Who Shall show us any Good?

Who Shall show us any Good?

Text: Psalm 4:5–8 (KJV 1900)

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Introduction:

* There is certain restlessness in the heart of man.

* In the beginning God created man in perfect harmony with himself and with the world around him. We find this situation in the Garden of Eden as we look back through the looking glass of the Scriptures to a time when Adam and Eve were in a sinless relationship with God.

Genesis 3:8–9 (KJV 1900)

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

* There was not restlessness in the heart of man while they lived in fellowship with the Creator. All was peace and harmony.

* But now the situation if mankind is the complete opposite. Men and women run tow and fro in the world in which we live, desperately trying to find happiness and peace, but to only realize that there is no peace.

* Mankind has become restless in his mind and soul, and the world around us reflects this confusion.

* The Apostle James sums up this restlessness in James chapter 3.

James 3:14–4:3 (KJV 1900)

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

* This world knows no true peace. This world we live in is full of violence and crime, and has become a place of constant desiring and lusting after riches and possessions that can never satisfy the restlessness of our hearts.

* Because man has failed to continue in fellowship with God his creator, he has left the way of happiness and peace, and cannot find happiness.

4 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

* Even in the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, we see the beginning of this very thing- mankind fallen out of fellowship with his creator.

Genesis 3:7–10 (KJV 1900)

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

* I our text verse the question is put to us 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good?

* Many is this world after years of living in this rat race of a world we live in become disillusioned and ask the same question of life- “Is there anything in life worth living for?

* We live in a time when suicide is in epoch proportions.

* The time in which we live is no different than the time in which the person who wrote this Psalm lived. After searching for peace in this fallen world in which we live, many have come to the conclusion that there is nothing good in life- there is nothing worth living for.

* Now the Psalmist proceeds to answer his own question.

* His answer is that the only way we can satisfy our restless hearts and find true peace is to return to fellowship with God our creator- Listen to his words in our text:

Psalm 4:5–8 (KJV 1900)

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

* So can we find anything good in this world? Does the Bible tell us of anything that is satisfying and good for the soul of man?

* When we begin to lust and want after the things other than what God has created and called good, we are drawn away from God our creator and become restless and unhappy.

* There are some other things that God had declared good in this earth will bring us joy.

Philippians 4:6–9 (KJV 1900)

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Nature is good

Genesis 1:31–2:3 (KJV 1900)

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

* All the things that are listed in the first chapter of Genesis God had declared are very good.

A wife is Good

Proverbs 18:21–22 (KJV 1900)

22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,And obtaineth favour of the Lord.

Genesis 2:20–25 (KJV 1900)

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Proverbs 5:17–19 (KJV 1900)

18 Let thy fountain be blessed: And rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;And be thou ravished always with her love.

Children are from the Lord and are good

Psalm 127:2–5 (KJV 1900)

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: And the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; So are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: They shall not be ashamed, But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate

The sleep of a man who is in fellowship with God is God

Psalm 127:1–2 (KJV 1900)

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows: For so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Friends are good

Proverbs 27:16–17 (KJV 1900)

17 Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Labor is good

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (KJV 1900)

24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:10–14 (KJV 1900)

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

What is good in life?

Ecclesiastes 9:7–10 (KJV 1900)

7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.