

And we are continually confronted by this truth in the book of Psalms.

And in that way, the Psalms are like life, reminding us that deliverance from one distress

doesn't result in freedom from all hardship.

I think whoever it is that's responsible for curating these Psalms in the way that they did,

and of course we believe that David did a huge amount of the foundational work for that

as really the architect of Israel's corporate worship early on as a king.

We find evidence of that in the Old Testament, that David was probably responsible for a lot of that.

And as he's curating these things, I think the Psalmist intends for us to see this,

to see and be confronted constantly by the fact that we constantly are going to go through distresses,

that there will be actually seasons in our life where we're moving really just from one season of distress to another.

You know what that's like.

Many of you are living in that period of time right now in your life,

where it seems like as soon as you come out of one kind of hardship,

there's just another thing to deal with.

There's just another heartache to have to go through.

There's another sin to repent of.

There's another circumstance for which you must cry out to the Lord.

I think that's the point that we are to see here,

and even the way that the Psalms are put together.

Like David, we sometimes have very little opportunity to even catch a breath

before moving on from one trying season to another.

And that's precisely why the Psalms are so helpful to us, aren't they?

They will not let us deny the reality of suffering.

As many tend to do, we go through these periods of denial

where we just kind of want to ignore the hardships of life.

We just kind of want to put them behind us and just focus on other things,

maybe psychologically trying to ignore everything that's wrong

and only focus on what is good and really to our detriment.

The Psalms don't let us do that.

They don't let us ignore suffering,

but neither will they allow us to wallow in self-pity.

The Psalms teach us how to process,

how to respond to all sorts of trying circumstances.

They teach us where God is at in our suffering.

And in the process of doing that,

they offer us hope every step of the way as we march through them.

And Psalm 4 is no exception to that.

But really what Psalm 4 does is it gives us a song in the night,

a prayer that brings peace in the midst of our chaos.

Just a couple of notes about the structure of the Psalm

in case you're wondering how we're piecing it together.

Maybe the better way to say that is how we are taking it apart here

to see the various portions.

Remember, this is poetry.

This is song.

It's written in stanza.

In fact, if you're studying through the Psalms yourself,

really probably the most fruitful way to try to get the idea

that is presented in each one

is to break apart the stanzas themselves.

Think about a song that you would sing in church,

a congregational hymn perhaps.

Each stanza is really kind of giving us a different idea.

There's one big theme to it,

but each stanza is supporting that theme in a different way.

And if you will look closely at the way even the Bible publishers have kind of broken the verses apart,

they help us to see the way that the psalmist intended for it to be.

You'll notice that verse 1 and verse 8 are alone.

There's gaps between those and the others.

Verse 1 really is kind of an introduction to the song,

where verse 8 is kind of a conclusion to the song, right?

They really stand on their own.

And then in between these two,

we see three stanzas.

Each stanza contains two verses in our numbering system,

but each verse has two lines.

Those are poetic arrangements, okay?

So think that we're seeing this as a poem laid out on a page.

And there's three main stanzas to the body,

and each one is making a statement,

and then it's responding to the statement.

That's why the selahs are placed in such a weird spot in this psalm.

Did you notice that?

The selahs, different than Psalm 3,

they're not positioned at the end of a stanza,

they're positioned in the middle of a stanza.

Do you see it?

There's a selah in between verses 2 and 3

that's right in the middle of a verse,

or of a stanza.

There's another selah in between verse 4 and verse 5,

right in the middle of another stanza.

Now, you don't have to know all of that,

except that's how we're going to break it apart.

We're going to break it apart as the text leads us

to break it apart this morning.

So I want you to turn your eye back to verse 1.

We'll use this as our introduction then, right?

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness.

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me.

Hear my prayer.

Sometimes the context of David's circumstances are made clear.

As in Psalm 3, it was made very clear to us.

But we don't usually know the precise situation

that gives rise to his songs.

There is good reason to believe that Psalm 4

should be understood in relation to the aftermath

of what has unfolded in Psalm 3 with David's son Absalom,

with this whole conspiracy.

There's good reason.

A lot of people make that argument,

and it's probably a pretty healthy argument to consider.

I want to avoid the kind of dogma today

that imposes a context on this psalm

that the text itself doesn't impose.

