October 21, 2012
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 4
OBSERVATIONS
1. In verses 1,6,7, David is speaking to God, in verses 2-5 he is challenging and warning his tormenters. Privately he is struggling with God, but publicly he is still standing firm, still declaring his confidence in God. I can relate to this. Is this healthy, is it hypocritical? It certainly is honest and real, which is what I like about David’s psalms. Through it all breathes David’s desperate hope in God (not a neat and tidy faith)!
2. David’s prayer formprosperity is very different, he is praying for joy while others seek worldly riches (grain and wine). Would you rather a barn full of grain, a cellar full of wine or a heart full of joy? I hear David longing for true joy and true blessing, that goes deeper than worldly happiness (see tomorrows reading, Matthew 5:1-12).
3. His closing words remind me of that bed time prayer, Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Or the idea behind the letters RIP, rest in peace. I picture Jesus asleep on the boat while the storm is raging and the disciples are panicking. To go through each day, each struggle, each crisis, resting in the confidence that the Lord will keep us safe.
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
1. This psalm reflects my own prayer life, as I wrestle with God in my prayers, and do battle in my mind with thoughts of doubt or defeat. It is encouraging to know that God recognizes my own prayer struggle, and even includes it in His inspired book.
2. My enemies are spiritual, doubts and fears and the demons that inspire them. I sense the Lord prompting me to take a bold stand against them. To rebuke them (get behind me Satan). I need to resist his lies, to resist his assaults on my heart and mind by challenging them, just like David does in verses 2-5.
3. I hear the Lord saying Peace, be still! (or my own modern translation, Relax!). For me to make these words the closing of my prayer: In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
God, I do struggle with doubt and fear, and I do not resist them boldly enough. Today I will declare out loud, with David, my confidence in You. Give me deep joy inside as I choose to rest in You and to resist the lies!
Observations:
The psalmist calls upon the Lord in his distress. He knows that the Lord hears him when he calls upon the name of the Lord. Yet the people around him seek their answers from false gods.
At the end of the day, before falling asleep, the psalmist searches his heart trusting all to God’s care.
Where does my happiness come from? When the people prosper it is because of You. The psalmist is happy in the presence of His God.
Application:
Happiness comes from the Lord. At the end of the day,I need to bring all to the Lord in prayer. I need to walk with the Lord my God all through the day and talk with Him always. Happiness is seeing His blessings abound upon the peoples. Happiness is living in His SonLight. Like the child’s prayer – now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. That’s security. That’s comfort. That’s happiness. That’s true life. Living for and with Jesus.
Prayer: O Master let me walk with Thee in all I do and say. When I arise I can say that this is the day that the Lord has made and when I lay me down to sleep I give all the days events into Your hands for all my doings is only a possibility because of Your presence.
O Master, let me walk with Thee,
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret; help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care.
Help me the slow of heart to move
By some clear, winning word of love;
Teach me the wayward feet to stay,
And guide them in the homeward way.
O Master, let me walk with Thee,
Before the taunting Pharisee;
Help me to bear the sting of spite,
The hate of men who hide Thy light.
The sore distrust of souls sincere
Who cannot read Thy judgments clear,
The dullness of the multitude,
Who dimly guess that Thou art good.
Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee
In closer, dearer, company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.
In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future’s broadening way,
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live.