Psalm 4
Psalm 4
gives us much the same as we found in Psalm 3.
David is in a place where he is feeling persecuted. He is oppressed. To use his word, he is distressed.
Yet he
consistently turns to God. Look at the
ways that David speaks about his relationship with God. {I did
some research this morning and found out that one of the keys to understanding
the psalms is in noting the parallelisms.}
God is David’s relief when he is in distress. David is looking for a means to stop his
honor being turned to shame. The Lord
hears when David calls. We are not
supposed to sin but rather ponder God in our hearts. God puts more joy in David’s heart than
alcohol and food can place there.
David’s
relationship with God is a relationship where David pursues God. David cannot be God; nor can he absolutely
follow in God’s ways. David knows that
life will not be perfect and there will be obstacles to overcome. All of these things point to David’s need to
pursue God. It is God who has what David
desires most.
That
really makes me think today. Does God
have what I truly desire? Can you tell
that from my life? Can a person looking
at my life tell that my greatest desire is found in God?
Psalm 5
Psalm 5
gives us a bit of a shift in perspective.
Here in this psalm we begin to see God’s character more strongly. God is so righteous that evil cannot dwell in
His presence. There is no delight for
God in any kind of wickedness. Those who
lie are destroyed in His presence. Thos
who are deceitful and bloodthirsty are abhorred by God. Who can claim that at least some part of that
list does not apply to them?
Yet, the
answer is not found in me or us. The
answer is found in God. It is through
the abundance of His steadfast love that we shall enter His house. It is not my greatness that grants me access
to the dwelling of God, nor is it my ability to show God how well I can follow
Him. It is His steadfast and abounding
love that grants access to Him.
What is
our response to His abundant love? The
first thing we do is to humble ourselves.
We bow down and worship Him. As
we learned in the prior psalm, we make our greatest desire the things of
God. The second thing we do is become
obedient. We ask God to lead us. The third thing that we do is to turn away
from the ways of the world. We see the
world for the fake hope it offers, the false passion it brings to life, and the
empty promises of which it boasts. We
reject to ways of the world and turn to God rejoicing.
Psalm 6
Psalm 6
gives us a great response to Psalm 5.
How do we turn? How do we go
about living out our relationship with God?
The first is that we acknowledge what we deserve. We deserve wrath and judgment and anger. However, we ask God to rebuke us and
discipline us in His love, not His wrath.
We deserve His wrath – we know that much for sure! – but we plead with
Him to be merciful.
Notice how
much David is worn down by the world. He
claims to drench his bed and his couch in signs of mourning! Life is tough. It is hard.
Opponents are all around. People
around us make poor choices. We
ourselves make poor decisions. There are
always reasons to weep. But we must turn
to God. For it is only in God that we
can find peace, love, and true happiness.
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