I want to be careful about that.

I'm not going to deal with it from that perspective.

We're not really going to think about Absalom so much

in that scenario.

The psalm really stands on its own,

and we need to interpret it that way.

That being said,

what has led to David's distress in this psalm

is actually quite clear in the text.

James Montgomery Boyce says it this way,

in this psalm,

the problem is one of malicious slander and lies.

It is the psalmist's reputation

rather than his person that is being attacked,

and what he needs is a sense of the presence

and approval of God

rather than physical deliverance.

So Psalm 4,

the context here,

the circumstance,

is very different from Psalm 3.

It's very different from the previous psalm.

Here,

David isn't running for his life.

He's fighting for his reputation.

That's what's happening.

Now,

that doesn't mean that

he isn't still under extreme distress.

Clearly,

he is.

Listen to the call in verse 1.

Oh,

Lord,

hear my cry.

Answer me,

Lord,

please,

answer me.

That's anguish.

It's distress.

But it's not the same as Psalm 3.

At least the circumstances is.

The point is

that while suffering

comes in all shapes and sizes,

the one to which we make our appeals

and the trust with which we cry out to him

is unchanging.

You say you've got the David of Psalm 3

who's literally running for his life.

Then you've got the David of Psalm 4

who is in distress

because his reputation is being torn apart

completely different circumstances

and yet his cry is the same.

He makes his appeal to the same God.

He makes his appeal in the same way.

He executes such similar trust

in both situations.

You see,

some of you are here

and you're facing very serious circumstances

that relate to your very physical life.

Maybe it's in relation to your health

or maybe there is some sort of danger

that's around the way.

Others of you are here

and your circumstances of suffering

are quite different from that.

But our response to God in that

is unchanging.

It's the same.

We cry to the same God.

We cry often with the same intensity.

It demands the same trust.

David cries to God alone

for help in each circumstance

knowing that only the Lord

can cause him to, quote,

dwell in safety as we see in verse 8.

Now,

there's a shift in the song

that we have to acknowledge here

that's going to help us

to understand the whole song.

It begins with feelings of distress

in verse 1.

It ends

with feelings of

safety.

Do you see that?

Verse 1,

answer me when I call.

You've given me relief

when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me

because I'm in distress again.

Please hear my prayer.

That's how he starts.

Notice how he concludes

in verse 8.

In peace,

I will lie down and sleep.

For you alone

make me dwell

in safety.

That's quite the shift,

isn't it?

Distress

to safety.

It moves from anxiety

in its opening plea

to peace

in its closing praise.

Thus is the hope

that God intends

for us to discover

as we enjoy

and study

the Psalms.

Isn't that the point?

Isn't that what God

wants us to see here?

In many of the Psalms

that there is hope.

But what is it

that makes the difference

for David?

What is it that makes

the difference

that moves him

from this anxiety

at the beginning

to the safety

at the end?

It's not a change

in his circumstance

for no change

is ever actually

mentioned in the text.

Do you see that?

When we read through it,

did you realize

David never said,

oh Lord,

thank you

for hearing my prayer.

That's not what he did.

There's no change

in his situation here.

Yet,

there is change

in his disposition

toward the circumstance.

I want to suggest

that it is the act

of prayer

or song itself

that moves David

from one end

of the emotional spectrum

to the other.

And in this way,

Psalm 4 teaches us

the significant role

of prayer

and of hymnody,

song,

in the life

of a believer.

Not as a coping mechanism,

but as an instrument

of divine intervention

through the power

of the Holy Spirit.

Are you with me on that?

I just want to make clear

the trajectory here.

David's got a very real situation

and there's a very significant way

that he's going to approach it

as we work through the text.

I want to suggest

that what moves him

from one thing in verse 1

to another thing in verse 8

is the prayer itself,

is the song itself,

that God uses prayer,

God uses hymnody

as divine instruments

to lift the heads

of his people,

to lift the hearts

of his people,

even when he does not

change their circumstances,

even when he does not

resolve their conflict.

And I want you to see

that clearly here

in the psalm.

Now let's work

through the stanzas

themselves.

Here's how I might label

the first stanza.

We see a warning

to sinners.

A warning

to sinners.

Verse 2.

O men,

how long

shall my honor

be turned into shame?

