StudyGrowKnow

² O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The Lord hears when I call to Him.

⁴ Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the Lord.

⁶ Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
⁷ You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

Let’s be clear about something right off the bat.  The very first verse is not a command to God.  The psalmist is beseeching the Lord, pleading with Him to respond to his heartfelt cry of need.  The psalmist looks to God because there is no one else to whom he can look and receive a response that satisfies the soul.

The psalmist acknowledges this truth when he says that God has previously relieved him in his distress.  Based on that, why would he go to anyone else for advice, for relief, and for release?  God is the One who props us up.  It is He who helps us understand the problems in life.  We can only be strong as He offers His sustaining hand that undergirds us.

Notice the psalmist asks God to be gracious to him.  I think that all too often we take God for granted.  Our prayers are stated quickly; almost automatically at times, especially when we are thanking Him for our daily bread.  It is clear though that right from the start, the psalmist is in distress again because of the events that encircle his life.  He knows that only God can help him.  Only God can calm his nerves and heart.  Only God can give a true understanding.

How do you feel when you kneel before God?  Are you there to quickly make your requests known and then get back to life, business as usual?  I get the impression that the psalmist is – by example – helping us to understand that it takes time when we go before God.  We need to take the time to quiet ourselves before Him.  No, I’m not talking about contemplative prayer, where the practitioner spends time making himself as quiet as possible so that he actually stops thinking.

I’m talking about taking the time to treat God with the respect He deserves.  We should stop, catch our breath, focus ourselves on the fact that we are going to enter into the throne room of God.  What does that mean?  Shouldn’t it impact our demeanor?  Should there be a bit of fear and trembling, even though we know beyond doubt that God loves us and accepts us as His sons and daughters?

The impression I get from the second paragraph is that this man is viewed with disdain by others?  He asks, how long will they continue to look upon his with reproach?  Apparently, they have arrived at this conclusion because they have chosen to believe what is not true.

Many conservative scholars believe this psalm is also about David, as Psalm 3 was too.  We know that before David became King of Israel, he was the object of jealousy by King Saul.  His life was not easy and at times, he was on the run from Saul.  People seemed to love David more than Saul.

We also know that after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, her husband, David went on the run again.  His own sin found him out and caused a great upheaval throughout his kingdom.

Generally speaking though, this psalm could be for every individual who has ever had to deal with trials and difficult experiences in life.  I can look back on my own life, realizing mistakes I’ve made that have put me in a corner.  One of them simply involved not using money I had in the best possible way, which later caused a problem and financial strain for us.

I recall going to God in abject humility because I had not used wisdom and discernment with respect to the financial resources He had provided.  I remember simply repeating over and over to Him how terribly sorry I was and understood that our difficulty was due to my pride.  I did this for what seemed like a very long time, but probably took no more than five to ten minutes.

God saw my heart.  He understood my sincerity and my own brokenness with respect to our situation.  He saw how I had come to Him this time in complete reliance upon Him and His direction, whatever it happened to be.

Ultimately, He directed me out of that terrible situation.  He responded to my dread and distress.  Have you ever been there?  I’m willing to be that you have and I pray that you were able to say with the psalmist:

Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
⁷ You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.

This is exactly what it felt like when I realized that God had heard my prayer and responded to me in lovingkindness.  He came alongside me and lifted me up.  I knew that He held no grudge and though certain consequences remained because of my stupidity, He began to show us the way out.

This is God.  This is the One who loves us and seeks only what is best for us.  Are you willing to submit yourself to Him for His direction and His safe keeping?  Can you say with the psalmist that God will help you lie down in peace and safety? As we grow in His grace and learn that He is completely trustworthy, He will do great things in and through us so that we will learn to glorify Him for His active involvement in our life.

Life is often difficult.  I thoroughly believe it is going to become even more difficult because of where this nation is headed.  But God has not abandoned His own.  He is fully prepared for what is ahead and as long as we draw close and remain close to Him, we will have all that we want.

What is better, having a house filled with supplies yet living in fear, or having what we need and being able to sleep at night?  We cannot plan for every eventuality.  We cannot protect ourselves or our loved ones from all the stresses and unfortunate twists and turns in life.

However, we can come to depend upon Him more and more as each day passes.  We do not have to become paralyzed with fear because of what may happen here in America or other parts of the world.  God has not stopped working.  He has not forgotten our frame.  He cares deeply about us and wants us to learn to rely on Him for all the eventualities we cannot see.

Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the Lord.

Approaching God in the correct frame of mind will allow peace to overcome us.  As we come before Him, meditating on His Word, He will work.  He will calm our fears and increase our trust in Him.  As we offer Him sacrifices of praise – done even when we do not feel like it – He will see our heart and understand that what we are doing is very difficult for us, but out goal is to please Him.

The end result in submitting our will to Him in exchange for His is a life of trusting in Him to do what is best for us.  We will be able to sit down on the inside and be content to watch Him work.  In the days that are ahead, we will continue to hear all kinds of drama coming from Washington DC.  In the end, who cares?  Should we allow that drama to drag us down and envelope us with fear, or should we come before Him with confession, transparency, and praise?  Only one path will result in peace that trusts Him.  Only one path will allow us to give Him glory.

What is your choice?