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Psalm 4:8, John 10:11f, 14:27

Peace and Rest in the Valley of the shadow of death

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 27, 2022

This Psalm follows along from Psalm 3 and has links to David’s fleeing Jerusalem from his son Absalom. Many people have risen against him, and few take his side in the civil war, to begin with. His number one advisor, Ahithophel, deserted him and joined with Absalom.  The book of 2 Samuel tells us that David valued Ahithophel’s advice as advice directly from God. Shimei cursed as he fled from Jerusalem. His son led an army that could have destroyed him that very day, as Ahithophel advised if he had listened to him. But God intervened, and Absalom took the wrong advice, and David was delivered from the coup. David did not trust his army, but he rested confidently in God’s will. He told his men that he was OK with that if God took the kingdom from him and his very life. If God delivered him from the situation and sustained his life and kingdom, he was OK with that as well. That’s how David concludes the fourth Psalm. Verse 8 says, “In peace, I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

As the Shepherd boy of Psalm 23, we see David confident in God’s provision as his Great Shepherd. David begins his Psalm with, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” God will provide all he needs in life, food, water, and a comfortable place to rest his head. He finds that when he rests in the Lord, he has peace. Even when he’s under attack from enemies, he can rest securely in the care of the Great Shepherd. Psalm 23 goes on, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses David’s shepherd analogy to assure us that He is the Great Shepherd that David trusted in. In John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus wants all his sheep to know that we, too, can lay down in peace and sleep securely under his care. We need not fear what might happen to us. Jesus makes us dwell in safety. This is what he reminded his disciples of before he left them to die on the cross.  In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” We rest securely in the arms of Jesus! The shadow death did not disturb David; it need not disturb us. We are saved by faith in Jesus, not by the works of our hands. He carries the rod and the staff. He has done the job. Jesus will not let us down. He says in John 10:14, continuing his discussion of being the Good Shepherd, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.”

 

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Psalm 4:7

An Overflowing Cup!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 26, 2022

In Psalm 4:6, we read about those who are pessimistic about David’s future. He’s been driven from Jerusalem by his son, Absalom, and it looked like David’s kingship was over. This verse says, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good.’” The question expects the answer, “there isn’t anyone who will show us good.” Everything has turned against David. You had a nice run, David, but it’s all over now. But David won’t give in to the pessimism of those around him. He clings in confidence to God, knowing that no matter what happens in the future, God is in control, and he can trust God to make it work out for good for him. It’s not the circumstances of having things go well that bring peace to David. Others might trust in the things of this world, but David trusts in God. He has great faith. Faith is believing that God has your best interest foremost in mind regardless of the circumstances. It does not just believe that God exists. It’s trusting him to be well-intentioned toward you through all the trials of life. This brought great peace to David amidst his many troubles. That’s the only thing that will bring peace to our lives as well. In Psalm 4:7, David says, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

Big crops and big paychecks bring some joy in life for now. But they are not lasting. You eat your dinners; you drink your wine, and they are gone. You must do it all over again. Jesus spoke to the woman at the well and told her there was a well from which she could drink and that one drink would quench her most important thirst fall all time. He later spoke to his followers of being the “bread of life,” which would satisfy our pangs of hunger once and for all. Jesus also said that he had come not to take our lives away but that we might have life in all its abundance. The Gospel message is that Jesus ultimately saves all who come to him in faith regardless of the physical trials one might face.

The pessimist sees the glass and says that it is half empty. He focuses on what isn’t there. The optimist sees the glass and says that it is half full. He focuses on what is in the glass. But David is neither an optimist nor a pessimist. Having a clear conscience and being in a right relationship with God is what brought joy to David. In Psalm 23, verses 5 and 6, we see that David didn’t see a cup half full or half empty. He says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Yep, my cup isn’t half empty, although sometimes I think it is. My cup isn’t half full, but sometimes I see it that way. In truth, through faith in Christ as my shepherd, my cup is overflowing!