How long

will you love

vain words

and seek after lies?

Selah,

think about that.

Who is it

that's supposed

to pause

in this moment

and think?

The sinners are.

The slanderers are.

How long

will you continue

in this?

And then he provides

further explanation.

But know

that the Lord

has set apart

the godly

for himself.

the Lord

hears

when I call

to him.

This is a warning.

A very clear warning.

And it is directed

to sinners.

To the slanderers

who have come

against David

in this moment.

So after asking

for God

to hear him,

David addresses

his enemies

directly.

And what is the warning

in relation to?

It's in relation

to the perils

of slandering

those

whom God

has set apart

for himself.

Men here,

it translates

a word

that connotes

men of significance.

Exalted

ones

as it reads

in the

CSB.

These leaders

in David's life,

they are attempting

to ruin

David's good reputation

and they are doing

that by telling

lies

about him.

They're tearing

him down

in order

that they might

build themselves

up.

They are actively

seeking to

turn David's

honor

into shame

which the

New Testament

routinely calls

slander.

Okay,

that's the word

we're working

with here.

This is

slander

coming against

David.

How is he going

to deal with it?

The chances

are

that you know

what it's like

to be slandered

against.

you know

what it's like

to have someone

malign your

character

through

deception.

You know

how distressing

it can be

for people

to tear you

down

especially

when it's

untrue.

Especially

as it affects

your

sphere of

influence

on others.

Perhaps

you're

a wife

whose husband

has

misrepresented

you to

your children

in order

that he

might win

the loyalty

of the

children

to himself

and away

from you.

Perhaps

in your

place of

work

you have

been the

one

that has

been

passed

over

for that

promotion

because

the

co-workers

out of

their

envy

have

misled

the

people

that

are

in

charge

of

the

promotion

and

has

held

you

back.

Perhaps

it's

happened

in the

context

of the

local

church

to you

that

people

have

turned

their

backs

on you

because

someone

else

in the

church

that

had a

vendetta

is

coming

against

you

they're

spreading

lies

or at

least

they are

misrepresenting

who you

are or

what you've

done or

what you

believe.

Don't you

know what

that's like?

Of course

you do.

it's

one

thing

for your

sins

to be

exposed

so that

people

know who

you truly

are.

That's

one

thing

to deal

with.

It's

quite

another

thing

for

someone

to use

deceptive

means

to cause

others

to think

less

of you.

Like

everyone

else

David

had his

failures

that's

for sure

but in

this

instance

he was

misrepresented

and lied

about

by those

who were

envious

of his

position

seeking

to advance

their own

cause

instead

and that

of course

is something

that we

all can

relate to.

Well David

confronts

them

but how

is it

that he

confronts

them?

He

confronts

them by

drawing

attention

not to

the truth

of who

he is.

He

doesn't

defend

his

character.

What

does he

do?

He

draws

their

attention

to his

relationship

with God.

