Sermon Tone Analysis

Psalm 4

 

! Introduction

I believe in God, but there are some uncomfortable realities in my life that might cause one to question whether I really do believe.

A few weeks ago I had something that was really bothering me and I was so restless because of it that I hardly slept at all that night.

I got maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep.

I know I am not alone because others have confessed to me that they sometimes have the same struggles to sleep.

If I believe in God, why can’t I trust Him and fall peacefully asleep?

I pray often, but many times I wrestle to pray.

I ask myself, “Why pray?”

When I pray it is a struggle to have confidence that God is really hearing my prayer.

I feel as if I am working mightily to address a reluctant sovereign.

How can I say that I believe in God when my praying is such a struggle?

There are times when all I see is trouble and I wonder if God is active at all.

I question whether God has done anything.

I wonder where the miracles I read about in the Bible or in other stories are today.

How can I say that I believe in God when I don’t see Him at work?

Sometimes these feelings are intense and other times I have hope and encouragement.

Am I alone or are there others here who feel the same way and experience the same things?

Psalm 4 reflects this turmoil, but also suggests a path to peace.

Let me read the Psalm for you.

Many writers identify this as a companion to Psalm 3 and suggest that Psalm 3 is a morning Psalm, whereas Psalm 4 is an evening Psalm.

In Psalm 3 we read, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again…” In Psalm 4 we read, “I will lie down and sleep in peace…” As an evening Psalm, it provides great comfort in directing us to hope in God as we end the day, perhaps with turmoil in our hearts.

It is a little difficult to outline the Psalm and most writers admit that there is no clear outline.

One thing that happens in this Psalm is that there are repeated words and it seems that these repeated words provide us with a picture of turmoil, a path out of turmoil and a picture of peace.

In verses 1 & 3 we have the word “call.”

In verses 4 & 8 we have the concepts of “being on our beds” and “sleep.”

In verses 6, 7 we have the concepts of “good” and “abound.”

These three words help us find peace in the turmoil of unanswered prayer, peace in the turmoil of sleeplessness and peace in the turmoil of hopelessness.

Craigie says, ““…however strong the accuser or oppressor may be, ultimately it is only God who matters.

And however deep the anguish and uncertainty may be, God can provide that inner peace which makes sleep possible.”

This is the outline I would like to follow.

Let us read the Psalm together out loud and then think about these there concepts.

!

I.                   Turmoil of Unanswered Prayer

!! A.                 The Turmoil

The first verse speaks of the turmoil of prayer.

We see in this verse an expression of the wrestling which prayer often is and we hear the longing in it.

In it we find four expressions of asking – “answer me,” “give me relief,” “be merciful to me” and “hear my prayer.”

The first expression is, “Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.”

Here we find an appeal to God’s character, hoping that in His righteousness, God will answer.

We see in this appeal a wrestling, a desire for God to answer prayer.

The second phrase is better translated, “make room in my distress.”

The actual Hebrew word is “room” and is a much more vibrant picture than the word “relief” which we find in NIV.

It indicates that the writer feels trapped by his circumstances and wants some space.

The picture reminds me of the scene in one of the Star Wars movies when Princess Leah, Han Solo, Luke and Chewbaca find themselves in the garbage bin of the enemy spaceship and the walls start moving in to crush the garbage.

Have you ever had prayers at times like that?

They also represent a wrestling.

The next phrase recognizes that it is only by the mercy of God that we have any hope at all.

The final prayer is a request that God will hear the prayer of the one praying.

The whole verse seems to me to represent a struggle in prayer.

We know that we can go to God, we know that He hears prayer, we know that He is righteous and merciful; but in the time of prayer we are often just struggling to be heard, struggling to even know that God will answer.

!! B.                 The Path

            How do we find a path from that turmoil of prayer to the peace of knowing that God will answer?

The second and third verses give us that path.

It is a little hard to know how to understand the direction of Psalm 4:2.

I read two quite different interpretations.

One interpretation was that this is the Psalmist speaking to his enemies and questioning their motives and actions.

Another writer came at this from the perspective that this is God speaking to the Psalmist showing him the path to peace.

I am taking it from that perspective.

Even though we may believe in God, we will not have confidence that He answers prayer if we engage in the actions mentioned in this verse.

First of all, we will not find peace if we turn His glory into shame.

How do we turn His glory into shame?

We do so if we treat Him with contempt and if we don’t recognize how glorious He is.

God is creator and redeemer and if we diminish that hope in Him, we turn His glory into shame.

If we forget that He is the ultimate and only one who can really bring relief and help we reject His glory

            How often, instead of recognizing God’s glory, we “love delusions.”

Another way to translate this is to speak of “loving emptiness.”

In II Chronicles 28:16 it says that “At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help.”

How often we go for help to that which cannot deliver.

We find relief in a bottle or in a wrong relationship, or in spending money or in some other way.

We try to make room for ourselves instead of asking God to make room for us.

We will not trust Him if we love emptiness.

I know exactly how I do that.

Instead of praying, I talk to a friend.

Instead of asking God, I search for answers within my own mind.

The third way in which we often look for help is in seeking what is false.

NIV has “false gods” and that certainly was one way in which the ancients did it.

The same King Ahaz who went to foreign leaders for help also went to false gods for help.

In II Chronicles 28:22 we read, “In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord.

He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus.”

The margin note on Psalm 4:2, however, shows us that the word “gods” is not in the original and so this is only one interpretation.

The accurate translation is “seek lies.”

How do we seek lies?

How many of us believe lies in order to find relief from a situation?

Last week Bryan talked about pornography.

How many men believe the lie that pornography will give them fulfillment?

How many women believe the lie that they are only worthy or attractive if they have a perfect body (whatever that is).

How many of us believe the lie that if only we had a better job, or lived in a different place we would be happier.

As long as we turn God’s glory into shame, or love emptiness or seek lies we will not have the confidence that God is hearing and answering our prayers.

The first step to peace about answered prayer is confession that we do seek help from other places than God.

The second step to peace about answered prayer is acknowledging the promise found in the first part of Psalm 4:3 and that is to “know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself.”

When we have the confidence that God loves us, what a difference that makes!

This verse gives us so much hope and encouragement.

It tells us that God has taken the initiative to redeem us.

When we come to God in prayer, we are not emerging from the darkness by our effort to look for the light that is at the end of the tunnel.

We are responding to the one who has called us and redeemed us and who already cared for us before the world began.

The words “set apart” are loaded with wonderful promise about what God has done for us.

We are not ordinary people who live without hope.

We have been called children of God.

God has set us apart for Himself.

Those whom He has called, who have responded to His call have a special place not only in relationship with God, but in the entire universe.