 

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Psalm 4:6, 2 Samuel 15:25-26, Numbers 6:24-26

At Peace with God’s Will

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 25, 2022

In his poem, “Terrence, this is stupid stuff!”, A.E. Housman writes, “Therefore, since the world has still much good, but much less good than ill, and while the sun and moon endure luck’s a chance, but trouble’s sure, I’d face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good.” In the first phrase of Psalm 4 and verse 6, David points out how most are pessimistic about his future as King of Israel after Absalom won the people’s hearts and attempted to take the kingdom for himself. How is this going to turn out? David says, “There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?” They tell David to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Things don’t look good for you, David! The situation looked bad for sure! Absalom drove David from his home in Jerusalem. He slept with David’s concubine as a public demonstration that he was the new king. He raised a large army with some of David’s closest allies of the past to chase him down and kill him. Even David’s closest advisor, Ahithophel, had sided with Absalom. In 2 Samuel 16:23, we read about him, “Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.” Things did not look good for David

But David did not look at “things.” His circumstances did not deter his faith in the God who put him where he was, and he looked only to God to brighten things up in his life and those who “trained for ill” all around him. The second part of Verse 6 says, “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” The Priests, Abiathar, and Zadok had the Ark of the Covenant brought to David to guarantee his victory over Absalom.  In 2 Samuel 15:25-26, we read, “Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” Jesus prayed for deliverance from his fate on the cross while in the Garden of Gethsemane but closed his prayer with, “Nevertheless, thy will, not mine, be done.” The three children in Daniel were about to be thrown into the furnace if they refused to bow down and worship Nebuchadnezzar. They said, “We don’t know if God will deliver us or not, but regardless we will not worship Nebuchadnezzar.”

The children were at peace with whatever God’s will was for them. Jesus, of course, was at peace with God’s will for him. David, too, had peace with God’s will, whichever way it might go. Even though the priests had returned to the city, the priestly prayer for the people was answered in David’s case at this time. It says in Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

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Psalm 4:5, Psalm 51:17

Righteous Sacrifices

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 24, 2022

We understand Psalms 3 and 4 as David’s responses to Absalom’s rebellion. His anger and hatred against his father for several reasons led him to attempt a coup to kill his father and take the kingdom from him. The initiation of his uprising took the form of a plea from Absalom to his father, David, for permission to go to Hebron to fulfill a vow to offer sacrifices. David gladly blessed him and freed him to go. At that time, Absalom called his rebellious forces together to kill David and take the kingdom. This could be the setting for Psalm 4 and verse 5. Still advising his rebellious son, David says, “Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.” Absalom did offer sacrifices but recruited others to rebel with him as he did so. His offerings were a lie. Eveson observes, “Absalom and others show a rebellious attitude toward the Lord and his anointed, and so all their worship is a sham. This was so with Absalom and those associated with him. They belonged to the nation God had set apart for himself, yet they behaved like enemies of God and his people by rebelling against the Lord’s anointed. Their worship of God at the Jerusalem sanctuary was futile as long as they showed contempt for the king.”[1]

Absalom’s sacrifices were a sham. They were intended to conceal his real intent from his father, the anointed King of Israel. God will never accept such sacrifices. VanGemeren, observes, “They must be ‘sincere’ sacrifices, presented out of wholehearted trust in Yahweh, as an expression of submission to him. The sacrifices are only ‘righteous’ when they are acts of devotion flowing out of a right relationship with God.”[2] The phrase in this Psalm is best translated as “sacrifices of righteousness.” Some commentators suggest that it’s referring to the physical sacrifices that the Old Testament saints presented to God at the altar. Most, however, see the sacrifices as referring to having the right heart and attitude that accompany the sacrifices. I think that Psalm 51 gives us a better understanding of what David refers to with the phrase “sacrifices of righteousness.” In Psalm 51, David repents of his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah and pleads with God for forgiveness. When he’s assured that God has forgiven him, he asserts in verse 17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” David wanted his son to stop trusting in himself and his popularity and strength and look to God and rest under the mighty hand of Him that delivered David from Goliath and anointed him as King of Israel.