It's

actually

interesting

honor

here

is the

same

word

that's

used

as

glory

in

Psalm

3

and

verse

3

look

back

at

that

verse

in

Psalm

3

and

verse

3

David

says

but you

O Lord

are a

shield

about

me

you

O Lord

are my

glory

he

says

God

is

his

glory

David

means

that

anything

good

of

his

reputation

anything

that

he

wants

to

be

known

about

him

is

directly

linked

to

his

relationship

to

God

anything

good

about

who

he

is

is

a

result

of

God's

work

of

grace

in

his

life

David

recognizes

that

but

even

more

than

that

David

warns

the

enemies

in

verse

3

this

is

back

to

Psalm

4

in

verse

3

again

bringing

in

the

unique

relationship

between

God

and

his

people

look

at

the

verse

but

know

oh

men

that

the

Lord

has

set

apart

the

godly

for

himself

the

Lord

hears

when

I

call

I

belong

to

him

don't

you

realize

what

you're

doing

David's

honor

is

directly

tied

to

his

relationship

with

God

and

to

shame

that

honor

in

the

way

that

it

has

been

shamed

by

these

men

is

to

be

viewed

as

a

reproach

against

God

himself

that's

the

point

here

just

as

a

mother

takes

offense

at

an

injustice

against

her

child

so

does

God

take

offense

to

injustices

against

his

people

hence

the

inerrant

danger

in

carelessly

slandering

those

whom

God

has

set

apart

for

himself

that's

the

warning

don't

you

realize

old

men

that

the

Lord

has

chosen

me

the

Lord

has

set

me

apart

I

belong

to

him

he

has

set

me

apart

for

himself

and

by

the

way

because

I

belong

to

him

he

listens

to

me

he

hears

my

prayer

he

answers

my

cries

this

is

a

warning

flashing

lights

to

the

slanderers

bad

things

are

ahead

for

you

if

you

continue

to

tear

down

those

who

belong

to

God

the

heart

of the

warning

is a

reminder

that he

belongs

to the

Lord

that

God

hears

his

prayer

and

that

should

be

a

truth

that

strikes

fear

into

the

hearts

of his

enemies

it

should

strike

fear

now

surely

this

was a

means

of

easing

David's

distress

about

the

whole

ordeal

right

can

you

see

how

that

would

happen

as

he

reminds

his

enemies

that

the

Lord

hears

and

protects

his

people

David

surely

must

have

realized

afresh

in

that

moment

that

what

he

said

to

them

applies

directly

to

him

he

belonged

to

God

and

what

was

a

warning

to

his

enemies

must

have

undoubtedly

been

an

encouraging

promise

for

him

right

as

he

tells

his

enemies

I

belong

to

God

he's

going

to

hear

my

prayer

that's

a

warning

for

you

surely

in

the

midst

of

that

moment

he

even

turns

back

to

himself

and

says

I

belong

to

him

he

hears

my

prayer

he

will

come

to

my

aid

what

an

encouragement

as

he

prays

against

these

other

people

to

have

the

Lord

lift

him

up

in

such

a

helpful

way

what

is

our

hope

in

distress

as

we

sing

all

the

time

what

is

our

hope

in

life

and

death

the

he

he

says

that

we

are

not

our

own

but

we

belong

body

and

soul

to

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

what

is

David's

hope

here

his

hope

is

that

he

belongs

to

God

what

is

our

hope

we

belong

to

him

he

hears

us

and

he

will

vindicate

his

people

in

one

way

or

another

he

will

vindicate

his

people

he

will

save

us

from

all

of

our

distresses

!

in

one

way

or

another

What an

encouragement!

But of

course

this is a

warning

first

we take

great

encouragement

from it

I hope

you do

but let's

listen to it

as a

warning

first

though we

know what

it's like

to be

slandered

against

it's

actually

not very

uncommon

for us

to feel

the role

of

slanderer

!

ourselves

isn't that

common?

how

often

have

we

carelessly

torn

apart

the

reputation

of

another

Christian

carelessly

diminished

deceptively

misrepresented

another

ministry

out of

envy

or to

advance

our own

cause

we

call it

contending

for the

faith

when in

reality

very often

it's

just

pride

it's

jealousy

dressed

in the

trappings

of

piety

that if

we say

things in

just the

right way

the people

that we're

talking to

will get

the idea

that we

are better

than them

that our

church is

more useful

than that

church

church

that we

are more

godly

than that

person

we should

tremble

to treat

those God

has chosen

and set

apart

with such

contempt

it should

strike

fear

in us

to see

someone

who

belongs

to

God

and to

misrepresent

them

tell half

truths

or diminish

their character

in order that

we might try

in some way

to build

ourselves up

in the

process

as I

studied

this

this

week

how many

times have

I done

this

to think

that

because of

a disagreement

that is

inconsequential

to the

gospel

that I

would tear

down another

believer

or another

church

or another

ministry

that belongs

to the

Lord

and here

David

warns us

the Lord

hears their

prayers

the Lord

answers their

cries

and if he

answers their

cries and we

are the ones

in the wrong

and slandering

against them

we then

will become

the objects

of God's

judgment

and that

should strike

fear

in all

of us

what we

enjoy as a

promise in

this text

we must also

take as a

warning

lest we

also reproach

the glory

of God

by slandering

his people

isn't this

what Paul was

getting at

in Romans

14

we could go

all the way

through and

and try to

separate the

distinctions of

when is it

right to

speak negatively

and when should

we keep

silent

all those

things

I think

Paul says

that for

us in

Romans 14

he actually

makes it

quite clear

where he's

dealing with

really significant

issues among

the Christians

and then finally

gets to the

middle of it

and he says

who are you

to judge the

servant of

another master

and the word

of God

becomes a

mirror in

that verse

for us

who are we

to judge the

servant

of another

master

they belong

to him

and we

need to

be careful

lest we

become the

enemy of

God

bringing a

reproach to

his glory

rather than

glorifying him

in what we

do

well that's

the warning

to sinners

in verse

two and

three

let's look

now at

the way

of repentance

the way

of repentance

in verses

four and

five

notice what

David says

a new

thought now

be angry

and do

not sin

ponder in

your own

hearts on

your beds

and be

silent

rather than

run your

mouth out

there

think about

it in

your heart

in private

process

this

alone

say

like he

says

think about

that

all for

right

sacrifices

put your

trust

in the

Lord

now the

opening

statement

here

the command

here at

the very

beginning

is a little

bit tricky

I need to

admit

so let's

work through

this for

just a second

the word

here in

the ESV

is given

to us

as angry

that's not

a bad

translation

it's correct

but let's

get what's

behind this

for just a

second

and if you've

got a different

translation

some of you

may have a

CSB

it will look

a little

bit different

if you have

a King

James with

you it will

look even

different

from there

all of them

are correct

translations

but language

is weird

isn't it

and we

want to

get the

want to

see conveyed

the meaning

of the author

here

behind this

is a Hebrew

word that

really if it's

translated literally

it means to

tremble

if you have a

new American

standard with you

that's what it

says it says

to tremble

this is the

meaning here

but the reason

for the

trembling

has two

possibilities

that's why

it's difficult

for us

isn't it

that's why

some translations

will say

stand in awe

as the King

James says

some translations

like the ESV

will say

be angry

what's behind

that is

tremble

and we have

to discern

by the help

of the Holy

Spirit

what is this

trembling

in relation

to

now it

could refer

to the

kind of

physical

agitation

that comes

with extreme

anger

have you ever

been so angry

that you

shook

it's kind

of the idea

that's what

this

that's a

potential

interpretation

of the word

here

in this

case

David

would be

saying

to his

enemies

almost

you

like you

may have

a reason

to be

upset

with me

but the

way you're

dealing

with it

is wrong

be angry

with something

that is

truly unjust

about me

or about

my leadership

but don't

sin

in the

process

of

going

through

and dealing

with that

anger

that could

be a

potential

meaning

here

the second

option

is that

it could

refer to

the realization

trembling

as a result

of the

realization

that you

have sinned

against a

holy God

that's why

those

who translated

the King

James version

use stand

in awe

it says

stand in awe

and cease

from sinning

stop

sinning

tremble

before God

now

given the

flow

of the

text

here

context

is king

isn't it

given the

flow

of the

text

the second

option

is the

preferred

reading

here

the command

is to

fear

God

and in

so doing

cease

from the

sin

that you

are committing

and by

faith

turn

to him

for

atonement

do you

see that

in the

flow

of the

text

in

verses

2

and

3

David

confronts

the

sin

that

it

is

not

only

a

sin

against

him

it

is

a

sin

against

God

and now

in

verses

4

and

5

he

follows

that

up

in

its

natural

progression

he

says

now

that

you

have

seen

your

sin

tremble

before

a

holy

God

turn

from

that

sin

offer

right

sacrifices

to

the

Lord

trust

in

him

do you

see

that's

the

flow

of the

text

isn't

it

he

confronts

the

sin

of

the

enemies

he

reminds

them

that

God

will

defend

his

glory

by

hearing

the

prayers

of

his

people

and

in

light

of

that

pending

!

On

one

hand

this

part

of

the

psalm

is

a

gracious

invitation

to

David's

enemies

David

as

king

has

the

right

to

judge

them

for

what

they're

doing

this

is

treason

he

doesn't

do

that

though

what

does

he

do

he

calls

them

to

turn

repent

offer

your

sacrifices

trust

in

the

Lord

cease

from

sinning

is

this

not

the

call

of

salvation

made

clear

throughout

the

scriptures

is

that

not

what's

represented

for

us

here

I

want

you to

hear

me

closely

maybe

kids

and

teenagers

in

particular

right

now

some

of

you