As New Testament Christians, we too must let go of confidence in ourselves and put our faith in the Lord. We need to offer “Sacrifices of Righteousness” ye “At the same time, we must bear in mind how exceedingly defective our best services are; and must renounce all hope in ‘our own righteousness, as being in itself no better than filthy rags.’ If St. Paul, with all his transcendent excellencies, ‘desired to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but that which is of God by faith in Christ,’ much more must we do so, whose righteousness falls so far short of his. Our constant and grateful acknowledgment must be, ‘In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.’ Yes; ‘in the Lord must all the seed of Israel be justified, and in him alone must they glory.’”[3]

[1] Eveson, Philip. 2014–2015. The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory. Vol. 1. Welwyn Commentary Series. Welwyn Garden City, UK: EP.

[2] VanGemeren, Willem A. 1991. “Psalms.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 5:83. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[3] Simeon, Charles. 1836. Horae Homileticae: Psalms, I–LXXII. Vol. 5. London: Samuel Holdsworth.

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Psalm 4:4, Ephesians 4:26

The Remedy for Anger

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 23, 2022

In Ephesians 4:26, Paul quotes Psalm 4:4. He tells his readers to “be angry and sin not.” Paul also adds the idea of bedtime and sleep when he adds, “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Psalm 4:4 begins with the exact phrase and encourages the readers to think and reflect in the privacy of their beds on this. Psalm 4:4 says, “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds and be silent.” David is addressing his enemies as he did in verses 2 and 3. David has expressed his conviction regarding God’s divine calling as Israel’s King. He was “set apart” in Verse 3 for his role as King. But David had alienated himself from his son Absalom.  Amnon, Absalom’s half-brother, had raped his sister Tamar and David, their father, did nothing about it. Absalom took matters into his own hands and murdered Amnon in defense of his sister. David banished Absalom for some time before he was persuaded to renew his relationship and welcome Absalom back into the family. But Absalom never got over his anger toward his father. He plotted revenge that led to the attempt to overthrow David. It’s as if David is giving his son Absalom advice in this verse.

He recognizes Absalom’s anger and acknowledges its cause when he says, “be angry.” But the anger must not show itself in revenge. So he adds, “sin not.” David had set the example in many ways of being attacked by those against him and entrusting them to God. When Saul attacked David, he refused to respond in anger and revenge. When Shimei cursed David as he fled Jerusalem from his son, Absalom, he refused to allow Shimei’s execution but entrusted him into God’s care. Take your anger to God and express it to Him. We see many Psalms where David asks God to retaliate against his enemies rather than taking justice into his own hands. David tells Absalom to let his anger out but let it out in prayer to God. He should trust God. All vengeance belongs to Him. Learning to express one’s anger in prayer is cathartic and opens the door to true worship once again. Calvin suggests that the call to “be angry and sin not” is what David spoke to himself. He writes, “He teaches us that men, instead of wickedly pouring forth their anger against their neighbors, have rather just cause to be angry with themselves, in order that, by this means, they may abstain from sin. And, therefore, he commands them rather fret inwardly and be angry with themselves.”[1] This does not fit the narrative or the grammar.

During the day and ordinary course of life, situations arise in which we are moved to anger or strong passions. In the fray of day-to-day life, we often act impetuously and do and say things we’re sorry for. David advised his son and us to refrain from acting impetuously and give the situation some time. Prayer and personal reflection are good practices when alone and away from the fray. “They were to restrain their wrath by meditation and be still, lest it should burst forth beyond its just limits and become sin. Perowne: ‘Let the still hours of the night bring calmer and wiser thoughts with them.’”[2]

[1] Calvin, John, and James Anderson. 2010. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Vol. 1. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Lange, John Peter, Philip Schaff, Carl Bernhard Moll, Charles A. Briggs, John Forsyth, James B. Hammond, J. Frederick McCurdy, and Thomas J. Conant. 2008. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

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Psalm 4:3, Hebrews 10:10

Set Apart to God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 22, 2022

In verse 2 of Psalm 4, David asks his enemies two questions. He wants to know how long they will reject God’s will and how long they will put their faith in vain things and ideas. The first concerns their rejection and dismissal of God’s will embodied in the King of God’s choice. They are rejecting God when they reject David. Instead, they have put their confidence in “vain things.” They believe lies and are deceived as to who rules the universe. David wants his enemies to know that he has put all his hope and confidence in God alone in contrast to them. In verse 3, he says, “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.” The Psalms seem to divide the entire population of humanity into two categories: the godly and the ungodly. David identifies with the godly, as is seen in the fact that he ends this verse with the assertion that God listens to him when he prays. The difference between the godly and the ungodly is a matter of faith. Faith then produces characteristics that separate the godly from the ungodly.

The first and clearest of the differences is that the Godly fear God. It surely doesn’t imply that the godly are sinless at all. That’s not possible with David. But the fear of God amid sin marks the godly. This has been a subject in many of the wisdom Psalms and the book of Proverbs written by the Son of the writer of most of the Psalms. It appears he has learned well from his father. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When David was convicted of his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, he repented and confessed. He was shamed in his sin and, as seen in Psalm 51, had deep remorse. The ungodly will sin without shame or guilt. The godly humble themselves before God for their past offenses.

God “sets apart” the godly from the ungodly. “They were not set apart for their holiness, they have invariably been made holy; moreover, when they were holy, God delighted in them as holy.”[1] In the New Testament, believers in Jesus Christ are often called “saints.” The word refers to those who have been “set apart” by God. “Thus, a saint is a sinner who in answer to his faith in the Lord Jesus has been set apart by the Holy Spirit for God.”[2] At the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, God set apart those who applied the sacrificial lamb’s blood to the lintels of their houses. The destiny of those with the blood on their doors would be different than the destiny of those without it. Those under the blood were “set apart.” In Hebrews 10:10, the author tells us that believers in Jesus have been “sanctified (set apart-made saints) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.” Jesus then, “By the offering of His own body has forever put a difference between the believer in Himself and the world and has forever set every believer apart for God. The Cross of Christ stands between the believer and the world. The shed blood of Christ separates the believer from the world, purchases him to God and thus makes him to belong to God.”[3]

[1] Simeon, Charles. 1836. Horae Homileticae: Psalms, I–LXXII. Vol. 5. London: Samuel Holdsworth.

[2] Wuest, Kenneth S. 1997. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader. Vol. 2. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

[3] Torrey, Reuben Archer. 1918. The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith. New York George H.: Doran company.

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Psalm 4:2, 62:7

God is My Glory

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 21, 2022

Psalm 3 deals specifically with Absalom’s revolt against David. Psalm 4 picks up again on the trials of facing pagan nations as expressed in Psalm 2, where the writer asks, “why do the nations rage?” In verse 1 of Psalm 4, David speaks to God in prayer. Then in verse two, he says to his accusers. “That’s always the way it should be. Before speaking out to people, be sure you’ve prayed up to God.”[1] Verse two says, “O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah.” He asks another question of those that sound off against God and His anointed. “O men” is a phrase that addresses those men of authority or power. David might still be focusing on Absalom’s rebellion and those in leadership who joined him, or he’s looking around him at the pagan nations. Tesh says, “Who were these men? Absalom’s lieutenants, opposed to David? Israel’s leaders, turning from Yahweh to idols in a time of drought? Foreign kings taunting oppressed Israel? Or personal enemies of the psalmist, vilifying him? Whoever, specifically, were involved, it was another circumstance in which the ungodly set themselves against those who sought the way of the Lord.”[2]

Regardless of their specific identity, “The leadership has gone astray. They are opposed to the king and have shown their hostility in two ways.” The first way deals with David’s honor. I prefer “glory” instead of “honor.” That’s a better translation of the Hebrew word, and it shifts the focus from David to God.  That David’s enemies attack him, as God’s divinely appointed King, they attack and scoff at God’s glory. “Second, they characterize themselves by a diligent pursuit of what is ‘vain’ and ‘deceptive.’ These words explain how they have trodden the king’s glory into the ground by betraying it for an unspecified worthless cause.”[3] David puts his faith and confidence in God alone. His enemies trust in armies and soldiers.

In Psalm 62:7, David says, “In God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my strength.”  In contrast to his enemies, who hope and trust in human means, David trusts in God. “David reasons, who can overcome God to tear me down? If God is my glory, who will accuse or shame me? If God is my rock, what storm can shake my composure? If God is my refuge, what weapon can reach me and do me harm? David’s resolve shows what a difference it makes when a believer fixes their salvation on God alone. If we rely on money, a worldly reputation, high positions, or other earthly resources, then we can never have the peace of which David speaks. These things are often lost or taken away. But by committing all that we are and hope for into the care of God, the Christian enters into the peace of his perfect security.”[4]

[1] Courson, Jon. 2006. Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume Two: Psalms-Malachi. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

[2] Tesh, S. Edward, and Walter D. Zorn. 1999. Psalms. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press.

[3] VanGemeren, Willem A. 1991. “Psalms.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 5:82. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[4] Phillips, Richard D. 2019. Psalms 42–72. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

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Psalm 4:1, Various

God of My Righteousness!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 20, 2022

This Psalm begins by giving the choirmaster instructions regarding those who play stringed instruments. But it also attributes this Psalm to David. Although the introductions to these Psalms are not numbered, they are still part of the inspired text. This was the subject of a fascinating article in the “Bible Study Magazine.” It had a compelling case for the introductions being part of the original texts of these Psalms. “Most English Bibles display the superscriptions in fine print. This suggests to the modern reader that these superscriptions are secondary somehow. But this is not what we find in our best manuscripts.” The article explains that the introductions to these Psalms are acknowledged as part of the inspired text as far back as the famous and respected Aleppo Codex (ca. AD 930). Further, in the ancient “Masada Psalms Scroll,” which dates to the first century BC, we see the same introductions as we see in the Aleppo Codex. Then, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, we find that the introductions are “always the first part of the psalm text in normal writing. Yet again, there is no indication that they are secondary or added later.”[1]

We should consider the introductions as part of the Psalm. Psalm 4 begins with, “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” First of all, David calls for God to hear his prayer. We can identify this as a prayer because it addresses God in the second person as prayers do. We speak to God, “you.” He acknowledges God’s faithfulness to him in the past. David might be referring to his escape from his son, Absalom’s rebellion. God has been good to David. All the things he has accomplished find their source in God’s goodness.

The two phrases in this Psalm that struck me are; first, He identifies God as the “God of my righteousness.” Then he asks God to continue being merciful to him. When I think of the phrase “my righteousness,” I think of the righteousness of God as Paul uses it in Romans. In and of himself, David knows he has no righteousness to hold up before God. Just as Habakkuk and Romans teach us, the only righteousness we have is faith: “The righteous shall live by faith.” The only righteousness that we can have is a righteousness deposited in our account from the account of our Savior, who fulfilled all righteousness for David and for us prophetically. Williams says it well, “In a word, God is righteous, and He has given His righteousness to David.”[2] This explains David’s plea for mercy.  He knows he’s a sinner. He knows he does not deserve God’s blessings in his life, so whatever God bestows on him, whatever prayer God answers for him, will be based on God’s mercy. Williams wraps up his explanation of this verse: “David’s address, ‘O God of my righteousness,’ also points to the final gift of righteousness given in Jesus Christ. Christ is righteous because He has fulfilled the law in perfect obedience to the Father. It is Christ who dies on the cross, not for His own sins (for He had none), but for our sins. When we receive Christ, we receive also His righteousness. Paul writes, ‘For He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Cor. 5:21). God hears us when we call because we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Indeed, we all may say God is the ‘God of my righteousness.’”[3]

[1] https://www.logos.com/grow/superscriptions-in-psalms/

[2] Williams, Donald, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1986. Psalms 1–72. Vol. 13. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[3] Williams, Donald, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1986. Psalms 1–72. Vol. 13. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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